An Encyclopedia of Philippine Trees

An Encyclopedia of
Philippine Trees
(3rd Edition)
Created by: Derrick Yson

Introduction of Trees
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated trunk or stem, usually with
branches and leaves. Depending on the application, the definition of a tree may be
narrower and include only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that can be used
for timber, or plants over a certain height. In a broader sense, tall palms, tree ferns,
bananas, and bamboo are also considered trees.
Trees are not a monophyletic taxon but are made up of different plant species that
have independently evolved trunks and branches to tower over other plants and compete
for sunlight. Most tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods. Many of the rest are
gymnosperms or conifers. Trees are generally long-lived, with some living for thousands
of years. Trees have existed for 370 million years. It is estimated that there are
approximately 3 trillion ancient trees around the world.
After all, there are 3,600 confirmed native trees in the Philippines, 67% of which are
endemic and found only in our country. Unfortunately, many of our native trees are
disappearing due to deforestation, replacement by invasive species, and monoculture
plantations. Native fruit trees are important because they serve as a source of food,
nutrition, and income for local communities. However, of the more than 300 edible fruit
tree species in the country, only a few are grown commercially and are considered
economically important, and many are underutilized.
This document was first edited in July 2020 through a Word Document. The second
edition of this document is 2022 which adds his personal logo and the third edition was
edited in May 2024 includes the Philippine Trees 101 Logo, his own pictorial of trees, and
additional local and scientific names synonyms including their personal author invented
of the botanical name. It also improved the consistency of fonts, and all of the scientific
names were italicized. This document serves as a guide of different Philippine Trees
species.
Encyclopedia of Philippine Trees
Adenanthera pavonina L.
Fabaceae (MIMOSACEAE)
Synonym: Adenanthera gersenii
Common names: Red bead tree, coral wood, red sandalwood
Tagalog name: Saga hutan
Status: Common; found as a component of the closed forests of Barringtonia asiatica and
coconut forests; occasionally grows amidst shrubs of Hibiscus tiliaceus
Description: A medium to large sized deciduous tree that grows up to 20 m tall. Trunk is
straight with round but uneven and spreading crown. Multiple stems are common. Bark
smooth with fissures, is brown or greyish in colour and has large number of lichens.
Leaves are bipinnate with two to seven pairs of leaflets, which are pale green in colour,
oval-oblong in shape with blunt tip and alternate in arrangement along the branches.
Leaves turn yellow with age. Flowers are small, star shaped with five petals, yellow in
colour, fragrant and are borne in slender, dense racemes, which look like rat tails. Fruit is
a pod, curved, with slight constriction between seeds, black when ripen and twist upon
drying to show seeds.
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Eight to twelve seeds are present in a pod. Each seed is about 0.9 cm wide, dark to bright
red, shiny, lens shaped and extremely hard. Ripened pod remains attached to the tree for
a long time.
Uses: Timber is hard, strong reddish and durable. In Maldives it is used to build any part
of a boat. It is also used in carpentry.
Ecology, propagation and management: Adenanthera pavonina is found growing on a

variety of soils from deep, well-drained to shallow and rocky soils, but prefers neutral or
slightly acidic soil. It is capable of quickly forming large colonies in moist closed forests,
where the trunk grows very straight. It can be propagated from seed and the seedlings
have epigeal germination. Since the seed coat is extremely hard, scarifying the seed
surface or immersing the seeds in boiling water for one minute is required to increase the
rate and reduce the time of germination, which otherwise may take up to 12 months.
Nursery stock out-plants well. Growth rate is fast after the first year.
Albizia saman (Jacq.) Merr. - Akasya
Albizia saman (Jacq.) Merr.
Synonyms: Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr., Albizia saman (Jacq.) F. Muell
Common names: Rain tree, monkey pod, Acacia
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Tagalog Name: Akasya
Status: Occurs occasionally in nature; now it is widely planted
Description: A fast growing, semi-deciduous tree, which normally grows to 15 to 25 m in

height but is capable of reaching up to 50 m. Crown is umbrella shaped; in open places the
horizontal spread is greater than the height of the tree. Trunk is short and stout with grey,
rough and fissured bark. Bark on younger tree is pale grey and smooth. Leaves are
compound, arranged alternately along twigs with two to six pairs of pinnae. Each pinna
has 6 to 16 pairs of leaflets, which are diamond shaped, shiny green on the upper surface
and pale and finely haired on the lower surface. Leaflets are larger at apical end of the
pinna. Leaflets fold during the night and sometimes on cloudy days. Flowers are pink in
colour, numerous and clustered. Long stamens, which are red in the upper half and white
below, give the whole flower head the appearance of a powder puff. Flowers bear honey.
Fruit is a large pod, 10 to 20 cm in length, thick, black-brown in colour and filled with a
sticky brownish sweet pulp. Each fruit contains 15 to 20 fatty, shiny, smooth and dark
brown seeds.
Uses: Widely grown as shade providing and ornamental tree. Timber is light weight,
durable and resistant to termites. It is used for carving, furniture, paneling and as veneer
and plywood. It can be used for framing in boat building. It makes fairly good firewood
but smokes a lot when burned. Tree yields a lowgrade gum when wounded. Honey is also
harvested from the tree. Pulp of the pod is edible but too astringent. It is mainly grown as
an ornamental and shade tree. It is a nitrogen fixer.
Ecology, propagation and management: Rain tree grows on light, medium and heavy soils
and also adapts to acidic and alkaline conditions. It can tolerate water logging for a short
period and light salt spray but is intolerant to shade. It is propagated easily and commonly
by seed but also by stem cuttings, root cuttings and stump cuttings. Seeds are placed in hot
water for about three minutes and then soaked in cold water for 24 hours before sowing.
Seedlings of about 15 to 30 cm can be used for outplanting. Seedlings of more than 1 cm
stem diameter hold up better in wind and rain.
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Annona glabra L.
ANNONACEAE
Synonyms: Annona australis, Annona chrysocarpa, Annona peruviana
Common names: Pond apple, bullock's heart
Status: Common in-home gardens. It has also become wild and naturalized along the
border of open wetlands as in Fuvamulah Island.
Description: A semi-deciduous tree about 10 to 15 m tall. Normally with a single trunk but
seedlings can grow in clumps giving the appearance of a multi-stemmed tree. Bark is grey,
thin and fissured with prominent lenticels (involved in gas exchange and appear as raised
spots). Mature trees have slightly buttressed roots. Leaves are leathery, simple, alternate
in arrangement along the branches and oblongelliptical in shape; upper surface of the leaf
is dark green and underneath is pale. Foliage contains yellow leaves during the summer.
Flowers are single, large, 2 to 5 cm in diameter, pale yellow to creamwhite in colour and
attractive with three leathery outer petals and three smaller inner petals with a red inner
base. Fruit is mostly spherical in shape and looks like smooth-skinned sweetsop and
mango in shape; some fruits look like bullock's heart. Fruit is green in colour when young
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but after falling from trees turn yellow and then black. Pulp is fleshy, pinkish-orange or
orange, aromatic and pungent. Each fruit contains about 100 light brown coloured seeds,
which are about 1 cm in length.
Uses: Fruits are delicious and eaten raw. They are also used in the preparation of a sweet
drink..
Softwood and roots are used as fish floats. Bark is an excellent home for orchids and other
air plants. Seedling can be used as a rootstock for custard apple and sweetsop.
Ecology, propagation and management: Pond apple requires ample soil moisture and
sunlight. It can tolerate prolonged freshwater flooding but is intolerant to permanent
inundation. Propagation is by seeds and stem cuttings. Both fruit and seeds can float and
remain viable in fresh, brackish and seawater for many months. Once seeds settle in fresh
or saline wet soil, they germinate quickly and growth is rapid initially. This species is
suitable for coastal agroforestry because both seedlings and adult trees can tolerate high
salinity and can survive root immersion by high tide. However, it can be an aggressive
invader in open and disturbed wetlands where moisture and sunlight are plentiful.
Annona muricata L. - Guyabano
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Annona muricata L.
ANNONACEAE
Synonym: Annona bonplandiana Kunth
Common names: Soursop
Tagalog name: Guyabano, Bayubana (Ilocano), Babana (Panay Bisaya)
Status: Common in northern islands and found occasionally in southern groups. Grown
in home gardens as a fruit tree.
Description: A small, low-branching (at the base of the tree), evergreen tree about 5 to 9 m
tall. Trunk is straight. Bark is grey or greyish-brown, rough and fissured. Twigs bear large
number of minute lenticels. Leaves are leathery, simple and arranged alternately; oblong,
elliptic or narrow obovate in shape and pointed at both ends. Leaves are shiny, dark green
on the upper surface, light green beneath; they produce a strong pungent smell when
crushed. Flowers are large and single; emerge anywhere on the trunk, branches and twigs.
Flowers are short stalked, plumb, triangular to conical in shape; have three outer petals
that are fleshy, green or yellow-green and three inner petals that are pale yellow in colour.
Fruit is covered with a reticulate, tender, inedible bitter skin with many stubby, curved,
soft spines, whose tips break off easily when the fruit is fully ripe. Skin of the immature
fruit is dark green in colour, becoming slightly yellowish-green in mature fruit. Flesh is
whitish, fibrous and very juicy, smells like pineapple and subacid to acid in taste. Each
fruit contains a few dozen to 200 or more seeds, which are shiny, hard, oblong and dark
brown or black in colour.
Uses: Mature fruit, which is fragrant and delicious, is eaten fresh or used to make juices
and sherbets. Fruit and fruit juice is taken to increase mother's milk after childbirth.
Along with guava and passion fruit, soursop is considered promising for large scale
marketing in the form of preserved pulp, jelly and syrup. Barks, leaves and roots are used
in traditional medicine. Unripe fruit used for dysentery.In the Philippines, there are
following herbal cure:
· Ripe fruit is antiscorbutic.
· Seeds and green fruit are astringent.
· Flowers are antispasmodic.
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· Infusion of leaves used as sudorific, antispasmodic and emetic.
· In some cultures, the fruits and leaves are used for tranquilizing and sedative properties.
· Juice of ripe fruit used as diuretic and for hematuria and urethritis.
· Flesh of soursop used as poultice to draw out chiggers.
· Decoction of leaves used of head lice and bedbugs.
· Pulverized seeds and seed oil effective for head lice.
· Fruit used as a bait in fish traps.
· Decoction of leaves used as compresses for inflammation and swollen feet.
· Poultice of mashed leaves and sap of young leaves used for eczema and skin eruptions.
· Flowers used to alleviate catarrh.
Ecology, propagation and management: A. muricata grows well in loose, fairly rich, and
deep and acidic soil and can tolerate dry soil conditions and a coastal environment. It is
commonly raised from seeds.
Seeds may be sown directly in the field, nursery bed or containers and should be kept
moist and shaded. Germination takes place with 15 to 30 days and seedlings can be planted
out after six to eight months. Selected types can be propagated by cuttings or shield-
budding. As a small and earlybearing fruit tree, it can be grown as intercrops with larger
fruit trees.
Annona reticulata L. – Custard Apple
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Annona reticulata L.
ANNONACEAE
Synonyms: Annona humboldtiana Kunth, Annona humboldtii Dunal
Common name: Custard apple
Status: Occasional; grown as fruit tree in home gardens.
Description: An erect, deciduous tree of about 4 to 10 m height with round or spreading

