Is this a lead into 'A monkey walks into a bar with a bag of yellow coconuts....'? Excellent.

Keep an eye on those coconuts--after the Zombie apocalypse, they can save your life. Every single part of the plant is ridiculously easy to use for food, shelter and clothing.

The milk is especially good for cooking certain edible varieties of colocasia (which, to my surprise, are planted in gardens on this continent, apparently without the intention of eating them!). The leaves are sun-dried, sauteed and simmered in the liquid squeezed from grated coconut with about a teaspoon of chopped siling labuyo . You might need water or something. I don't know the first aid for capsaisin burn.

Ay, I'm homesick now.

Pagan

Chris,
Lucky guy you are! Nice to visit such a beautiful tropical place like that. I would love to know people there so I can visit them. You make my day. Thanks again.
Stush

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, indeed. Thanks for the nice comments. Yes, coconuts and the trees themselves have so many uses. For example, the husks are partially burned and sold in bags as charcoal for cooking food outdoors, like the ubiquitous lechon manok.

Christopher

Hi Mike!

Ah, sorry I missed your post between all my photos I have been posting...Yes it is interesting to see plants we think of as houseplants growing as full grown trees in a place like the Philippines...so refreshing also, gives you a new perspective on things...Never saw so many Euphorbia milii in my life as I did here, same for Crotons, so many different leaf types, some big as trees.

Christopher

Coconuts and bamboo are civilization builders for sure. just need a way of cutting them. steel would be nice to have. would be nice to have in a pinch.

Plants by the riverside...

Hmm....That thing with big leaves has a name in Tagalog that translates to something like "pretending to be taro" and you should never eat it; the sap is a persistent skin irritant. At the back is wild squash. Did you see any jungle ferns? You had mangosteen so that's probably either Zamboanga or Davao. September is durian season there as well. What do their tricycles look like, Chris? That'll narrow it down lol

Wantonamara, that reminds me of the quintessential question: if you were to go back 20000 years in time and you can only bring one tool, what would it be?

I love these pictures. Thank you for posting.

Pagan

Interesting information...of course the plant next to the fake Taro is Dieffenbachia, which I wouldn't recommend eating, either! Saw plenty of ferns, yes, they thrive in the humidity there.

Saw fresh Durian for sale, but as my lady wouldn't touch it, didn't want to buy one of those big things just for myself. The province is Zamboanga del Norte.

Here is an interesting tree growing around a rock in Dapitan...

I should have looked at this tree more closely, but am guessing it is some type of Ficus...

OMG! Just realized the oputunia I picked up at the street market this morning is that plant you have above. Oh, it's a biggie!

Of course, some Opuntia can get large and tree-like over time...

Hey Chris!

Uncle passed away so I have not had time to catch up with mail...Thanks for all these nice pics!
Welcome home again

Mike

Sorry to hear it, Mike...Nice to hear from you.

Hi Christopher !

See.. You brought me back
To this forum!!! ;-)

Loved the pictures of your wonderful trip to see your honey.. Sure has everything you could possibly want there and then some..

You sweetie is just lovely as I remember other pics in the past ( sunset )

Pagan makes me want to live there as well ,, I bet you do miss it, Pagan. Maybe one day you could return for a visit?

Glad you are home , Christopher !! I'm sure it is always hard on the return trip. But it won't be long, my friend!!!

She is worth the wait.... ;-)

Mike.. Sorry to hear of your Uncle passing.. So sorry. Rec you voicemail and I appreciate you as well, my friend.. Mahalo!!!

Hi josh!!! ;-)

Night everyone!!

Laura

Hi Laura!

A pleasant surprise, indeed. So glad I got you to visit this forum, the land of thorns and spines... ;)

Thanks for the nice comments, as usual. It is indeed a paradise for plant lovers like us...The coconut palms, the orchids, the flowers everywhere, the mountains surrounded by the sea...enough to make you forget about the poverty and the corrupt political system!

Overall, a land of pretty people, pretty plants, and pretty places. Above all, the land of my love. Thanks again for stopping by, my friend!

Great pics...love that Ravenala madagascariensis...do they also refer to that as a traveler's palm, or am I thinking of something else?

Tom

Tom:

That is indeed the Traveller's Palm, so called for one of two reasons...Either the fact that the have a store of water, or that they always grow in an east/west direction.

Christopher

This post was edited by kaktuskris on Wed, Oct 30, 13 at 21:40

The variegated Ficus is F.alissisima. Spelled something like that. Its a bit more tender then the Ficus elastica is for us in California.
Boy,I wish I knew what that Flowering shrub is. Has to be very tender or I'm sure it would be well known. Great pics.
Salamat!

