Hello all,
One of our cousins from California, Reed Kelly e-mailed me and asked if I could put the newsletter on a more user-friendly outlet like a blog. My response was, “what’s a blog? So my little sister Cynthia took the matter into her own hands and set me up with a blog. http://StewartReed691.blogspot.com.
Earlier I mentioned that every plant that is a part of our collection has an address. We have been looking at plants in the east #1 and #2 neighborhoods. Now we will cross the road into north #1. The tree above is Peltophorum pterocarpum. It is from southeast Asia and north Australia. The tree likes to grow in the lowlands and along beaches. Its wood is burned for fuel or used to make furniture. Wine is made from the bark; leaves (I think it is the leaves) are used to cure bellyaches or ground to make a toothpaste. We have had this tree since 1939.
Peltophorum pterocarpum flowers
Next is the Marula tree (Scelerocarya birrea) from Africa (two pictures below). People have been eating nuts from this tree for 10,000 years. Nuts from this tree will automatically ferment. Fermentation is a natural process that starts with things like sugar and converts them into alcohol. Animals will eat the nuts and become drunk on the alcohol. So, what is more fun than a barrel of monkeys? How about a tree full of monkeys eating Marula nuts? Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVG4XAFJZZY and see for yourself. By the way, amarula (a drink made from the Marula nut) is the second most popular cream liquor among humans.
Scelerocarya birrea
Scelerocarya birrea (nuts from the Marula tree)
Below is the candlenut tree, Aleurites moluccanus, it is the state tree of Hawaii. We got A. moluccanus in 1928. This tree is a native of temperate and tropical Asia and Australia (China, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and southeastern Australia). Early Polynesian settlers of Hawaii brought the plant there where it now grows like a weed, everywhere on the islands. People use this plant to make cosmetics, soaps and to spice-up food. It can be use as a biofuel (fuel like gasoline or heating oil made from plant material). At an evening wedding in Hawaii they will line the path for a bride with these nuts and light them on fire so she can see her way to the groom.
Aleurites moluccanus
A. moluccanus nuts
Nuts usually are ripe in the early summer. These ones have dried out. I tried to light one; it took along time to get a dried nut to burn, but once ignited the flame lasted for about 5 minutes.
The fig is one of history’s first cultivated plants. There is some evidence that people were planting fig trees even before we learned to plant wheat. Many cultures believe that the fig was the forbidden fruit that Eve offered to Adam in the Garden of Eden. After all it is the only tree mentioned by name in the story. Legend has it that the fig, embarrassed by all the negative publicity resulting from the Adam and Eve incident, hired a political spin doctor to revive its reputation. Through a series of dirty tricks, concoctions, misrepresentations, fabrications, lies, and down right prevarications they managed to frame the apple for tricking a naive Eve and an obtuse[1] Adam into getting us kicked out of the garden of Eden. However the apple, not a fruit to be taken lightly, worked hard to defend itself. It launched an advertising campaign to promote the health benefits of ‘an apple a day’. Soon it was the featured attraction in: apple pie, apple sauce, apple cider and even made a cameo appearance in the opera William Tell. Today, apple is the world’s most popular fruit.
[1] Obtuse (adjective) not sharp or quick of wit. Synonyms: brainless, dopey, dense, pinheaded, dim-witted.
[1] Obtuse (adjective) not sharp or quick of wit. Synonyms: brainless, dopey, dense, pinheaded, dim-witted.
Ficus religiosa
The tree above is Ficus religiosa. This is the very tree the Buddha was sitting under when he became enlightened; actually it is the great, great, great, grand tree of the one Buddha was sitting under. This tree has been here since 1929.
Another fig in our collection is Ficus drupacea. The tree can to Florida in 1927 but was not planted in this spot until 1940. In some places it is considered a weed because it competes with some tastier fig varieties. We will talk about what makes a weed a little later.
Ficus drupacea
Figs
Lots of figs
The last plant we will look at before we go down into the pit is Tectona grandis or the teak tree. Teak produces a very hard, durable, termite resistant wood. It is use for making furniture and as beams in buildings. There are 1000 year old temples still standing in India that were made from teak. We have had this tree since 1929.
Tectona grandis DSCN2244
Well, that’s all for this week. Next week we will look at trees we like to plant in pits and sink holes.
