List of Common Ornamental Plants in the Philippines Part 1

LIST OF COMMON ORNAMENTAL PLANTS IN THE PHILIPPINES Aglaonema spp. Plants for partial shade. The simple rule to follow for these slow-growing plants is this: the lighter the variegation, the more light it needs. They have large oval leaves on short stems. Do not expose the Aglaonema to direct sun. It should be planted in a humid area and watered often. A slow-release fertilizer should be given regularly. Aglaonema can be divided during repotting. Small shoots can be potted as individual plants. Aglaonema plants are poisonous due to calcium oxalate crystals. If ingested they cause irritation of the mucous membranes, and the juice can cause skin irritation and painful rash. A. commutatum is native to the Philippines. Aglaonema commutatum ‘Pink Petiole’ Plant for partial shade. This Aglaonema has pinkish leaf stems (leaf stems). It has oblong-elliptical leaves and bears flowers that resemble small greenish-white callas followed by yellow to red berries. It is grown primarily for its foliage. Endemic to the Philippines. Aglaonema commutatum ‘Red Gold’ Plant for partial shade. Aglaonema commutatum ‘Silver Queen’ Plant for partial shade. Aglaonema ‘Snow White’ Plant for partial shade. Aglaonema commutatum. Variety unknown Plant for partial shade. The green of the leaves of this plant is much darker than that of the other Aglaonema I have. The plant itself is rounded in shape and is more compact than my other Aglaonemas. Adenium obesum. Desert Rose. According to Warren, this succulent plant, a native of arid Arabia and East Africa, grows to 1 meter. It has a swollen, pale grey trunk. Its leaves are glossy and club-shaped. It bears trumpet-shaped flowers almost continuously. It has a highly toxic sap. As can be expected from a native of dry Arabia, it does not like too much water and should not be grown in moist places. It is often used as a decorative pot plant. Adiantum raddianum. Delta maidenhair. Origin: tropical and subtropical South America. The maidenhair likes full shade in a humid area and moist but well-drained soil. Despite its fragile looks, this is a hardy plant under proper growing conditions. Dead and damaged fronds should be removed to enable new ones to grow. Aglaia odorata. Aglaia pinnata. Cinamomo, sinamomong sunsong (Tagalog). Chinese perfume plant. Mock lemon. Cultivated as an ornamental tree or shrub and for its fragrant flowers. Introduced to the Philippines from south-eastern Asia. If allowed to, it can grow to a height of 6 meters. Its upright and bushy growth makes it suitable for use as a hedging plant. It is easy to grow; likes rich, well-drained moist soils, and warmth and humidity. It is tolerant of partial shade but prefers the full sun. Propagated from semi-ripe stem cuttings. Even with little maintenance, this is the kind of plant that becomes an enduring friend. Very easyto-grow. Propagation is by cuttings or air layering. It flowers several times during the year. The tiny yellow flower balls are fragrant in the evening; dried, they are used to perfume clothes and cigarettes, and to scent teas. In Asia, Infusions of the roots and leaves are used to treat fever, convulsive illnesses and menopausal problems. The leaves last long in flower arrangements, though they are perhaps better suited to looser, more ‘natural’ arrangements than to the more formal ones sold by flower shops. (Photo source: www.parks. gov.sg) Allamanda violacea Purple allamanda. Vine or climbing shrub with year-round 8 cm funnel-shaped flowers that are reddish-purple fading to pink. While it can cover a trellis or clamber over a wall, it can also be pruned into a free-standing specimen. Regular pinching will keep it in bounds, but too much pinching removes flower buds which form on new growth. All parts of the plant are toxic. The allamanda grows in full sun. It is propagated by woody cuttings, but grows best when grafted on A. cathartica (Yellow Allamanda). I have two varieties: one is more vigorous than the other, has bigger flowers and is more floriferous (photo on top). Althernanthera ficoidea Cucharita (green and white). After nearly two years, my cucharita grew leggy and was fading away under the shade of the palmeras where they had been planted. My gardener took some cuttings, put them aside overnight and stuck them in the soil the next day. They have now taken root and were doing