crown. Bark is smooth, thin and grey in colour. Leaves are quite pretty, larger and darker
than that of Annona muricata, alternate in arrangement and oblong or oblong-lanceolate
in shape. Flowers are in groups of two or three on lateral peduncles, drooping and
fragrant; there are three narrow, fleshy outer petals which are light green in colour
externally and pale-yellow inside with a red or purple spot at the base. Flowers never open
fully. Fruits are pulpy of various shapes, ovoid, symmetrically heart shaped, lopsided, or
irregular with deep or shallow notch at the base. Skin is thin and in ripened fruit it is
yellow or brownish in colour with a pinkish, reddish or brownish-red blush and has a
reticulate pattern of clear indentation on the surface. The flesh is creamy-white, thick and
divided into juicy segments around a pointed, fibrous central core. Each fruit contains
many seeds, which are hard, smooth, shiny and darkbrown in colour.
Uses: Fruits are edible; flesh may be scooped from the skin and eaten as is or served with a
sprinkling of sugar. It is added to milkshakes to make a delicious drink. Fruit should be
picked from the tree after it has lost all green colour and ripens without splitting. Leaves,
bark and green fruits are all boiled together to prepare extremely potent decoction to cure
severe cases of diarrhoea and dysentery. Decoction of leaves is used to relieve toothache.
Seed kernels are very toxic.
Ecology propagation and management: It grows well in deep, rich soil with ample
moisture and good drainage. It is also capable of growing in light sand but less drought-
tolerant and prefers more humid atmosphere. Propagation is mainly by seeds. It can also
be propagated by inarching, or by budding or grafting onto its own seedlings or onto
soursop, sweetsop or pond apple rootstocks. Its seedlings are often used as root stock for
soursop and sweet sop.
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Annona squamosa L. - Atis
Annona squamosa L.
ANNONACEAE
Synonyms: Annona asiatica Linn., Annona cinerea Dunal, Annona glabra L.
Common names: Sweetsop, sugar apple, custard apple
Tagalog Name: Atis
Status: Common; grown in home gardens.
Description: A small, deciduous tree about 3 to 6 m tall with open crown of irregular
branches. Bark is light brown in colour with visible leaf scars, smooth or slightly fissured
into plates. Leaves are single; alternate in arrangement; oblong, oblong-lanceolate or
narrowly elliptic in shape; thin; dull green on the upper side, pale blue-green and covered
with bloom underneath. Young leaves are slightly hairy and are aromatic when crushed.
Flowers emerge on slender branches singly or in groups of two to four and are oblong in
shape. Sepals are hairy and pointed. There are three outer petals, which are fleshy,
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yellowgreen on the outside and pale-yellow inside with a purple or dark-red at the base
and there are three inner petals, which look like minute scales or are absent. Fruit is
compound; round, ovoid or heart shaped; soft but with thick rind composed of knob-like
segments; pale-green, grey-green or yellowishgreen in colour and always with a bloom.
Ripe fruit consists of conically segmented, creamywhite, glistening, and fragrant, juicy,
sweet, delicious flesh. Each segment has an oblong, shiny and smooth, black or dark-
brown seed.
Uses: Fruits are eaten fresh. Fruit flesh is also pressed through a sieve to remove seeds and
is then added to ice cream or blended with milk to make a beverage. Seed kernels contain
a whitish to yellowish, non-drying oil, which can be used as a substitute for peanut oil in
the manufacture of soap. Bark and roots are highly astringent. Seeds are poisonous.
Ecology, propagation and management: Grows both in wet and dry soil but requires
adequate moisture during the growing season. It is highly tolerant to drought but requires
adequate moisture during the growing season. It is intolerant to water logging. It grows
on a variety of soils, including rich, well drained, deep rocky soils, but performs better on
loose, sandy loams. It is shallow rooted and does not need deep soil. Trees are generally
grown from seeds, which germinate better a week after removal from the fruit.
Germination may take two to four weeks or more and the seedlings are ready for
outplanting after six months. It is generally a slow growing tree. Vegetative propagation
is preferred when sweetsop is grown as a commercial crop. Cleft-grafting, shield-budding,
inarching are the common methods used. Trees grown by cuttings and air-layering have
low rates of success.
Artocarpus altilis (Z.) Fosb. - Rimas
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Artocarpus altilis (Z.) Fosb.
MORACEAE
Synonyms: Artocarpus communis, Artocarpus incisa
Common name: Breadfruit
Tagalog name: Rimas, Kamansi
Status: Abundant; found in all places, except very near to beaches.
Description: A massive evergreen or semi-evergreen tree reaching a height of 30 m with

