Feb 222013
 

Specimen : Wild

Habitats : Creek banks, open slopes, grasslands

Local name : Mulawin-aso, Alagaw-gubat

Botanical name : Premna nauseosa

Family : Lamiaceae

Height : 6-8 meters

Fruiting season : June to July

Traits : Drought tolerant; Evergreen to semi-deciduous; Small tree

Recommendations : Erosion control; Farms; Light shade for crops; Living fence; Living trellis; Nurse tree; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves reportedly used in folk medicine and as substitute to Piper betel for chewing “Nga-nga”; Fuel wood and charcoal

Native range : The Philippines

National conservation status : Not threatened

Possible threats : Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, residential or commercial use

Further reading :

Bureau of Plant Industry’s Medicinal Plants Publication - Premna nauseosa http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/pdf/a/alagau-gubat.pdf (486)

Feb 182013
 

Specimen : Domesticated

Local name : Pandakaki

Botanical name : Tabernaemontana pandacaqui

Family : Apocynaceae

Height : 2-3 meters

Fruiting season : Possibly year-round

Traits : Drought-tolerant; Large shrub to small tree; Semi-deciduous to evergreen; Shade tolerant; Tolerant of infertile soils; Wind hardy

Recommendations : Hedging; Home gardens; Landscaping; Nurse tree; Ornamental; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Public spaces; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves, root, bark, latex, sap from the ripe fruit and even a poultice of the whole plant are used in traditional medicine; Leaves are used as bath

Native range : Thailand, Taiwan, The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia and Pacific islands

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

Further readings :

Bureau of Plant Industry’s Medicinal Plants Publication - Pandakaki (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui)

E-Prosea (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui) http://www.proseanet.org/prosea/e-prosea_detail.php?frt=&id=1326 (560)

Feb 152013
 

Specimen : Wild

Habitat : Creek banks

Local name : Tanglin

Botanical name : Adenanthera intermedia

Family : Fabaceae

Height : 8-12 meters

Fruiting season : May to August

Traits : Fast growing; Nitrogen-fixing; Shade tolerant; Small to medium-sized tree; Tolerant of occasional waterlogging

Recommendations : Erosion control; Fallow improvement; Farms; Honey tree; Light shade for crops; Living fence; Living trellis; Nurse tree; Ornamental tree; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Shade tree; Timber belt; Timber plantations; Urban greening; Wildcrafting; Windbreak

Used for : Bark and seeds have medicinal uses; Seeds used as beads in making ethnic-styled jewelries and ornaments; Leaves as animal fodder; Timber for general construction, posts, flooring, paving blocks and furniture; Timber as substitute to Ipil (Intsia bijuga); Fuelwood and charcoal

Native range : The Philippines

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

Possible threats : Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use; Indiscriminate cutting of wild trees for fuelwood and charcoal 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) (527)

Casearia grewiaefolia

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Feb 102013
 


Specimen : Wild tree

Habitat : Forested creekbank

Local name : Kaluag, Kaluag-linis, Kaluag-abohin

Botanical name : Casearia grewiaefolia

Family : Salicaceae

Specimen height : 3-5 meters

Fruiting season : July to September

Traits : Evergreen; Low altitude tree; Shade tolerant; Small tree; Tolerant of occasional water-logging

Recommendations : Home gardens; Ornamental tree; Potted; Public spaces; Riparian management; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves have medicinal applications; Timber for posts and beams

Native range : Southeast Asia (including the Philippines) and New Guinea

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

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

(Note : Rojo listed 3 varieties naturally occuring in the Philippines : var. grewiaefolia, var. deglabrata and var. cinerea)

Further readings :

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal and other useful plants of Muruts in Sabah, Malaysia (J. Kulip)

Ethnobotanical studies of Shompens – A critically endangered and degenerating ethnic community in
Great Nicobar Island (M. U. Sharief and R. R. Rao)

Revised Lexicon of Philippine Trees (J. Rojo) (525)

Feb 082013
 

My short 4 years of membership in the e-group “Rare Fruit Society of the Philippines” (RFSP) brought good friends and acquaintances despite occasional meetings and even rarer farm visits. More fascinating to think though that online and mobile communications with members I haven’t even met yet and exchange of planting materials with them have lived through the years. My correspondence with one such member, Mr. Alfredo Navarro or “Al”, is precisely just that. When we were developing the farm in 2008, RFSP founding member Verman “Berns” Reyes gave me a few leads where to source Philippine native trees seedlings; Al was one of those he referred. It wasn’t very hard to connect with this guy; a prompt reply came very soon after my introductory email and later that year I was already on my way to pick-up a batch including a lone Katmon-bayani (Dillenia megalantha), a Baling-agta (Diospyros sp.) and a Bantulinaw (Diospyros sp.). A lot more followed soon after which gave me the chance to reciprocate the generosity by giving back native seedlings from my own nursery and yet meetings remain elusive.

A row of 10 nearly matured Lanete trees (Wrightia pubescens ssp. laniti) now stands in the farm; thanks to Al. This beautiful tree is naturally found in numbers scattered along the woodlands and scrublands of our native Bulacan but the seeds have quite eluded us for many seasons already. It bears fruit that splits open in maturity, allowing the elements to disperse the airborne miniature seeds which proves seed collection quite testy and challenging.

Just recently, Al sent a text message to ask for Putat (Barringtonia racemosa) seedlings; a tree which he ‘d read about on a piece I contributed for the book “Philippine Native Trees 101″. Al, if you’re reading this, I still owe you the Putat seeds/seedlings.

Specimen : Wild trees

Observed habitats: Open slopes and dry grasslands

Local names : Lanete, Laniti

Trade name : Lanete

Botanical name: Wrightia pubescens ssp. laniti

Family : Apocynaceae

Height : 8-10 meters

Fruiting season : Fruits observed from August to December

Traits : Drought tolerant; Deciduous; Fast growing; Medium-sized tree; Tolerant of infertile soil

Recommendations : Erosion control; Farms; Landscaping; Large avenues; Large gardens; Living fence; Nurse tree; Ornamental tree; Pioneer species for reforestation purpose; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Shade tree; Timber belt; Timber plantations; Urban greening; Windbreak

Used for : Timber used for general constructions; Wood for carving, furnitures, musical instruments, small wooden articles and interior works; Fuel wood and charcoal

Native range : Southern China, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), Australia to Solomon Islands

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines

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

(Note : Difference between other subspecies is that the calyx is 1/4 as long as corolla tube)

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 Centre http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=18173 (718)