well in mid-December 2004. They are still thriving. Alpinia purpurata Red ginger. According to Madulid, the red ginger, native to the Pacific Islands, is a recent introduction to the Philippines. Its bright red bracts cover small white flowers. It likes full sun or partial shade, moist but well-drained soil and requires protection from strong winds. Propagated by root division. By December 2004, my plant has disappeared completely: probably defeated by the strongly-growing raphis among which it had been planted Alpinia vittata Plant for moderate light conditions. A member of the ginger family, A. vittata is native to the Bismarck Archipelago in the Solomon Islands. It is a plant of the forest understory which is hot and moist climate all year round. A clumping plant, it can rise to 1.5 meters in height outdoors and has 20 cm long lanceshaped leaves edged and banded from the centre to the margin with cream or white stripes. It can bear pendulous pink flowers but rarely does so in cultivation. Alpinia vittata thrives in medium light or filtered direct sunlight. Keeping it in too dark a position will reduce variegation and make the leaves greener. Prolonged direct sunlight can cause foliage to scald, brown or bleach. High humidity is essential. The plant should be watered regularly but should be allowed to dry out between waterings. It is moderately drought tolerant when established. This Alpinia grows vigorously and where they outgrow their allotted space, rhizomes should be dug up, split and replanted. The tallest stalks can be trimmed off to keep this plant to a lower size. The rhizomes should be planted as soon as possible. It is recommended to establish the plant in a pot before planting it in garden. The rhizome should be planted with the top up, no more than 3-4cm under the soil. Avoid planting them too deep to prevent them from rotting. Also, freshly planted rhizomes need oxygen to grow new roots and will die if the planting medium is too dense or too wet. Companion plants: Alpinia vittata makes a striking contrast when planted in along with: Cordyline species, Schefflera arboricola (Green Arboricola), Nephrolepis biserrata cv.’Macho Fern’ (Macho Fern), Brugmansia species (Angel’s Trumpet), Strelitzia nicolai (White Bird of Paradise), Tibouchina heteromalla (Silverleafed Princess Flower) and Agapanthus species. (Source: http://www.plantsrescue.com/alpinia-vittata/) American rose Plant vendors in the Philippines have no idea what the scientific names of these roses are and sell them under the all-enveloping term “American rose” Antidesma bunius. Bignay Have you got a bignay in your garden? Let us know what birds come round to feed on it. Description (Madulid; Fernando). This is a small to mediumsized tree, growing to 10 m tall. Its glossy 20 cm long leaves are oblong with an acuminate tip and a rounded base; their petioles are stout, up to 1 cm long. The small flowers, in drooping racemes about 10 cm long, are yellowish-white, male flowers sessile, female flowers with a small stalk. The edible fruit, about 1 cm in diameter, is deep red to bluish-violet when ripe. Seedlings are occasionally sold at garden centres and garden shows; I have also seen them at a UPLB (University of the Philippines Los Baños) nursery. Photo: www.filipinoheritage.com Attractive to many birds which eat the fruit and the insects living off it. Among the birds that have been observed feeding on the tree are: common garden birds like Pied Fantail (Maria Capra), Yellow-vented Bulbul (Malipago), Black-Naped Oriole (Kiyaw; Kilyawan); Red-keeled Flowerpecker; and forest birds such as Philippine Bulbul, Yellow-Wattled Bulbul and the spectacular Luzon Hornbill (Tarictic). Aptenia cordifolia Baby Sun Rose. A native of the coastal plains of South Africa, this plant makes an excellent ground cover. It reaches a spread of 2 feet or more and a height of 4 to 6 in. It blooms throughout the year and its flowers are 1 in across, purplish red and resemble daisies. Its leaves are small and thick. Aptenia cordifolia needs full sun and well-drained soil. A drought-tolerant (and salt-tolerant) plant, it should be watered only when it is thoroughly dry. An internet source does not recommend the use of fertilizer with this plant. Stringy stems should be removed to promote growth. In addition to its use as ground cover, it makes a good pot plant and can be used at the foot of taller plants