often a clear trunk up to 4 to 6 m from the base. Bark is thick, smooth and light coloured.
Branches are spreading, thick with lateral foliage bearing branchlets. Leaves are arranged
alternately and they are thick, leathery and deeply cut into 5 to 11 pointed lobes; upper side
is dark green and shiny with conspicuous yellow veins and underside is dull with elevated
midrib. Flowers are tiny and clustered together. Female and male inflorescences are
present separately on the same tree. Male flowers are arranged densely on drooping,
cylindrical or club-shaped spike, which may reach a length of 25 cm. Female inflorescence
stands upright, is round or cylindrical and about 8 to 10 cm in length with numerous green
flowers embedded. Fruit is compound, ovoid to oblong in shape, may be 10 to 35 cm in
length. Outer skin of the fruit is thin and patterned with irregular, four-six sided faces
each of which has in the centre a sharp, black pointed, minute but flexible spine. Fruit is
green in colour when young, turning to yellowish-green or yellow when ripe. All parts of
the plant contain latex.
Uses: Breadfruit is a staple in the Maldivian diet. It can be cooked and eaten at all stages of
its development. It can be eaten raw, boiled, steamed and roasted. Boiled breadfruit with
fish broth of tuna and coconut forms an appetizing traditional food. Breadfruit can be
roasted and made into chips, and both the traditional sweet and the chips have good
market. Wood is very light, soft and durable and widely used in making doors, door and
window frames and boats. Wood is also good for making surfboards.
Ecology, propagation and management: The cultivar found in Maldives has adapted to
shallow, calcareous sandy soil but drainage is essential to avoid shedding of fruits. It is
normally propagated vegetatively. It is often propagated by transplanting root suckers,
which spring up naturally. Trees grown from root suckers will bear fruit in five years and
will be productive for more than 50 years. Seedlings are also produced from root cuttings
but it takes a long time to produce a seedling of about two feet to be outplanted. Other
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methods of propagation are air-layering, inarching, budding, stem cuttings and

