Flora – Vlogٷ Tue, 25 Mar 2025 02:29:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 /wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Tanarata-site-icon-150x150.png Flora – Vlogٷ 32 32 Oil palm /flora/oil-palm/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:06:40 +0000 /?p=3667

Oil Palm (Pokok Kelapa Sawit)

 

Elaeis guineensis

 

Description

Elaeis guineensis is a single-stemmed palm tree growing up to 20 m tall. It has long pinnate leaves reaching up to 5 m. Small flowers are produced in dense clusters at the top of the tree in between the lower leaves. Fruits are the size of small plums and grow in bunches, turning red when ripe. Each bunch of fruits weighs between 5 and 30 kg depending on the age of the palm tree.

Place of origin

West Africa between Angola and Gambia

Ethnobotanical uses

Palm oil is extracted from the flesh of the fruits and from seeds (kernels). It is widely used in the food industry as well as cosmetics. It is the most productive crop producing oil in the World. For every 100 kg of fruit bunches, 22 kg of palm oil and 1.6 kg of palm kernel oil can be extracted. It is mostly produced in Indonesia and Malaysia. The leaves are traditionally used for roofing in farmhouses and it can be used for making brooms as well. The sap is rich in glucose, and it is used to make palm sugar.

IUCN conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

]]> Neem tree /flora/neem-tree/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:06:29 +0000 /?p=3665

Neem tree (Pokok Mambu)

Azadirachta indica

Description

Azadirachta indica is a fast-growing tree growing up to 30 m tall. Neem tree features rounded crowns with thick, wrinkled bark that is grey outside and reddish on the inside, deeply fissured and flaking in old trees. Leaves are compound with toothed leaflets, alternate, and tends to cluster near the end of the branches. Flowers are borne in a branched cluster, small, white or pale yellow, and slightly scented. Fruit is small, oval, green when young and ripen to yellow or purple. Neem trees are hardy and resilient, thriving in poor, rocky soils and tolerating a wide variety of environmental conditions.

Place of origin

Indian subcontinent

Ethnobotanical uses

The wood is used for construction, furniture and plywood as it is hard and termite resistant. Young twigs and flowers are sometimes boiled and eaten as vegetable. In India, people bathe in water with neem extracts to treat health problems such as boils, ringworm, ulcers and rheumatism.It is a sacred tree to the Hindus and often used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. Neem tree contains Azadirachtin, which have insecticidal, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory effects. Oil extracted from the seed is used to make soap, toothpaste, lotions and pesticides. The residue after oil extraction (Neem cake) is used as livestock feed, as well as fertilizer.

IUCN conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

]]> True cinnamon tree /flora/true-cinnamon-tree/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:06:17 +0000 /?p=3663

True cinnamon tree (Kayu Manis)


Cinnamomum verum


Description

Cinnamomum verum is a small evergreen tree, reaching up to 15 m tall. It has thick, leathery, oval-shaped leaves and small, yellowish-white flowers. The bark is thin, smooth, and reddish-brown. The fruit is a small ovoid fleshy purple drupe and contains one seed. It thrives in tropical, warm, and humid climates with well-drained soil. It prefers full sun to partial shade.

 

Place of Origin

Sri Lanka

Ethnobotanical uses

The bark is harvested to make cinnamon. The outer bark is removed and processed into mulch. Twigs, leaves and seeds are crushed to make cinnamon oil used as a flavouring agent in snacks. The inner bark of the branches is loosened by being rubbed with a brass rod. The bark is then split with a knife and peeled off as intact as possible. The quills obtained are then dried over several days. The dried bark is cut into sticks or ground and used as a spice spice seasoning for meat, sauces, baked goods and drinks. There are five varieties of this tree, all making a slightly different cinnamon with tastes ranging from bitter to sweet and spicy. Cinnamon has several medicinal properties including relieving digestion and lowering bad cholesterol. Cinnamon products are promoted as dietary supplements for diabetes and weight loss.

IUCN conservation status

Vulnerable (VU)

]]> Camphor tree /flora/camphor-tree/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:05:55 +0000 /?p=3661

Camphor tree (Kapur barus)

Dryobalanops aromatica

 

Description

Dryobalanops aromatica is a large emergent tree from the Dipterocarpaceae family, growing up to 75 m tall. Bark is fissured. Leaves are small, green, broadly ovate and alternate. Flowers are bigger than the leaves, they have five white oblong petals with yellow anthers. Fruits consist of nuts with five wings allowing seed dispersal far from the mother tree.


