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The tree is easy to grow andthrives well in dry climates andprefers full sun. It is propagatedthrough seeds and seedlingsare fast growers. It prefers to

thrive on an area with well-drained soil; and it is relativelydrought tolerant and slightly salttolerant. It will not thrive in coldplaces. It can succumb tosome minor pest and diseaseproblems, usually powderymildew or leaf spot, andsometimes some leaf eatingcaterpillars especially duringthe second half of the growing

season.In India, the golden shower treeis known as aragvadha,meaning "disease killer".Experts say that its fruit pulp isused as a mild laxative, againstfevers, arthritis, nervous systemdiseases, all kinds of bleeding, such as hematemesis or hemorrhages, cardiacconditions and stomach problems, such as acid reflux. The root is considered avery strong purgative, and thus, it should not be used as a self-medicationwithout medical supervision.

Though its use in herbalism has been attested to for millennia, there has beenrather little research in modern times. Thus, it maybe recommended for pharmacologist and biologist to have a closer look into this medicinal tree.

The Hairy MaboloFruit

A Mabolo or Kamagong,scientifically known asDiospyros blancoi A. DC. isminor member of the plantfamily Ebenaceae, the treebeing more admired for itsornamental than its edible fruitIts fruit, the Mabolo issometimes called velvet


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apple, or, in India, peach bloom. The name kamagong given by the Spaniards,is often referred to its wood or tree.

The mabolo varies in form from a small straggly tree with drooping branches, toan erect, straight tree to 60 or even 100 ft (18-33 m), with stout, black, furrowedtrunk to 50 in (80 cm) thick. It is rather slow-growing. The evergreen, alternateleaves, oblong, pointed at the apex, rounded or pointed at the base, are 6 to 9 in

(15-22.8 cm) long, 2 to 3 1/2 in (5-9 cm) wide; leathery, dark-green, smooth andglossy on the upper surface, silvery-hairy underneath. New leaves are showy,pale-green or pink and silky-hairy. The tubular, 4-lobed, waxy, faintly fragrantblooms are short-stalked, creamy-white, downy. Male flowers 1/4 in (6 mm) wide,in small clusters, and female flowers, 1/2 in (12.5 mm) wide, and solitary, areborne on separate trees. Attractive and curious, the oval or oblate fruit, 2 to 4 in(5-10 cm) wide, has thin, pink, brownish, yellow, orange or purple-red skin,densely coated with short, golden-brown or coppery hairs, and is capped at thebase with a dull-green, stiff calyx. The fruits are often borne in pairs, very closetogether on opposite sides of a branch. A strong, unpleasant, cheese-like odor isgiven off by the whole fruit but emanates from the skin, for it is absent in thepeeled flesh, which is whitish, firm, mealy, somewhat like that of an overripeapple; moist but not very juicy; of mild, more or less sweet flavor, suggesting abanana-flavored apple. There may be 4 to 8 brown, smooth, wedge-shapedseeds, about 1 1/2 in (4 cm) long and 1 in (2.5 cm) wide, standing in a circlearound the central core, though the fruits are often completely seedless. Eachseed is covered with a whitish membrane that is transparent when fresh, opaquewhen dried.


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The mabolo is indigenous to the low and medium altitude forests of thePhilippines from the island of Luzon to the southernmost of the Sulu Islands, andis commonly cultivated for its fruit and even more as a shade tree for roadsides.It is mainly valued as an ornamental because of the attractiveness of the foliageand the fruits.

The tree is generally grown from seeds. Shield-budding has been successfullypracticed and is the preferred means of perpetuating superior types.

Male trees must be planted near the female trees for effective pollination and fruitproduction. The tree does best in loam but flourishes very well in almost any soilwith little care. It is rarely fertilized and seems to need no protective spraying.

The hairy Mabolo fruit is a not so popular fruit, usually available in provinces.The fruit is usually peeled before eating, and then kept in the refrigerator for afew hours before serving. The odor, which is mainly in the skin, will have largely

dissipated. The fruit is considered a fairly good source of iron and calcium and agood source of vitamin B.

The kamagong wood is a hardwood. The sapwood is pinkish or reddish; mayhave gray markings. The heartwood is streaked and mottled with gray and issometimes all-black. In the Philippines, it is carved into highly prized hair combs.