marcotting.
Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. - Langka
Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.
MORACEAE
Synonym: Artocarpus integrifolia
Common name: Jackfruit
Tagalog name: Langka, Nangka
Status: Occasional; grown in home gardens.
Description: A gorgeous evergreen tree, 10 to 20 m tall with a straight large trunk. Canopy
is dense and mostly dome shaped. Bark is greyish-brown, rough and somewhat scaly.
Leaves are leathery, shiny and smooth; oblong, oval or elliptical in shape; and flat or
wringled with sides curled upwards. In young plants leaves are lobed whereas in mature
trees leaves are entire with pointed tip. Top of leaves is dark green, underside is pale green.
Male and female flowers are borne in separate flower heads.
Male spikes with tiny flowers are on new wood among the leaves. They are elongated,
oblong, cylindrical or elliptical in shape and are hanging or drooping. Female spikes are
solitary or paired, oblong or cylindrical and appear on short, stout twigs or even from the
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soil covered base of very old trees. Fruit is the largest of all tree-borne fruits; it may reach
90 cm in length, 45 cm in width and exceed 50 kg in weight. The outer skin of this
compound fruit is green or yellow when ripe and is characterized by the presence of
numerous hard, cone-like points. The interior contains large bulbs, which are golden-
yellow or yellow-orange in colour, waxy, firm or soft, aromatic and sweet. Each bulb has
a smooth, oval, lightbrown seed covered by a thin white membrane. All parts of the tree,
including fruits exudes copious, white, sticky latex.
Uses: Pulp, which smells pineapple and banana, is eaten fresh. The seeds are eaten boiled
or roasted, are used to make curries, and sometimes dried and salted as table nuts. Timber
is medium hardwood, resistant to termite attack and fungal and bacterial decay. It is
lustrous when sanded and varnished. · Skin diseases, ulcers and wounds: Ash of burnt
leaves applied on wounds and ulcers as cicatrizant. In the Philippines, there are the
following herbal cure:
· Burnt ashes of leaves (preferably fresh) with coconut oil, and as ointment, also used for
ulcers and wounds.
· Diarrhea, fever and asthma: A decoction of the root (preferably chopped into small pieces
before boiling) of the tree, three to four cups daily.
· Glandular swelling and snake bites: Apply the milky juice of the tree.
· When mixed with vinegar, it is especially beneficial for glandular swelling and abscesses,
promoting absorption and suppuration.
· Leaves used for fever, wounds, abscesses,
· The ripe fruit is laxative; in large quantities, it produces diarrhea.
· The roasted seeds believed to have aphrodisiac properties.
Ecology, propagation and management: Grows on a variety of soil but does not tolerate
drought and flooding. It is moderately tolerant to saline soils and can be planted closely as
windbreaks. It is propagated mainly from seeds; large seeds are selected, are washed
thoroughly, the outer skin is removed, and seeds are sown fresh. Cuttings and air-layering
can also produce seedlings. The seedlings should be planted by the time four leaves have
appeared, after which it is difficult to plant out successfully due to the long and delicate
tap root.
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Averrhoa bilimbi L. - Kamias
Averrhoa bilimbi L.
OXALIDACEAE
Common names: Bilimbi, cucumber tree
Tagalog names: Kamias, Pias (Ilocano), Kalingiwa (Bisaya), Kiling-iba (Bicolano)
Status: Common in-home gardens.
Description: An attractive, strong but small tree about 4 to 7 m tall with a few upright
branches. Bark is thick and brownish-red in colour. Leaves are compound, arranged
alternately, have single terminal leaflet. Leaves are about 30 to 55 cm long and are
clustered mainly at the branch tips. Each leaf has 15 to 21 leaflets, which are arranged
alternately or slightly oppositely along a rachis. They are ovate or oblong in shape with
rounded base and pointed tip and are medium green on the upper surface and pale on the
under surface. Flowers are small with five red to dark red petals. Flowers emerge directly
from the stem and on oldest branches. Fruit, "bilimbi", is 5 to 10 cm long, cylindrical and
slightly fivesided with hair-like floral remnants at the lowest end. It is bright green when
unripe and turns ivory or white when ripe; skin is very thin, soft and tender. Fruit is juicy
and highly acidic.
Uses: Bilimbi is too acidic to be eaten raw but is used to make curry, chutney and salad. It
is also cooked with chilli, which can be kept for a long time. To reduce acidity bilimbi is
prickled and soaked in water overnight or boiled with salt for a few minutes. Fruit is also
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used to make jam and jelly. The fruit juice is used as a refreshing beverage and also used to
clean metals and remove stain.
Ecology, propagation and management: It requires full sun for fast growth and prefers
seasonally humid climates. It grows well in rich, moist, slightly acidic, well-drained soil
but also grows and fruits well on sand and limestone. It does not tolerate flooding and
salinity. Bilimbi is grown mainly from seeds. Stem cuttings are also used. It is a vigorous
tree that requires no horticultural treatment. In Maldives attempts have been made to
cultivate bilimbi on a commercial scale but with little success.
Averrhoa carambola L. - Balimbing
Averrhoa carambola L.
OXALIDACEAE
Common names: Carambola, start fruit
Tagalog name: Balimbing
Status: Occasional; grown in home gardens.
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Description: A small, evergreen tree 4 to 6 m tall with a dense, bushy, broad and rounded
canopy. Trunk is short, multi-stemmed with many drooping branches. Bark is light
brown, smooth or finely fissured. Leaves are compound and arranged alternately and
spirally. Leaves have 7 to 11 nearly opposite leaflets (including a terminal single leaflet),
which are ovate or ovate-oblong in shape, soft, medium green and smooth on the upper
side, finely haired and whitish on the lower surface. Leaves are sensitive to light and
touch; leaflets tend to fold together during night or when the tree is shaken or abruptly
shocked. Inflorescence is a panicle borne in the axils of old branches, which are mostly
without leaves or on young branches. Flowers are small, fragrant, downy, red-stalked
with light-red or purple coloured jointed petals; calyx with five pink coloured sepals. Fruit
is ovate or ellipsoid in shape, about 6 to 12 cm long, has five prominent longitudinal ridges
(wings) so when cut, the cross sections of the fruit is star shaped. Fruit skin is thin, waxy,
yellowish-green when young, becomes orange yellow when ripe. Flesh is yellow, juicy and
crisp with pronounced oxalic acid odour and taste ranges from sour to slightly sweetish.
Uses: Ripe fruits are eaten fresh, sliced and served in salads or used as garnish on seafood.
They can be cooked with fish and shrimp. Underripe fruits are salted and pickled. Fruit
flavour can be enhanced by removing the longitudinal wings, which contain most of the
oxalic acid. Wood is whitish but becomes reddish with age and is medium hard and is used
in construction and carpentry. Fruits, leaves and roots are used in traditional medicine to
counteract fevers, headache and skin disorders and to relieve bleeding haemorrhoids.
Carambola fruit is also used to quench thirst, stop vomiting and settle stomach disorders.
Ecology, propagation and management: Grows well on poor sandy soil, heavy clay and
limestone but growth is faster and yield is higher in rich loams. It requires full sunshine
and cannot tolerate flooding. It is widely propagated from seeds but also by budding and
by grafting on to its own seedling rootstock. Flowering continues throughout the year and
fruit is available most of the year. It is an ideal tree for landscaping.
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Azadirachta indica A. Juss. – Neem tree
Azadirachta indica A. Juss.
MELIACEAE
Synonyms: Melia indica (A.Juss.) Brandis, Melia azadirachta L.
Common names: Neem
Status: Occasional. Found mostly in home gardens and also in residential areas. It is
considered as recently introduced into the Maldives but its presence was recorded in 1957
(Forsberg, 1957).
Description: A large tree that may grow up to 20 m tall but most trees found in the
Maldives are less than 10 m. Canopy is dense with thick foliage and is round in shape. Bark
is brown in young trees but with age turns to grey and develops deep furrows and scaly
plates; inner bark is pink in colour. Leaves are pinnately compound, alternate and spirally
arranged and fall during summer or drought. Each leaf has seven to nine pairs of 6 to 8 cm
long leaflets, which are curved and lance shaped, have sawtoothed margins and pointed
tip. Leaflets are smooth and dark green in colour. Flowers are small, white and fragrant,
arranged in panicle flower heads, which arise from the corner of leaves. Fruit is a small
drupe, oblong-ovoid in shape, green when young and yellow-green when ripe with white
latex. Each fruit contains a single ellipsoid seed.
Uses: Multiple use tree; it can be grown as a windbreak, shade and fodder tree, used to
improve soil condition and reclaim wasted land. It is also a timber tree. Wood is durable,
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seasons well but does not take polish well; highly pest resistant; and used for
construction.Oil is extracted from the seeds, which is used in soap industry. Leaves,
kernels and oil cakes soaked in water can be used as a natural pesticide and pest repellent.
Azadirachtin, a chemical extracted from the seeds and leaves affect the reproductive cycle
of insects, nematodes, fungi, bacteria and even viruses and thereby control their
multiplication. Leaves, bark, oil and roots are used widely in traditional medicine.
Ecology, propagation and management: Grows everywhere, on dry, stony, sandy, clayey,
slightly acidic or alkaline, shallow soils. It is slightly saline-tolerant, can tolerate drought
and high rainfall but cannot tolerate waterlogging. Propagated mainly by seeds;
immediately after collection, fleshy part of the fruit should be removed, seed should be
washed (not soaked) to remove casing and dried in shade for five to ten days. Seeds can be
stored in well-aerated places for a short period, two to six months. However, it is
recommended to sow the seeds as soon as possible to have a good germination. Seeds can
be directly sown or seedlings may be raised in nursery beds or in containers. Transplanted
wildlings also perform well.
Barringtonia asiatica (L.) Kurz - Botong
Barringtonia asiatica (L.) Kurz
LECYTHIDACEAE
Synonym: Barringtonia speciosa J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.
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Common names: Sea putat, sea poison tree, Barrintonia
Tagalog names: Botong, Bitung (Bisaya), Vuton (Ivatan), Lugo (Ibn.)
Status: Abundant in the southern islands but found only occasionally in northern islands.
Description: A huge tree about 20 m tall, with crooked often leaning trunk, often
buttressed with low branches. Crown is dense and massive. Bark is thick, dark brown,
slightly rough or somewhat scaly with elongated lenticels. Leaves are large and simple,
terminal part is broader than the basal end, with entire margin and held in rosettes at the
ends of branches; veins are prominent. Young leaves are bronze in color with pinkish
veins. Inflorescence is a raceme, erect and found at the tips of the branches. Flowers are
large and attractive with stout stalk. Sepals and petals are small and distinctive, white or
cream colored. Stamens more than 100 in numbers and filaments are up to 15 cm long,
which are white colored at the base and pink at the tip. Flowers open in the night and
attract large moths and nectar feeding bats with their heavy scented and copious nectar.
Fruit, is large, four sided, lantern-shaped, about 10 to 15 cm long and 10 cm wide with
persistent sepals and styles. Young fruits are green, turns to brown when mature. Middle
layer of the fruit is spongy and contains air sacs, and inner layer is hard and thick and
contain one seed.
Uses: It can be grown as a windbreak, and wave barrier and shade tree. Wood was once
used for boat building when there was a scarcity of boat-building timber. Wood is
sometimes used for handicrafts and also as firewood. Local people apply well pounded
seeds on the body for relief from pain and swelling. Water in which flowers were soaked
overnight are used to wash face and eyes for relief from inflammation and discomfort
resulting from reflection of sun light from white sand and sea. Fully developed fruit,
which contains high amount of saponin, used elsewhere to stun fish in tidal pools and
reefs.
Ecology and Management: Barringtonia asiatica is a typical littoral tree, forms thick
forest in all types of soil even among boulders of rugged beach. In these places soil is rich
and moisture content is relatively high. It grows in the wild from seeds. Fruits, after
maturing on the tree, drop off and float in the sea for long periods, more than two years;
they drift along the shore for long distances and finally washed ashore and sprout.
19
Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb. - Kalumbibit
Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb.
Fabaceae (CAESALPINIACEAE)
Synonym: Caesalpinia bonducella
Common name: Grey nickernut
Tagalog name: Kalumbibit
Status: Occasional; it was once "common in whole archipelago" (Forsberg, 1957) but now it
is found only occasionally mainly in some northern islands.
Description: A woody scrambling shrub growing up to 5 m tall with an irregular crown.

Plant is covered with small 1 to 6 cm long recurved thorns (prickles). Leaves are 20 to 45 cm
long with 4 to 11 pairs of pinnae and each pinna has five to ten pairs of leaflets, which are
elliptic to oblong or ovate in shape with sharp or blunt tip. Spines are found scattered
along the midrib (rachis) of leaf and pinnae. Leaves are more or less covered with short
soft hairs both on the upper surface and underneath. Inflorescence is a raceme, produced
in the axils of leaves, 12 to 20 cm long, and branched. Flowers are large, yellow coloured
and pubescent. Sepals are shorter than petals and pubescent. Petals are about 1 to 5 cm in
length and greenish-yellow to yellow in colour. Fruit is a pod, oblong-elliptic in shape, 4
to 10 cm long, 3 to 4 cm wide, turgid, thick and covered with bristly spines. Each pod has
20
two hard, smooth, shiny seeds, which are ovoid or globose in shape. They have a
distinctive attachment scar and faint concentric striations.
Uses: Seeds of the nickernut are called as "poor man's quinine" since they were once used
as a substitute to treat malaria. The seeds are roasted, ground and boiled and used to
control diabetes and hypertension. The seeds are used to treat mouth ulcers. In the
Maldives, tips of the shoots are given to women as a medicine after child birth to hasten
recovery. Seeds are widely used in many traditional indoor games.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is a hardy plant that grows well in sandy soil. It
is saline tolerant and capable of forming dense thickets along the shoreline and thus, can
used grown as a wind breaker and wave barrier. Not highly tolerant of stagnating water.
Propagation is by seeds. Mature seeds are scarified and soaked in water for several days
before sowing. It needs no special horticultural treatment. Seeds are very buoyant, have a
hard-imperious seed coat and can retain their viability after floating in sea for several
months.
Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Sw. - Caballero
Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Sw.
Synonym: Poinciana pulcherrima
21
Common names: Peacock flower, dwarf poinciana
Tagalog name: Caballero, Bulaklak ng Paraiso
Status: Common
Description: An evergreen, low-branching and fast-growing shrub that can grow up to 4

