A hilltop stream in Bintan - a moss heaven

Caught in a sudden thunder storm, we sought refuge in a kind man's house for about an hour, waiting for the lightning to stop. Other than 2 other women who sought refuge in the same house, many animals were present too. 

After the lightning stopped, we decided to brave the rain and proceed to our final destination, a stream on a hilltop in Bintan. 

There were many different type of moss which could be found along this stream.

I caught many bettas too in this stream on top of a hill. Can anyone help me to identify the species accurately?

The pH of the water was about 6.4.

We decided to call it a day at about 1430hrs to make our way back to the hotel to wash up and pack up and catch the last ferry back to Singapore at 1700hrs. We had a late lunch (potato croquette, tapioca leaves curry and fried chicken with rice, yummy!) at the coffee shop outside the ferry terminal before boarding the ferry back. It was about 2000hrs by the time we reached Singapore (Singapore is 1 hour later than Bintan, 2hrs ferry ride between Tanjung Pinang and Singapore). Home sweet home!

C. griffithii 'Bintan' natural habitat

I had the good fortune to visit the natural habitat of C. griffithii 'Bintan' at the eastern side of Bintan Island.

 

We stopped by a provision shop along the way to buy some tidbits for the kids staying in the farm house near to the location where my friend found the cryptocorynes.

The habitat was a stream running in a forest behind a farm.

The farms were cultivating some chilli and brinjal.

There was a durian tree in the farm and below were the flowers growing on the branches of the durian tree.

The cryptocorynes were growing on the sandy banks of the stream, some emersed while others submersed.

The pH of the water was about 6.0.

The cryptocorynes were growing in large patches along the stream,

Below were some fauna found in the stream among the cryptocorynes.

These are some close up shots of the submersed leaves.

Below are the photographs of some protectors of the forest.

C. longicauda 'Bintan' habitat

The next morning, we woke up and had chicken murtabak for breakfast before we set off to visit the habitats of cryptocorynes found at the eastern side of Bintan Island. 

Why would my explorer friend travel along one of the main road in Bintan, turn off into one of the many dirt roads, travel along the dirt road, turn into one of the many dirt tracks, reach a wooden house, bash into the forest behind the toilet of the house and manage to locate C. longicauda 'Bintan'??? Luck? Six sense? Skill? Lots of trial and error?

The pH of the water was about 5.5 and the substrate was mud mixed with plant materials.

Below are some Eriocaulon sp. from Bintan found nearby.

See below for a short video of the habitat.

I attached below some photographs of the spathe of C. longicauda 'Bintan' which I previously took for ease of reference.