Getting to know Ixoras

Ixora is a large genus comprising about 400 species of evergreen trees and shrubs in tropical Africa, Asia, Australia and the islands of  the south Pacific. Ixora and some of the popular garden plants such as Gardenias, Mussaendas and important crops like Morinda (noni) and Coffea arabica (coffee) belong to the same Rubiaceae family. In Peninsular Malaysia, in addition to the cultivated species, there are some 20 wild species of mainly shrubs or small trees and rarely as large trees. Flowering is seasonal in the wild species with preference for light shaded habitats in the lowland forests and mountains or near rivers and streams.

Interestingly “the name Ixora is a Portuguese rendering of the Sanskrit name of the Indian god Siva” and synonymous with Iswara, a Malabar deity. Contrary to the divine names, the Malays call it  pecah periuk referring to the four  petals which resemble a broken earthenware pot. They must have referred to the ‘more rounded petals’ of the cultivated Ixora coccinea at the time! Sometimes it is known as jarum-jarum or jejarum referring to the unopened flower buds and the projecting styles of the open flowers which resemble bunches of needles. In this respect, from a distance or at a glance, Carphalea, an old favourite becoming popular again may be confused with Ixoras. Closely related genera with relatively similar flowers as Ixoras include Pavetta and Pentas.

Garden, Mosquitoes & Dengue

Gardens, mosquitoes and dengue, a continuous concern especially those who live in urban and suburban areas. While we are excited about having gardens we should be aware of the danger of dengue which is a mosquito-borne viral disease, and mosquitoes are not uncommon in gardens. We hope the following information will benefit the readers and all garden enthusiasts.

Phytotelmata
In many gardens, there may be plants that will provide suitable breeding sites for mosquitoes. These come in the form of phytotelmata (singular phytotelma), that is, non-aquatic plants that impound water. They include leaf axils, inflorescence, modified leaves, stem holes or depressions, fallen leaves and open fruits. Some examples are bromeliads, bananas, taro, gingers, Dillenia suffruticosa (simpoh), and Ficus auriculata (Ficus roxburghiana; ara).

The leaf axils and inflorescences are often overlooked as potential breeding sites for mosquitoes. Examples of mosquitoes breeding in leaf axils include members of the genera Aedes, Culex, Topomyia, Toxorhynchites, Tripteroides and Uranotaenia.

An Urban Forest Garden

We live in a Tropical rainforest region, but our cities have been highly developed to create the same situation as any other city in the world, densely populated and with congestion even in the surrounding suburbs. However there still exist pockets of areas in the city that escaped the concrete development that happened in the past decade. In the city of Kuala Lumpur itself there are 6 areas gazetted, as Urban Forest and developers cannot encroach into them. There are also areas, where in the old days of colonisation, our colonial forefathers built residences without totally uprooting trees or changing the land profile. Although the areas are no longer considered forest, they still retain some of the features of a tropical rainforest ambience.

One such area is Bukit Tunku or Tunku Hills, named after our late first Prime Minister. Residences in the area mostly belonged to multinational companies and as the expatriates appreciated the tropical rainforest surroundings they kept the properties and surroundings as close to the original landscape as could be practical. Now new owners who bought over rebuilt most of the properties and gradually the landscape is changing.

The residence we are featuring was considered a new building compared to the original houses but the owners being naturalists themselves built their home to merge into the surroundings. They did minimal cutting and left many old forest trees still in the garden area. They add more forest species to replace those that fell or got taken down by our tropical storms.

Mosses: The Minuscule Masters of Moisture

They are everywhere yet we hardly notice them. More often than not we step on them, whether hurrying along a city pavement or negotiating a trail in the forest. Every now and then we might marvel at the lush green velvet-like carpets some of them produce. In our homes we quite frequently try to get rid of them. And most of all we understand very little of their purpose on this planet.

These curious creatures, of which a multitude of tiny individuals are needed to create a patch visible to the naked human eye, are mosses. Just about every gardener will sooner or later detect their presence on the outside of a ceramic pot, in the crevices of walking paths and the lower side of branches, even in between tufts of grass in shaded areas of the lawn. They just appear, their spores carried along by currents of air. Spores eventually land on a suitable substrate where they germinate, grow and multiply, at first invisible until one day we spot them as small deep green cushions.

