Bloom Watching

Sunday - and feeling light and easy, I decided to take to the wheels and spin around Bintulu town to do some bloom watching. Luckily I spotted a line of Angsana Trees in full bloom at Kidurong township. Kidurong township faces the sea and is an ideal location for Angsana Trees ( Pterocarpus indicus) which grow naturally by the sea through out Malaysia. Bintulu's distinct dry spell now have induced many Angsana trees in town displaying their best blooms.

Angsana or sometimes referred briefly as 'Sena' is native to Malaysia. It has small yellow and highly fragrant flowers. I was amazed by the carpet of yellow flowers that gather below the trees I saw this afternoon ( See pictures at inset and below)

Angsana trees are huge trees with a shady crown and are normally planted on broad roads. When full grown it can reach a height of 30 meters.

Recently I have been very busy bloom watching and that hobby made me put up a new blog specifically to compile all the pictures I took of the plants since I started blogging about them. The blog is really a photo blog with very little data on the plants except their names. All the plants can be accessed here. It is my fervent hope that the compilation becomes a useful resource on tropical plants .

Yellow Flame

While driving around Bintulu town this morning I saw lines of Yellow Flame trees ( Peltophorum pterocarpum) that were emblazoned with striking yellow inflorescence's . A considerable number of major roads in Bintulu were planted with Yellow Flame since 20 years ago. Next to the newly renovated Chinese temple in town I saw one very established stand that provided much shade and beauty to the surrounding area. Yellow Flame is also referred to as 'Batai Laut' in Malay and is a native tree to coastal areas of Malaysia, Bintulu included. It has a fast growing habit and mature tress can be planted as instant trees if you wish to enjoy its beauty sooner. Bintulu's sandy, well-drained clayey soils and sunny temperatures are ideal for its growth. Its golden yellow flowers are borne on terminal branches.
The leaves are dark green and its light grey bark is used to dye 'batik' clothes producing a dark brown colour by 'batik' makers in Indonesia especially on the island of Java.
Judging from today's excellent showing I wish more roadsides will be planted with Yellow Flame in future.

Springtime in Bintulu

Close by to the Masjid Assyakiriin where I performed the congregational Friday prayers today, was this splendid flowering of the Tabebuiea alba above ( alba to mean white) and Tabebuiea rosea ( meaning, rose) below.

These trees are located at the Medan Jaya open space area and appears that they are flowering late this year.
Previosly this tree was called ' tecoma' short of Tecoma pentaphylla. But now it is accepted among horticulturalist to designate the new name as Tabebuiea rosea or alba, depending on the colour of the flowers. While in Japan, residents take a break or holiday to picnic and be merry under flowering cherry blossoms, people in Bintulu don't seem to notice its 'springtime'. This is a medium tree and is used extensively in Bintulu's  landscaping of highways, parks, open spaces and residential roads. Best propagated using seeds. They withstand rough handling during transplanting. Tabeuiea trees are grown mainly for its large, bunchy and showy flowers. In the above pictures the flowers develop while the leaves are still on the tree. However occassionally you can find the tree becoming deciduous with flowers even when the branches are bare.

Bintulu trees glowing in gold colours

The Angsana trees are flowering today in Bintulu.  They were staple trees when Bintulu started its 'Greening ' campaign some 25 years ago. Now they have reached huge matured forms and impressive majesty. Today's flowering must have been induced by the sudden fall  in temperatures a few days ago when Bintulu experienced at least a fall of 10 degrees in temperature due to very heavy rains and after experiencing a prolonged drought.

The Angsana trees or sometimes referred to as 'Pokok Sena' by the Bintulu locals have a compact spreading crown which makes it an ideal tree for lanscaping of major roads, open parks and  car parks for the tremendous shade it offers.  Angsanas are easily propagated from woody cuttings and can be transplanted as an instant tree with little difficulties .

A closer look at the Angsana flowers reveal its bright golden yellow colours. The flowers are very fragrant but last only a day long. When they drop they leave a mass of yellow blossoms that make the ground turns gold and heavily scented as you walk over it.

Below is a picture I managed to retrieve from my plants album showing one angsana tree on the same stretch of road like the picture above except that it was taken years ago.  

Goa Tree flowering in July

I noticed this Goa Tree ( Andira surinamensis) flowering in colours of purple at the Bintulu town proper yesterday. For more stories and description , check it out at my weblog http://mybintuluclicks.blogspot.com/