m tall. Canopy is round, moderately dense and wide spreading with smooth outline.
Occasional pairs of thorns can be seen at nodes. Leaves are bipinnately compound and
opposite or sub-opposite in arrangement and 20 to 30 cm long. Each leaf has four to six
pairs of pinnae and each pinna has 7 to 15 pairs of leaflets, which are oblong or ovate in
shape. They are 1 to 1.5 cm long and have smooth margin. Inflorescence is a corymb.
Flowers are very showy, large, red, orange or yellow in colour. Each flower has five sepals
and five petals and the fifth petal is far smaller than the other four. Fruit is a pod, which is
flat, compressed, and green when young, brown when ripe. Each pod is about 10 cm long
and contains five to six seeds.
Uses: Feathery foliage and brilliant scarlet and yellow flower and quick growth rate make
C. pulcherrima a popular ornamental plant. It blooms all year round. In the Maldives, it
is found grown commonly in home garden, parks and other public places. A variety of C.
pulcherrima that has red flower with yellow margin is the National Flower of the
Maldives.
Ecology and Management: Grows well in all kinds of soil including sand, clay, loam, acidic
or alkaline soils. It is highly drought tolerant but is intolerant to flooding. It is moderately
tolerant to aerosol salt and thus can be planted along the beach. Though it can grow in
partially shaded places it requires full sun for flowering. Propagation is by seeds.
Germination will be faster if the seeds are sanded slightly or soaked in hot water for hours.
Wildlings that grow below the mother tree in home garden, parks and other public places
can also be used for outplanting and they perform quite well. Tipping of the branches
during the growing season creates a fuller shrub and more flowers. It needs pruning and
normally grown with trainer, otherwise trees will droop as they grow.
22
Caesalpinia sappan L. - Sapan
Caesalpinia sappan L.
Synonyms: Caesalpinia minutiflora, Binacaea sappan
Common names: Indian redwood, sappan wood
Tagalog name: Sapan
Status: Rare
Description: A small- to medium- sized sized, shrubby spreading tree that grows to 4 to 8
m tall. Bark is greyish-brown in colour with distinct ridges and sharp prickles. Young
branches and buds are covered with soft small hairs. Leaves are bipinnately compound, 20
to 45 cm long and are alternately arranged. Each leaf has about 8 to 16 pairs of pinnae,
which may be up to 20 cm long and with prickles at the base. Each pinna has ten to 20 pairs
of oblong or oblong-rhomboid shaped leaflets, which are attached neither parallel nor at
right angle to rachis and thus, give a distinctive shape to whole leaves. Leaflets are slightly
shiny. Inflorescence is a raceme with long peduncle and located at the tips of the branches.
Flowers are yellow coloured, 2 to 3 cm long with five shiny sepals and five haired petals.
Fruit is a pod, which is shiny, thick, flattened, oblong and woody. Fruits are 7 to 8 cm long
and 3 to 4 cm wide and darkbrown in colour with prominent recurved beak. Each pod
contains two to five flattened brown seeds.
23
Uses: It is a multipurpose tree. Wood, which is known as redwood or Brazil wood, is dark
red in colour, hard and lustrous and resistant to termite. It is of great value for making
violin bows. It is commonly used for making walking sticks. It is also used for inlaying
work and cabinet making. The heartwood yields a valuable dye, which is used in colouring
leather, silk and cotton. This dye is also used to colour meat, wine etc., and has the
potential to be used as a safe natural colouring agent. Leaves contain a pleasant smelling
volatile oil. Decoction of the heartwood is used as a powerful agent to stimulate menstrual
flow and a tonic for women for fast recovery after childbirth.
Ecology, propagation and management: It performs well in all kinds of soils and
withstands any amount of drought but is less tolerant to wet soil. It requires full sunlight
for better performance. Propagation is by seeds and stem cutting. Seeds are viable for
about three months, which require scarification or soaking in warm water for about ten
minutes before sowing. It is a fast growing species and within a year it reaches a height of
3 to 5 m. Stem cuttings, about 2.5 cm in diameter and 10 cm long are also used for
propagation. Initially sappan wood grows straight, but after reaching a height of 2 to 3 m,
branches start to droop and by means of this spine entwine with branches of nearby tree
to form thickets. In commercial cultivation, tree is cut about 1m above the ground and
stump sprouts profusely within two weeks.
Calophyllum inophyllum L. - Bitaog
24
Calophyllum inophyllum L.
CLUSIACEAE/GUTTIFERAE
Synonym: Calophyllum blancoi Planch & Triana
Common name: Alexander Laurel wood
Tagalog name: Bitaog, Palo Maria
Status: Abundant in the southern islands and common in the northern islands.
Description: A large- to medium-sized, slow-growing evergreen tree that grows 8 to 20 m

in height but is capable of reaching 45 m in favourable environment. Crown is spreading
with many large irregular branches and is round or pyramidal in shape. Bark is thick and
light grey to grey in colour with alternately arranged diamond-shaped fissures and flat
ridges. Leaves are stiff, shiny and oval, oblongoval shaped.
They are arranged oppositely along the branches and dark green in colour with close set
of parallel veins. Both the tip and base of the leaves are round. Inflorescence is a stalked
raceme. Flowers are white and small with four oblong, spreading petals. Stamens are
golden yellow in colour and pistil is pink coloured. Flowers are fragrant and sparkling like
stars against the dark green background of the leaves. Fruit, which grows in a cluster, is a
round, ping-pong ball-like drupe with leathery skin. It is green when young, turning to
yellow and then brown and wrinkles when ripe. Fruit skin covers a hard woody shell with
corky inner layer, containing a seed. Trunk exudes a gum when wounded, which solidifies
quickly.
Uses: It is one of the finest timber trees of the Philippines and widely used in boat building.
Wood is hard, durable and fine textured with moderately dense and interlocked grain. It
shrinks appreciably upon drying and thus is difficult to work with. Seed is roasted and
made into a paste by grinding with the charcoal from the coconut husk and this paste is
applied in between the plates in boats as waterproofing. Seed oil is poisonous but used to
light lamps, as it lasts for a long time. The seed oil is also used in ayurvedic medicines. It is
also a handsome ornamental and shade tree.
Ecology, propagation and management: It tolerates a wide range of soils but grows best in
welldrained sandy soil in coastal areas. It is a hardy species, tolerates high wind, aerosol
salt spray, drought and even brief period of water logging. It is also tolerant of shallow
and saline soils. Propagation is mainly by seeds. Seeds may be sown directly or seedlings
25
can be raised in nursery for outplanting. In order to increase the rate and timing of
germination, ripe fruits may be soaked in water overnight, which will facilitate easy
removal of skin and then shells can be cracked just prior to sowing. Nursery raised
seedlings can be outplanted after one to three months. Seedlings should be hardened off
before outplanting. Performance of transplanted wildlings is poor. A Centennial tree was
founded in Magallanes, Agusan Del Norte.
Calotropis gigantea (L.) R. Br. – Kapal-kapal
Calotropis gigantea (L.) R. Br.
ASCLEPIADACEAE
Common names: Giant milkweed, bowstring hemp
Tagalog name: Kapal-kapal
Status: Occasional; found mostly in wasted land nearby residential areas.
Description: A medium sized shrub that may grow up to 3 m tall. Bark of the stem is
yellowish- grey and has longitudinal fissures. Leaves are elliptic to oblong in shape, 8 to 10
cm long and 5 to 8 cm wide with pointed tip and heart-shaped base. Leaves are thick and
feathery to touch, covered with soft white hairs. Flowers are arranged in auxiliary or sub-
terminal simple or compound flower head. Flowers are drawn on the outside. Corolla is
about 2 to 3 cm in diameter and dull purple or purplishlilac in colour. In a variety of giant
milkweed flowers are white in colour. Fruit is follicle, recurved, oblong in shape and about
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7 to 10 cm in length. Seeds are ovate in shape, 5 to 6 mm long with bright, silky-white

