Autumn Purple Ash

Ash (Fraxinus spp.) is composed of 40 to 70 species, native to Central and North America [21] and Eurasia [50]. All species look alike microscopically. The name fraxinus is the classical Latin name for ash.

Fruit of the Mountain Ash

To someone who has never seen one, a Redwood must seem to be something from a tall tale. Averaging eight feet to as much as twenty feet in diameter, and some as tall as three hundred seventy five feet. That is a tree taller than the Statue of Liberty, from base of the pedestal to the tip of the torch. A tree larger around and through than a Greyhound bus. Absolutely the largest living thing on earth. A typical Redwood forest contains more biomass per square foot than ANY other area on earth, and that includes the Amazonian rain forests.

From a seed no bigger than one from a tomato, California's coast redwood (Sequoia semperviren) may grow to a height of 367 feet (122 m) and have a width of 22 feet (7 m) at its base. Imagine a 35-story skyscraper in your city and you have an inkling of the trees' ability to arouse humility.

Although the great redwoods--Sequoia Sempervirens-- once covered vast areas of the earth and date back 20 million years, they exist now in only a small band along the coast of central and northern California. The mild climate with plenty of moisture delivered by mist, fog, and rain make their survival in this area possible.

Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. It contains 15-19 species (including four incompletely known species as recognized by Meijer 1997), all found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra and Kalimantan, West Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Rafflesia-cantleyi in flower

Rafflesia manillana is classified as Endangered on the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants (1). R. keithii and R. pricei are classified as Vulnerable; R. cantleyi, R. kerrii and R. zollingeriana are classified as Rare (1); R. hasseltii is classified as Indeterminate (1).

Buds of the Rafflesia-keithii

Rafflesia arnoldii is a member of the genus Rafflesia. It is noted for producing the largest individual flower on earth. There are some plants with larger flowering organs, Amorphophallus for example, but these are technically clusters of many flowers. It occurs only in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo in the Indonesia Archipelago.

The Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae, native to southeast Asia, and the fruit of this tree. It is believed to be native to the Malay Archipelago although its precise natural distribution is unknown. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the Lychee, Longan and Mamoncillo. In Costa Rica and Nicaragua, it is known as mamón chino. In Guatemala it is known as Rambutan.

The rambutan, Nephelium lappaceum, is a fruit considered exotic to people outside of its native range. To people of Malaysia, Thailand, the Phillippines, Vietnam, Borneo, and other countries of this region, the rambutan is a relatively common fruit the same way an apple is common to many people in cooler climates. This may change for the rambutan over time as availability and distribution improve.

The yellow rambutan

Though a close relative of the lychee and an equally desirable fruit, this member of the Sapindaceae is not nearly as well-known. Botanically, it is Nephelium lappaceum L. (syns. Euphoria nephelium DC.; Dimocarpus crinita Lour.). In the vernacular, it is generally called rambutan (in French, ramboutan or ramboutanier; in Dutch, ramboetan); occasionally in India, ramboostan. To the Chinese it is shao tzu, to Vietnamese, chom chom or vai thieu; to Kampucheans, ser mon, or chle sao mao. There are other local names in the various dialects of southeast Asia and the East Indies.

DESCRIPTION
Growth Habit: The avocado is a dense, evergreen tree, shedding many leaves in early spring. It is fast growing and can with age reach 80 feet, although usually less, and generally branches to form a broad tree. Some cultivars are columnar, others selected for nearly prostrate form. One cultivar makes a good espalier. Growth is in frequent flushes during warm weather in southern regions with only one long flush per year in cooler areas. Injury to branches causes a secretion of dulcitol, a white, powdery sugar, at scars. Roots are coarse and greedy and will raise pavement with age. Grafted plants normally produce fruit within one to two years compared to 8 - 20 years for seedlings.

Avocado (Persea americana) is a tree and the fruit of that tree, classified in the flowering plant family, Lauraceae. It is native to Central America and Mexico. The tree grows to 20 m (65 ft), with alternately arranged, evergreen leaves, 12-25 cm long. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 5-10 mm wide. The pear-shaped fruit is botanically a berry or drupe, from 7 to 20 cm long, and weighs between 100 to 1000 g. It has a large central seed, 3 to 5 cm in diameter.

Avocados are a perfect food that replaces imperfect protein foods such as meat, eggs, cheese and poultry. Avocados contain high quality essential fatty acids and proteins that are easily digested. They also contain 14 minerals which regenerate and stimulate growth. They are an excellent source of iron and copper which build red blood cells. Avocados contain sodium and potassium which support a healthy alkaline blood balance. Because of their low sugar content and absence of starch, avocados are excellent for diabetics or sugar-sensitive disorders. This fruit contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, iron, phosphorous and magnesium. Avocado is high in vitamin E which slows down aging.

This famous giant lily from Brazil was discovered by the botanist Haenke in a tributary of the Amazon in 1810. Its seeds were brought back to the horticulturist Paxton in Europe who managed to cultivate them. The botanical gardens in Leiden followed suit in 1872. Up to this very day, botanical gardens compete with each other to see who can show the first flowering lily to the public (usually in early July). This special event occurs at night, because that is when the Victoria flowers.

V. amazonica is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, such as oxbow lakes and bayous. It is depicted in the Guyanese coat of arms. The flowers are white the first night they are open and become pink the second night. They are up to 40 cm in diameter, and are pollinated by beetles.

The leaves of the Victoria amazonica flower. They reach up to three meters in diameter.

Remarkably little is know about full the life-cycle natural history of V. amazonica. The leaves can exceed 2 m in diameter, and the stems reach 6 m, and can grow with the rising flood. White female flowers on day one turn into pink male flowers on day two, pollinated by several species of beetle. Apparently, if the seeds dry out at all, they die. It is unclear how V. amazonica survives the dry season. The seeds that are deposited on the várzea surface dry out and die. Seeds that fall in lakes are eaten by fish. Moreover, V. regia appears to grow not from the deepest water areas but from slightly shallower sites about 3 or 4 meters about lowest water, or about 6 meters below highest water. Plants sprout from seeds and keep up with water that can rise as rapidly as 10 cm per day, eventually to produce 5 to 10 leaves a month 1.5 m to 2 m in diameter.

Noni fruit - morinda citrifolia

One very interesting member of the madder family (Rubiaceae) is the painkiller tree or Indian mulberry (Morindia citrifolia), a small tree native to tropical Asia and south to Australia. It has been introduced throughout the tropical Pacific region and the Caribbean islands. In fact, its Pacific distribution coincides with many plants valued by the early Polynesians, such as breadfruit and taro. The yellowish-white, multiple fruit or syncarp is composed of numerous, fused, ripened ovaries, each derived from a separate white flower. Each section or hexagonal marking on the fruit represents the place where a flower was once attached.

Traditional medicinal uses: Various parts are used to contain fever and as a tonic (Chinese, Japan, Hawaii); leaves, flowers, fruit, bark to treat eye problems, skin wounds and abscesses, gum and throat problems, respiratory ailments, constipation, fever (Pacific Islands, Hawaii); to treat stomach pains and after delivery (Marshall Islands). Heated leaves applied to the chest relieve coughs, nausea, colic (Malaysia); juice of the leaves is taken for arthritis (Philippines). The fruit is taken for lumbago, asthma and dysentery (Indochina); pounded unripe fruit is mixed with salt and applied to cuts and broken bones; ripe fruit is used to draw out pus from an infected boil (Hawaii); juices of over-ripe fruits are taken to regulate menstrual flow, ease urinary problems (Malay); fruits used to make a shampoo (Malay, Hawaii) and to treat head lice (Hawaii). Other exotic diseases treated with the plant include diabetes (widespread) and venereal diseases.

General Description.—Noni, is also known as Indian mulberry, great morinda, cheezefruit, morinda, mouse’s pineapple, yellow root, jumbie breadfruit, hog apple, pain killer, mengkudu, nono, feyukke friudem rhubarbe caraïbe, bilimbi,pomme-macaque, and pomme de singe. It is a large evergreen shrub or small tree to 6 m or more in height and 13 cm or more in stem diameter. Sapwood is yellow-brown and soft. The bark is gray or brown, smoothish to slightly rough. Twigs are light green and four-angled. The opposite leaves are attached by stout petioles 1 to 2 cmlong. The blades are dark green and shiny, ovate orelliptic, 14 to 30 cm long by 8 to 18 cm broad, and have prominent veins. The white tubular flowers are grouped in globose heads at the leaf axils. The five-lobbed flower tubes are about 6 mm long. The greenish-white to pale-yellow, fleshy fruits are ovoid or globose syncarps 5 to 7 cm long. They have an unpleasant odor resembling cheese. They contain a number of seeds about 4 mm long.

Morinda elliptica

Noni is a small evergreen tree which grows in open coastal regions and in forest areas up to 395m above sea-level (http:www.hawaiiannoni.com/html/noni/html). It can be found from India to Indi-China, Malesia (the botanic region including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei and Singapore) and the Pacific Island.

