May Flowering Trees ( Part II )

Yesterday I took an afternoon off to visit the Sarawak State Library ( Pustaka Sarawak ) and lucky I did. I rushed to return the books I borrowed earlier albeit with a fine of 5o cents for not having returned them yesterday.Hmmm...But better things to see outside the library.
I came across two flowering trees just around the library building. At the inset is a cu view of the inflorescence of the Rain Tree ( Enterolobium saman).
A ideal tree for car parks and big open spaces. There are home to a lot of wildlife and a wonderful host to ferns and orchids. Observe how the leaves curl by late afternoon. Over here the tree is sometimes referred to as 'Pukul Lima' ( Five O'clock Tree) to depict its particular habit of folding in its leaves as evening comes and will stay asleep in that mode throughout the night till the next early morning sun when its leaves slowly opens up to a new day. The inflorescence are in clusters, forming a gossamer web of delicate pink feathery flowers. The rain tree can reach a height of 20 m and its wide canopy can have a diameter of 20 m too. ( Please click at the inset to enlarge the photo)

Long Shot view of the Rain Tree ( Enterolobium saman ) outside the Sarawak State Library.

A few yards away from the library I saw a line of Tembusu ( Fagraea fragrans) trees in full flower. What differentiates the flowers of the Tembusu to the Rain Tree are in the strong fragrance that they exude to the atmosphere all around. Walking past the trees is like walking through a long corridor of perfumes. The inflorescence's are in clusters of sweetly scented long-tubed flowers that will appear white initially and will fade to cream as they age . I find these trees very prevalent in Kuching but not in other towns of Sarawak though there are native to this region. They are splendid ornamentals and wonderful trees to grow in big parks and open spaces as they can reach a height of 30 m.

LS View of flowering Tembusu Trees around Sarawak State Library park compounds, Kuching.

May Flowering Trees ( Part I )

I have been chasing after colours of the rainbow recently. I guess today would be a good time to show the results. About two days ago while shopping at Mile 7, I was lucky to come close to a drooping branch ( see inset) of the Golden Shower tree in the town's small park which was surrounded by rows of car parking lots. The Golden Shower tree ( Cassia fistula) is sometimes called the Indian Laburnum. It is deciduous to semi-evergreen in habit. During flowering the bright yellow flowers will drop or get blown by the wind forming a thin spread of golden droplets on the tree below which is most pleasant to see. If you walk past the tree you'll certainly be alerted by the drooping clusters of fragrant yellow flowers. A beauty to behold.

Golden Shower trees at Mile 7, Kuching.

Medium Shot of the Goa Tree in early flowering stage with beautiful lavender to light purple colours.

A full grown Goa Tree ( Andira surinamensis ) along a dual carriageway at Petrajaya, Kuching.

Goa Trees grow to a maximum height of about 20 m and are excellent roadside trees for the shade they offer. The flowers change colours to a darker purple when past their full blooming stage.

As a matter of fact, this morning news over the TV mentioned that the hot season in West Malaysia was reportedly hitting 36.5 degrees centigrade. For the life of me this is indeed very extreme. The temperature in Kuching ( East Malaysia) today is just around 33.5-34 degrees at its hottest. Indeed this steamy and dry month of May has induced flowering to many of the roadside trees here. This phenomena hopefully keep me busy for a few more weeks chasing after more colourful bursts of flowering trees throughout Sarawak's towns and countrysides.

The above picture was taken last week in Bintulu, showing the wide crown of the Yellow Flame tree ( Peltophorum pterocarpum) in flames of yellow.

I will not miss to plant this tree for our parks or bigger gardens here. The clusters of yellow flowers have crinkled petals. Like the Goa Trees they can stand tall to about 20 m high and provide much shade and beauty too. After each flowering season the Yellow Flame tree produces a multitude of rust-red and flat seed pods.

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'.

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.

Long Journey to Bintulu

On Tuesday ( 3/3) we left Kuching for Bintulu by road. The journey began early in the morning ( 9.00 am) and would normally take about 10 hours inclusive of stopovers for refuelling, lunch and afternoon tea breaks. On this trip my daughter who works in Kuala Lumpur ( capital of Malaysia) joined us after a four days stay in Kuching. Our two cats Daisy and Inul will make this their 12th trip to Bintulu in their record breaking journey through Sarawak on the Pan-Borneo Highway. At the start of the journey, Daisy was not pleasantly pleased and snarled at Inul every time she approached her for comfort. However, all's well after we made the first leg of the journey.

On the first leg of the journey like the rest throughout the day, the weather was fine and hot. Luckily the car's air-conditioning worked well and we drove to Bintulu in much comfort. Not a single drop of rain fell on us and that indicated pretty well that the monsoon season is over. It does indicate too that water will be the most sought -after resource for the months ahead especially for those involved in the agricultural sector.

From Kuching I would drive with the barest fuel and then refuelled at Serian, a forty minutes drive from Kuching. The first refuelling would bring us half-way through the journey. The picture above shows a well landscaped roundabout as an introduction to Serian. Observe the symbol of the Durian fruit in the centre of the picture, which is done in cement ferro technique and coloured. However this time around we wouldn't be able to savour any real durians because the fruiting season has passed.

The second refuelling was done at Saratok, a small town within the Sri Aman Division and roughly situated half-way along our journey. Sarawak is divided into 11 Divisions or administrative units. The various divisions as one drive north from Kuching are Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Kapit, Sibu, Mukah, Bintulu, Miri and Limbang. I noticed that Saratok is the only town in Sarawak that plant the Wild Cinnamon tree ( Cinnamomum iners) as introduction to the town roadside landscaping. On this trip I saw the cinnamon trees were having a new coat of leaves where the young leaves appear reddish or light orange before they turn light green. The bark of one species i.e. Cinnamomum zeylancium yield the spice cinnamomum which is used for flavouring food and cakes.