Walang anuman, Stan.

I was told on the Tropicals forum that the white flowering plant above, that I didn't know the name of was in the Ginger family...What was fascinating about it, was how it was pollinated by this giant yellow and black bumblebee, larger than the ones here...There is a yellow covering, or 'door' the bumblebee has to push his body through to get to the pollen inside the flower. He pushes the cover up and goes inside the flower completely, and has to back out to exit. I found it amazing to watch.

Christopher

Hi Chris, my wife is Pinay,from Laguna. She say's the yellow coconut is just an ornamental variety- not much meat. You don't learn that on the Palm Board!,just good old garden web. Interesting on the Ginger,almost Orchid like reproduction. It must be a native to have that relationship.
Again,Salamat!

Hi Stan, I didn't know you were one of my peeps! ;)

Well, my fiancee said the yellow coconut was better quality, don't know about quantity of meat, but I think there are several varieties of the yellow coconut, from what I saw online. Her father raised coconuts, actually, and sent five children to college on the humble coconut...

Yes, I found the Ginger plant so beautiful, and when I followed that bee around, watching him pollinate, I was truly fascinated by it. There are so many lovely tropical plants native to the Philippines...the Phalaenopsis orchid, for one.

A pleasure, Stan.

Christopher

I've never heard of anyone trying to eat the fruits of that particular decorative coconut, actually. But if you open them, the meat is thin and watery even when mature (not much oil). The water also has less sugar so it's not much of a drink. But these are the plants you want if you're looking for coconut beetles (uwang, in Tagalog, I don't know what they are called in Zambo) since you won't have to climb 30 meters up to get to them. You only need to hide from the person who owns the plant since he probably paid a lot of money for it.

The last time I was home was 2 years ago and that was before I discovered plants (an addiction that only hit me last winter, probably out of homesickness). Next time I go back, it will definitely be a plant tour!

The yellow-orange flowers look like a kind of Bird of Paradise.

Pagan

P.S. Chris, I bet you had your picture taken with Rizal in Dapitan lol He was way shorter than that!

Wow! Thanks for the virtual tour of the tropical paradise, Christopher! Good to SEE youâ¦in so many pix too! Great to see so many pix & with so many commentsâ¦I thought of lots to sayâ¦but may not remember all!

I believe your unknown flower is Costus speciosus, Crepe Ginger. I was going to ask you about the flying creature in the 2nd, closer shot, but you answered that. The other unknown flowering plant is a Heliconia psittacorum, I believe.

I liked seeing the red on the palms too. Liked the Bottle Palms & Travelers Palm. Pretty Plumeria! I love colorful Croton as well.

Your fiancé is a gem! Glad you had such a great trip! The sunset was fabulous!! Thoroughly enjoyed this thread!

This post was edited by rosemariero6 on Sun, Nov 3, 13 at 21:23

Christopher,

This thread has nearly five times as many posts as your (or anyone else's) average jade thread (you can look it up!), so you know we love you. Lovely pictures again. So when are the nuptials planned for?

This post was edited by cactusmcharris on Sun, Nov 3, 13 at 8:44

Hello Rosemarie:

Thank you very much for the nice comments and the ID's! Glad you liked my photos.

I really loved that Crepe Ginger, and the giant bumblebee that pollinated it. I actually took a little video of it as well. I was leaning towards Heliconia rather than Bird of Paradise on the other plant...While on the back of a habal habal (motorbike) going through the countryside, saw what looked to me like variegated bird of paradise, seemingly growing wild. Lots of them, so beautiful. Unfortunately I couldn't stop to look at them.

I love the red sealing wax palm as well, also saw some nice fishtail palms, which I really loved. Just wish I had had more time to look at plants, but this was a trip to reconnect with my fiancee, not go on a plant tour.

Jose Rizal is basically the Philippines version of Washington. There are statues of him everywhere. So of course I had him in a photo with me, in a place called Dapitan.

Christopher

Jeff:

Always a pleasure to hear from you, my friend. Actually a legal issue there is holding us up, hoping for the spring.

Christopher

OK, to keep this thread going, here is the garden at a place high on my priority list to visit, the local orphanage...Loved the red flowers, which I could not identify.

Christopher,

I'm waiting on my immigrant status card, I should be at the final rung, but there always seems to be one more.

Your pose in the picture above - in the Navy, we'd call that modified air force gloves (a full set of gloves being both hands in the pockets). Dapper Dan in Dapitan.

