Bangka lies off the southeastern coast of Sumatra, separated by a narrow strait. The island is one of the few places in Sumatra where extensive heath forest or kerangas can be found. However, many of these habitats are threatened by extensive tin mining that has turned parts of the island into desolate craters.

The acidic, non-arable soils of heath forests means that their streams are blackwater environments with low pH (4-4.5) and low nutrient levels. Thus, such conditions should be replicated for C. bangkaensis, a species that was only identified in 2007, having earlier been mistaken for C. scurrilis. Also found on the nearby Belitung island and South Sumatra province, C. bangkaensis produces an inflorescence with a bumpy limb texture, narrow throat and pronounced collar. The foliage is variable, ranging from smooth and ovate to bullate and cordate.