in pots and allowed to climb over the pot rims. (Info sources: various interset sites) Artabotrys hexapetalus (L.f.) Bhand Climbing ylang-ylang. Described by internet sources as a woody climber with a spiny trunk. Bears fragrant six-petal fleshy flowers that are greeny yellow at first, turning yellowgreen as they age. The leaves, up to 15 cm in length, are dull green. Also said to bear fleshy yellow berry-like fruit in clusters of up to 25. Synonym: Artabotrys odoratissimus. Ylang-ylang climber; hara-champa. Described by the Web as a 2-3.5 metre woody climber which climbs with a curved hook developed from flower stamens. Can be allowed to become a dense evergreen shrub bearing fragrant light green flowers which turn yellow with age. Main flowering season: summer and the rains. Needs the full sun to flourish. Propagated by seed or ripe cuttings. Asplenium musifolium Giant bird’s nest; dapong babae, pakpak lawin babae. Epiphytic fern similar to A. nidus but with much longer and much wider leaves. (My plant has leaves that are about 170 cm long and 23 cm at their widest point.) Will adjust to full sun but prefers light shade. Tolerates a dry spell but does best with frequent watering. Propagation is by spores, which often sprout in moist areas around the parent plant. Asplenium nidus L Bird’s nest fern, dapong lalaki, pugad lawin. Epiphytic fern. Requires abundant moisture and shade for optimum growth. Propagated by spores. Garden centres say that they can get used to the sun. Atriplex halimus Silver dust; Mediterranean saltbush. The variety that is known as ‘Silver Dust’ in the Philippines has attractive silver-grey leaves and small light purple flowers. It is drought resistant and can be pruned quite closely. Bauhinia blakeana. Hongkong Orchid Tree. There is apparently strong circumstantial evidence suggesting that all trees of this Bauhinia cultivated today originate from a single ancestor grown in the Hong Kong Botanic Gardens. It has large deep rose-red, orchid-shaped blooms with a touch of white. The flowers can be cut and brought indoors. It is exceptionally long-blooming. Some sources say it is semievergreen, others state that it is evergreen . Another feature of this tree are the twin-lobed leaves, which are typical of the Bauhinia genus. It is a deep-rooted plant so it does not like to be transplanted. It will tolerate hot, exposed positions and dry soils. Some sources say it requires full sun and regular watering. Others say that it is an excellent choice for sites that have dry soil or require drought tolerance. It also grows well in acidic soils. My supplier told me that this would be a small tree, no more than 5 feet high, but internet sources say it grows to a height of 9 meters and a width of 4.5 meters. Certainly too big for the space I had in mind. However,as the flowers are so beguiling, I am keeping the two plants I bought. Perhaps in the tropics it doesn’t grow quite as tall as in subtropics? We’ll find out soon enough. The Blakeana is completely sterile and thus requires artificial propagation . It can be grown from softwood and semi-hard cuttings, and by air-layering. It should be pruned regularly when it is young to help create a stronger structure. The branches can be brittle and may break off. Bauhinia kockiana Climbing Bauhinia. 1 at P 1,500 from Anihan. A native of the Malaysian jungle, this vine produces a frequent display of orange and red-orange flowers that can be up to 3.5 cm across in long racemes of up to 40 cm. Flowers age to orange-yellow or golden-yellow before they fade. Requires a stout support on which to grow. Likes rich, well-drained soil; prefers roots to be in the shade. Propagated by means of woody cuttings or seeds. Bougainvillea Sources of plant: the national road that goes through Bae, Laguna is lined with bougainvillea garden centres. They offer young plants as well as old, shaped ones with trunks the size of fists. Prices can drop to a third during the non-flowering (rainy) season, and may begin at Pesos 25 for new plants. I have seen a magnificent specimen selling for P10,000. Beaumontia grandiflora Easter lily vine, herald’s trumpet, Nepal trumpet flower. Woody vine from the Himalayan tropics. Has large fragrant white flowers resembling lilies. A strong growing climber, it can reach 6 m in full sun. The flowers appear on mature plants (about two years old) on year-old wood in trusses particularly