Another tree lesson..

This is quite an easy one to spot.





When fully grown this tree will reach about 100 feet. It has an open crown and its branches sort of droops as if carrying some heavy load at the ends. Actually, the ends are where large green flower buds or young fruits with big star-like calyx are located. Interestingly the flowers opens in the evening, starting at about 5.30pm then fully open at 7.30pm (dusk?). Young leaves are reddish pink. Local name being the Beremban Bukit and the botanist would call it the Duabanga grandiflora. Commonly found on the main range of the peninsular. There are 3 species in the Duabanga genus and only 1 is found in Malaysia. (Source - EJH Corner - Wayside Trees of Malaya...again)

For the next post, I will cover some useful tips on how to keep the critters out, told to me by a good friend from Ipoh who has been hanging out with the orang asli for quite a while now. Watch this space.

Last word... An earlier posting on 28 Feb showed the vivid orange flowers of the Firmiana malayana. Now a little over 3 weeks later, here is how the tree looks like...

Grape-like Figs...

A keystone species, the Fig tree, Ficus, plays a crucial role in supporting the delicate ecosystem within the forest. There are more than 1000 species in the world and Malaysia hosts about 100 of them. The Fig tree are found from lowlands to mountains.

At Tanarimba , we can easily spot quite a few of them. And it is this tree that provides daily meals to the wasps, gibbons and hornbills. So, my neighbours, if you have one on your lot, try to keep it...please.

The reason why it is call a "keystone" species? Well think of it this way, without it the rainforest's ecosystem will be badly disrupted. Like a car without the pistons, like your phone without the batteries, like a guitar without the strings, like Tanarimba without the gibbons and the hornbills ....the rainforest would just not work properly.

Spotted this one along the main road today, I think it is the Ficus schwarzii, with figs the size of medium grapes and hanging from twigs borne out of the main trunk... magnificient!

(Thank you! EJH Corner, for your "Wayside Trees of Malaya" where some of the intelligent text comes from)