2012 August » Balinghasai Farms

Cananga odorata

What we grow No Responses »

Aug 312012

Specimen : Cultivated trees

Local name : Ilang-ilang

Trade names : Ylang-ylang, Cananga, Perfume tree

Botanical name : Cananga odorata

Family : Annonaceae

Height : 6-8 meters

Fruiting season : February to April

Traits : Evergreen to semi-deciduous; Fast growing; Pendulous (drooping braches and leaves); Shade tolerant; Small to medium-sized tree; Sparse crown

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyards; Fallow improvement; Farms; Home gardens; Living fence; Living trellis; Nurse tree; Ornamental tree; Plantations; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Windbreak

Used for : Ylang-ylang oil extracted from the inflorescence is used in the production of perfumes, aromatherapy products, soaps and toiletries, food and beverage; Bark, leaves and flowers are used in traditional medicine; Flowers threaded into leis or garlands, headdresses and body ornaments; Wood for clogs, boxes, matchsticks and small wooden utilities; Pulpwood; Bark made into a coarse rope; Fuelwood and charcoal

Native range : Southeast Asia (including the Philippines) to Australia and neighboring Pacific islands

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Further readings :

Agroforestry Tree Database (Cananga odorata)
http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=18103

Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry (Cananga odorata)http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Cananga-ylang-ylang.pdf (759)

Lagerstroemia speciosa

Salvaged No Responses »

Aug 302012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitats: Creek bank thickets and open grasslands

Local name : Banaba

Trade names : Pride of India, Queen of flowers, Banglang

Botanical name : Lagerstroemia speciosa

Family : Lythraceae

Height : 6-12 meters

Fruiting season : Rainy months

Traits : Semi-deciduous to deciduous; Deep-rooted; Drought tolerant; Fast growing; Grassfire tolerant; Prolific bloomer; Small to medium-sized tree; Water-logging tolerant

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyards; Erosion control; Farms; Home gardens; Living fence; Living trellis; Nurse tree; Ornamental tree; Plantations; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting; Windbreak

Used for : Leaves are medicinal and made into tea for diabetic and urinary tract problems; Bark yields a yellow dye; Wood for general construction, mine timber, poles, furniture, interior works, paneling, wooden handles, novelties and carving; Firewood and charcoal

Native range : India, China and Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threats : Conversion of woodlands to agricultural, commercial and residential plots; Cutting of wild trees for fuelwood and charcoal production

Further readings :

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo)

Tropical & Subtropical Trees (M. Barwick)

World Agroforestry Centre (Lagerstroemia speciosa)
http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=1790 (1345)

Native wild edible : Lepisanthes fruticosa

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

Aug 292012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitats : Thickets along waterways

Local names : Balinawnaw, Linawnaw

Botanical name : Lepisanthes fruticosa

Family : Sapindaceae

Height : 4-6 meters

Fruiting season : January to March

Traits : Evergreen; Large shrub to small tree; Low to medium altitude tree; Shade tolerant; Water-logging tolerant; Willowy

Recommendations : Backyards; Farms; Fruit collector’s; Home gardens; Nurse tree; Ornamental tree or shrub; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Edible fruits; Seeds are also eaten fried or roasted; Fuelwood

Native range : Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threats : Cutting of wild trees for fuelwood and charcoal production

Further readings :

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo)

Species without current development potential for economic uses (FAO Corporate Document Repository)http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/ab777e/ab777e06.htm

(794)

Native wild edible : Antidesma bunius

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

Aug 272012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitats : Open grasslands and creek bank thickets

Local name : Bignay

Trade name : Salamander tree

Botanical name : Antidesma bunius

Family : Phyllanthaceae

Height : 6-10 meters

Fruiting season : March to June

Traits : Dioecious; Drought tolerant; Evergreen; Prolific fruiter; Small tree; Tolerant of infertile soil; Tolerant of occasional waterlogging

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyards; Farms; Fruit collector’s; Home gardens; Living fence; Ornamental tree; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Plantations; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting; Windbreak

Used for : Fruits are eaten raw or processed into juice, jelly, preserves and wine; Immature green fruits used as substitute for tomatoes in flavoring Sinigang; Leafy shoots and young leaves are eaten as salad or cooked as vegetable; Fodder for livestocks; Bark yields fiber for rope; Timber for small and light constructions; Fuelwood and charcoal

Native range : India, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines) to Australia

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Further readings :

