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 .

Swinging Monkey Strikes with a Vengeance!

Once it was the Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon. Today the 'Swinging Monkey' strikes back with a vengeance on Bintulu's trees. Imagine for a moment the swinging monkey is fitted with a critter cam on its lofty head and ran lose among Bintulu's trees and shrubs. Here are some of the snapshots taken as the swinging monkey swings from trees to trees and leaps from shrubs to shrubs. All images are taken within the last 2 weeks in Bintulu. Feast your eyes for a moment and not to forget that the Swinging Monkey is available when his services are required in future.

( Note: Click here for more pictures of plants in Bintulu and Kuching ).

Hibiscus mutabilis ( Rose of Sharon)

Delonix regia ( Flame of the Forest)

Dillenia suffruticosa ( Simpoh Air)

Tabebuia rosea ( Trumpet Flower)

Bignonia magnifica ( Bignonia)

Lagerstroemia indica ( Crepe myrtle)

Lagerstroemia indica ( Crepe Mrytle)

Gardenia jasminoides ( Common Gardenia)

Roupellia grata ( Creamfruit)

Plumeria rubra var.acutifolia ( Frangipani)

Eugenia polyantha trees

Roadside planting having eugenia trees on road shoulders. The central median is planted with royal palms.

Location: Tanjung Batu Coastal Road, Bintulu.

Bintulu roads that are planted with the Eugenia polyantha trees are looking beautiful today. The flowering season is back after a lapse of about 6-7 months. The locals know these trees as 'Ubah Laut'. In Sarawak the Ubah Laut trees are naturally found in peat-swamp forests. However over the last ten years they have been propagated by the thousands through seeds that are in abundance after every flowering season. It's only recently that these trees are frequently seen on urban roads, residential houses and parks throughout Sarawak.

Along this stretch of the Tanjung Batu Coastal Road, eugenia trees are also planted at the central median, where they are heavily pruned and trained as topiary plants. The Eugenia polyantha plant can be 'boxed' or 'bonsaied' because they are essentially a small tree having a slow growing habit. I was impressed by its enveloping creamy white flowers that seem to overwhelm its small compact crown. From its relatively unglamourous swampy origins, the tree is now enjoying a very versatile living in town and in private residences.


The inflorescences appear at the tip of the branches. The creamy white puffy flowers will last for about one to two weeks. The inflorescences do not have petals but instead a concentration of stamens that appear like feathery white balls. The tree will gradually be enveloped in white when it is at the peak of the flowering season. Leaves appear orangish red when young.

At my eco-farm, I have planted them along the farm roads. The main reason I chose them as roadside trees is that the tree is very attractive to birds due to its black berry-like fruits. Furthermore, its dense coverprovides fantastic nesting places for small birds.

This row of eugenia trees have been planted for more than 5 years now and this year's flowering season have produced hundreds of flowering trees at my farm.

Today I am inspired to develop ideas about the eugenia inflorescences. Below are sketches that might help illlustrate some ideas that came across my mind this morning.

I find that the tiny round buds can be graphically rendered in a stylised form. The graphic images can be used for eco-design patterns or ethnic art images that convey arboriginal, native or folklore connotations.

Which Angel's Trumpet?

Something extraordinary happened today. I have planted this small shrub for eight years now. Have moved it in-ground,then inside pots, in-ground again at so many places that I just lose count. But I never gave up hope to see its flowers whenever it will be.

Today, is the day. I saw for the first time in eight years the trumpet-like ,white and pendulous flower of this shrub.

Could it be a datura,brugmansia or a randia?

My closest guess right now is that it is a species of the randia.

I'll try my best to find out more about this beauty. It is fragrant ,by the way.

There is another bud forming and am waiting anxiously to see others.

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.