2013 March » Balinghasai Farms

Sterculia rubiginosa

Mar 192013

Specimen : Wild

Habitat : Creek banks

Local names : Sinaligan, Kadlihan, Panakitin

Botanical name : Sterculia rubiginosa (3 varieties occur naturally in the Philippines - var. rubiginosa, var. divaricata and var. setistipula)

Family : Malvaceae

Height : 6-10 meters

Traits : Dioecious; Semi-deciduous to deciduous; Fast-growing; Low to medium altitude tree; Small to medium-sized tree; Tolerant of occasional water-logging

Recommendations : Erosion control; Farms; Honey tree; Landscaping; Large gardens; Living fence; Ornamental tree; Paper & pulp tree plantations; Public spaces; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Urban greening

Used for : Timber for light constructions, interior work, wooden containers, shoe heels, veneer, plywood; Pulpwood

Native range : Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines

National conservation status : Not threatened

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

The season of the shiny berries

Our Blogs No Responses »

Mar 162013

The past few weeks have been very busy for me and Pim with all the doctor’s visits required of her 7th month of carrying, updating public records, acquiring necessary documents and filing her immigrant visa application that we never had much time to visit the farm except to make short stops to check the work done. With a baby coming along I miss the times when I spent most of my free time making the rounds at the farm and sometimes, when I’m feeling more adventurous, even going out far into the open grassland and woodlands beyond our fence; not even deterred by the sun’s heat or occasional rains.

Yesterday gave me free time so Val, my farm overseer, and I walked to check the partially shaded trees we’ve planted the past years along the shallow creek that borders the farm. We don’t usually collect fruits during the first quarter of the year because most trees we observe are not in fruit this season. It slipped my mind though that one particular cauliflorous and water-loving tree displays its magenta to deep-purple berries from January to March. And so there they were, ready for the picking! We have about a dozen of this wild trees scattered along the same natural waterway.

Val helped himself in sampling this season’s harvest; the shiny berries are sweet but they leave a little astringency on the tongue; truly a forest fruit! (504)

Epipremnum pinnatum

Salvaged Comments Off

Mar 122013

Specimen : Wild

Habitat : On shaded usually aged trees, in creek banks

Local name : Amolong

Trade name : Centipede tongavine, Tongavine

Botanical name : Epipremnum pinnatum

Family : Araceae

Traits : Fast growing; Epiphytic; Shade tolerant

Recommendations : Home gardens; Landscaping; Ornamental; Public spaces; Urban greening

Native range : Bangladesh, Andaman Islands, Japan, China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), New Guinea, Australia and neighboring Pacific islands

National conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines