SA Garden Catalogue: Pineapple

Scientific name: Ananas comosus
Common name: Pineapple
Malay name: Nenas
Family: Bromeliaceae
Origin: South America

The pineapple, of which there are about 2,000 species, is a herbaceous perennial and seem easy enough to grow (from the crown cuttings) in containers in the urban garden. But flowering and fruiting does take time - two years and more.

It is more than two years but I have yet to see any flowers on the two plants I have, grown from crown cuttings of pineapples I bought in Johor and a local supermarket. I guess my source of pineapples will remain the markets, both farmers' and super (markets).

Of course the pineapple has many uses as a fruit that may be consumed fresh, cooked, juiced or preserved (jams, compote, etc). This fruit has many health benefits including the enzyme Bromelain which has anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting and anti-cancer properties.

In the Philippines the leaves are made into textile fibre or pina, the material for the men's Barong Tagalog and women's Baro't saya, also shawls.

SA Garden Catalogue: Velvet Bean

Scientific name: Mucuna pruriens
Common name: Velvet bean, Cowhage, Picapica, Cowitch
Malay name:
Family:
Origin: Africa/India

The Velvet bean is a climbing flowering plant with flowers the colour of white, light purple or dark purple. There are loose hairs covering the young leaves and seed pods (hence the name Velvet bean) of the flowers and these can caused severe irritation of the skin when contacted.

I was given four beans to grow but only three thrived. The plants grow rather quickly and there were flowers which I did not have the opportunity to capture with my camera. Hopefully the beans can be documented.

Actually it was only out of curiosity that I grew this legume plant, whose major use is as manure and animal feed. As a minor food rich in protein, the beans can be a garnish, condiment or vegetable (not unlike soyabean, cowpea and groundnut). But the beans must be cooked to get rid of some toxic chemicals that they contain. The beans also contains serotonin and nicotine that can be mind altering substances.

SA Garden Catalogue: Bunga Telang

Scientific name: Clitoria ternatea
Common name: Butterfly pea, Blue pea, Cordofan pea, Asian pigeonwings
Malay name: Bunga Telang
Family: Fabaceae
Origin: Tropical, equatorial Asia

This is a perennial herbaceous plant which grows as a vine usually. The flowers are a beautiful vivid blue with light yellow markings. (There are varieties that produce white flowers.) The fruits are flat pods that are edible when tender.

Throughout Southeast Asia, the blue flowers are used to colour food. Like the blue in our Nasi kerabu from Kelantan and the blue in our Nyonya kuihs. (In Thailand they make a blue drink and fry the flowers in batter too.)

I grew my plants (above) from seeds given to me by B's teacher friend Santhi. There are four plants growing together, though you cannot really tell from the picture. But they are not doing too well because I tend to over-water (and sometimes the rains aggravate the problem). But I do hope they do well enough to produce some blue flowers for me in the near future.

The weather in early October was rather wet and there have been thunderstorms. But then the 'burning forests' in Indonesia still make for unhealthy air pollution indices. Like today, the API is an unhealthy 339 at 4.00 pm (299 at 5.00 pm). So the smog is still very much upon us!
(2 Dec 15)

SA Garden Catalogue: Portulaca Oleracea

Scientific name: Portulaca oleracea
Common name: Purslane, Moss rose
Malay name: Ros Jepun
Family: Portulacaceae
Origin: South America (?)

The Purslane in my little urban garden is of the Portulaca oleraceae, a small semi-perennial fleshy herb bearing showy flowers in many colour variants, ranging from yellow to orange to pinks and reds. The two containers I have bear yellow flowers only.

The plants are free-flowering throughout the year, but get moribund (near dying!) rather quickly and need to be renewed by cuttings. I have done this and so multiplied the single container of these plants my good neighbour gave me to two.

The bright pretty flowers are radially symmetrical with four to six petals. They open in the morning (at about 9 o'clock) and close in the afternoon (at about 5 o'clock from my observation). Flowers that go to work 9 to 5! They grow well in full sun on well-drained soil, and are easy to propagate by cuttings.

Note: The Portulaca oleracea differs from the other common Purslane Portulaca grandiflora in having broad instead of narrow leaves and the flowers are multi-layered. Once upon a time in Pulau Pinang we grew P. grandiflora in many colours on our lawn. Maybe I should try growing it again. Anyone with cuttings for me?

The weather in September saw some rains but the air pollution index in Shah Alam was sometimes above 200.
5 Dec 2015

SA Garden Catalogue: Tabebuia rosea

Scientific name: Tabebuia rosea  Syn: Tabebuia pentaphylla
Common name: Trumpet tree
Malay name:
Family:
Origin: Mexico to Venezuela

The Tabebuia rosea tree bears fairly big bell-shaped flowers, white to purple in colour. The flowers are produced intermittently sometimes coinciding with the shedding of leaves. The tree grows well in full sun, preferably in parks or the roadside. Propagation is by seeds.

I did not grow this tree in my little urban garden knowing that it is a fast-growing potentially large tree, up to 30 m tall. But a seed must somehow have taken growth, so I had a tall tree on my tiny piece of front yard. I let it and it grew very fast but when it started scraping against the gutter during windy days, I had to do something drastic. I pruned it down to only my waist height (on July 9). Now there are a lot of branches sprouting up and I will monitor the growth so it does not overwhelm the garden.

SA Garden Catalogue: Caladium Humboldtii

Scientific name: Caladium humboldtii
Common name: Angel wings, Elephant ear
Malay name: Keladi ?
Family: Araceae (Genus: Caladium Species: Humoldtii)
Origin: Brazil

The Caladium humboldtii is one of the smallest Caladium species, a small rosette herb 2 to 5 inches tall with delicately patterned foliage that are white with green veins. Usually there are no flowers. Grow in partial or full shade or even indoors because they make pretty ornamental plants. Propagation is by division of the tubers.

The plant tends to die down and rest periodically. When the leaves die down, I always think the plant is gone. But then the tubers sprout leaves again, and the plant thrives well another time.

Note: Caladiums may not be ingested as all parts of the plant are poisonous. So it is not a good idea to have them around if there are children involved.

Floria Putrajaya

It was my first Floria Putrajaya and one important thing I will remember from this experience is that I should not really leave visiting a flower show to the very last day (7 June 2015) to make it there. Because flowers and plants will not be at their best after a week. Of course the cut flower exhibits were the most 'disastrous' but the garden landscape competition were still good to look at. Overall I would say that this is an event beautiful enough that I hope to put on my calendar annually. Please enjoy just a small fraction of the Floria Putrajaya 2015.

4 Dec 2015

SA Garden Catalogue: Draceana Marginata

The Draceana marginata is a slender treelet that can grow up to 4 metres long. The leaves are restricted to apical tufts. The leaves are stiff and colourful, hence its common name as Rainbow plant. Actually it is a tricolour cultivar.

Scientific name: Draceana marginata
Common name: Dragon tree, Rainbow plant
Family:
Origin: Madagascar

The Draceana grows well in full or partial sun. In fact it makes a good houseplant because it is very low maintenance. Propagation is by cuttings. Pruning (for cuttings) will produce new tufts of leaves. In my tiny urban garden, I only have a couple of treelets that I have allowed to grow tall. A couple more I prune to keep them short.

The weather in this month of May has been rather wet but temperatures remain high.

SA Garden Catalogue: Tristellateia Australasiae

Scientific name: Tristellateia australasiae 
Common name: Maiden's jealousy
Family: Malpighia
Origin: Tropical Asia

The Tristellateia australasiae is a slender semi-woody vine, bearing terminal yellow inflorescences throughout the year. But the flowers last only three days. It grows very well in full sun, and propagation is by cuttings or seeds.

My good neighbour gave me a plant grown from her wall-climbing luxuriant ever-flowering vine. I grew it in a small container but never allowed it to climb high enough. After an initial burst of flowers (see above), the plant had been pruned and now is not doing too well. I might just replace it with another yellow flowering but more 'traditional' plant (Kenanga/Cananga odorata most probably).

Weather-wise we are in the middle of the inter-monsoon period (March-May), so a normal day usually begins quite bright with white clouds and blue skies. Then by midday it starts getting cloudy and grey and by late afternoon the thunderstorms occur. The intensity of the thunderstorms can sometimes be rather scary, what with the heavy rains, strong winds, loud thunder and lightning flashes. But anyway we have gotten used to this (almost), because we do have a record of having the second highest number of lightning strikes in the world! Ces't la vie!

Snapshots: Springtime in Tokyo (2012)

Its the beginning of April and the Sakura or cherry blossoms are in full bloom in Japan. I wish I was there enjoying their transient beauty but I am not. So, I did the next best thing and looked through the numerous photos I took while there in April 2012, and post some of them here.

These were taken in Ueno Park, Tokyo.

3-12 April 2012

"Spring has Sprung"

March 21 heralds Spring; the beginning of a 'new year' and the renewal of nature. Even if we live in a perpetual 'Summer' in the Tropics, we still look forward to the Vernal Equinox.

A few days ago I went out into my little garden and recorded the numerous flowers in bloom. Enjoy some of them here!

25 March 2015; Seri Aryan Garden

SA Garden Catalogue: Fragrant Pandan

The Pandan family is one "of sparsely branched trees, shrubs and vines, with parallel-veined, longitudinally-pleated leaves bearing spines on the margins and on the back of the midrib. The leaves are arranged in tight spirals. Most species produce prominent stilt roots. The best known species is the fragrant Pandan, Pandanus amaryllifolius, used in Thai and Malaysian cuisine. The leaves of many species are used for weaving mats. The fruits of several species are edible.

The plants are separately male or female, with tiny flowers crowded into heads. Sepals and petals are absent or rudimentary. Male flowers bear numerous stamens and the female flower heads develop into pineapple-like compound fruits. The family is concentrated in tropical Asia and Madagascar, with outliers in the African mainland and out in the Pacific as far as New Zealand".

Other Pandan species include the Pandanus dubius, Pandanus pygmaeus, Pandanus sanderi (pic) and Pandanus tectorius (pic).

I have always had fragrant Pandan in my garden, both on the ground and in containers. If you note how much the leaves cost in the supermarkets, you will know why I grow this 'food flavouring and colouring' plant. It is so easy to grow anyway and the leaves are very beautiful. I have used countless leaves not only for flavouring foods including nasi lemak, but also in drawers (said to keep out cockroaches).

The weather in March has been hot, hot, hot, but late afternoon showers do occur on some days.

 Note: Its the Spring Vernal Equinox 2015 and so Nowruz/'First day of Spring and renewal of nature' is being celebrated in many countries.

Ref: Tropical Horticulture and Gardening/Francis S P Ng (Ex Libris CNB 1866)                         
(In progress)

SA Garden Catalogue: Aloe Vera

Scientific name: Aloe vera
Common name: Chinese/Indian Aloe
Family:[Xanthorrhoeaceae]
Origin: Probably West Asia; unknown in the wild.

A fleshy and succulent herb looking like an agave, but flowering repeatedly instead of once only, and the leaves non-fibrous. Aloe are native to Africa and Arabia while agaves are native to the Americas.

Aloe vera was already grown and used by the Greeks in 400 BC for its healing properties. 'Extracts from this plant are widely used in the cosmetics and alternative medicine industries, being marketed as variously having rejuvenating, healing, or soothing properties. There is, however, little scientific evidence of the effectiveness or safety of Aloe vera extracts for either cosmetic or medicinal purposes...' Personally, I use the plant gel to soothe burns, including sun burns.

Anyway Aloe is really very easy to grow. It is best grown in full sun and propagate by division of clumps. For bigger leaves, remove the plantlets/offsets to prevent crowding. I have a few containers of this plant, but have never seen any flowers on them. Ces't la vie.

SA Garden Catalogue: Umbrella Plant

Scientific name: Cyperus involucratus
Syn: Cyperus alternifolius
Common name: Umbrella plant
Family: Cyperaceae/Sedge family
Origin: Uncertain, probably Africa

This Umbrella plant has been in my little garden since I became a permanent Shah Alam resident nearly seven years ago. My good new neighbour gave me a clump from her own plant and it has thrived well in a container. In fact this hardy plant can thrive in marshy places as well as on dry land. It likes to be grown in full sun although the partial sunshine it gets in my garden has posed no problem. Propagation is really easy - by division (like the 'clump' I started with).

Cyperaceae are a family of herbs that look like grasses. The best known species commercially is the rather delicious and crunchy Water chestnut (Eleocharis tuberosa) and then there is the historically famous Papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus), made into writing paper as far back as 2000 BC in Egypt.

The weather this January is of rather hot spells with thunderstorms every so often in the late afternoons.

Ref:Tropical Horticulture and Gardening/Francis S P Ng. (Ex Libris CNB 1866)

SA Garden Catalogue: Gynura Procumbens

Scientific name: Gynura procumbens 
Malay name: Sambung nyawa/Akar sebiak/Kelemai merah
Family: Asteraceae
Origin: Myanmar and China

This perennial plant is very, very easy to grow from cuttings. It is a shrub found in South and Southeast Asia particularly Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and is a well-known traditional herb in the region. It grows well in shade and very rarely flowers (orange/yellow).

The leaves of this 'Longevity plant' may be consumed fresh or dried but I have read in some herb books the warning that not more than 2 leaves are to be consumed at a time. Yet in other information sources the leaves are touted as 'vegetables' (for diabetes and hypertension). Below is information found at the Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam on the considerable medicinal values of this plant. It is no wonder it is also called Longevity spinach or Leaves of the gods.

