1. ALAS DIES
There are at least 3 flowering plants in the Philippines
with names derived from the “hours of the day” that refer their peak blooming
time. There is an Alas Cuatro (4 o’clock), Alas Dose (12 noon) and the
ubiquitous Alas Diyes (10 o’clock, Portulaca
grandiflora) that is propagated easily, and can grow to cover a
garden patch. The bright pink flowers open before noon, and they wither quickly
.
2. BALANTAKAN
The Biblical character who suffered a series of life’s
misfortunes gave his name this tall,
grain bearing tropical plant—Job’s Tears (KatikbiCoix
lacryma-jobi L.). It is known to both tagalogs and Kapampangans as
“Balantakan”. As an ornamental plant, the balantakan has capsule-shaped fruit
that enclose fruits are capsules, enclosing the female flowers.
3. BUAK NANG ESTER
This silver gray, hair-like epiphytic bromeliad is often
found hanging in wire pots in rural gardens, or grows on tree limbs with
lengths of 2 meters or longer. Known to the estern world as Spanish moss (Tillandsia
usneoides Linn.), it is fancifully called “Buak nang Ester” (Ester’s Hair).The
plant inspired the great writer Aurelio Tolentino (1858-1915) to write the 1911
novel, “Ing Buac nang Ester”
4. KAMANTIGI
Kamantigi (Impatiens
balsamina Linn.) are common Southeast Asian plants with flowers that can
come in pink, white, red, lilac, mauve colors. These flowers also have
medicinal properties, used as poultice to cool bruises or painful areas. In
English, it also goes by the name “Touch Me Not”.
5. KARA-KARIKUCHA
The small, deciduous Karakarikucha tree (Plumeria acuminata W. T. Ait.) is known
as kalachuchi in Tagalog, and frangipani or temple flower in English. It is
characterized by dark green oblong leaves and large, fragrant white petalled flowers
with yellow inner lower portion. Flowers are often strubg through the rib of
coconut leaves (tingting) for quick,
decorative fixes.
6. MALA-MARINE
The thorny Mala-marine (Mimosa pudica) get its name
from "pudica",Latin word for “shy or bashful”. Called “makahiya” by Tagalogs, the low-growing,
creeping flowering plant has small leaflets arranged in pairs that fold inwards
together upon stimulation by touch, shaken, warmed or blown by the wind. In
cultivation, the mala-marine plant is often grown as an indoor annual, but is
also grown for ground cover.
7. PALUNG-MANUK
Palung-manuk is a transliteration of the English name, Red
Cockscomb (Celosia argentea L.) as
the bright red flowers resemble the head of a rooster cock. Also called “palung-palung”,
the attractive blooms are often strewn on top of tombs during All Saints’ Day.
8. PALUNAI
The beach sunflower (Wedelia
biflora, Linn.) is known locally as “Palunai”or “palunag”,with numerous yellow
or yellow-brown flowers. The roots are often used in the Philippines as
diuretic or for the relief of stomach aches.
9. PANDAKAKI
The small, evergreen shrub is appropriately called “Pandakaki” (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui). The plant has small 5-petalled
flowers and is sometimes gathered from the wild, mainly for local medicinal use
(e.g. to induce menstruation). The town of Mexico, Pampanga has a barangay
named “Pandacaqui”.
10. PUKENDANG
The plant with a salacious name—“Pukendang”—has the same
derivation as its Tagalog counterpart, Pukinggan or Pukingan, a variant term
for a woman’s private parts. It has a more decent name in English--Blue Pea--
although its scientific name (Clitoria
ternatea Linn.) is an explicit reference to its similarity to the female
genitalia.
11. SAN FRANCISCO
Another common shrub used as an ornamental is the San Francisco
or Croton (Codiaeum variegatum (L.) ,
that comes in a variety of shapes and colored foliage. The leaves can come
twisted, or oblong, linear, pointed, but all are thick and leathery. Young
leaves start out as green, yellow or red, later changing to single color or becomes
variegated with bright color combinations. In other parts of the country, it is
called Sagilala or Buenavista.
12. TUKOD-BANUA
This herb known as
Tukod-Banua (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius
(Dennst.) owes its name to its
stem-like structure that grows to more
than a meter or more from its bulbous corm—hence, a tukod (a cane or a prop). It is also called Pungapung or Apungapung in
other regions, and Corpse Flower in English. That is the plant’s cluster of
flowers (spadix) exude a bad odor that is often likened to the smell of rotting flesh.
Balantakan: Wikimedia commons
Karakarikucha: Wikimedia commons
Mala-marine: Wikimedia commons
Palung-palung: Wikimedia commons
Palunai: http://www.stuartxchange.com/Hagonoi.html
Pandacaqui: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/7839327
Pukendang: http://www.stuartxchange.com/Pukingan.html
SanFrancisco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codiaeum_variegatum
Tukud-Banua: http://www.stuartxchange.org/Pungapung.html
