Flushing today at the park - 3 Dec'15

White flushes of a jungle tree (unidentified)
Location : Botanic Island Two

 Looking like white flowers from a distance I was enticed to get closer to the tree.  At Botanic Island Two a jungle tree which is still unidentified surprised me with white flushes, a very rare occurrence at the park.  It appeared silvery when hit by sunlight. This phenomena of intermittent leafing is an  on going affair in the park due to the many tree species available and each one of them having differing flushing periods.  Today's white  flushing is a  lifer.

In comparison - red and white flushes
Botanic Island Two

Eugenia oleina flushes

Zone D

Zone A

Zone G

Zone D

Leaves, Leaves everywhere

Mesua ferrea (Ceylon Ironwood) - front of picture
Eugenia oleina - background
Zone C

Bauhinia semibifida (front)
Family: Leguminosae - Bean family
Botanic Island One , Zone D

Litsea cubeba (Pawas - Malay), center of picture
Family : Lauraceae - Laurel family
Zone B

Keruak wetlands
Between Zone B & C

Averrhoa bilimbi (Belimbing - Malay)
Family : Oxalidaceae - Oxalis family
Zone I

After shedding , its time for a show of true colours

After shedding all of its leaves, this jungle tree species is starting to show its true colours- very bright yellow colours.
Zone C

 What a unique jungle tree.  After shedding its leaves, it is starting to regenerate with new flushes.  Colour diversity in the landscape is arresting to the eyes.  It is picturesque and at the same time gives an added ecological interest.  While the jungle green is as it is generally known evergreen, there can be a few jungle tree species that does not enter into the evergreen category.  Others could be a variant of a semi-deciduous type where the shedding is partial.

View of jungle tree in flushes as seen from Zone B.

Flushes of the Eugenia oleina, Zone G and F
2 July'15

The beautiful Balem tree

Balem tree in flushes, seen in the morning
Location : Zone C

Balem tree in flushes, seen in the late afternoon
Location : Zone C

It is one of the tallest trees at the park.  The Balem tree (Mangifera pajang) was full of young leaves with varying colours from yellow to orange to red.  It is a beautiful sight to behold.  These young leaves are good to be eaten raw with the great Bintulu belacan.  It has been a number of years since the tree last bore fruits.  It is difficult for me to say whether this year it will bear fruit.  But what I like about this tree is its age.  At this height the tree is more than 70 years old and still standing tall.   May Allah bless me with a ripe old age like the Balem tree.

Two pale red flushes and a Pink Poui tree

At left of the picture are the pink flowers of the Poui tree (Tabebuia rosea), and on bottom right are the pale brown to red flushes of the Mango tree (Mangifera indica)

Trumpet-shaped flowers of the
Tabebuia rosea

 Just outside the back door are two trees that are producing new leaves and one tree that bears beautiful pink flowers.  These trees provide much shade when I rest in the afternoon or anytime of the day to enjoy filtered light and shade.  Not merely in the park, it seems that this month the Poui trees are flowering all over Bintulu town where ever  they are planted mainly as roadside trees and in green open spaces.   I have planted two varieties at the park, the pink and white varieties.  In other parts of the tropics it has been reported that yellow flowering varieties are available.  Other common names for the tree is 'Tecoma' and 'Trumpet 'tree.  The Jambu Bol tree last year bore a few fruits only, the very first ones.  I hope that towards the end of this year most probably in December the Malay Apple tree will bear an abundance of fruits.

Pale red flushes of the Malay Apple tree or 'Jambu Bol' in Malay (Eugenia malaccensis)
Location : Zone C

Intense heat and flushing on Mango trees

View of park, looking at Zone F from Pazau lookout point, Zone C
In the middle ground are flushes of the Eugenia oleina trees and in the distance are flushes of the Mango trees.

Closer view of the flushes or young leaves of the Mango tree
Zone C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are experiencing some drought season at the moment.  There are speculations or forecasts that the drought this year could be rather long, starting now till August and all because of what climatologists call the 'El Nino' phenomena.  One effect of the drought is the distinctly dry and hot weather which stimulates the trees to flower and in the above case to flush new leaves just as well.  Three trees that show new leaves profusely presently are the Mango trees, Eugenia oleina and the Jering trees. I have noticed that on some Mango trees the flushing is accompanied by the production of new flowers.  Hopefully, with this type of intense hot weather the Mango trees will successfully produce more fruits after the flowering season is over.

Flushing today at the park

Flushes of a jungle tree
Botanic Island Two

Flushes of "Kuini" - Magnifera odorata
Zone C

Flushes of "Kasai" - Pometia pinnata
Zone C

 January is a month of drizzly rains, heavy rains and continuous rains for days on ends.  What is attractive is to see the leaf exchange process during this period of rains.  In the rainforest there is always the process of continuous leafing, thus the green cover of leaves looking evergreen as in the tropical jungle.  However, looking closely there are also periods of intermittent leafing which produce  leaves in sets or flushes of several leaves together.  Today I saw three at the park showing nice flushing colours.  One is a jungle tree which I cannot identify, next are the flushes of the 'Kuini' fruit tree (Mangifera odorata) and thirdly the flushes of the 'Kasai' or Pometia pinnata which produces sweet tasting longan-like fruits.