Rain Tree

Rain Tree

The Rain Tree, sometimes referred to as the Monkey Pod, is a native of tropical America. It is a much valued shade tree that has been in cultivation in most countries of the tropics since the 19th centrury. It is recorded that the rain tree was brought to Singapore in 1876.

The tree grows up to 25 m tall with widespread umbrella-shaped crown. The bark is fissured and chocolate colored whilst the trunk is slightly crooked. The leaves are 20-30 cm long, compound with 3-6 pairs of side stalks; 6-8 pairs of leaflets arise on each side stalk, which are small, (3x2 cm) and almost rhombic in shape.

The spreading branches and trunk usually support the growth of a wide epiphytes or parasites. This is possibly because the shallow grooved bark provides a suitable environment for the growth of the epiphytes roots.
It is not exactly sure how the rain tree derives its name. The leaflets usually close about one hour from sunset and open again at sunrise. The leaflets also go to sleep when the sky is overcast due to approaching rain. Its Malay name is Pokok Hujan-hujan or Pokok Pukul Lima. ( The Five O’clock Tree )

The rain tree is deciduous and once a year, it sheds its leaves. The tree bears numerous tiny pink flowers which are grouped together into small heads giving a fluffy appearance. These sweet scented flowers are, however, not conspicuous.

After the flowers fade away, fruits are formed. The fruit is long and straight, 15-25x1.5 cm, with many seeds which are separated by partitions; the seed measuring 1.5 cm long and is brown in color. The fruits contain a sticky, sweet but smelly pulp and are eaten by children in the West Indies. It is said that cattle eat these fruits readily. The Rain Tree is now a common sight as a roadside shade tree throughout the country. Cross cuts of the tree are used as table tops due to the excellent growth rings they display. The wood from the tree is light and soft and is little value.

The rain tree can easily found in most of the residential area and the most prominent ones are in the garden near the Mahkota Parade, Melaka and also the main entrance of the Botanical Garden, Penang.

Pinang Tree

The Pinang trees near the National Museum.

The Pinang trees at the Independence Square.

The Pinang trees at the King's Palace.

Have you ever wonder why in most of the touristic spots in Malaysia there bound to be the Pinang trees?

This is because the Pinang trees has the resemblance of the bunga manggar. Bunga in Malay means flower. Manggar in Malay means mangoes. During the Malay important ceremonies, the bunga manggar is a prominent item found in Malay wedding, VIP welcoming or sent offs, etc. The bunga manggar is an item whereby the Malays welcome the special guests. Hence, at the important touristic spots, the pinang which resembles the bunga manggar is a sign of welcoming the important guests to our country.

The Bunga Manggar procession of welcoming and sending off VIPs in a school.

The man made bunga manggar can be found in a few places in Kuala Lumpur for example at the Parliament building and at the Independence Square. During the night time, they are lit up and it gives a very colourful scenery. These man made bunga manggar is also to beautify the town and also to welcome the foreign guests to the tourists spots.

However, during the course of my research, I realised that there are so many varieties of the Pinang. Hence, I would like to clarify a few species here. Although they look a like, please becareful that we differentiate the species through its fruits, leaves and trunks.

Pinang Tree

Scientific Name : Areca Catechu

Normal Name : Pinang Tree

This plant is planted for its economic purposes in some countries for eg. Fiji, Hainan Island, Taiwan etc.

When the fruit is consumed, a person will feel drowsy because the fruit contains alcaloid like the arecaine and arecoline.

The state of Penang is named after this tree because of its abundance in the island.

In the wedding ceremony of the Malays and Indians, the sireh pinang is a symblic item which is a must have during this important ceremony. Leaves of betel, pinang fruit, gambir, black pepper, etc. will be placed in a box known as the tapak sireh in Malay.

The Bukit Pinang name is also the name for the capital of Kedah before the 18th century.

The False Pinang

Scientific Name : Areca Carpentaria

Normal Name : False Pinang

If observe careully, the fuits are red in colour. The actual pinang fruit is orange in colour. And the fruits are so much more smaller than the normal pinang.

The false pinang can be substitute with the real pinang but the taste of it is different.

Greenery In Malaysia

Upon recieving the foreign guests, my opening commentary about Malaysia will include a brief intoduction on the geographical background of Malaysia. And after that I will continue with the climate.

Then from here, I will usually tell the foreign tourists that due to our equatorial climate where we have ample of sunshine and rain throughout the year, we have more than twenty over thousand varieties of plants in Malaysia. As a self protection from the demanding foreign tourists, I will usually tell them because of the varietiness of the plants, please be understanding that I am a tour guide and I am not a botanist. So, please do not ask me about the plants. I will only let them know if I know of any special and unique plants.

Malaysians should feel very fortunate that we are so rich with the varietiness of plants in our country. But very unfortunately, most Malaysians took for granted for what we have in our country and very few of us will take the heed to know more about the plants.

Later, after being a tour guide where I communicate with the foreign guests most of the time, I found that they are very keen on the plants available in our country. I felt so ashame that when they asked me about the name of the trees, I could not answer them at all.

So, the foreign tourists are the eye opener for me to learn and appreciate more what we have in our beautiful country, Malaysia. Hence, from here onwards, I will post the plants which I come across from time to time.

When I was doing my research on palms or more popularly known among Malaysians as pinang, I was shocked on the varieties of pinang available in Malaysia. If we as the normal laymen who do not put in the effort, we can easily mistaken on the specicies available.

This is also the reason why the research has delayed my posting on plants here.

Plants - Bunga Raya

As I have mentioned in my previous blog, most Malaysians took for granted for what we have in Malaysia. We have such a vast types of greenery that we took it for granted. Ask any Malaysian for the type of tree available and I can tell you most Malaysians do not know the name of the tree and its uses.

Due to tour guiding and constant in touch with those foreign tourists, they are amazed from what we have in our country. They will be very curious with the various plants in our country. The tourists are the people who made me realised the unique and beauty of our country, Malaysia.

As such, I feel it is important for me to constantly to add in the photo of each plants, names and a brief description on its uses.

So, to begin with, I start of with our national flower, the bunga raya or the hibiscus.

Official Symbols - Bunga Raya

The national flower of Malaysia is the hibiscus, or bunga raya. The flower is found in abundance throughout the country, and for this very reason, was chosen to be the national flower (in 1960) by Malaysia's first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

There are many varieties of the hibiscus, but the five-petaled Hibiscus rosa sinensis was chosen above the others, as the most symbolically relevant. The five petals of the bunga raya symbolise the Rukunegara (the Five Principles of Nationhood), while the colour red represents courage.

It is believed that the flower first arrived in Malaysia via trade from its original home in the Far East sometime before the 12th century.

Though hibiscus flowers last only one day, most varities bloom so profusely there are nearly always several open at any time. In Indonesia, hibiscus is called the "shoe flower" because the juice extracted from its petals was used to darken the shoes.

The national flower, bunga raya, is known for its medicinal properties. The roots of the plant are used as a cure for fever and other ailments, while the juice obtained from the leaves and roots is said to be effective in relieving skin eruptions and glandular troubles. Also, the petals were commonly used as cosmetics to darken and highlight women's eyebrows.

Sources : AllMalaysia.info