fibrous material (floss). Flowers are produced throughout the year.
Uses: Strong fibre can be extracted from the stem, which is durable under water. In the
Maldives, giant milkweed stems are kept in the seawater till they become soft and then
fibre is extracted from the softened stems. This fibre is so strong that it is commonly used
to make loops in the fishing lines from which hooks are suspended. Fibre extracted from
the stems was once used as bowstring. Wood is used to make fine quality charcoal and
gunpowder. Floss obtained from the fruit is used to stuff mattresses. The plant as a whole
can be allowed to mulch in the soil to provide protection to crops against soil-borne
microbes.
Ecology, propagation and management: Calotropis gigantea is normally considered as a

wasteland weed. It is found growing in all types of soil including wet clay soil to dry coastal
sands. It grows in a xerophytic condition also. It is not normally cultivated but in some
countries it is grown as an ornamental plant. In nature, seeds with a parachute of hairs
(floss) are easily spread by winds. Seeds are also spread by water over a long distance. Local
stands of C. gigantea normally increase through root suckers.
Carica papaya L. - Papaya
Carica papaya L.
CARICACEAE
Common names: Papaya, papaw
27
Status: Commonly cultivated in home gardens both in the northern and the southern
islands.
Description: A fast growing, woody, tree-like herb that grows up to 3 m tall. It normally
does not branch but if the top is cut off or injured, it produces a few branches. Trunk is
straight, hallow and green or deep purple in colour with prominent leaf scars. Leaves are
arranged spirally and clustered at the top of stem. Leaf stalk is about 1m long, hallow and
succulent. Leaf is divided deeply into five to nine segments with prominent yellowish ribs
and veins. Flowers are fleshy, waxy and slightly fragrant. Some plants bear only short-
stalked female flowers whereas some other plants may bear only male flowers, which are
clustered on 1.3 to 1.6 m long panicles. Some plants bear bisexual flowers. Male or bisexual
plants may change completely into female plants after being beheaded. Fruit is a fleshy
berry, oval to nearly round or somewhat pyriform or elongated club-shaped. Fruit has
thin, waxy skin, which is green in colour when young, becoming light or deep yellow as it
ripens. Flesh is succulent, yellow or golden-yellow or orangered in colour, aromatic and
sweet. Seeds look like pepper, about 5 mm long, black or grey-black in colour and attached
to the flesh by a soft, white, fibrous tissue. All parts of the plant are rich in white latex.
Uses: Ripe fruits, available throughout the year, are eaten fresh and widely used in salads.
Papaya juice, prepared from peeled fruit, is a delicious drink. A pickle made from grated
unripe papaya fruit is called Atchara.
Ecology, propagation and management: Papaya grows well in hot places and requires light
and porous soil rich in organic matter for better performance. It is also capable of growing
in marl, scarified limestone and other types of poor soils. However, it is very sensitive to
water stagnation and even wellgrown plants would be killed by root rot in excess
moisture. Papaya is normally propagated by seed. Seeds, extracted from ripe fruits, are
washed to remove gelatinous seed covering (aril) and then dried. Dried seeds are dusted
with fungicide to avoid damping-off, which is a common cause of loss of seeds. Rate of
germination is high, if the seeds are planted as soon as they are extracted from the fruits.
Papaya can also be grown from semi-hard woodcuttings, which need to be hardened off
for a few days before planting. Air-layering is also practiced in a small scale to reproduce
certain varieties.
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Cassia fistula L. – Kanyang Pistula
Cassia fistula L.
Common name: Golden shower
Tagalog name: Kanyang Pistula
Status: Occasional; grown as an ornamental tree in public places.
Description: It is a medium sized, deciduous, fast growing tree, about 5 to 10 m tall. Crown
is oval or vase shaped. Trunk is straight. Bark is smooth, slender and pale grey when
young, turning to brown and scaly in old trees. Branches are well spaced and dropping.
Leaves are bipinnately compound, 20 to 40 cm long with four to eight pairs of leaflets. Each
leaflet is about 8 to 10 cm long, 2 to 4 cm broad with distinct petiole. No gland is present in
the leaf. Leaves drop from the tree for a short period of time during the summer. Flowers
are bright or golden yellow in colour, 3.5 to 4 cm in diameter, arranged in drooping
racemes, which are about 30 to 60 cm in length. Flower bunches appear when the branches
are bare, just before the new leaves emerge and during that time it looks like as if the entire
tree is clothed with flowers. Fruit is a cylindrical pendulous pod, 40 to 70 cm long, smooth
29
and purple in colour. Fruit has numerous transverse septa between the seeds and walls of
the septa are with black, sweetish pulp.
Each pod contains about 25 to 100 seeds, which are light brown in colour, hard, lustrous
but poisonous.
Uses: In the Maldives, it is grown as a shade and ornamental tree. However, it has many
other uses. Wood, which is red in colour, is hard and heavy, strong and durable and thus
suitable for cabinet work, interior work, posts, wheels and mortar. It is also used in
ayurvedic medicine to treat various kinds of diseases. Roots are used to treat various skin
diseases and syphilis. Leaves are useful in alleviating rheumatism. Flowers are used as a
mild laxative and as an antipyretic.
Ecology, propagation and management: Golden shower grows on clayey, loamy, sandy,
acidic and alkaline soils but it performs well in well-drained sandy soil. It requires full sun.
It is moderately drought and saline tolerant and also tolerates aerosol salts. Thus, it is
suitable to be planted in the coastal areas.
Propagation is mainly by seeds. Seeds can be soaked in concentrated sulphuric acid for 15
minutes and washed thoroughly and soaked in water for 24 hours before sowing and such
treated seeds will germinate within a day. Manual scarification can also be done before
sowing. It coppices vigorously and produces root suckers freely. Young trees need staking
and pruning for the development of a wellshaped and structured crown.
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Cassia occidentalis - Balatong Aso
Cassia occidentalis L.
Fabaceae (AESALPINIACEAE)
Synonym: Senna occidentalis
Common names: Coffee senna, fedegoso
Tagalog Name: Balatong Aso
Status: Common; grown near houses.
Description: A much branched, smooth, half woody herb or shrub about 0.8 to 1.8 m tall.
Stem is erect and without hairs. Leaves are bipinnately compound and about 20 to 25 cm
in length. Each pinna has four to seven pairs of leaflets, which are 3 to 9 cm in length and
2 to 4 cm in width and arranged oppositely. Leaflets are ovate or ovate-lanceolate in shape
with a long, fine pointed tip. Each leaf has a distinct spherical-shaped gland, which is
located about 0.3 to 0.5 cm from the base of the petiole. This is one of the features that can
be used to distinguish coffee senna from other related species such as Cassia tora (sickle
pod) in the field. Inflorescence is a terminal or axillary raceme. Flowers are yellow
coloured and about 2 cm long and 3 to 4 cm wide. Fruit is a pod, compressed, 8 to 12 cm
long, 0.7 to 1 cm wide and curved slightly upwards. Each pod contains 20 to 30 seeds, which
are ovoid in shape, smooth, shiny and dull brown to dark olive-green in colour.
31
Uses: Coffee senna has many medicinal value and is reputed as a tonic, diuretic and
antihelminthic agent..
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows on a variety of soils but prefers slightly
acidic to neutral soil. It requires high soil moisture for better performance. It is not
cultivated in large scale but grown near houses or even in home gardens. It can be easily
propagated by seeds. Seeds can be collected from mature pods, which split upon maturity.
Seed may be manually scarified to increase the rate of germination.
Citrus aurantifolia (Christm. & Panzer) Swingle – Dayap, Dalayap
Citrus aurantifolia (Christm. & Panzer) Swingle
RUTACEAE
Common names: Lime, sour lime
Tagalog Name: Dalayap (Ilocano), Dayap, Suwa (Bisaya)
Status: Common; grown widely in home gardens.
Description: A small, densely and irregularly branched, evergreen tree, about 3 to 4 m tall.
Short, sharp, stiff spines are present in the branches and twigs. Leaves are elliptic to
oblong-ovate in shape, 4 to 8 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide and arranged alternately on the
branches. Leaf stalk is narrowly winged and the leaf margin is crenulated. Leaf tip is
variable, blunt in some and sharply pointed in other leaves. Leaf surface is dark green to
pale green in colour. Flowers are small, white, with cupshaped calyx, four to six lobed.
Number of petals varies between four and six. Flowers are either perfect or male and they
are seen in a cluster of ten flowers in the leaf axis of mature shoots. Sometimes single
flower can also be seen in the axils of the shoots, which are just emerged. Fruit is a globose
to ovoid berry, 3 to 6 cm in diameter with thin skin, which is characterized by the presence
of a large number of minute glands. Fruit is green when young, turning to yellow when
fully ripe. Flesh is yellow-green in colour, juicy, very acid and fragrant. Seeds are small in
size, ovoid in shape and smooth. It bears fruit throughout the year. Root suckers are
common.
Uses: Lime is widely used for flavoring a variety of food. Drinks are commonly prepared
either with sugar or salt. It is also widely used in the preparation of pickles. In the
Philippines, there are following herbal cure:
In the Cordilleras, used to treat nausea, headache, fainting, malaria, and sore throat.
Nausea and fainting: Squeeze rind near nostril for irritant inhalation.
Decoction of roots used for dysentery; root-bark as febrifuge.
Crushed leaves applied to forehead for headaches.
Leaf decoction for eyewash and to bathe a feverish patient.
Mouthwash and gargle for sore throat and thrush.
Decoction of pounded leaves, with leaves of Areca catechu, drunk for stomachache.
Externally, fresh juice is used to clean wounds; roasted, for chronic sores.
Juice used for irritation and swelling of mosquito bites.
Poultice of leaves applied to ulcer wounds.
Lime oil extracted by steam distillation of the fruit rinds used for colds, sore throats,
bronchitis, asthma.
Ecology, propagation and management: Lime is capable of tolerating very infertile and
poor soil and is capable of growing well in sandy soils with proper drainage. It is affected
severely by water logging. It is highly drought resistant but requires irrigation to produce
quality fruits. Propagation is mainly by seed. Air-layering is common in South-east Asia.
7/15/2020 Broad leaved trees and shrubs
Suckers are prepared for air layering and layers are potted and nursed for about two to
four weeks before outplanting.
Citrus aurantium L. - Dalandan
Citrus aurantium L.
RUTACEAE
Common names: Sour orange, bitter orange
Tagalog Name: Dalandan, Kahel
Status: Commonly grown in the home garden in some of the southern islands.
Description: An erect, much branched evergreen tree, about 3 to 9 m tall. Crown is

