Natural History Notes

Sea Hibiscus flowers just last a dawn-to-dusk. The Sea Hibiscus ( Hibiscus tiliaceus ) is a small flowering tree commonly found along beaches and mangroves. It can grow to heights exceeding 10 meters and is characterized by its heart-shaped leaves that are arranged alternately along the branches. The tree produces striking flowers, approximately 10 cm in diameter, which start as yellow with a darker base and gradually transition to a pinkish-orange hue. The fruit is a capsule with a persistent calyx that splits into several parts when ripe. Sea Hibiscus fruits change from green to brown as they mature. With a geographic range spanning the Indo-Pacific region and the Pacific Islands, this tree is known by various names, such as Waru in the Philippines and Bebaru in Malaysia. In parts of the Americas, where it is considered an invasive species, this member of the Malvaceae family is referred to as Mahoe . Sea Hibiscus growing along mangroves. The Sea Hibiscus can be used in landscaping...

The multiple fruit of the Indian Mulberry The Indian Mulberry, also known scientifically as Morinda citrifolia is a valuable tree because almost all of it parts – leaves, fruits, barks and roots, are useful as a source of food, medicine and dyes. The young leaves are eaten as vegetables in Thailand and Indonesia. The fruit is also edible, but it is unpopular partly due to its unpleasant smell and mainly eaten during famine. Before the advent of modern dyes, the roots and barks were important source of dyes particularly for batik production in Java.  The flowering head of the Indian Mulberry contains many flowers. In traditional medicine, Morinda citrifolia has been used to treat a wide array of diseases and conditions that affect the digestive and respiratory system, as well as healing skin problems and wounds. In recent times, studies have shown that the seeds of Morinda citrifolia contain linoleic acid, a type of fatty acid which provides many health benefits...

Ripe Mangosteen fruits ready to serve. The Mangosteen, like the Durian and Rambutan, has its origin in Southeast Asia. Mangosteen fruit is round and crowned with several woody lobes. The rind of a ripe fruit is dark purple. It is rather thick, but soft. If you squeeze lightly each side of the fruit, it would split open, revealing segments of white flesh covering some seeds arranged in a circle. The taste of Mangosteen fruit is sweet but acidic. Mangosteen trees Botanically, the Mangosteen ( Garcinia mangostana ) belongs to the family Guttiferae, and the genus Garcinia in particular consist of hundreds of species found in the tropics. It is a small tree with oppositely arranged thick, dark green leaves. It is not an easy task to grow the Mangosteen tree in large scale for it may takes up to 15 years before fruiting began. Related Post Hairy Rambutan Fruit

Cauliflorous fig This fig tree exhibits cauliflory, that is the flowers and fruits are borned on the trunk instead on branches or twigs. Such plants are referred as cauliflorous and figs are most notable in this botanical feature. Not all fig plant ( Ficus spp. ), however, is cauliflorous for some bear flowers and fruits on twigs or even on the ground. Other species of plants that are not part of the fig family also show cauliflory such as Brownea macrophylla .

The white flowers of Clidemia hirta Clidemia hirta or also known as Koster's Curse is a locally widespread invasive species that originated from the Central and South Americas. A number of factors contributed to its successful dispersion. For example, the fruits of Clidemia hirta contain numerous tiny seeds and they are produced throughout the year; it also has broad habitat preference from edges of the rainforest to plantations. Besides that, there are many dispersal agents which feed on its fruits and then disperse the seeds including birds such as bulbuls and flowerpeckers. Ripe fruits of Clidemia hirta Clidemia hirta usually grows not more than 2 meters tall. It is a hairy shrub - the stems, leaves and fruits are covered with fine hairs. Like many members of the Melastomataceae family, the leaves are opposite in arrangement, and the veins arise from the base of the leaves, running parallel with each other toward the apex. The white flowers, with five pe...

Note the large and thick leaves of Shrubby Simpoh Shrubby Simpoh ( Dillenia suffruticosa ) is an ubiquitous plants usually found in wasteland and forest edge, where its presence is impossible to miss. The stout leaves are massive for a plants of its size, oblong in shape with prominent veins. They are arranged spirally, confined more or less at the end of the twigs. The showy yellow flower of Shrubby Simpoh The yellow flowers are equally large, with a tendency to point downwards. It has five petals, and numerous stamens clumped at the center. They are frequently visited by ants and bumblebees. The follicular fruits splits open when ripe, exposing the seeds which are covered with red arils. I have seen birds such as bulbuls and flowerpeckers feeding on those seeds. A ripe fruit of Shrubby Simpoh