Fruits of Warm Climates (J. Morton)http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/bignay_ars.html

Tropical & Subtropical Trees (M. Barwick) (742)

Native wild edible : Dracontomelon dao

Native wild edibles, What we grow No Responses »

Aug 232012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Riverine and limestone forest

Local name : Dao

Trade names : Pacific Walnut, Dao

Botanical name : Dracontomelon dao

Family : Anacardiaceae

Height : 30-35 meters

Traits : Buttress-forming; Evergreen to partly deciduous; Fast growing; Large tree; Shade tolerant

Used for : The fruit and the seed kernel are edibe; Leaves and flowers are eaten as vegetable or used as flavoring; Bark, leaves and flowers are used in traditional medicine; Premium hardwood used for carving, interior works, in making furnitures, musical instruments, decorative veneers, plywoods and novelties; Firewood and charcoal

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Boundary marker; Farms; Large avenues; Large backyards; Plantations; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Specimen tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting; Windbreak

Native range : India, China, the Malayan peninsula, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and neighboring Pacific islands

National conservation status : Vulnerable species (DENR AO 2007-01)

Threat : Forestry logging

Further readings :

DENR Administrative Order 2007-1 (Establishing the National List of Threatened Philippine Plants and their Categories, and the List of Other Wildlife Species)

Philippine Woods : Principal Uses, Distribution & Equivalent Woods in Asia Pacific (A. Ella, A. Tongacan, R. Escobin & F. Pitargue)

World Agroforestryhttp://www.worldagroforestry.org/af/treedb/AFTPDFS/Dracontomelon_dao.pdf (1613)

Native wild edible : Dillenia philippinensis

Native wild edibles, What we grow No Responses »

Aug 232012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Riverine forest

Local name : Katmon

Trade name : Philippine Simpoh

Botanical name : Dillenia philippinensis

Family : Dilleniaceae

Specimen height : 10-14 meters

Fruiting season : May to December

Traits : Buttress-forming; Evergreen; Shade tolerant; Small to medium-sized tree; Tolerant of occasional water-logging;

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyards; Farms; Home gardens; Living fence; Ornamental tree; Public
spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting; Windbreak

Used for : Fruit (including the peel), shoots and flowers are used for flavoring; Ripe fruits are eaten fresh; Peel and fruit segments are used in traditional medicine especially in the preparation of cough syrup, also used as hair shampoo; Red dye is obtained from the bark; Wood for general utility, constructions, poles, interior works, furnitures, boards and panels, veneers, plywoods and wooden articles

Native range : The Philippines

Conservation status : List of Other Wildlife Species (DENR AO 2007-1)

Threat : Forestry logging

Further readings :

DENR Administrative Order 2007-1 (Establishing the
National List of Threatened Philippine Plants and their Categories, and the List of Other Wildlife Species)

Philippine Woods : Principal Uses, Distribution & Equivalent Woods in Asia Pacific (A. Ella, A. Tongacan, R. Escobin & F. Pitargue

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo)

Tropical & Subtropical Trees (M. Barwick) (986)

Intsia bijuga

What we grow No Responses »

Aug 232012

Specimen : Cultivated trees

Local name : Ipil

Trade names : Ipil, Moluccan ironwood, Merbau

Botanical name : Intsia bijuga

Family : Fabaceae - Caesalpinoideae

Specimen height : 25-30 meters

Fruiting season : October to December

Traits : Drought tolerant; Evergreen; Nitrogen fixer; Salt spray tolerant; Seasonal water-logging tolerant; Wind hardy

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Boundary marker; Coastal stabilization; Erosion control; Fallow improvement; Farms; Honey tree; Large avenues; Large gardens; Living fence; Mangrove and riparian management; Ornamental tree; Roadside tree; Shade tree; Timber plantations; Urban greening; Wildcrafting; Windbreak

Used for : Seeds are made edible by soaking in salt water for 3-4 days and then boiled; Bark and leaves have medicinal uses; Timber used for heavy constructions, house building, posts and beams, furnitures, canoe making, handles for weapons, wooden artifacts and carving; Felled branches used as fuelwood

Native range : Madagascar, The Seychelles, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, New Guinea, Australia and the neighboring Pacific islands

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

Further readings :

DENR Administrative Order 2007-1 (Establishing the National List of Threatened Philippine Plants and their Categories, and the List of Other Wildlife Species)

Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry - Intsia bijuga (R.R. Thaman, L.A.J. Thomson, R. DeMeo, F. Areki and C.R. Elevitch)

Tropical & Subtropical Trees (M. Barwick) (1295)

Goin’ bananas

Our Blogs No Responses »

Aug 212012

Inspired by our very first harvest from the Saba banana we have experimentally planted in late 2010, my wife and I decided to dedicate about an hectare in the northeastern section of the farm to growing this Filipino staple. It looked that everything was in place; the spacing of the Carabao mangoes planted there over 3 years ago were wide enough for inter-cropping and it’s the season of rain - the ideal time for planting, but the over pouring monsoon made the soil too clayey and difficult to rotovate. The rented Tractor backed-out just a few hours after it started! Manual digging became labor intensive; taking a lot more time than we have expected.

The area was wide enough so we looked to exhaust around 500 pieces. The rub was asking around for friendly supplier of corms that sells also at a friendly price. Ruth Avila, a good friend from Quezon province and a co-fellow at the Rarefruit Society of the Philippines ([email protected]), can sell her extra corms and can ship them too at a good value but transporting them from the pick-up point would be a challenge and may even cost more than the actual price of the merchandise. It was a good thing that the neighboring farm offered to give planting materials for free otherwise we have to spend a lot more than we have reserved for this project. A provision for a simple irrigation system is on the plans; we are hoping to install before summer of the coming year.

(415)

Native wild edible : Capparis micrantha

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

Aug 202012

Specimen : Wild

Habitat : Forested creekbanks and riverbanks

Local names : Halubagat-kahoy, Halubagat

Trade name: Naper tree

Botanical name : Capparis micrantha

Family : Capparidaceae / Capparaceae

Height : 4-6 meters

Fruit : Berry; Translucent arils cover the numerous, round, brownish to blackish seeds inside the easily blemished, leathery, green to scarlet rind

Fruiting season : April to July

Traits : Evergreen; Much-branched; Prickly; Shade tolerant; Large shrub to small tree; Water-logging tolerant

Recommendations : Backyards; Erosion control; Hedging; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Riparian management; Wildcrafting

Used for : Fruits are edible; Fuelwood

Native range : Southern China and Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

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

Native wild edible : Vitex negundo

Native wild edibles, What we grow No Responses »

Aug 182012

Specimen : Wild

Habitat : Dry thickets, open grasslands, roadsides, wastelands

Local name : Lagundi

Trade name : Five-leaved chaste tree

Botanical name : Vitex negundo

Family : Lamiaceae

Specimen height : 3-4 meters

Fruiting season : Possibly year round

Traits : Aromatic; Deciduous to semi-deciduous; Drought tolerant; Fast growing; Large shrub to small tree; Much-branched; Tolerant of infertile soil

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyards; Erosion control; Home gardens; Honey plant; Living fence; Ornamental; Plantations; Potted; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Nurse tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves and roots as medicinal tea; Fruits, leaves, bark and roots have various applications in traditional medicine; Essential oil obtained from the leaves; Leaves used in baths and as insectifuge; Seeds may be substituted for pepper, may be ground into an edible flour or may be eaten boiled; Branches and twigs used for basketry and handicraft weaving; Fuelwood

Native range : East & Southern Africa, India, East Asia, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines) to Western Polynesia

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

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

Native wild edible : Uvaria rufa

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

Aug 182012

Back when I was still doing the Indi-journal online, I received a lot of emails and site comments regarding the post I made on Susung-kalabaw (Uvaria rufa). It was probably the most viewed post there and the one which received the most legit comments. A lot of the readers testified that this was a wild fruit that they have last seen and eaten decades ago when they were “younger” and it made them recall childhood; some say they can still remember that strangely-tart-a-little-sweet taste of this seedy, curious-looking fruit that they just pick from shrubs growing by the roadsides while walking to school.

Just last year, we’ve been visited by high school science students from Manila to gather Uvaria rufa leaf and fruit samples for a project. They were very courteous, hard-working kids that have gone all the way here, to what is possibly the remotest place they’ve been, to get those good marks at school; kudos to them! I have never heard about the result of their effort but I hope that the conservation work we do here in Balinghasai farms helped them in a way.