The Spectacular Red Jade Vine

Aside from our native greenish JadeVine, there is also such a plant whichis called the Red Jade Vine, or scientifically known as Mucunabennettii. It is a different speciesfrom the greenish flowered Jade Vineas it has bright orange flowers. It isnative to New Guinea, the orange-red blooms are very similar in shape.It belongs to the Papilionaceae plantfamily, the same as the Jade Vineand has other common names likeScarlet Jade Vine, and New Guinea

Creeper.

What s unique of this plant is that ithas amazing long cascading clustersof brilliant red flowers chainedtogether to form a 3' to 4' longraceme of blooms. It's much rarer than its distant cousin (blue/green


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jade vine) but is verypopular in gardens thataccommodate this vine asit provides brilliant brightred or orange blooms when

grown on strong metaltrellishes. It is a must havefor serious plant collectors.

It is a quick-growingclimber which can reach 20m (65 ft) into the tops of therainforest canopy in itsnative habitat. It hascompound leaves, withelliptic to oval leaflets.

Short, dense flower clusters are made up of numerous, bright scarlet,boat-shaped flowers whichmake a very showy display,mostly during the summer months.

The vine thrives andflourishes in tropical tosemi- tropical regions, like

here in the Philippines. It usually become floriferous in full sun, while its rootsmust be in shade. As the Red Jade Vine is a very large, woody climber or vine, itmay requires a large space for it to climb on. It can be trained to climb a largetree or a very large pergola. A magnificent vine, one will never forget it once youhave seen it!

Water plants regularly. The plant thrives in fertile well-drained soil and likes itsroots to be in the shade. It is a little bit slow growing during its juvenile stage or after transplanting, however, it later becomes a fast growing vine afterwards. Asmuch as possible, avoid water-logged soils as it may cause the roots to rot andintroduce Phytophthora and Pythium fungal diseases.

The Red Jade Vine maybe attacked occasionally by sucking insects like scalesand mealy bugs. Spray insecticides only during heavy infestations.

The vine maybe pruned regularly in order to produce more branches, or toremove dead or dried branches.


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Young plants need extra phosphorus to encourage good root development.Provide fertilizers with high phosphorus in it during the first growing season.

The vine is propagated by seeds. Seeds are usually germinated in the nursery ina shady area. Seedlings are then transplanted in shaded areas, usually near a

tree or trellis where in will climb

The Fiery African Tulip Tree

One of the introduced flowering tree species in the country and used in

landscaping due to its bright orange flowers is the African Tulip Tree or scientifically known as Spathodea campanulata. It is the only species belongingto the monotypic genus Spathodea belonging to the Bignoniaceae plant family. Itis also known as Fountain Tree, and Flame of the Forest. It is native to tropicalAfrica and can grow to a height of 7 to 25 meters. These trees are plantedextensively as an ornamental tree throughout the tropics and is muchappreciated for its very showy reddish-orange or crimson campanulate flowers.One problem of this tree is that it has the potential of becoming an invasive


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species. It is commonly seen growing around Metro Manila as a street tree,widely distributed around the country and is often considered an evergreen,though it sheds leaves during summer.

The flower bud is ampule-shaped and contains water. These buds are often usedby children who play with its ability to squirt the water. The sap sometimes stainsyellow on fingers and clothes. The open flowers are cup-shaped and holds rainand dew, making them attractive to many species of birds, especiallyhummingbirds. The wood of the tree is soft and is used for nesting by manyhole-building birds.

The leaves are pinnately compound, with 9-17 pairs of leaflets and each leafletsare abpit 12 centimeters long and 8 cm wide, oblong to oval. Horticulturally, it iscultivated in parks, gardens, and along roadsides. The tree has a stout, tapering,somewhat buttressed trunk covered in warty light gray bark. The lateral branchesare short and thick.

Though there is no reported folkloric use here in the Philippines, its leaves,rootbark, stems, and fruits yield alkaloids, tannin, saponin, steroids, terpenoids,and flavonoid which are used in African medicine. In Africa, the stem bark isused as a paste for healing wounds as it has anti-microbial properties. In Ghana,the stem bark and leaf is used for treatment of dyspepsia and peptic ulcer; whilethe leaf, root bark and fruit used for arthritis and fractures. The stem bark is alsoused for toothaches and stomachaches; while the root bark and seeds are usedfor stomach ulcers. In Rwanda, decoction of stem bark is used for diabetes.


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The African Tulip Tree is propagated through seeds found inside its 5-10 inchgreen brown fingerlike pods. Each of these pods contains about 500 tissuepapery seeds. Seedlings easily germinates and are fast growers. Floweringand seed production as often observed as erratic. However, the tree can also bepropagated by tip cuttings, root cuttings and offshoots.

