Jardinerong Sunog (the Burnt Gardener)

Widespread from Myanmar and southern Thailand to Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the Philippines in the provinces of Aurora, Laguna, Nueva Vizcaya, Quezon, and Zambales (all on Luzon), Pinalia xanthocheila is an epiphyte (sometimes also lithophytic) on riverine or mixed dipterocarp forests at elevations from near sea level to 1600 m, in part-shade to bright light, but not full sun. These plants appear to have an affinity on growing either on thin layers of humus deposits or mosses, or on the root masses of epiphytic ferns. The plants usually flower twice a year, between January to March, and then again anytime from September to November. In contrast to typical xanthocheilas, the side lobes on the labellum are greenish-yellow instead of red. Indeed, the absence of anthocyanin pigments on the flowers can be construed as albinism, but thin margins of red can still be found on the tips of the pale green, reflexing bracts. A healthy plant can produce up to 6 active inflorescences a...

Yesterday, March 20, marked the beginning of the Spring Equinox, where both hemispheres will receive equal amounts of sunlight. In the Philippines, this season has been erroneously referred to as 'Summer', with the error mentioned practically everywhere, year by year. Wait, what? Alright, before you raise a howl, do find a globe or a world map first and determine the location of the Philippines. You will see that the archipelago sits above the equator, which means that we still lie in the northern hemisphere, and therefore, our seasons are still in compliance with the northern hemisphere's. And if we have Spring, then it also follows that we do have Autumn and Winter, in addition to Summer. It just so happened that many of us reside in the hot tropical lowlands where temperatures are more or less at constant ranges due to our proximity to the equator, and therefore the change of seasons seems to be not so easily apparent. But it is there. From here I can almost...

As it currently stands, the Philippines is acknowledged as having the most number of known Hoya species, with in excess of 100 species, although with the number of new species descriptions with dubious methodology in the past years, the actual number may be lower. Nevertheless, entities that are certainly new to science are still being discovered with regularity. Take this plant as an example. At first sight, it can be mistaken for H. blashernaezii , with its narrow, lanceolate leaves and campanulate yellow flowers. But the corona lobes are markedly different, with H. blashernaezii 's being longer and more drawn out, and noticeably more appressed to the corollas. In this plant, the coronas are more blocky and diagonally oriented.  Here is what the flowers appear when still in the bud stage. Already quite attractive even with the flowers still closed, don't you think? These flowers open at night like in most hoyas, with a very weak, almost imperceptible, delicat...

Last month a friend gave me a division of this orchid, a Dendrobium hymenanthum *, which I potted in a free-draining mix consisting of pumice stones and some leaf litter, and placed in a bright position with overhead netting. A month later, I noticed buds forming on several of the growths, which developed so rapidly that in just a few days, opened up. The flowers are sharply fragrant, which makes sense because these blooms last for only a day and therefore had to make the most of its time by increasing the likelihood of the plant attracting potential pollinators. Here's the entire plant. Those blooms may be short-lived, but these plants as well as related species flower several times throughout the year. This is a small-growing epiphyte, and the narrow and furrowed pseudobulbs are terminated by a pair of thick, oblong-ovate leaves. The blooms appear at the junction of these leaves. However, not all the buds decided to join in the fun: Dendrobium hymenanthum...

A native of Niger in the north, and Kenya and Tanzania in Central Africa, Orbea semota subsp. orientalis is distinguished from the nominate subspecies, O. semota subsp. semota , by its smaller flowers that are unadorned with blotches. The corolla lobes are rugose (with a roughened texture) and edged with clavate (club-shaped, or with the tips thickened) vibratile trichomes that move in a creepy way even at the slightest breeze. These trichomes are relatively longer than those from subsp. semota , but fewer in number. The annulus (that lifeguard-shaped structure at the center of the flower) as well as the corona are moistened. Dare I say that if touched, its lovely scent of feces will stick to your intruding finger. I repeat: feces. In a public toilet, to be more specific about it. The flower is 2.5 cm across and unsurprisingly evolved to attract flies, its main pollinators. Even the color is insipid enough to recall the coloration of exposed and shriveling flesh of a dead animal fes...

A portion of my succulent growing area that is exposed to full sunlight. Mature plants, divisions, and cuttings live side by side. Note how most of the plants are over-potted. Most of us tend to think of climate as atmospheric conditions heavily influenced by the change of seasons and, in the tropics, the effect of trade winds. But climate and knowledge about it is a generalization that only applies to a large set of areas or regions, and is really useful to the gardener in a limited way. A microclimate on the other hand refers to conditions that prevail over a small area and often very different from the general climate. There are many variables involved, including the proximity of a body of water, the presence of hills which affect the angle and incidence of sunlight, soil type, and vegetation. The microclimate present in your local neighborhood may be slightly different from one that is just a few blocks away- even though you share the same climatic conditions. A tropical c...

Hoya myrmecopa Hoya myrmecopa was originally described in 2001 from specimens collected from near Tentena in Sulawesi. And by the latter part of the last decade, plants were detected from the province of Quezon on Luzon, and was early on circulated as Hoya sp. Sulawesi. Not long after, it was determined that H. myrmecopa isn't endemic to Sulawesi after all, but the range extension is enormous. In 2013, Philippine plants were assigned to subspecies kapatalanensis (Kloppenburg, Siar, Cajano, Guevarra & Carandang, 2013) in the very badly edited Hoya New (the protologue was also very badly written), and differentiated from the supposedly nominate subspecies by the longer peduncles and over-all larger habit of the plants; note that despite being found first in the province of Quezon, the authors opted to give the name after Kapatalan, a barangay in the town of Siniloan in the province of Laguna (only goes to show that species names ending in - ensis /- ense  can suck big ...