Specimen : Wild

Habitats : Dry grasslands, creek bank thickets, roadsides

Local names : Susung-kalabaw, Alagat, Hilagak

Botanical name : Uvaria rufa

Family : Annonaceae

Traits : Drought-tolerant; Evergreen; Shade tolerant; Scandent shrub or woody climber

Height : 4-6 meters

Fruiting season : May to August

Used for : Fruits are edible; Rattan substitute in making furnitures and handicrafts; Firewood

Recommendations : Backyards; Fruit collector’s; Hedging; Home gardens; Ornamental; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Native range : India, Southern China, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), New Guinea and Australia

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threat : Conversion of woodlands to agricultural, commercial or residential plots

Further readings :

Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants - Uvaria rufa http://keys.trin.org.au/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Uvaria_rufa.htm

Flora of China - Uvaria rufa http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200008602

(2055)

Milletia ahernii

What we grow No Responses »

Aug 172012

Materials identified by : Ulysses Ferreras (Field Botanist)

Specimen : Wild trees

Specimen height : 4-7 meters

Habitat : Thickets along streams

Local name : Balok

Trade name : Ahern’s Balok

Botanical name : Milletia ahernii

Family : Fabaceae - Papilionoideae

Fruiting season : Mature fruits seen on March

Traits : Bushy; Evergreen; Low altitude tree; Small tree; Tolerant of frequent inundation

Recommendations : Fallow improvement; Green manure; Hedging; Homegardens Landscaping; Living trellis; Nitrogen-fixing; Ornamental tree; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Windbreak

Used for : Fuelwood and charcoal

Native range : The Philippines
National conservation status : Not threatened

Possible threats : Cutting of wild trees for fuel and charcoal production; Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use

Native wild edible : Olax imbricata

Salvaged No Responses »

Aug 162012

Specimen : Wild

Habitat : Moist and dry thickets, creek banks

Local name : Karimbobet, Malabaguio

Trade name : Southeast Asian Olax

Botanical name : Olax imbricata

Family : Olacaceae

Specimen height : 3-5 meters

Fruiting season : March to July

Traits : Shade-loving; Shrub to woody climber; Tolerant of infertile soil

Recommendations : Backyards; Home gardens; Urban greening

Used for : Leafy shoots and young leaves are eaten as salad or cooked as vegetable; Ripe fruits are edible; Seeds are roasted and eaten

Native range : India, Sri lanka, China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

Conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threat : Conversion of woodlands to agricultural, commercial or residential plots

Further readings :

A COMPENDIUM OF INDIGENOUS VEGETABLES OF ABRA (Prof. Mildred B. Adaoag) http://www.eisrjc.com/documents/A_Compendium_Of_Indigenous_Vegies_1325745997.pdf

A Dictionary Of The Native Plant Names Of The Philippine Islands http://www.rainforestation.ph/resources/pdf/botanicalRefs/Merrill_1903_Dictionary_of_plant_names.pdf

Flora of China - Olax imbricata http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242413834

(437)

Lepisanthes tetraphylla

Salvaged, What we grow No Responses »

Aug 162012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitats : Forests along waterways

Local name : Sarakag

Botanical name : Lepisanthes tetraphylla

Family : Sapindaceae

Specimen height : 6-10 meters

Traits : Evergreen; Low to medium altitude tree; Shade-loving; Small tree; Willowy

Recommendations : Erosion control; Riparian management

Native range : Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, China, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), New Guinea

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threats : Cutting of wild trees for fuel and charcoal production; Clearing of woodlands for conversion to agricultural, commercial or residential plots

Further readings :

Asianplant.net - Lepisanthes tetraphylla

http://www.asianplant.net/Sapindaceae/Lepisanthes_tetraphylla.htm

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo)

(477)

Native wild edible : Ardisia serrata

Native wild edibles, What we grow No Responses »

Aug 152012

This Ardisia pyramidalis was given to us, 3 years ago, by Architect and Philippine native tree blogger Tristan Asuncion (http://philippinenativeforesttrees.blogspot.com/). Then, barely a few inches in height, it is now on its first year of maturity and is promising to provide a lot of seeds for propagation.