during the cool season. The large leaves are glossy and dark green on the upper surface, pale and hairy underneath. Requires copious watering and well-drained soil. Propagation: take cuttings from firm new growth, apply rooting hormone, stick in well-drained soil and mist. May take 25-50 days to root. Brugmansia versicolor ‘Peach’ 1 at P150. In time, this can become a small tree. It has oblong smooth-edged leaves and pendulous flowers which are fragrant at night. The corollas are pale yellow at first, turning white and then peach as the flowers age; the teeth are long, flaring and recurved. Propagated from seed and by stem cuttings (these root quite easily and will do so even in water). Brugmansia x candida ‘Double White’, ‘Flore Pleno’ Double Angel’s Trumpet. From a small nursery in Barangay Maharlika, Tagaytay. P15. A double-flowered brugmansia, with large velvety leaves and pendant hose-in-hose white ruffled flowers with a sweet musky scent. The foliage is easily distinguished from those of the other varieties by its soft grey hairs. Thought to be a hybrid between Brugmansia aurea and B. versicolor. Attractive to bees, birds and butterflies. It likes the sun, but will grow in partial shade. It should be watered regularly but not over-watered. It can be propagated from seeds and from stem cuttings; the latter will also root in water. Bromeliads 3 plants; tolerates the sun. I am told that bromeliads that do not flower will tolerate some sun and that those that bear flowers have to be put in the shade. The ororojo does not flower. Brunfelsia americana Lady of the night. This native of the West Indies can develop into a small tree, up to 5 metres tall, but is generally grown as a shrub. It has upright, thin woody stems and dark green, leathery leaves. It has solitary, creamy-white five-petal flowers (which turn yellow as they age) with tubes up to 5 cm long. Flowers are borne on and off throughout the year. Fragrant only after dark, they have a smell reminiscent of jasmine with spicy undertones. The fruit is a marble-sized capsule with 2-10 black seeds. Brunfelsia panciflora Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Medium-sized shrub from South America. Fragrant tubular flowers open a rich lavender blue, and turn pale lavender and then white as they age. Grows to 1 metre. Likes some shade, rich well-composted soil and a warm, wind-sheltered position. Should be watered regularly. It is propagated from semi-hardwood cuttings. Flowers well in December and April-May. Bucida spinosa, Bucida molinetii Spiny black olive. Bought tree-sized specimen at P1,800. The bucida can grow to 3 m. Its major appeal lies in the growth of its leaves, which form in a horizontal zigzag pattern with almost no bottom growth. Once the branches are formed, the clip-and-grow method is all that it requires. Its leaves are tiny and while it is a prolific bloomer, its flowers are so small as to be insignificant. Its bark is rough and its trunk has a twisting movement. Suitable for bonsai cultivation. It likes the full sun and a moist soil. Possible sources: Josie’s Gardens at RBR Laguna Gardens, Bagong Kalsada, Calamba City, Laguna and the numerous other garden centres that line the Calamba national road (and side roads: Bacnotan Drive). Had tiny white flowers in April 2004. Caladium humboldtii Plant for the shade (but see also below). Graceful herb to 20 cm. tall. Leaves are heart-shaped, green with dominant white patches. Native to Brazil. A perennial that can be used as ground cover, it can grow in partial to full shade as well as in the sun. Another one of those rare plants that can grow anywhere. It should be watered regularly but should not be overwatered. It is propagated by dividing rhizones, tubers, corms or bulbs. Calathea zebrina Calathea Zebra Plant. Plant for the shade. The Calathea zebrina’s bright green leaves grow on the tips of their stems, are boldly striped in a striking feather-like pattern and are red-purple underneath. They can reach a length of 2 feet. The plant itself can grow to 1 meter. It bears insignificant flowers. The plant should be kept moist, not wet, and it should be fertilized occasionally with a half-strength solution of liquid fertilizer. Too much and the plant will grow leggy. These plants grow in the shaded understory of tropical forests of the Americas and don’t need strong light. Good light is nevertheless required