A widespread species from Nepal and Bhutan, to northeastern India, eastwards to Indochina and south to Malaysia, Dendrobium farmeri is an epiphytic species from 300 to 1000 meters and is among the most popular dendrobiums due to their ease of maintenance. In their native habitats it is one of the many plant species that bloom at the onset of spring. This plant was given to me by my friend Ravan Schneider, who used to be an intrepid explorer of the mountains in northern Mindoro. Not a few orchids have since been named after him. When he moved back to Germany, this was one of those plants he left for me.  Due to their wide altitudinal distribution, these plants are quite adaptable in a range of conditions, although I read that plants from Myanmar do not flower in the uniform climate of Singapore. This may be an artifact of the Myanmar plants' preference for higher altitudes. Nevertheless, I maintain my plant, which is mounted on a slab of wood, exposed to the elements where it ...

I have a special fondness for those plants that are so lazy to gather their own nutrients that they manipulate animals for that function. Alright, I am not of course that serious on the lazy part, but there are indeed plants that have formed mutualistic relationships with ants- marvel of nature, you might say. Myrmecophytes- or those plant species that have formed symbiotic relationship with ants- are found in a wide range of families, from trees and large climbers like Acacia from the family Fabaceae and Poikilospermum from the family Urticaceae, to smaller and more specialized plants like the famed and bizarre ant plants (from the genera  Anthorrhiza , Hydnophytum , Myrmecodia , Myrmephytum , and Squamellaria ) of family Rubiaceae (which also includes the fragrant Gardenia and the economically important Coffea , the coffee) and the vining members of the family Apocynaceae  that produce both the normal and laminate leaves, and the specialized domatia leaves that serve ...

There are orchids that have a definite blooming season, and there are those that flower just when they seem like it. Dendrobium auriculatum is a good example of the latter and is a very free-blooming plant with disproportionately large flowers compared to the stems that carry it. The flowers are from 4 to 5 cm in width and are borne singly on very wiry stems that reach almost a meter in length but only around 3 mm in diameter. As can be seen from the photo, the flowers are mainly white, with yellowish-green suffusion and stripes at the bases of the perianth segments. Showy as the flowers are, fragrance is nevertheless found wanting on this species. This illustrates the normal habit of the flower- downward facing. But only because it bends the stems from its weight. Seen from the sides, the large, laterally flattened, upwardly curved mentum is apparent. A mentum is formed by the bases of the sepals and ideally contains nectar as reward for potential pollinators. I said '...

The Philippines hosts a diverse assemblage of Hoya species, with newly discovered ones being found every year with regularity. And yet, some mainstays are still capable of holding their own, despite being commonly seen both in the wild and in gardens. Such is true for H. obscura , a widespread and often encountered species that occurs in several localities in the Philippines and Sulawesi. These are usually denizens of the lowlands, but can ascend to altitudes of about 1000 m above sea level. In both cases, they are often observed clinging on more open spots on their host trees, with a clear aversion for companion plants. Hoya obscura is a slow-growing species, and can be overtaken and smothered by larger, faster-growing epiphytic vegetation. In contrast to many other species of Hoya , this species is more of a dangling plant, but can become root climbers when their stems get in contact with a substrate. Perhaps due to its propensity to grow rather exposed, H. obscura has thickened s...

Ixora finlaysoniana is a large shrub that can reach heights of up to 6 m tall and is widely grown in warmer gardens worldwide. It has been recorded from NE India to southern China, to Thailand and southwards to the Philippines. However, there have been doubts if this species does naturally occur within the islands; this site does not even include it in the list of indigenous Ixora found in the country:  http://philippineplants.org/Families/Rubiaceae.html In the Philippines, Ixora species and hybrids- locally known as 'santan'- are often maintained in gardens and even planted along streets, particularly the red or orange-flowered ones. Ixora finlaysoniana is less commonly seen, due to less demand from the general public and therefore not usually stocked in nurseries or garden centers. This lack of appreciation probably stems from the species' large eventual size which dissuades most casual gardeners from even considering it. However,  I. finlaysoniana deserves to b...

A Ceropegia africana   was among the stapeliad cuttings I received last year, Nov. 21, and has grown so admiringly well that the plant rooted without any issues and quickly formed a rounded, above-ground tuber about 1.5 cm in diameter. Like most of my succulents, it was left in the open, under sun and rain, and thrived enough to eventually produce two side shoots by the end of December. By mid-February I decided to cut the branches and have these rooted, but noticed that one of the shoots showed a couple of tiny flower buds. With most other plants, any bud from a shoot that was cut for propagation purposes will deteriorate and fall off, but am curious if the water and nutrients stored in the plant's succulent leaves and stems will be enough to sustain the buds until the cutting roots and become self-sustaining. The problem was that it took an awful lot of time before the stems callused and the cut portions actually became watery that necessitated their removal, resulting in even s...

This is a Nepenthes acquired from three years back that is unlike any I have seen so far. Not that it bears characters unique within the genus, but its traits are not seen in any described Nepenthes known from the Philippines. As you can see from the photo, the lower portion of the trap is infundibular, with a nearly perfectly oblique operculum (the pitcher 'mouth') and lid that is smaller in diameter compared to the operculum. Photo depicts an upper trap: Another upper trap from the same plant: I expect some quarters to dismiss this plant as just another N. graciliflora , currently the most widespread of Philippine Nepenthes species. Photo below shows the two plants side by side. Note the upper trap of N. graciliflora (left) being bulbous as opposed to the infundibular shape of this species under scrutiny. If at all, the most similar Philippine species that I can think of is N. cornuta . But the portion of the pitcher immediate to the tendril attachment is not ...