Note: Very little specific information can be found on the Internet as regards Morinda Elliptica. It is mentioned in the article below.

Origin: The olive is native to the Mediterranean region, tropical and central Asia and various parts of Africa. The olive has a history almost as long as that of Western civilization, its development being one of civilized man's first accomplishments. At a site in Spain, carbon-dating has shown olive seed found there to be eight thousand years old. O. europaea may have been cultivated independently in two places, Crete and Syria. Archeological evidence suggest that olives were being grown in Crete as long ago as 2,500 B.C. From Crete and Syria olives spread to Greece, Rome and other parts of the Mediterranean area. Olives are also grown commercially in California, Australia and South Africa. There is some disagreement over when the trees first appeared in California. Some say they were introduced in 1769 when seeds brought from Mexico were planted. Others site the date 1785 when trees were brought in to make olive oil.

Olives are native to the Mediterranean region. The history of this fruit goes back almost as far as Western civilization, its development being one of man's first accomplishments. Evidence from archaeological digs proves that olives were grown in Crete in 2500 B.C. From there, the popularity of the olive spread to Greece, Rome and other Mediterranean districts.

History: Olive trees have been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for thousands of years. It is thought that wild olive trees originated in Asia Minor, spreading through Syria to Greece and then from the 6th Century BC onwards throughout the Mediterranean basin. To the Gods olive oil was a source of immortality. Today, it's a way of life. Legend says that the immortality of the Greek gods came from their use of olive oil. It can (it was believed) halt the ageing process. Other legends tell other tales of the olive tree. Poseidon, God of the Sea, once fought for supremacy with Athene, Goddess of Wisdom and the Arts. He made salt water flow from the bare rock. She planted an olive tree and from the olives flowed a divine juice: Olive Oil. It was no contest. Olive oil might not confer immortality but it's healthy, beneficial and creates meals fit for the gods. It's a blessing to mankind.

A frequently cultivated Eurasian plant (Physalis alkekengi) having small red berries enclosed in inflated papery orange-red seed cases. Also called Chinese lantern plant. Physalis alkekengi -from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 40-60 cm tall, with spirally arranged leaves 6-12 cm long and 4-9 cm broad. The flowers are white, with a five-lobed corolla 10-15 mm across, with an inflated basal calyx which matures into the papery orange fruit covering, 4-5 cm long and broad.

Chinese lantern, Physalis alkekengi, grows to two feet tall and bears small, white flowers followed by large, balloon-like husks. Inside each 2-inch long husk is a small edible but tasteless scarlet fruit. The Chinese lantern plant is valued for its inflated orange-red seed coverings which resemble miniature Chinese lanterns. For winter bouquets, cut the stems in fall just as the lanterns turn color, remove the leaves and hang them, right side up, to dry in a shady, airy place.

The word "orange" ultimately comes from Sanskrit narang. Oranges originated in southeast Asia, in either India, Pakistan, Vietnam or southern China. The fruit of Citrus sinensis is called sweet orange to distinguish it from Citrus aurantium, the bitter orange. In a number of languages, it is known as a "Chinese apple" (eg. Dutch Sinaasappel (China's apple)).

One of the most widely favored of the world's fruits, the orange, sweet orange, or round orange, was for many years known as Citrus aurantium var. sinensis L. and considered to be a form of the sour orange (q.v.). It is still not universally agreed to be a distinct species, C. sinensis Osbeck, but it is usually treated as though it were. One of its first recorded regional names was the Persian narang, from which were derived the Spanish name, naranja, and the Portuguese, laranja. In some Caribbean and Latin American areas, the fruit is called naranja de China, China dulce, or simply China (pronounced cheena).

The plant prefers medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

For thousands of years, the fruit and plant of Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine, have been harvested for both medicinal and nutritional value; its history is intimately entwined with the history of wine.

Uses - Cultured for fruit, eaten fresh or processed into wine, raisins, juice, with some cultivars adapted for the canning industry. Grape seeds contain 6–20% oil, used for edible purposes, soaps, and as a linseed substitute. The leaves of this and other species are eaten in other cultures.

It is important to remember the vulnerability of European grape varieties. Only sites which do not place extra restrictions on vine function, such as poor soil or air drainage; excessive or inadequate fertility; or local restrictions on growing season length should be used for V. vinifera. In addition growers must use stringent measures to control diseases and insects; superior pruning and training methods; and employ canopy management techniques such as leaf removal which will enhance wood maturity and minimize disease. These techniques are discussed in Cornell Miscellaneous Bulletin 111, Cultural Practices for Commercial Vineyards (Jordan et al., 1980).