So Jeff, you are working on becoming a permanent resident in Canada, is that it?

Thanks for the nice comments. That town Dapitan is indeed quite a scenic place, right on the ocean on the southernmost large island.

Christopher

Christopher,

Yes, I am - it should be any month now.

Was so worried about the super typhoon...talked to my fiancee today, she said the island of Mindanao was not hard hit, fortunately, but areas further north were. Just hope not too much loss of life...

Christopher

Us too Chris...We hope everyone is ok..

Glad to hear your girl is ok..:-)

Now, I can only imagine what happend to all the pretty plants you took pics of, especially that mots rare RED trunked Palm tree...Sad for human and other life.

Thanks Mike...

Could be over 10,000 lives lost, a tragedy. Of course in the area hardest hit, severe damage to buildings, trees, anything in the path of the storm. People there have it hard enough as it is, and earthquakes and typhoons only make it harder...This lovely 17th century church on the island of Bohol was hit by an earthquake last month, and the typhoon hit the island hard. Wonder if anything is left.

This post was edited by kaktuskris on Sun, Nov 10, 13 at 18:33

Terrible devastation...But the Filipino people are strong.

My wife's from Laguna and her family is also in Manila. They missed the largest damage. Much rain and wind that they went through.
It was so bad further south TV Patrol said they couldn't even film as it happened, that the cameras were damaged. I don't know if thats true or what government wants.

Hey Stan:

Glad to hear your in-laws are safe. Looks like Tacloban was completely destroyed. Where my fiancee is in Zanorte, just heavy rain and wind as I said, not much damage, if any. I would trust what TV Patrol says, in 200/mph winds, almost impossible to film, impossible to stand in winds that strong. Now my fiancee tells me another typhoon is forming, hope it dies out at sea.

Christopher

Chris,
My prayers go out to your friends and family. I heard of another earth quake just hit them. I hope they can endure. Help is slow but on the way. Godspeed to them who needs it.
Stush

Hi Stush:

Luckily all I know are safe...But for the poor ones suffering in the hard hit areas, what they need beyond anything else now is food and clean water. I only hope aid can reach them before more die.

I am sitting here almost crying. Why does it take so long for help to arrive. Even here it took months for some to get help. Red tape, greed or what ever. My heart goes out to them. #1 on my prayer list.
Stush

Red tape, politics and corruption play a part, I am sure. But also there is just the immense problem of getting everything over there, and properly dispersed to all the hard hit areas, some of which are quite remote. There has been some looting going on also, which is wrong, but if I needed food for my starving family and that was the only way to get it, I would do the same without hesitation.

These guys are native to the Philippines...

As I had said, this wasn't a plant tour, but now I regret not taking more than a few seeds...

I had planted this one about five weeks ago, and just checked on it this morning, and now I have a little Jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus). If anyone knows this fruit, they know how huge it is, really impressive.

Now the problem is, the root already came out of the drain hole, don't know if I should just replant the whole pot in a larger one, or try to extricate the root without doing damage...

Christopher

You could cut the pot away from the plant

Christopher,
It is probably a tap root. Goes deep in search of water. I would plant it in a long tube. Like maybe a 3" pvc about 1 ft. long. Cut slots in bottom and stand in pot with stones to hold in place. It may need that root for transplanting. Not knowing the tree, what are you going to do with it when it gets big? Or maybe you could cut the root to keep the plant small?

I am quite unfamiliar with the Jackfruit also, just impressed with the HUGE fruits, we just bought a single slice of one...tastes quite nice also, but disappointed in the fact it is not very juicy.

I guess I could cut the pot, though it is the last of its kind I have. Had checked on the pot every few days, was beginning to think the seed, which is quite large, had rotted, when I saw the top growth, and the long root below.

Here is the Jackfruit tree today.

Christopher

This post was edited by kaktuskris on Tue, Apr 8, 14 at 17:37

Its funny this is in the C&S forum because the Filipinos I know dont seem to care for those plants. One,is always asking me why I have those? What good are they?.lol. I know when his little boy asks me why I want plants that can stick you?..he's hearing the adults-lol.

Funny, Stan, with my peeps in the Philippines it is just the opposite. You saw the big Opuntia plants above, from my fiancee's mother's place. And I saw Thai crown of thorns everywhere, agave, adenium, other Euphorbia, Sans...lots of succulents. And I am surprised at the size of the Opuntia, for a country with such high humidity and quite a lot of rain. But then I guess there is a similar situation in Florida, though big difference in temperatures.

Christopher.

I did learn the name of the white flower I photographed...Crepe Ginger, Costus speciosis.