2012 September » Balinghasai Farms

Native wild edible : Gnetum gnemon

Native wild edibles, What we grow No Responses »

Sep 272012

Specimen : Cultivated trees

Local name : Bago

Trade name : Gnetum

Botanical name : Gnetum gnemon

Family : Gnetaceae

Specimen height : 4-6 meters

Fruiting season : Immature fruits observed in August and December

Traits : Dioecious; Drought tolerant; Evergreen; Shade tolerant; Small tree; Tolerant of infertile soils

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyards; Edible gardening; Fallow improvement; Farms; Hedging; Home gardens; Ornamental tree; Plantations; Public spaces; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Seed kernels are edible and are fried, roasted or boiled, or pounded and made into cakes for making Emping; New leaves are eaten as vegetable; Bark fibre is made into rope; Inner bark made into bow string; Timber for simple constructions, house beams or made into boxes and tool handles; Pulpwood; Fuelwood and charcoal

Native range : Malay peninsula, Indonesia, The Philippines, New Guinea and neighboring Pacific islands

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Note : Gnetum gnemon var. gnemon is the specific species naturally found in the Philippines per Rojo’s ”Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees”

Further readings :

Research Information Series on Ecosystems Vol. 13 No. 2 May-August 2001 - Gnetum gnemon (R. Cadiz & H. Florido)

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo)

Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry (Gnetum gnemon)
http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Gnetum-gnetum.pdf (855)

Toona calantas

What we grow No Responses »

Sep 232012

Specimen : Cultivated, juvenile

Local name : Kalantas

Botanical name : Toona calantas

Family : Meliaceae

Traits : Fast-growing; Deciduous; Low to medium altitude tree; Medium-sized to large tree

Recommendations : Erosion control; Farms; Large avenues; Living fence; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Timber plantations; Urban greening; Windbreak

Used for : Wood used for furniture, wooden containers; musical instruments, interior works and carving

Native range : Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines and New Guinea

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

Further readings :

ASEAN Tropical Plant Database - Toona calantas http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/html/print.jsp?rno=193

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) (961)

Carmona retusa

What we grow No Responses »

Sep 212012

Specimen : Cultivated

Local name : Tsaang-gubat

Trade names : Philippine tea, Fukien tea

Botanical name : Carmona retusa

Family : Boraginaceae

Specimen height : 3-4 meters

Traits : Drought tolerant; Evergreen; Fast-growing; Shade tolerant; Shrub to small tree

Recommendations : Backyards; Farms; Hedging; Home gardens; Ornamental shrub; Plantation; Potted; Public spaces; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Fresh and dried leaves are used as tea; Bonsai material; Topiary material

Native range : India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Taiwan, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), New Guinea and the Solomon Islands

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Clerodendrum quadriloculare

What we grow No Responses »

Sep 132012

Specimen : Cultivated

Local name : Bagawak-morado

Trade name : Star burst clerodendrum

Botanical name : Clerodendrum quadriloculare

Family : Lamiaceae

Specimen height : 2-4 meters

Fruiting season : February to April

Traits : Deciduous; Drought tolerant; Fast-growing; Large shrub to small tree; Shade tolerant

Recommendations : Home gardens; Ornamental shrub or tree; Potted; Public spaces; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves are used for healing wounds and for tonic baths

Native range : The Philippines

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

Further readings :

Bureau of Plant Industry Medicinal Plants of the Philippines Publication - Clerodendrum quadriloculare

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

Tropical & Subtropical Trees (M. Barwick) (681)

Native wild edible : Buchanania arborescens

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

Sep 122012

Someone who would see a Balinghasai tree for the first time would instantly think that it’s just some kind of a Mango tree - that’s what I thought it was in 2008 when I first saw one in wooded section of the old farm. The leaves look exactly the same and the flowers have unmistakable resemblance. Somehow though, something didn’t matched-up - the size, the form, the reach of the branches - so I wasn’t totally convinced. Then on a vacation in Panglao island in Bohol in 2009 I got the chance to see a few trees in fruit; the trees were weighed down with clusters of small, blackish or purplish fruits that the resort attendant said are picked and eaten like ordinary berries by the locals. I tried one myself but I didn’t enjoy the taste, or probably the lack of it. Maybe there are trees that bear sweeter fruits?

