2012 July » Balinghasai Farms

Clerodendrum minahassae

Salvaged, What we grow No Responses »

Jul 292012

Specimen : Wild shrubs and treelets

Habitat : Bamboo thickets, creek banks, open grasslands, roadsides

Local name : Bagawak, Bagawak-puti

Botanical name : Clerodendrum minahassae

Family : Lamiaceae

Specimen height : 2-4 meters

Leaf : Ovate; Large, crinkled, glossy deep green

Flower : Tubular, 5-parted, petals immaculate white, stamens long and reddish; Calyx crispy green with maroon apices in flowering stage, splitting into 5 and showing red in maturity or during fruiting, enlarged

Fruit : Drupe, somewhat rounded, green to bluish black,enclosed or set in reddish or maroon, 5-parted persistent calyx

Fruiting season : Fruits seen on August and Sepember

Traits : Deciduous to semi-deciduous; Drought tolerant; Shade tolerant; Small tree or large shrub; Tolerant of infertile soil; Tolerant of occasional water-logging

Recommendations : Home gardens; Nurse tree; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Potted; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves used in traditional medicine

Native range : Indonesia and the Philippines

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threat : Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use

Native wild edible : Diospyros pyrrhocarpa

Native wild edibles, What we grow No Responses »

Jul 242012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Old-growth riverine forest

Local name : Anang

Botanical name : Diospyros pyrrhocarpa

Family : Ebenaceae
Specimen height : 5-10 meters

Trunk : Erect, lean, slighty buttressed; Bark smooth to cracked, dull grey, mossy or lichenous

Leaf : Alternate; Elliptic, apex acuminate, base acute,
firm, glossy, rich green

Fruit : Berry; Round (about 1.5-2.5 cms in width and 3-4 cms in length), brown, velvety, with enlarged crown-like 4-parted calyx; Rind whitish, thick; Seeds large, elongated, brown, numerous (3-8 or more), surrounded by thin translucent edible aril

Fruiting season : May to September

Traits : Dioecious; Evergreen; Low to medium altitude tree; Shade tolerant; Small to medium-sized tree

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyard planting; Fruit collector’s item; Garden tree; Living fence; Reforestation tree; Riparian management; Specimen tree; Wildcrafting

Used for : Aril surrounding the seed is edible; The timber is known as ebony and is used for carving and in making furnitures

Native range : Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines

National conservation status : Endangered Species (DENR AO 2007-1)

Threat : Indiscriminate cutting of wild trees for fuelwood and charcoal production

A family affair

Our Blogs No Responses »

Jul 222012

June 3, 2024 - A few days after arriving from nearly a year of dreamy sojourn in Thailand, I took my lovely wife and 2 kids with me to the farm to do what I liked to call a little family affair : planting Philippine native trees. The kids, Hannah and Ben, are yet very young to understand the value of the activity but my wife, Pim, is already conscious of my interest in conserving and propagating true Philippine native trees. This was the first time for the kids to immerse in field work and I was a little excited myself in teaching them. Stepping onto the soft clayey soil even with his gumboots on was hard for Ben at first but everything seemed to go smoothly after that. We out-planted 10 seedlings of Anang (Diospyros pyrrhocarpa ) and 3 of Bagawak (Clerodendrum minnahasae); both native to my home province, Bulacan. The first was seed-collected along the forest trail in the nearby Biak na Bato National Park and the latter from wild mother trees that thrive in open grasslands around the farm.

It was a big day for the kids; they even managed to climb some dried bamboo stakes with gumboots on.

(441)

Native wild edible : Broussonetia luzonica var. luzonica

Native wild edibles, Salvaged, What we grow No Responses »

Jul 192012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Open grasslands, roadsides, dry thicket and forested creek banks

Local names : Himbabao, Alukon

Botanical name : Broussonetia luzonica var. luzonica

Famiy : Moraceae

Specimen height : 8-10 meters

Fruiting season : April to June

Traits : Deciduous; Dioecious; Drought tolerant; Fast-growing; Small to medium-sized tree

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyards; Edible gardening; Erosion control; Farms; Light shade for crops; Living fence; Living trellis; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Paper & pulp tree plantations; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Shoots, young leaves and inflorescence (from male trees) are cooked and eaten as vegetable; Pulpwood; Firewood

Native range : The Philippines

National conservation status : Not threatened

Threat : Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use

Native wild edible : Amorphophallus paeoniifolius

Native wild edibles No Responses »

Jul 182012

It seems we can’t get enough seeing this ubiquitous plant inside the farm. Each time we rid of weeds and trim the native trees of stubborn branches, this wild vegetable will just pop-up like mushrooms to take advantage of the readily available sunlight. It’s a waste that we don’t really eat this at home but I’ve heard countless times from older folks that they collect the tender stalks from young shoots and cook them with fish and guava or with chilies and coconut milk; I have eaten taro stalks prepared either way and trust me it’s delicious! Someone who’s not careful in handling this plant may end up having skin irritations they say, as well as someone who hasn’t prepared or cooked it properly will have mouth and throat irritations after eating. I would love to have it for a meal but would rather leave the collecting and the preparation to experts!

Local name : Pongapong

Trade name : Elephant yam

Botanical name : Amorphophallus paeoniifolius

Family : Araceae

Habit : Disturbed areas, moist thickets, open grasslands

Traits : Perennial herb; Inflorescence malodorous

Recommendations : Backyard vegetable; Conversation piece; Garden material; Potted

Native range : Madagascar, India, Bangladesh, China, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), Australia, Polynesia

Conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Native wild edible : Telosma procumbens

Native wild edibles No Responses »

Jul 152012

This specimen just showed up from our nursery without anyone planting it there. The seed may have been accidentally carried when we collected soil from somewhere inside or near the farm. My helpers call this “Puso-puso” , perhaps an allusion to it’s heart-shaped leaves. The clustered inflorescence are eaten as vegetables and my helpers just simply saute them and eat with rice. They would be good also when added in Guisadong munggo, Pinakbet, Guisadong mais, Bulanglang and non-conventional soups. In Thailand, where I have lived for a number of months, this is an everyday vegetable you will see being sold in public markets and in fresh produce sections of groceries. Noo, my Thai wife, says they would have it steamed or boiled and served with spicy Nam Pric (crushed Chilies with fish sauce and/or fish paste, herbs, lime etc.), fried with eggs as omelette, sauteed with meat or added in their version of Hot & Sour soup.