It has become naturalized in many parts of the Pacific. It thrives in moist habitatsbelow 3,000 feet but will grow on drier sites. This species loves rich soil, butnevertheless could also thrive in any soil condition including areas rich inlimestone rock. It is not a beachfront plant, but will survive a bit of salinity. AfricanTulip Trees need serious pruning before the typhoon season as its brancheseasily breaks during typhoon months. Its weak, brittle wood tend to becomehollow and large branches may drop as they age, thus they are notrecommended in parking lots.

The African tulip tree will survive in shaded areas, but demands full sun for fast

growth and best flowering.These trees grow best with plenty of moisture, but will endure and survive duringdrought by shedding their leaves.

African tulip trees are grown for shade, color and tropical effects. The wood isdifficult to burn, so the tree is also valuable for fire resistant landscaping. It isprimarily grown for shade, color and tropical effects. The wood is difficult to burn,so the tree is also valuable for fire resistant landscaping.

The Valuable Calamansi

Calamansi is a popular andimportant citrus fruit in thePhilippines and is often used ineveryday Filipino cuisine. Its newscientific name, Citrofortunellamicrocarpa , is a hybrid fruit tree inthe family Rutaceae, alsocommonly called calamondin,golden lime, panama orange,chinese orange, acid orange,

calamonding, or calamandarin. It isbelieved to originate from Chinaand has spread throughoutSoutheast Asia, India, Hawaii,West Indies, Central and NorthAmerica. The plant ischaracterized by wing-likeappendages on the leaf stalks and


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white or purplish flowers. Its fruit has either a spongy or leathery rind with a juicypulp that is divided into sections.

The fruit is indigenous andwidely cultivated in the

Philippines. Calamansi isavailable year round in thePhilippines and is usuallyseen in its unripened stateas a dark green fruit, but if left to ripen it turns atangerine orange color. Inits unripened state it isextensively used not justin Philippine cuisine, butalso for household and

medicinal use like as ahair conditioner, bodydeodorant, ink stainremover on fabrics, for treating insect bites, for curing skin problems likeacne, as a cough remedyand many others.

The tree is the result of a hybrid between species in the genus Citrus andunknown in the wild. It is generally held that most species in cultivation areancient apomictic hybrids and selected cultivars of these hybrids, includingcrosses with segregate 'citrus' genera such as Fortunella and Poncirus . Hybridsbetween Citrus genera and species have been cultivated for so long that theorigins of most are obscure. The Calamondin is sometimes described as a hybrid'native' to the Philippines or Southeast China.

The calamondin is a cross between Citrus reticulata (Mandarin orange group)and Fortunella japonica (Kumquat group). The calamondin is treated as anintergeneric hybrid in the nothogenus Citrofortunella as Citrofortunellamicrocarpa.

Since Calamansi is a shrub or small tree growing to 36 metres (9.820 ft) it canbe grwn in large pot and included in urban gardening.. The fruit of thecalamondin resembles a small, round lime, usually 25-35mm in diameter, butsometimes up to 45mm. It has the orange color of a tangerine with a very thingreen or orange colored peel.

Calamondin citrus has found several medicinal uses. The juice, when rubbed oninsect bites, will relieve the itching and reduce the irritation. It is also used as a


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The Urban Gardener is an official electronic publication (in PDF Format) of the Plant Biotechnology Project, Research & Development Center, Rizal Technological University, Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. It is published monthly. For more information, pleaseinquire thru email: [email protected] or [email protected] and landline(+632) 534-8267 Local 135 or Fax (+632) 534-9710.

Edited by N.R. Bautista July 2011

The Plant Biotechnology Project Committee is composed of: Alexander B. Quilang, Norberto R. Bautista, & Jovita A. Anit.

hand sanitizer beforeeating using fingers andhas also to be found as anatural acne medicine. It isstill used orally as cough

medicine (often mixed withgreen tea) and is a naturalanti-inflammatory. For problems with constipationthe juice is warmed anddiluted with water. Itbleaches freckles andhelps to clear up acnevulgaris and pruritusvulvae. It is taken orally asa cough remedy and

antiphlogistic. In Malaysia,it is used as an antidotefor poison. Poultice of pandanus leaves, mixedwith salt and juice of citrusmicrocarpa, for abscesses. In Malaya,combined with pepper tohelp expel phlegm. Its rootare used in the Philippinesat childbirth.

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