compact and rounded. Bark is brown and smooth. Young twigs are angular, flexible and
bear slender short spines.
In older branches spines are stout and longer, about 8 cm in length. Leaves are simple and
arranged alternately. They are broadly ovate to elliptical in shape with minutely toothed
margin and obtuse or bluntly pointed tip. Upper surface of the leaf is dark-green and pale
beneath. Leaf petiole is 2 to 4 cm long, upper half is narrowly to broadly winged and
triangular-obovate in shape. Leaves are aromatic when crushed. Flowers are borne singly
or in small clusters in the leaf axils. They are white in colour and have recurved, widely
separated four to five petals surrounding a tuft of up to 24 yellow stamens. Fruit is round
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or oblate or oblong-oval in shape, 5 to 8 cm wide, with thick, smooth to warty and aromatic
skin. Matured fruit is reddish-orange to yellow-orange in colour and central core is
usually hollow. Fruits have ten to 12 segments with bitter walls containing acid pulp.
Fruits have a few to numerous seeds. Sour lime has a number of well-established varieties.
Uses: An essential oil called neroli is extracted from the flowers of the bitter orange, which
is an essential component of high-quality perfumes and of the toilet water `eau-de-
Cologne'. Bitter orange juice is considered as a digestive tonic, helps to relieve nausea and
soothe stomach disorders. In the Philippines, there are following herbal cure:
 In the Philippines, the leaves, peel, and flowers are used as stomachic and
antiscorbutic.
 Decoction of rind taken for gas pains. Decoction of peel also used as emmenagogue.
 Leaves are applied to reduce swelling in the legs. Also used as tonic, pectorals and
in bronchitis.
 For nausea and fainting, squeeze rind near nostril for irritant inhalation.
 Dried flowers used as stimulant and preventive for dysentery. Flowers used as
antispasmodic.
 Orange peel is an ingredient in the preparation of tincture of cinchona and tincture
of gentian.
 Dried rind is used as tonic dyspepsia and for general debility; also used to check
vomiting.
 Fresh rind is rubbed on the face for acne or eczema.
 Juice used with salt as a ringworm remedy.
 Water distilled from the orange flowers used as stimulant, and as a refreshing drink
in nervousness and hysterical cases.
Ecology: propagation and management: It is adaptable to a wide range of soils including

dry coastal soil. It does well in rich soils with high water table. It tolerates high
temperature, provided soil moisture is adequate. Dry hot winds may reduce leaf size and
may cause heavy withering during flowering. Propagation is by seed, grafting and
budding. Seeds are planted in seed beds and then transplanted in containers before
outplanting. It is generally grown for rootstock for sweet oranges. Seedlings are raised in
nurseries for one or two years and then budded. During the first year after planting,
pruning is necessary to keep the foliage off the ground.
Citrus limon (L.) Burm.f - lemon
Citrus limon (L.) Burm.f
RUTACEAE
Synonym: Citrus medica var. limonium
Common name: Lemon
Status: Common in the northern islands and occasional in the southern islands.
Description: A large, low-branching, sometimes spreading tree, about 3 to 6 m tall. Some

individuals have upright branches. Both the young and old twigs have sharp and stiff
spines. Leaves are oblong, elliptic or long ovate in shape, 6 to 12 cm long with finely
toothed margins. Wings on the petiole are narrower and slender. Leaves are dark green on
the upper surface and light green below and sometimes young leaves are reddish in colour.
Flowers are single or a cluster of two or more and borne in the leaf axils. Flowers have four
to five petals, which are white inside and purplish outside. Flower buds are used to be
reddish in colour. Fruit is oval with a nipple like protuberance at the apex, 6 to 12 cm long
with thick, aromatic skin, which is dotted with oil glands. Skin is green in colour in young
fruits, turning to light yellow in ripened fruit. Fruit has eight to ten segments, containing
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juicy, acid, pale-yellow pulp. Most of the fruits have only a few seeds, which are about 1 cm
in length, elliptic to ovate in shape, pointed and smooth.
Uses: It is mainly grown for the fruit. Lemon juice, which is marketed fresh, canned,
concentrated and in powder form, is mainly used for the preparation of lemonade. Lemon
juice with ginger is commonly used as a cold remedy. In the Philippines, particularly in
the northern islands, lemon juice is used as an alternative to lime juice and it is squeezed
on cooked fish before eating. In some islands, leaves are boiled in the water used for
bathing to get relief from skin allergies. In the traditional medicinal system of the
Maldives, roots of lemon are used to treat rheumatism. Like Citrus aurantium, oil from
lemon peel is used to blend perfumes and colognes. Wood is fine-grained and easy to work
with to carve small articles including toys.
Ecology, propagation and management: Lemon grows both in dry and humid conditions.
It tolerates a variety of soils, from silty-clay loam to fine sand. It is also capable of growing
in very poor soil. Normally best quality lemons are produced only in the coastal areas.
Defoliation is very common in high winds. Propagation is mainly by seed and also by
cuttings and budding. Trees require pruning when young and it should be kept 3 to 3.5 m
in height for easy harvesting. A number of varieties of lemon are cultivated in different
parts of the world.
Citrus maxima (Burm.) Merr. - Suha

