The Apple Blossom Tree

We arrived safely in Kuching this late afternoon ( 6.30 p.m.) after a 10 hours journey by road from Bintulu. The weather was hot and sunny throughout except for a brief shower lasting for about 10 minutes before we reached the town of Sri Aman. With this trip Inul & Daisy ( see inset) would have chalked up another 600 km in their cumulative record to be the most travelled cats in Malaysia.

Along the Roban stretch of the Pan-Borneo Highway, I purposely made a pit stop at a primary school compound that has this beautiful Apple Blossom Tree or Javanese Cassia ( Cassia javanica) in early stages of flowering. Time flies. The last time that I wrote about this tree was here.,18th June,2008. With this observation, I can safely say that this tree flowers once in a year because I've been watching this tree ever since I had a picture of it taken approximately a year ago. Today I was keenly interested to have close-ups of the blossoms which I didn't managed to capture before.

Despite being native to South East Asia ( especially Malaysia and Indonesia) this tree is seldom planted in urban parks , roads or open spaces. I wish that more of these trees could be planted in future for its extremely lovely pink to red flowers that are heavily clustered. Propagation is through seeds that are borne in long pods after the flowering season. Note the ferny pinnate leaves and the prominent yellow stamens.

Another breathtaking view of the blossoms.

Daisy is alerted. She's got another 30 minutes to reach home. In the background slightly above her head are two 'durian' fruits in cement-ferro sculpture as icons for the town of Serian. Durian is known in Malaysia as the' King of Fruits'.

Extremely rare Javanese Cassia ( Cassia javanica L.)

While driving through the district of Roban ( before reaching Sarikei) I couldn't believe my eyes when I passed the SK Bayong school. At one end of the school compound stood this beautiful Javanese Cassia tree. I have been hunting for this tree for years either to get its seeds or to have a picture of it in full bloom. Well I finally made it on 15 th of June i.e. I managed to take this rare picture of the tree covered with pink inflorescence. Couldn't get hold of the pods though , since the tree was inside the fenced school compound. Furthermore I was rushing to go back home to Bintulu. Javanese cassia trees are a real treat when they flower. I wish all local councils and city municipalities in Sarawak make it a point to plant this tree in parks and open spaces. Though it originated from Java island ( Indonesia ) it grows well too in Sarawak as evidenced by this picture.