Place of origin

Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra

Ethnobotanical uses

Camphor tree has a heavy hard wood locally sold as Kapur. It is used for the construction of boats, furniture and flooring. The seed powder is traditionally used as a medicine to treat colic and stomachache. The oil extracted from the nuts is traditionally used to treat rheumatism, headaches, acne, swellings and conjunctivitis. The resin is used as dammar gum. The dammar gum is used as main ingredients to make varnish for enamels and interior work. The wood contains camphor. To extract it, hot steam is passing through roasting wood chips and then the vapor is condensed to collect the camphor extract. Camphor is used for perfumes and incense, as skin cream or ointment to relieve itching from insect bites, minor skin irritation, or joint pain and it is also used as respiratory aerosol to inhibit coughing and relieve upper airway congestion due to the common cold.

IUCN conservation status

Vulnerable (VU)

 

]]> Hopea mengarawan /flora/hopea-mengarawan/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:05:43 +0000 /?p=3659

Hopea mengarawan (Merawan Penak)

 

Description

Hopea mengarawan is a tall tree from the Dipterocarpaceae family, growing up to 40 m tall. Leaves are small, alternate, leathery, brownish below and golden-brown above when dry. Each flowering shoot is up to 3 cm long and bears up to 6 white-yellowish tiny flowers. Its green-red Fruits are green-red ovoid nuts with 2 long wings and 3 short wings allowing seed dispersal away from the mother tree.

Place of origin

Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo

Ethnobotanical uses

This tree is harvested from the wild for local use of its resin and good quality wood. The wood medium-hard and it is used for light construction, door and window frames, carpentry, flooring and veneer. The bark is used for roofing traditional houses. The resin is used as dammar gum. The dammar gum is used as main ingredients to make varnish for enamels and interior work.

IUCN conservation status

Vulnerable (VU)

]]> Amboina pine /flora/amboina-pine/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:05:31 +0000 /?p=3657

Amboina pine (Pokok Damar Minyak)

Agathis dammara

Description

Agathis dammara is a medium-large conifer growing up to 60 m tall found in tropical and montane rainforests. The bark can be of various gray tones and covered with resin blisters. Leaves are thick and highly variable in color in every tree. Male cones (containing pollen) are small, brown and cylindrical while female cones (containing seeds) are brown, larger and round.

Place of origin

The Philippines and Eastern Indonesia

Ethnobotanical uses

This tree is a source of dammar gum, also known as cat-eye resin. This resin is extracted from the tree by making cuts in the bark. The dammar gum is used as main ingredients to make varnish for enamels and interior work. This tree produces a softwood used as general purpose softwood for construction, household utensils, matches, veneer, packaging and plywood.

IUCN conservation status

Vulnerable (VU)

]]> Cook pine /flora/cook-pine/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:05:18 +0000 /?p=3655

Cook pine

Araucaria columnaris

Description

Araucaria columnaris is a tall evergreen conifer growing up to 30 m. It has a slender, spire-like crown. The bark is dark brown, rough and papery, peeling off in thin strips. Leaves are dark green, small and needle-like, closely-overlapping and spiralling densely around twigs, giving branchlet an appearance of a plaited cord. The tree sheds whole branchlets rather than individual leaves. Cones are produced at branch tips, male and female cones are found on separate trees. Male cones are cylindrical, pollen-bearing. Female cones (or seed cones) are larger and broader, ovoid, woody with spiny cone scales, mature from green to brown, before disintegrating to disperse seeds. This species was named after Captain James Cook, who discovered the plant on Isle of Pines in New Caledonia.

Place of origin

New Caledonia

Ethnobotanical uses

Cook pine is commonly grown all over the tropics for ornamental purpose. Young potted trees can be used as Christmas tree substitute in tropical regions. It is also commonly planted as timber tree elsewhere for its lightweight softwood, decorative and straw-coloured, used to make furniture and bowls.

IUCN conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

]]> Red-bead tree /flora/red-bead-tree/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:05:03 +0000 /?p=3653

Red-bead tree (Saga)

 

Adenanthera pavonine

 

Description

Adenanthera pavonine is a fast-growing tree reaching up to 40 m with a spreading crown and white-yellow fragrant flowers when in bloom. It has small compound leaves and produces clusters of small yellow flowers forming long inflorescences growing up to 30 cm. Fruit are pods containing many red seeds looking like beads attractive to birds who eat and disperse them.

 

Place of origin

South East Asia 

Ethnobotanical uses

The hard red wood called sandalwood is used to build cabinets, furniture, wood ornaments and houses. Powdered wood provides a source of red dye, used by Brahmins in India to mark the forehead. In traditional medicine, the decoction of the young leaves and bark is used to treat diarrhea. Boiled ground up seeds are used to relieve headaches, inflammation and rheumatism. Uncooked seeds (though toxic) have been used as intoxicant. The seeds are also ornamental and used to make necklaces. Due to relatively uniform weight (4 seeds weigh about 1 g), seeds are also used in India and Sri Lanka for centuries to weigh gold and silver where every seed is said to weigh exactly the same, although this is not true. In Singapore, the seeds are locally used as fill for tetrahedral bags used in children’s game of ‘five-stones. Seeds are frequently collected in bottles and are referred as “love beans” in China.