Just recently, we discovered that our creek and adjoining smaller tributaries are home to juvenile Balinghasai trees. Large ones were cut down years ago - fallen victims to wood poaching and charcoal making but there are few remaining decent-size trees in nearby thickets. The one I saw in 2008 has been one of the unguarded victims, it wasn’t there anymore when we came back to check for fruits…. the hapless tree was gone but its name stays in this farm.

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitats : Mangrove swamps, sandy beaches, creek bank thickets, open grasslands

Local names : Balinghasai, Malamangga, An-an

Trade name : Sparrow’s mango

Botanical name : Buchanania arborescens

Family : Anacardiaceae

Height : 6-8 meters

Fruiting season : Possibly year round

Traits : Drought tolerant; Evergreen; Fast growing; Salt spray tolerant; Small to medium-sized tree; Tolerant of infertile soil; Water-logging tolerant; Wind hardy

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Coastal stabilization; Erosion control; Farms; Fruit collector’s; Living fence; Nurse tree; Mangrove management; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Timber plantationst; Urban greening; Wildcrafting; Windbreak

Used for : Fruits edible; Timber for light constructions, interior works, veneer, plywood, furnitures and novelties; Pulpwood; Firewood and charcoal

Native range : Andaman Islands, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), Australia and nearby Pacific islands
National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threats : Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use; Indiscriminate cutting of wild trees for charcoal and fuelwood production

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) (853)

Melia azedarach

What we grow No Responses »

Sep 122012

Melia azedarach‘s notoriety as an invasive species overshadows its potential as an alternative source of prime quality timber. The wood is said to be comparable to Narra (Pterocarpus indicus) and Teak (Tectona grandis). Not a common farmer like us will suspect that this impressively fast-growing small to occasionally large tree will prove to be more valuable than being ornamental. Yes it can easily disperse anywhere in the world that is temperate to tropical and feral stands can be an ecological mayhem but the possibility of harvesting them as substitute to other much-preferred but seriously endangered local hardwood species must be looked through. Fellow Filipino farmers who are having second thoughts on planting exotic Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and Gmelina (Gmelina arborea) can set their eyes somewhere else and must give our native Bagalunga (Melia azedarach) a closer look.

Specimen : Cultivated trees

Local name : Bagalunga

Trade name : Philippine neem, Chinaberry, White cedar

Botanical name : Melia azedarach

Family : Meliaceae

Height : 8-10 meters

Fruiting season : Fruits seen in March

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

Recommendations : Agroforestry; Backyards; Erosion control; Farms; Home gardens; Light shade for crops; Living fence; Living trellis; Nurse tree; Ornamental tree; Public spaces; Roadside tree; Timber plantations; Urban greening

Used for : Various parts have medicinal applications; Timber for furnitures, tool handles, wooden crates and boxes, poles and plywood, makes also a good substitute for Narra and Mahogany; Oil from fruits may be used as an illuminant; Leaves used to repel insects; Seeds or beads may be used as natural oraments; Fuelwood and charcoal

Native range : South Asia, Thailand, China, Malesia (including the Philippines), New Guinea, Australia to the Solomon islands

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

(Note : Synonymous with Melia dubia)

Further readings :

E-Prosea Melia azedarach http://www.proseanet.org/prosea/e-prosea_detail.php?frt=&id=3028

Melia azedarach http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/AFTPDFS/Melia_azedarach.pdf

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo) (1705)

Pterospermum obliquum

What we grow No Responses »

Sep 102012

Specimen : Wild tree

Habitats : Secondary forests, creek bank thickets, roadsides

Local names : Kulatingan

Botanical name : Pterospermum obliquum

Family : Malvaceae

Specimen height : 6-14 meters

Fruiting season : Matured fruits seen on May

Traits : Evergreen; Fast-growing; Low to medium altitude tree; Shade tolerant; Small to medium-sized tree; Understorey tree

Recommendations : Farms; Living fence; Oramental tree; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Windbreak

Used for: Wood for interior works, furnitures and agricultural implements; Brown dye and tannin can be extracted from the bark; Fuelwood and charcoal

Native range : The Philippines

National conservation status : Not threatened

Threats : Conversion of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use

Further readings :