Specimen : Cultivated

Local name : Aunasin

Botanical name : Ardisia serrata

Family : Primulaceae

Specimen height : 2 meters

Leaf : Alternately whorled; Spathulate, margins smooth to obscurely serrate, bright green

Inflorescence : Small, 4-parted, pale purple, in terminal panicles

Fruiting season : Rainy months

Traits : Evergreen; Low to medium altitude tree, Shade-loving; Shrubby; Small tree

Recommendations : Backyards; Edible gardening; Farms; Hedging; Home gardens; Ornamental tree; Potted; Public spaces; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Young leaves and leafy shoots are eaten as salad greens or as vegetable; Flowers and fruits are used to flavor fish dishes

Native range : The island of Borneo and the Philippines

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Further readings :

ASEAN Tropical Plant Database - Ardisia pyramidalis http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/html/print.jsp?rno=18

DENR Recommends Vol. 12 - FOOD FROM THE WILDERNESS (Mercedita A. Polinag) http://erdb.denr.gov.ph/publications/denr/denr_v12.pdf

(1000)

Native wild edible : Ficus nota

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

Aug 142012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Riverine forest and creekbank thickets

Local name : Tibig

Botanical name : Ficus nota

Family : Moraceae

Height : 4-8 meters

Trunk : Bole erect, cylindrical, branching low; Bark smooth, brownish grey

Leaves : Ovate with heart-shaped base; Large, deep green, surface coarse and wrinkly

Fruit : Fig; Held individually or in clusters, globose, green to reddish brown, warty

Fruiting season : Year round

Traits : Cauliflorous; Dioecious; Evergreen; Fast growing; Prolific fruiter; Shade tolerant; Small tree; Waterlogging tolerant

Recommendations : Erosion control; Nurse tree; Pioneer species for reforestation in frequently inundated areas; Riparian management; Wildcrafting

Other uses : Ripe fruits are edible and maybe eaten with sugar; Young leaves are eaten as vegetable; A drinkable water can be obtained from a freshly cut stem; Firewood and charcoal

Native range : The Philippines and Northern Borneo

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threat : Conversion of woodlands to agricultural, commercial or residential areas

Further readings :

E-Prosea - Ficus nota http://www.proseanet.org/prosea/e-prosea_detail.php?frt=&id=1658

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo) (990)

Native wild edible : Nauclea orientalis

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

Aug 142012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitats : Riverbanks, creek banks and waterways

Local name : Bangkal

Trade names : Leichhardt Pine, Yellow cheesewood

Botanical name : Nauclea orientalis

Family : Rubiaceae

Specimen height : 8-15 meters

Leaf : Ovate, apex acute, base acute to obtuse; Firm, glossy green with prominent veins

Flower : Round, yellow or orange with white spikes

Fruit : Aggregate; Unevenly shaped, greenish brown to
yellow brown

Fruiting season : Fruits seen from July to January

Traits : Conical in form; Evergreen; Fast growing; Medium-sized tree;Water-logging tolerant; Wind hardy

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Erosion control; Honey tree; Living fence; Nurse tree; Ornamental tree; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Public gardens; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Shade tree; Timber belt; Urban greening; Windbreak; Wildcrafting

Used for : Fruits are edible but not palatable; Yellow dye obtained from the bark; Bark and leaves have medicinal uses; Wood for light constructions, interior works, furnitures (when properly dried), veneer and plywood, novelties, musical instruments and carving; Pulpwood; Firewood and charcoal

Native range : Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), New Guinea to Australia

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threats : Conversion of woodlands to agricultural, commercial or residential plots; Cutting of wild trees for timber, firewood and the production of charcoal

Further readings :

Philippine Woods : Principal Uses, Distribution & Equivalent Woods in Asia Pacific (A. Ella, A. Tongacan, R. Escobin & F. Pitargue)

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo)

World Agroforestry http://www.worldagroforestry.org/af/treedb/AFTPDFS/Nauclea_orientalis.pdf (705)

The creek and its bounty

Our Blogs No Responses »

Aug 132012

Rain marks the arrival of many good things; everything seemed to grow faster during this season and the creek never seem to run out of nutrient-rich and freshly oxygenated running water - particularly good for its common inhabitants. Despite the unruly weeds and knee-high grasses, which also seemed to take advantage of the rain, a walk by our muddy creek every now and then to gather the favorite “Susong-palipit” has become an anticipated affair. The rainy months are also the time when the Putat trees (Barringtonia acutangula) showcase their short-lived but magnificent blooms so its not unusual to pluck the hapless snails out of the shallow creek that has been littered with freshly aborted Putat inflorescence. In the past years, the creek has been very generous in providing us with delicious dinner, this year though the snails appear to arrive disturbingly late.