I have two containers of this plant, originally obtained from my sister's garden in Taman Keramat. I have heeded the 'two-leaf rule' and usually pluck and eat the leaves fresh. Best not to eat too much of these leaves of longevity lest one wants to live forever?

The December rains have brought the usual annual floods especially to the East Coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu. Here in Shah Alam, it rains almost daily, usually in the late afternoons and evenings.

Bicycling at the Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam

Recently after a long, long while, we revisited the Shah Alam Botanical Gardens or Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam (also known as the Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya Sri Alam) to do a bit of bicycling there. The previous times we came here, we'd missed the ornamental garden. But this time we found it, walked around it and took pictures of it from the best vantage point - the lookout tower across the lake.

It was very, very difficult to cycle on a rented bike because the one I got was very wobbly. Actually, A said my knees were wobbly, not so much the bike. Yeah, right! Maybe.

We rode up to the Taman Haiwan (Animal Park? Mini Zoo?) but were quite upset with what we saw. The birds were confined in cages too small, most of the porcupines were quite bald, only the deer had more space to roam. Do we really need to have distressed fauna in a botanical garden that needs only to emphasise on our myriad flora?

There were some 'art installations' we found, including the 'plants in denims' below. Just two of the trees/plants of note that we came across are the very tall poisonous Rengas and the colourful Eugenia oleina (alt: Syzygium campanulatum). On the whole, the gardens need to be better maintained in order to make it a major attraction.  

Note: A previous blog post on Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam is dated 20 November 2011.

SA Garden Catalogue: Curry Leaf

Scientific name:Murraya koenigii
Family: Rutaceae/Citrus
Common name: Curry leaf
Origin: India to Indochina

The Murraya koenigii or Curry leaf plant is very useful to have in your (kitchen) garden. It is a small tree or shrub with leaves smelling strongly of curry when crushed, hence its use in curries. Pardon me for stating the obvious! The leaves are pinnate, consisting of 4-11 pairs of leaflets. It grows well in full or partial sun, in a container or in the ground. You can propagate the Curry leaf plant by root cutting or seeds.

I have a few Curry leaf plants in my front yard garden, two in containers and a small tree on the ground. Another container in the backyard also has little plants but I am guilty of neglecting them so they are fighting for survival with some Dukung anak weeds. By the way, caterpillars love the Curry leaves. But not to worry because these little creatures still leave you a lot (of leaves) to cook your curries.

The weather in November is still wet and wet, but there are sunny periods in between the thundershowers. Our East coast state of Trengganu has been experiencing heavy floods in some areas.

Moroccan Pavilion at Taman Botani Putrajaya

We wanted to walk around the Taman Botani Putrajaya or Botanic Gardens of Putrajaya (after Ebak's wedding reception), but by the time we got there, it was raining. It was just as well that by chance we'd parked in front of the Astaka Morocco or Moroccan Pavilion, and so we walked around it to gaze in awe at the fantastic architectural details of this beautiful complex of grand arches, wonderfully decorated walls and doors and a quite lavish garden of palms and fountains. A serendipitous encounter of the most awesome kind!

The dominant archways welcome visitors into the courtyards and gardens.  The buildings are decorated with colourful tiles in geometric patterns and adorned with exquisite Islamic calligraphy. Even the door details warrant long lingering examination.

The architecture in Morocco is said to be 'a blend of Black African and Islamic design styles, with the Islamic styles dominating this combination'. Their artistic heritage had been 'enriched by the cultural contribution of Muslim Andalucia'. We'd never been to Morocco but you bet it is on my bucket list. This Moroccan Pavilion is but a tiny hint of the splendours of Moroccan architecture, I'm sure.

This one example of Moroccan architecture is indeed breathtaking. The water element in the garden courtyard runs straight through the complex ending in a beautiful fountain in the main building. Lovely brass lamps adorn the ceilings. Even the floor tiles are very admirable. But our harsh tropical climate has made it a challenge in the upkeep of this complex. We notice some broken tiles and the scaffolding around the archways into the grounds.

The scaffolding are but a minor distraction because nothing can detract from the beauty of the complex's architectural details. The exquisite door decorations of wood carving and brass knockers just warrant close-up pictures. As do the colourful tiles and other decorations of walls, ceilings and floors.

The Moroccan Pavilion exude breathtaking Moroccan architecture with its rich artistic and alluring decorations. But don't just take my word for it. Visit it the next time you find yourself in Putrajaya, and be prepared to be mesmerised. And feel as though you have been transported to Morocco. Enjoy the (vicarious) travel.                                                             1 November 2014