The Rain Tree - 16 Mar 2013


The magnificent Rain Tree is also known as the 5 o'clock Tree (pokok pukul lima). It can grow up to 25m in height with a canopy spreading to 40m wide and bears small pinkish white cluster of flowers throughout the year.

The leaves are light-sensitive, so they will fold during rainy or cloudy weather as well as before sunset and open up again just after sunrise. That's how it got its name, Rain Tree or 5 o'clock Tree. This feature actually helps to retain more moisture for the tree by enabling more dew to settle when the leaves are folded.

Ever heard of the artificial rain from the Rain Tree?? If you're under the tree and you feel a drizzle of water drops, blame cicadas, not the tree! Cicadas love big trees like the Rain Tree. When many cicadas congregate on warm days, they feed on the tree fluids and often urinate while doing so. This bug urine is called 'honey dew'. It feels like rain drops. Thus, the Rain Tree got its name. So don't be so sure the next time you're under the shade of a rain tree, it could be 'pee' on your head!
We're so captivated by the stories like the Rain Tree and others from the Malaysian Nature Society veterans. Kudos to these elderly folks with such zeal to share their knowledge. We've joined them to identify the trees and plants at the Lake Gardens, KL.

I didn't know how Wei got distracted by a wounded pigeon.

The beautiful flower of Rose of Venezuela produces a lot of nectar and is attractive to birds and butterflies.

Rose of Venezuela : from shoots, leaf sheath, leaf stalks to pale green young leaves (clock-wise).


Comments

  1. Anonymous17 May 2013 at 18:06

    Hi,

    I would seek your opinion about a tree in my garden... it is neither a Crepe Myrtle nor a Pokuk Pukul Lima (or The Rain tree your described above). But still it continuously drops water just like rain drops... I dont know what tree it is but I have got two such trees...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Honey4Boyz19 May 2013 at 20:28

      Hi, I hv very little knowledge on trees, but as far as I know, cicadas do not only inhabit rain trees, they love tall trees to drink the plant sap. Perhaps it's the cicadas' waste that causes the water droplets. Also check the leaves whether they fold & unfold during certain time like rain tree. Tis feature could be the cause of water droplets cos it retains more moisture for the tree by enabling more dew to settle when the leaves are folded. Hope this is helpful.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Al-Attas Garden in Janda Baik - 4 August 2012

Image
Besides being a well-known contentious writer, little do we know that Syed Hussein Alattas is also a self-taught gardener and an architect. He had built Taman Hana in Janda Baik from scratch and named after his wife.  Taman Hana sits on a 8-acre plot of land in the quiet village of Janda Baik. It boasts a collection of 1,000 species of plants including fruit trees, more than 700 big flower pots and five buildings that include the home of the Alattas family.  The good news is that it is open to visitors every day.  As we made our way past the entrance, this place appeared unkempt. It was well beyond its heyday (in 2008) but still showing off its faded beauty. Some parts were badly neglected, which was so unfortunate, because it originally was to be a quiet kampung retreat. A mix of traditional Malay, Peranakan, Indonesian and colonial British architecture and a Minangkabau styled roof. Syed Hussein had actually started building the structures in 1982 and he spent...
Read more

A Potter Village in Sayong - 30 May 2013

Image
Pit Stop at the Perak royal town, Kuala Kangsar. The 1st rubber tree in Malaysia was planted in this town. That's about all I knew about this place. Labu Sayong or water pitcher from Sayong village, known for its health value to help migraine, lower blood pressure etc due to the special properties inherent in the local clay. Before this, we didn't know much of labu sayong.  We didn't go to the village or plan this visit. Out of curiousity, we bumped into this unassuming workshop at No. 3, Kg Setia, Enggor, run by Mohd bin Harun.  Pakcik was very open and gave us a tour of his workshop and how he makes labu sayong. His warm, friendly welcoming people made a lasting impression on all of us - a trait that we've lost in the big cities. The traditional way of making labu sayong uses hands to mould the clay into the shape of a 'labu' (gourd-like vase) but this is too slow. Now, the clay mixture is poured into standard mould blocks. It's ...
Read more

Discovering Pasir Pinji's Comfort Food - 29 June 2014

Image
Pasir Pinji Road in Ipoh is like a living heritage town. If you google this place, you will see a long list of local delicacies you must try - the famous yong tau foo, chee cheong fun, cendol, roast pork, traditional mooncakes, pastry, etc. On a Sunday, we saw the idyllic lifestyle of the local people - watching the days go by, sipping tea and catching up with friends along the corridor of shophouses, waiting for the takeaway of their favourite food or desserts from the roadside hawkers, sitting in coffee shops and dipping Hainanese buns into their kopi-O or Milo. .. it's like a walk to my childhood years in the 80s.  Ban Guan Foong Bakery has been around for more than 50 years. One of the very few remaining bakeries producing traditional Hainanese bread and buns using wood-fired oven.  A family-run business by the Goh family and some old and loyal workers. Getting ready the wood-fired brick oven  Removing the ashes from the heated oven  ...
Read more