FLORA

Tembusu (Fragrea fragrans)

• The Tembusu (Fagraea fragrans) is a large evergreen tree native to South-east Asia. Its trunk is dark brown, with deeply fissured bark, looking somewhat like a bittergourd. It grows in an irregular shape to 10 to 25m high. Its leaves are light green and oval in shape. Its yellowish flowers have a distinct fragrance and the fruits of the tree are bitter tasting red berries, which are eaten by birds and fruit batsAlso known as Fagraea cochinchinensis, Cyrtophyllum giganteum, and Cyrtophyllum peregrinum, it belongs to the family Gentianaceae. Other common names: Buabua (Fiji Islands), Urung (Philippines), Temasuk (Sabah), Tatrao, Trai (Cambodia), Tam Sao (Thailand), Tembesu (Indonesia), Anan, Ananma (Burma).

• The trunk of this tree can produce very hard wood, and this wood can be used to make chopping boards.This tree is pictured on the Singaporean five-dollar bill.

• Codiaeum variegatum ("garden croton" or "variegated croton"; syn. Croton variegatum L.) is a species of plant in the genus Codiaeum, which is a member of the family Euphorbiaceae. It native to southern India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the western Pacific Ocean islands, growing in open forests and scrub. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3 m tall and has large, thick, leathery, shiny evergreen leaves, alternately arranged, 5–30 cm long and 0.5–8 cm broad. The inflorescences are long racemes 8–30 cm long, with male and female flowers on separate inflorescences; the male flowers are white with five small petals and 20–30 stamens, the female flowers yellowish, with no petals. The fruit is a capsule 9 mm diameter, containing three 6 mm seeds. The stems contain milky sap that bleeds from cut stems.
• The garden crotons should not be confused with Croton, a cosmopolitan genus also in the Euphorbiaceae, containing more than 700 species of herbs, shrubs and trees.

Botanical Name: Tamarindus indica
Sanskrit Name: Tintrini, Chincha, Tindidi, Tindida
English Name: Tamarind tree
Family: Caesalpiniaceae

Plant part use: Fruit, Leaves, Seeds, Root.

Description Tamarindus indica:

A large evergreen tree grows up to 40 meters in height. Leaves paripinnately compound. Leaflets small in slender rachis, 10-15 pairs, oblong; flowers yellowish orange, striped in red, found in racemes in the slender branches. Fruits brown compressed pods. Seeds dark brown, stony hard, covered with sour jelly.

There are two subspecies:

• Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. equisetifolia. Large tree to 35 m (115 ft) tall; twigs 0.5–0.7 mm (0.020–0.028 in) diameter, hairless. Southeast Asia, northern Australia.
• Casuarina equisetifolia subsp. incana (Benth.) L.A.S.Johnson. Small tree to 12 m (39 ft) tall; twigs 0.7–1 mm (0.028–0.039 in) diameter, downy. Eastern Australia (eastern Queensland, New South Wales), New Caledonia, southern Vanuatu.

Casuarina is widely used as a bonsai subject, particularly in Southeast Asia and parts of the Caribbean. Indonesian specimens and those cultivated in Taiwan are regarded among the best in the bonsai world. Among the islands of Hawaii, Casuarina are also grown for erosion prevention, and in general as windbreaking elements.