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden

Nong Nooch Tropical gardens, in the south of  Thailand is famous not only for having large collections of palms, orchids and other ornamentals, but also for the fact that it is a private Gardens able to be self sustaining. We visited the gardens to see the collections as well as to find out how it is managed.Situated just 15 minutes east of Pattaya, it encompasses 800 acres of land housing the gardens itself as well as nurseries that maintain the collections. With this area of plantings there have to be a system to monitor the plants. They are using the BG base Data Storage for living plants.

We were very lucky to have Mr. Anders J. Lindstrom, the curator himself to guide us through the gardens. His initial briefing gave us a glimpse into the running of the gardens, how each plant in the area is monitored through their highly developed system. There are 2000 workers in Nong Nooch but not all of them are the gardening staff. About 400 maintain the gardens and the rest are staff that work on the attractions that make the garden what it is… a tourist attraction.

Espalier with Carambola

Espalier  is usually formed in temperate countries on fruit trees such as apples and pears. I have always wondered which fruit tree can be turned into this form, until I spotted these espalier carambola or starfruit trees in the Taman Warisan Pertanian or the Agricultural Heritage Garden in Putra Jaya.

These forms can be obtained by pruning and training. Training is done by tying individual shoots onto a supporting framework of canes and wires. Pruning should be done with an angled cut.

Roselle

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) in Malaysia is mostly planted commercially by the smallholders in Terengganu on the Bris soils. The planting has later been extended to some areas in Johor. Roselle is also known as sorrel, red sorrel, Florida cranberry, rosella and Indian sorrel. The most important edible part is the fleshy sepal (calyx), which is intense red in color with an acidic taste.

The calyx is the part that is left over after the bloom, which is processed to produce juice for drinking. It is very high in vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Every 100 gm of fresh calyx will contain about 2.85 µg vitamin D, 0.04 mg vitamin B1, 0.06 mg vitamin B2, and 0.05 mg vitamin B2 Complex.

The calyx can also be processed to make jam and jelly. The leaves and young stems are edible and used in salads or cooked as a vegetable. Roselle is a tropical annual plant from the family Malvaceae similar to our national flower and said to be native to West Africa. The plant is small in size like shrubs and can grow to a height of about 2m with lobed reddish leaves.

Eric Simon - Planting Happiness

As we approached the house of the personality we feature in this issue of Garden Asia, we were greeted by a riot of colours representing a widely varied collection of large potted bougainvilleas. The next moment, Eric Simon stepped out excitedly welcoming us to his home. With his pleasant smile and warm greetings one cannot help but like him at first sight! In fact, everything about him exudes enthusiasm and energy. Eric is a man who lives up to his mottos - “ All things grow with love” and “He who plants a garden, plants happiness”.

An Urban Forest Park

A young  gardener wrote in about a gem in our midst, which many of us, even those living around the corner, do not know about. It is an urban forest, an enclave left behind when developments were done. The area has been gazetted as a protected urban forest and the residence in the area has realized how fortunate they are to have such a valuable green lung for their highly developed area.

The most important fact is the forest is still a virgin forest with biodiversity that could give benefits to research in the country. Students from the various universities and research institutes in the city can do studies without having to go far out.

Most importantly we have to protect it from further encroachment by development!Imagine a potential world famous park, much bigger than Hyde Park, a mere 350 acres space in London and slightly bigger than Central Park in New York at 843 acres – in our own beloved country at 857 acres. A park with a wealth of flora and fauna. A park consisting of majestic forest trees, herbaceous plants, ferns and fungi, lichens and mosses. A park with inhabitants of birds, reptiles, mammals and insects.

Roselle Almond Cup Cakes

Ingredients

6 egg whites
185 g butter
125 ground almonds
240 g sifted icing sugar
75 g plain flour
1 cup Roselle paste
Cinnamon sugar for dusting
( 1/4 cup castor sugar plus 1 tsp cinnamon powder )
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1.    Preheat oven to moderately hot ( 200°C ).
2. Grease some muffin tins with melted margarine.
3. Place the egg white in a mixing bowl. Whisk lightly until combined.
4. Add in butter, ground almond, icing sugar and flour.
    Stir until well blended.
5. Divide cake mixture among prepared tins, filling half of the tin.
    Place 1/2 tsp of the Roselle paste and then top again with the rest of
    the cake mixture.
6. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
7. Serve dusted with cinnamon sugar and top with Roselle flowers.

Serve
12

Preparation Time
15 mins.

Cooking Times
20 mins.

Art from Roselle

The dried roselle calyx is quite versatile as it is not only  an ingredient in food preparation, but also used for art and craft. The Malays dry the roselle calyx and use it to create flower bouquets and arrangements for decorations and wedding gifts.