This unique building houses the District Office or the local administration office of Saratok. What attracted me was the date of its construction - 1888. The building sat on top of a small hill facing the river.

Before leaving Saratok, we did the second refuelling . At today's price we can reach Bintulu from Kuching with a full capacity tank costing RM 100 - an amount that will ensure some reserve just in case. At the petrol kiosk, Inul became the centre of attraction as the pump attendants inquired about her. They all look surprised as I narrated them our cats adventure thus far.

The sight of heavy timber trucks loaded to the brim is common as we approached the end part of the journey especially from Selangau to Bintulu, the timber country of Sarawak. At the rest area near Selangau town, we came across a roadside canteen where every available car parking space was taken up by the timber trucks because the drivers were having a break at the canteen ( building with blue roof).

At the close of the journey, Daisy sensed the smell of salt sprays in the air. She became excited and big eyed knowing very well that Bintulu will be in sight in about half an hour time. By 7.30 pm we arrived at our farm in darkness and happy to have made the journey safely.

Forgotten Handkerchiefs

From a distance they look like long handkerchiefs hanging from the tips of branches. That was what intrigued me when I drove along this stretch of road at BDC housing estate this morning . To my knowledge this is the only locality in Sarawak where this species is planted as a roadside tree. Though it is native to Malaysia one hardly find it planted in other towns of Sarawak besides Kuching. This tree is called Yellow Saraca ( Saraca thaipingensis) on account of its bunchy clusters of bright yellow flowers. The young leaves are pale purplish pink and become more white as they age and finally turn dark green upon maturing.
Have people forgotten this tree like they have forgotten the use of handkerchiefs with today's 'throw-away' culture? It would be sad if they do because this tree is most suitable for small gardens and even smaller roads. They grow very slowly and would attain their maximum height of 20 m within 20 years. Furthermore they are very attractive to birds and bees. There is a close relative of this plant called the Ashoka Tree ( Saraca asoca ) which is native to India. It was under the Ashoka tree that Buddha was born and therefore the tree is considered sacred among adherents of the Buddhist faith.

Peculiar to Saraca is the emergence of flowers on the tree's older branches. I watched a bee visiting the blooms and saw too that the branch was being shared by ferns and pigeon orchids . A tiny white flower of the pigeon orchid is seen on the upper right hand corner of the picture. The flowers of the Yellow Saraca give out a strong fragrance especially at night. We may have tissue papers in the car or our bag as substitute for handkerchiefs but if we lose the Saraca we only have our ignorance to blame.

Colourful bantings

Colourful bantings are up at to welcome the 'Hari Raya Aidilfitri'. These bantings are sponsored by the Farley Supermarket at Medan Jaya, Bintulu. We are now 22 days in the month of Ramadan and the end of the month long fasting will be marked by the Hari Raya festival, normally celeberated for about a week in Sarawak. This year my plan is to spend the fasting month  in Bintulu and to celeberate the Hari Raya in Kuching. God willing.

Ceylon Ironwod Tree Flowering in Bintulu

I was on my way to park my car at Bintulu Town today , when my eyes were caught by the beautiful cone-shaped Ceylon Ironwood Tree (Mesua ferrea) that was in flowering. Below is a close up view of its large white flowers with yellow stamens.

The flowers are scented. The tree can easily reach a maximum height of sixty feet.

Mesua ferrea is native to Malaysia right to the Himalayas. Another interesting feature of this tree is that after each flowering season, it will display dark pink to brilliant red young leaves that are very attractive to see. I sighted this particular specimen at the open car park ( i.e. free car parking area) across the Bintulu Town Fountain .

A Feather-leaved Palm

Encountered a feather-leaved palm fruiting at the car parking area of Taman Temasya , the popular picnic spot of Tanjung Batu, Bintulu. This palm is native to Northern Australia but grows excellently in Bintulu . Here they grow fast and in no time reaches 20 meters . The distinguishing feature is its bunchy mass of red fruits , a feature that makes it desirable as an ornamental palm for parks, roadsides or even homes. It is from these fruits that the palms are propagated in Bintulu,where the germination rate is very good ( almost 95%), according to my experience.

Trip to Bintulu

After spending three weeks in Kuching over the Gawai holiday, I decided to journey back to Bintulu on Sunday, 15 June'08. By around lunch time we arrived the town of Sri Aman. Every visitor to this town will never miss noticing this iconic sculpture of two white doves. They speak volumes of an era when Sarawak was terrorised by the communists. It was in this town that the communists laid down their arms and called off their struggle to set up communism in Sarawak. For that matter this town was renamed 'Sri Aman' ( meaning 'peace' in Malay). Previous to that, the town was known as 'Simanggang'.

Bintulu in Colourful Pinks and Whites

Arrived Bintulu at 7.30 pm last Sunday. Today I feel better after the ten hours journey by road from Kuching. Going around town to do shopping and checking the mail box at the Post Office, I noticed this line of tecoma trees yet to be in full bloom. Looks like Bintulu will be in colours of pink and white this June.

Majestic cotton tree

This huge cotton tree stands majestically erect on the edge of the Padang Merdeka ( previously known as Central Padang). During the last two weeks it was dropping its cotton hairs over the 'padang' expanse. Oh, what a beautiful sight to behold. Two young girls are attentively picking the cotton.