Thought to have originated from Africa, the sweet tamarind found its way to Arabia and Southeast Asia where it is considered to be a prized delicacy.

Thai name: Makham wan
Scientific name: Tamarindus indica L.
Season: December to March

The fruit is, as the name suggests, a sweet variety of a fruit generally associated with an acid taste. After being peeled it is generally eaten fresh, though boiled in water it also makes a refreshing juice. Other, more sour varieties of tamarind are used in various cooked dishes for flavoring.

Tamarind tree

Sweet tamarind is grown mostly in Phetchabun. Sweet Tamarind Fair is thus organised in Phetchabun to celebrate the harvest of this fruit. This day is also called Phetchabun’s Agricultural Day. During the festival, farmers bring their sweet tamarind to sell at reasonable price at Phetchabun’s provincial athletic field where contests of sweet tamarind and other crops are held. Besides this, there are other agricultural exhibitions and entertainment organised during the event.

Tamarind seedling

The coconut is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where wild relatives occur.

Coconut is one of the ten most useful trees in the world, providing food for millions of people, especially in the tropics. At any one time a coconut palm has 12 different crops of nuts on it, from opening flower to ripe nut. At the top of the tree is the growing point, a bundle of tightly packed, yellow-white, cabbage-like leaves, which, if damaged, causes entire tree to die, but if tree can be spared, this heart makes a tasty treat, a 'millionaire's salad'. Unopened flowers are protected by sheath, often used to fashion shoes, caps, even a kind of pressed helmet for soldiers. Opened flowers provide a good honey for bees. A clump of unopened flowers may be bound tightly together, bent over and its tip bruised. Soon it begins to 'weep' a steady dripping of sweet juice, up to a gallon per day.

The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaves 4-6 m long, pinnae 60-90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth. The term coconut refers to the fruit of the coconut palm.

Callitris is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are 15 species in the genus, of which 13 are native to Australia and the other two (C. neocaledonica, C. sulcata) native to New Caledonia. The most widely used common name is cypress-pine, a name shared by the closely related genus Actinostrobus.

Fitzroya is a genus in the cypress family Cupressaceae with a single species, Fitzroya cupressoides native to the Andes mountains of southern Chile and adjoining Argentina, where it is an important member of the Valdivian temperate rain forests. The scientific name of the genus honours Robert FitzRoy; common names include Lahuan (the Mapuche Native American name), Alerce (South American Spanish), and Patagonian Cypress.

The "Lone Cypress" near Monterey, California. Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey Cypress, Macrocarpa) is a species of cypress endemic to the central coast of California. In the wild, the species is confined to two small populations, near Monterey and Carmel. These groves are protected, within Point Lobos State Reserve and Del Monte Forest. The natural habitat is noted for its cool, humid summers, almost constantly bathed by sea fog.

Papyrus is an early form of paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that grows to 5 meters (15 ft) in height and was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. Papyrus is first known to have been used in ancient Egypt (at least as far back as the First dynasty), but it was also widely used throughout the Mediterranean region, as well as inland parts of Europe and south-west Asia.

Date Palms, Merzouga, Morocco. The Date Palm Phoenix dactylifera is a palm, extensively cultivated for its edible fruit. Due to its long history of cultivation for fruit, its exact native distribution is unknown, but the date palm probably originated somewhere in the desert oases of northern Africa, and perhaps also southwest Asia. It is a medium-sized tree, 15-25 m tall, often clumped with several trunks from a single root system, but also often growing singly. The leaves are pinnate, 3-5 m long, with spines on the petiole and about 150 leaflets; the leaflets are 30 cm long and 2 cm broad. The full span of the crown ranges from 6-10 m.

Most of the dozen or more species of the genus Phoenix (family Palmae) are grown as ornamental palms indoors or out. Only the common date, P. dactylifera L., is cultivated for its fruit. Often called the edible date, it has few alternate names except in regional dialects. To the French, it is dattier; in German, it is dattel; in Italian, datteri; or dattero; in Spanish, datil; and, in Dutch, dadel. The Portuguese word is tamara.

There are literally hundreds of species of palm trees that oftentimes dominate the vegetation of regularly flooded rainforest lands in the Amazon. Up to seven thousand palm trees per acre have been recorded in some areas of the rainforest. The Palm family, with over 1200 species split into 32 generic groups, is one of the most useful families of plants and widely used by rainforest inhabitants. Palm trees have long provided a range of products including food, beverages, cooking oil, clothing, construction materials, tools, weapons and household wares.

An emergent rainforest palm, it is found cross large areas of south-eastern Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, and Paraguay.