Fun fact: Malaysia’s first national car Proton Saga is named after this plant.

IUCN conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

]]> False ashoka /flora/false-ashoka/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:04:52 +0000 /?p=3651

False ashoka

 

Monoon longifolium

 

Description

Due to its columnar shape, false ashoka trees are often planted along roads and make perfect alignements. It is also commonly planted due to its effectiveness in reducing noise pollution. False Ashoka tree is regarded as sacred in India and Sri Lanka, and commonly planted around Hindu temples. Leaves are strung into wreaths and used during weddings and hung on doors during Hindu festivals. Leaves extracts have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. The bark is used in Ayurverdic medicine to treat fever, diabetes, hypertension and intestinal worms. The wood is used to make pencils, boxes, matches and drum cylinders. The all straight trunks are sometimes used to make masts of sailing ships, hence the other common name, Mast Tree.

Place of origin

South India and Sri Lanka

Ethnobotanical uses

Due to its columnar shape, false ashoka trees are often planted along roads and make perfect alignements. It is also commonly planted due to its effectiveness in reducing noise pollution. Fals Ashoka tree is regarded as sacred in India and Sri Lanka, and commonly planted around Hindu temples. Leaves are strung into wreaths and used during weddings and hung on doors during Hindu festivals. Leaves extracts have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. The bark is used in Ayurverdic medicine to treat fever, diabetes, hypertension and intestinal worms. The wood is used to make pencils, boxes, matches and drum cylinders. The all straight trunks are sometimes used to make masts of sailing ships, hence the other common name, Mast Tree.

IUCN conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

]]> Pride of India /flora/pride-of-india/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:04:40 +0000 /?p=3649

Pride of India (Bongor biru)

Lagerstroemia speciosa

Description

Lagerstroemia speciosa is a small tree growing up to 30 m tall. It has leathery simple ovate to oblong leaves. Young leaves emerge glossy red, turning to pinkish and then finally green. Flowers grow in erect panicles with a bright pink-purple color. The tree flowers twice a year, one time in April-June and another time in July-August. When flowering, the tree looks all purple making it spectacular (hence its name “speciosa” that means “spectacular” in latin).

Place of origin

South East Asia

Ethnobotanical uses

The wood is used in medium-heavy construction, such as for bridges, wharves, boats, mine struts and railway sleepers due to its hardness and termite-resistant property. The bark is used to treat diarrhea and abdominal. The leaves and dried fruits are traditionally made into herbal tea to treat high blood pressure and diabetes. The plant extracts are available as health supplements, effective for blood sugar control and weight loss. Modern medical research shows that leaf extracts have hypoglycemic (glucose-lowering) effects suggesting the plant’s potential use as anti-diabetic medication.

IUCN conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

]]> Chinese juniper /flora/chinese-juniper/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:03:19 +0000 /?p=3647

Chinese juniper


Juniperus chinensis


Description

Juniper chinensis is an evergreen conifer shrub growing up to 20 m tall belonging to the cypress family. It has green narrow needle-like foliage and a compact conical form reminiscent of Christmas trees. It produces small blue-black berry-like oblong cones containing small seeds. The cones take 18 months to mature and free the seeds.


Place of origin

China and Japan

Ethnobotanical uses

Juniper chinensis is widely cultivated for ornamental purpose in parks and gardens. It has more than 100 cultivars including small ones used as bonsai. In China, fresh leaves are brewed to obtain a liquor and use it as a tonic to treat coughs with bleeding. The stems are used in the treatment of parasitic skin problems and rheumatism. The root is used in the treatment of burns and scalds. Medicinal uses. The resin, mixed with the resin of Pinus species, is used as a resolvent on tumours.

IUCN conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

]]> Brazilian firetree /flora/brazilian-firetree/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 07:03:06 +0000 /?p=3645

Brazilian firetree (Pokok menara)

Schizolobium parahyba

Description

The Brazilian firetree (or Brazilian fern tree) is a deciduous tree, up to 35 m. Itis referred as“Gulmohar” or “Krishna Chura” in Hindi.It is notable for its fast growth and its distinctive fern tree-like crown. It has large pinnately-compound leaves, up to 1 m in length, said to be the largest compound leaves in plant kingdom. Flowers are bright yellow and bloom all together making the tree turning fully yellow at once.

Place of origin

Tropical America

Ethnobotanical uses

The leaf extract is used as antidote to snake venom. It is used to decrease the severity of toxic signs inhibiting proteolytic and hemorrhagic activities, thus increasing survival time and neutralizing myotoxicity effects. The seeds are made into buttons and beads in South America

IUCNconservation status

Least Concern (LC)

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