ASEAN Tropical Plant Database - Pterospermum obliquum http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/html/search01_view.jsp?rno=166&fno=&page=1&scientific=pterospermum%20obliquum&all=

E-Prosea - Pterospermum obliquum http://www.proseanet.org/prosea/e-prosea_detail.php?frt=&id=1448 (522)

Pterospermum diversifolium

Salvaged, What we grow No Responses »

Sep 092012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Riverine forest and creek bank thickets

Local names : Bayok, Bayog

Botanical name : Pterospermum diversifolium

Family : Malvaceae

Specimen height : 6-8 meters

Fruiting season : April to August

Traits : Drought tolerant; Evergreen; Fast-growing; Salt-spray tolerant; Shade tolerant; Small to medium-sized tree; Tolerant of occasional water-logging

Recommendations : Coastal protection; Erosion control; Farms; Living fence; Ornamental tree; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Windbreak

Used for : Dye is obtained from bark;Wood for light constructions; Firewood and charcoal

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

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threats : Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use; Cutting of wild trees for fuelwood or charcoal production

Syzygium affine

Salvaged, What we grow No Responses »

Sep 082012

Materials identified by : Ulysses Ferreras (Field Botanist)

Specimen : Wild trees

Specimen height : 6-8 meters

Habitat : Forested creek banks

Local name : Malabaltik

Botanical name : Syzygium affine

Family : Myrtaceae

Fruiting season : May to August

Traits : Semi-deciduous; Shade tolerant; Small to Medium-sized tree; Tolerant of occasional water-logging

Recommendations : Farms; Honey tree; Living fence; Living trellis; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Shade 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 fuelwood and charcoal production; Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use (521)

Kleinhovia hospita

What we grow No Responses »

Sep 062012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitats : Riverine and coastal forests

Local name : Tan-ag

Trade name : Guest tree

Botanical name : Kleinhovia hospita

Family : Malvaceae

Specimen height : 8-10 meters

Fruiting season : Rainy months

Traits : Drought tolerant; Evergreen; Prolific fruiter; Salt-spray tolerant; Shade tolerant; Small to Medium-sized tree

Recommendations : Coastal stabilization; Erosion control; Farms; Home gardens; Honey tree; Living fence; Nurse tree; Ornamental tree; Public spaces; Pulp & paper tree plantation; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Shade tree; Timber belt; Urban greening; Windbreak

Used for : Bark and leaves have insecticidal properties and have been used to erdicate head lice; Leaves, steeped in hot water, or its juice is used as eyewash; Bark fiber used for cordage; Wood for small construction, poles, house rafters, small wooden items, household implements, wooden shoes, floats and for other industrial uses; The hard, twisted part of the trunk is used as tool handles; Pulpwood; Fuelwood and charcoal

Native range : India, the Mascarene archipelago, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), Papua New Guinea, Australia to Polynesia

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threats : Indiscriminate cutting of wild trees for fuelwood and charcoal production; Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use

(Note : Given the name “Guest tree” on account of this tree being the host or residence of various epiphytes, lizards and snakes in its natural habit)

Further readings :

E Prosea - Klenhovia hospita http://www.proseanet.org/prosea/e-prosea_detail.php?frt=&id=3021

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

Tropical & Subtropical Trees (M. Barwick) (649)

Tindalo : A mighty search for a mighty tree

Our Blogs, What we grow No Responses »

Sep 062012

Among the very first Philippine indigenous trees I really got interested to grow in Balinghasai farms is the rare Tindalo; a lesser known cousin of the ubiquitous Narra. In my younger years, I’ve heard accounts of this prized timber from small-time loggers and wood workers who said that, decades ago, Tindalo is the wood of choice for house interiors like stairs and flooring. The demand now made this tree alarmingly few and far between.

The handful Tindalo seeds I purchased from Sansin Dio of Cebu in 2008 produced robust seedlings that we were able to field plant after just a few months. I decided then to spend some time looking for specimen trees to document and maybe collect seeds from but I have never hoped that my search will just be short and unbelievably near! Mighty search huh! That turn of luck came in January 2009 when, on a walking expedition outside of the farm, my farm assistant and I noticed a few but scattered trees bearing unusually large and thick green pods. We have no idea at first whether what to call these homely, nearly leafless trees that habitate the thin forest shading the same creek running through the property. When the woody pods popped open a few months later to reveal desperately clinging black seeds with short orange coats - they were, to my amazement, the Tindalo trees I was searching for!