for the leaves to attain their best colour. The plant should be divided when there are several rosettes at the base. A sharp blade should be used to separate the rosettes which should then be planted each in its own pot. (Info from several internet sources.) Calotropis gigantea Ivory plant, kapal-kapal, crown flower. Shrub, to 4 m tall, with waxy stems which produce a milky sap when cut. The leaves are obovate, are about 18 cm long and 12 cm wide; they are grey-green above and have a whitish powder below. The white flowers grow from the leaf axils, are star shaped, and are surrounded by a crown of 5 flesh lobes. Canarium ovatum Engl. Pili. Marcotted. Obtained from Legazpi City. Indigenous to the Philippines. This tree grows to a height of 35 m. The leaves are usually three- to four-paired, ending in a terminal leaflet. The small flowers grow in clusters and the fruit is ovoid, up to 5 cm long, and is smooth and black when ripe. The tree is long-lived (the owners of one tree in the Bicol region claim it is 200 years old) and can bear up to 24,000 fruit at a time. When freshly picked, the ripe whole fruit can be boiled and the soft thick pulp eaten as a vegetable or salad. The hard-shelled kernel is the well-known pili nut. The resin extracted from the bark is an export product and has both pharmaceutical and industrial uses. It is an ingredient in the manufacture of plasters, ointments, paints, varnish, sealants, lacquers, asphalt, water and fire proofing, linoleum, plastics and printing inks. The oil from both kernel and pulp is considered equal to olive oil in quality and is suitable for culinary uses. Catharanthus roseus, Vinca rosea, Madagascar periwinkle Chichirica. I started out with 60 of these. Perennial shrub. Height: 30-60 cm, tends to flop. Produces almost continuous display of five-lobed flowers that are dark pink, pink, white or white with red rings. Poisonous. Prefers a sunny, welldrained location. Easily propagated from seeds; self-seeds freely. Dislikes too much water. Attracts butterflies. The vinca’s flowering life can be prolonged by pruning when the stems grow too lanky and bear fewer flowers. Cassia alata L. Akapulco, bikas-bikas. Candle bush. This attractive but short-lived shrub is named for its flower buds which grow in a column and look like fat yellow candles each complete with a flame. It was introduced to other tropical areas from the Americas and is now widely considered a weed. The leaves and sap contain a fungicide (an acid) which is effective against fungal infections such as ringworm, and is useful in soaps, shampoos and lotions. The plant’s other chemical contents enable it to act as a laxative and to expel intestinal parasites. In Africa, the boiled leaves are used to treat high-blood pressure. In South America, the cassia is utilized to treat a wide range of ailments from stomach problems, fever, asthma to snake bite and venereal diseases. It is the food plant of some butterfly caterpillars. The plant recruits bodyguards against these caterpillars in the form of ants, which are attracted to the nectar produced by the “extrafloral nectarines” found near the base of the leaves. As a short-lived plant which grows commonly in damp wastelands, it helps to colonize these areas and pave the way for the regeneration of growth. All in all, an extremely valuable plant. Cestrum nocturnum Dama de noche; Queen of the Night. This not very pretty shrub grows quite quickly. It should not be planted near drains or filters as these can get blocked by the slender flowers which fall profusely. It blooms several times a year. In my garden it has flowered in January, March, May, June. The small greenish flowers have a powerful fragrance which is released at night, hence the plant’s name. Pruning to keep its size within bounds seems to encourage it to flower again. Propagation is by cuttings. Chamaedorea seifrizii Seifrizii. Reed palm. I started with nine of these in pots. An elegant clump-forming palm with cane-like stems, this is an ideal pot plant and houseplant. It has been said to grow quickly to a mature height of 2 m and to seed early. It likes shade and can be easily propagated by division. The black seeds on dark orange stems make a striking contrast. The books say that it should be grown in a shaded, sheltered courtyard or border. Chrysalidocarpus lutescens Palmera. I started with 6 of these planted along the garden wall.