Snail-gathering became an efficient method to interest the kids about the mundane life in the farm, especially the older ones. I never had a hard time inviting my nephew Brix if I say we will collect snails for dinner, otherwise I will have to bribe him. Sometimes if we get lucky, we will also see juvenile Asian box turtles on clearer waters but mudfish fry are common. There are a number of fruiting Tibig (Ficus nota) and Bangkal (Nauclea orientalis) trees that run along our winding creek; the fallen fruits provide wild fodder for the turtles.

(358)

Native wild edible : Oroxylum indicum

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

Aug 112012

Basically an unknown vegetable for the Filipinos but for the people in rural Thailand this is a common vegetable tree that they grow in their backyards. The young fruits which they grill or ferment in rice wash and salt before being eaten with their infamously spicy and delicious concoction called “Nam pric” are found sold in fresh markets amidst an array of various other strange vegetables and herbs that we Filipinos, most probably, would not be familiar with .

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Creek banks, open grasslands, ravines

Local name : Pinka-pinkahan

Trade name : Midnight horror

Botanical name : Oroxylum indicum

Family : Bignoniaceae
Specimen height : 8-12 meters

Trunk : Bole erect, cylindrical, slender; Bark fissured, greyish

Leaf : Compound; Leaflets ovate, crinkled, deep green

Fruit : Capsule, flattened (dagger-shaped), elongated (about a meter long, more or less), dark brown to nearly black; Flattened, winged seeds numerous

Fruiting season : Possibly year-round

Traits : Deciduous to semi-deciduous; Fast growing; Small to medium-sized tree; Sparingly branched

Recommendations : Vegetable tree for backyards; Light shade for crops; Living trellis; Nurse tree; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Riparian management; Wildcrafting

Used for : Shoots, flowers and young fruits are cooked or eaten raw as vegetable; Leaves, bark, roots and seeds have medicinal uses; Leaves are used in baths; Dye obtained from the bark is used to decorate rattan baskets

Native range : South Asia, China and Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

National conservation status : Not threatened in the
Philippines

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

Native wild edible : Sterculia foetida

Native wild edibles, What we grow No Responses »

Aug 112012

It was March and the summer heat was relentless but this stinky Sterculia foetida flowers was truly refreshing to see. These pictures of the lone tree that my farm helper and I found growing on a savannah a few kilometers off the farm is truly among my favorites.

I’ve heard accounts of people living in remote areas collecting the seeds for roasting and eating. They eat them like you would with roasted or fried peanuts.

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Riverine forests, dry grasslands, open slopes

Local name : Kalumpang

Trade names : Wild almond, Poon tree

Botanical name : Sterculia foetida

Family : Malvaceae

Specimen height : 8 - 20 meters

Trunk : Erect and cylindrical, clear bole of 6 meters; Bark smooth, brown to dark grey; Branches whorled around the main stem

Leaf : Digitate with numerous elliptic or lanceolate leaflets; Green turning yellow before falling collectively

Flower : In panicles, small, yellow and reddish brown, malodorous

Fruit : Clusters of 1 to 5 woody or fibrous, dehiscent, hollowed follicles, green to rusty red to dark brown; Seeds oblong, few to numerous, coated with black or grey seedcoat that peels readily when dry

Fruiting season : Ripened fruits observed from December to January

Traits : Deciduous; Dioecious; Drought tolerant; Fast growing; Low to medium altitude tree; Medium-sized tree; Spreading crown; Salt spray tolerant; Tolerant of infertile soil; Tolerant of occasional water-logging

Recommendations : Boundary marker; Coastal stabilization; Conversation piece; Erosion control; Large roadside tree; Riparian management; Shade tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Edible seeds are eaten roasted or fried; Seeds used as adulterant for cacao; Seeds are also eaten as purge / dewormer; Oil from seeds have uses in local culinary and traditional medicine; Oil as an illuminant; Fiber obtained from the bark used as cord; Pulpwood; Timber for interior works, veneer, plywood, musical instruments, wooden containers, small articles and carving; Trunk yields gum or glue used in bookbinding; Firewood and charcoal

Native range : East Africa, South Asia, the Malayan peninsula, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines to Australia

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Observed possible threat : Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use

Further readings :

AgroForestry Tree Database (Sterculia foetida)http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/Sea/Products/AFDbases/AF/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=98

Philippine Woods : Principal Uses, Distribution & Equivalent Woods in Asia Pacific (A. Ella, A. Tongacan, R. Escobin & F. Pitargue)

Tropical & Subtropical Trees (M. Barwick) (941)