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitat : Creek bank thickets

Local name : Tindalo

Trade name : Merbau

Botanical name : Afzelia rhomboidea

Family : Fabaceae - Caesalpinioideae

Specimen height : 8-15 meters

Fruiting season : Mature fruits observed in April and May

Traits : Semi-deciduous to deciduous; Drought tolerant; Low to medium altitude tree; Medium-sized tree; Nitrogen fixing; Tolerant of infertile soils; Tolerant of occasional water-logging

Used for : Timber for house construction, doors, interior works, high-grade furnitures, handicrafts, musical instruments, tools, carts and veneer; Felled branches for firewood and charcoal

Recommendations : Fallow improvement; Farms; Light shade for crops; Living fence; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Timber belt; Urban greening

Native range : Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines

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

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

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, Jr.)

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo) (3221)

Blumea balsamifera

What we grow No Responses »

Sep 042012

Specimen : Wild

Habitats: Grasslands and roadsides

Local name : Sambong

Trade name : Ngai camphor

Botanical name : Blumea balsamifera

Family : Compositae

Traits : Aromatic; Evergreen; Fast growing; Short-lived; Shrub to small tree; Thicket-forming

Recommendations : Backyards; Farms; Home gardens; Potted; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves are medicinal and are either infused and taken as tea, smoked as cigarette, used in aromatic baths, pounded as poultice or prepared and sold commercially as medicinal pills; Camphor oil from the new leaves are used in traditional Chinese medicine, the same is also used as an ingredient in modern pharmaceutical preparations like liniments for pain and rheumatism

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

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Native wild edible : Cordia dichotoma

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

Sep 032012

What can be an addition to our regular boring vegetables.

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitats : Creek bank thickets, open slopes, grasslands, roadsides

Local name : Anonang

Trade names : Glue berry, Fragrant manjack

Botanical name : Cordia dichotoma

Family : Boraginaceae

Specimen height : 5-8 meters

Fruiting season : May to July

Traits : Deciduous; Drought tolerant; Fast-growing; Low altitude species; Small tree

Used for : Fruits are eaten raw or cooked as vegetable or even pickled for eating; Leaves, flowers and seeds are also edible; Leaves as animal fodder; Seeds and bark are medicinal; Ripe fruits are used as paste; Timber for furniture; Wood for carving; Fuelwood and charcoal

Recommendations : Backyards; Farms; Fruit collector’s; Living fence; Nurse tree; Pioneer tree for reforestation purpose; Plantations; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Vegetable tree; Wildcrafting; Windbreak

Native range : Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), China, Ryuku Islands (Japan), Taiwan, New Guinea, Australia and New Caledonia

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

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

Further readings :

World Agroforestry Centre (AgroforestryTree Database) - Cordia dichotoma http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/products/afdbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=1777

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)

Flavor & Fortune - Tree seeds (Jacqueline M. Newman) http://www.flavorandfortune.com/dataaccess/article.php?ID=263

Tropical & Subtropical Trees (M. Barwick) (937)

Albizia procera

Salvaged, What we grow No Responses »

Sep 012012

Specimen : Wild trees

Habitats : Open slopes, dry grasslands and near waterways

Local name : Akleng-parang, Payhud

Botanical name : Albizia procera

Family : Fabaceae - Mimosoideae

Specimen height : 8-16 meters

Fruiting season : Rainy season

Traits : Deciduous; Drought tolerant; Fast-growing; Low to medium altitude tree; Nitrogen-fixing; Small to medium-sized tree; Tolerant of infertile soils

Recommendations : Fallow improvement; Light shade for crops; Living fence; Living trellis; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Riparian management; Timber plantation

Used for : Timber for furnitures, veneer, agricultural implements and carving, also for interior works, posts and general constructions; Fodder tree (mixed with other species); Fuelwood and charcoal

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

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Threats : Cutting of wild trees for fuelwood and charcoal production; Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use

Further readings :

E-Prosea http://www.proseanet.org/prosea/e-prosea_detail.php?frt=&id=2987

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) (1385)