94. 12 GARDEN PLANTS AND FLOWERS AND THEIR KAPAMPANGAN NAMES

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.

 PHOTO CREDITS:

Alas Dies: https://plantsam.com/portulaca-grandiflora-cv/

Balantakan: Wikimedia commons

Buac ng Ester: http://tropical.theferns.info/image.php?id=Tillandsia+usneoides

Kamantigi: http://kalusugan.ph/halamang-gamot-kamantigi/

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