Citrus maxima (Burm.) Merr.
RUTACEAE
Synonyms: Citrus aurantium var. grandis, Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck, Citrus decumana L.
Common name: Pummelo. Pomelo, Grapefruit
Tagalog name: Suha, Lukban
Status: Occasional in the home gardens in southern islands.
Description: An evergreen tree, about 5 to 10 m tall with round but open crown. Branches
start emerging on the lower part of the trunk and spreading. Bark is light brown in colour
and smooth. Seed propagated trees have long spines, about 5 cm in length whereas
vegetatively propagated plants are spineless. Leaves are large in size, 5 to 15 cm long and 3
to 8 cm wide and ovate to elliptical in shape, shiny, dark green in colour and dotted with
minute glands. Leaf margin is smooth or shallowly toothed. Leaf stalk is broadly winged,
which is up to 7 cm wide. Inflorescence is axillary, with single or a cluster of a few flowers.
Flowers are large in size with 5 white petals and are strongly fragrant. Trees flower two to
four times in a year, mainly in conjunction with shoot growth. Fruit is round or pyramid
in shape, large, 10 to 30 cm in diameter with thick densely glandular dotted rind, which is
soft and easy to peel away. Fruit segments are large containing yellow to coral pink flesh
and vary from juicy to slightly dry and from spicy sweet to tangy and tart. The dull green
coloured skin of the fruit brightens up upon ripening as the oil glands become more
prominent and shiny. Seeds are few, large, heavy, ridged and yellowish in colour.
Uses: Fresh sweet juicy pulp vesicles are eaten out of hand and lesser sweet varieties are
eaten with sugar. It is also used in fruit salads and in making sweet drinks. Flowers are
used to make perfume and leaves are used in the preparation of aromatic baths. In some
countries leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds are used in traditional medicines to alleviate
cough, fevers and stomach disorders.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is adapted to grow in a variety of soils, from

coarse sand to heavy clay. However, it performs well in deep, medium-textured fertile
soils, which are free from injurious salts. Propagation is by seeds, air-layering and
budding. Fleshy seeds with their thin coat dry out easily and require an ideal biophysical
condition to germinate. A seedling progeny consists largely of a slender tree with long
spines. In the initial stages of growth, shade and frequent watering is required for better
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performance of the seedlings. Young trees need to be pruned to prevent lower branches
from touching the ground.
Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertner - Mañgoñgot
Clerodendrum inerme (L.) Gaertner
VERBENACEAE
Synonym: Clerodendron neriifolium
Common names: Seaside clerodendron, garden quinine
Tagalog Names: Mañgoñgot
Status: Common in all islands of Maldives; grown as a hedge plant.
Description: An evergreen, much branched, erect or somewhat straggling shrub, about 1

to 3 m tall with slender, dark green coloured terminal branches. Main stem is woody and
smooth. Leaves are simple and opposite decussate in arrangement (as in the case of
Calophyllum inophyllum) and vary in shape from ovate, oblong-ovate to elliptic-ovate.
Leaves are about 4 to 8 cm long, 2 to 5 cm wide, green and shiny with smooth margin.
Inflorescence is a cyme, three flowered and borne in the axils of the leaves. Flowers are
erect and fragrant; calyx is green, narrowly funnel-shaped with five very short teeth.
Petals are five and corolla is about 3 to 4 cm long and comprises a slender, purple coloured
spreading tube with white or purple-tinged lobes. Stamens four, filaments long, reddish
to purple in colour, protrude out and upwardly curved. Fruit is obovoid in shape and about
1.5 cm in length and split into four parts upon drying.
Uses: Fragrant white flowers that form in clusters and accented by purple-coloured
delicate protruding stamens and green foliage and bushy habit make seaside clerodendron
an attractive plant and are thus considered as a one of the candidate species for hedge. It
is a versatile plant and can be grown as topiary or as a bonsai.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows in all kinds of soil but performance is
better in sand. It grows well in hot sun and tolerates salt spray. It can be propagated by
seeds and cuttings. Plants easily spread vegetatively and seeds may be dispersed by birds.
It has aggressive growth characteristics and has the potential to form dense cover over
other plants. It is also hard to remove as it roots at the nodes and produce large amount of
biomass. It can be grown as an understory species in multispecies multitiered coastal
bioshield.
Colubrina asiatica (L.) Brongn. - Kabatiti
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Colubrina asiatica (L.) Brongn.
RHAMNACEAE
Common names: Indian sankewood, latherleaf
Tagalog names: Kabatiti
Status: Common in the forested areas and also found growing in wasted land near
residential areas.
Description: A climbing shining shrub that normally grows up to 4 m tall but in the
presence of a support it may grow up to 6 to 7 m. Branches are vine-like, climbing or
drooping that can reach 10 m in length. Leaves are simple, thin, shining and arranged
alternately along the branches and oval or broadly ovate in shape and 4 to 9 cm long and 3
to 5 cm wide. Leaves are dark green in colour with two to three conspicuous lateral veins
that spring from the base of the leaf. It has toothed margin and pointed tip and rounded
base. Inflorescence is a cyme, appears in the axils of the leaves. Flowers are small, about
0.4 cm in diameter and greenish-yellow in colour. There are five greenish sepals, which
are ovatelytriangular in shaped, giving a star-like appearance to the flower. Petals are five
in number, rounded and hood shaped and yellow in colour. Fruits are small capsules,
about 1 cm in diameter. Young fruits are green and fleshy, turning to dark brown with age.
Each fruit contains three, small, greyish seeds.
Uses: As its name latherleaf suggests, leaves of C. asiatica have the ability to produce foam
in water and thus, have long been used as a substitute for soap in the rural areas in some
countries. Leaves and fruits are used as fish poison.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is as a constituent of beach strand vegetation

and found growing in slightly elevated areas. It establishes well in loose soil. Propagation
is mainly by seeds. Its seeds are dispersed by currents and remain viable even after floating
in seawater for many months. Seeds are also dispersed by birds. Germination is fast and
growth rate is rapid in full sun. Latherleaf shows remarkable vegetative regeneration. Its
stem grows upwards to the top of the canopy of supporting vegetation, fall back to the
ground where they root (adventitious roots) and then grow upwards. Vigorous
resprouting from cut or injured stems is also common. It may cause problem by
overgrowing other shrubby vegetation near the coast.
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Cordia subcordata Lam.
BORAGINACEAE
Synonyms: Cordia moluccana, Cordia orientalis
Common names: Sea trumpet, beach cordia
Description: An attractive medium sized, evergreen tree that is capable of growing up to

15 m. Canopy is broad and dense and may spread 8 to 10 m across, often as wide as the
height of the tree. Bark is brown or grey, shallowly fissured and flaky. Leaves are light
green in colour, somewhat shiny, broad, egg shaped or elliptical with pointed apex and
arranged alternately along the branches. Flowers are showy, large and funnel shaped and
2 to 4 cm long, with five to seven slightly wrinkled lobes. Flowers, which are short-lived,
are scentless. They are present in clusters at the terminal ends of the branches or in leaf
axils. Fruit is almost round or egg shaped, 2 to 3 cm long, green when young, brown, hard
and woody when mature. Each fruit contains up to four or fewer delicate, white, narrow,
small seeds.
Uses: Wood is soft but durable. Heartwood is dark chocolate coloured, often with dark
streaks. It is finely grained, easy to work with, shrinks little and takes a fine polish. Leaves
are used to colour fish nets and lines to make them less visible to fish. It is also grown as a
shade and an ornamental tree. In a multispecies coastal bioshield, it can be planted behind
a row of sea lettuce tree (Scaevola taccada), nit pitcha (Guettarda speciosa) and beach
heliotrope (Tournefortia argentea) to protect it from direct aerosol salt spray.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is adapted to a variety of soils including sandy

and clay soils to rocky limestone. It is propagated by seeds and cuttings. Seeds are very
small and very difficult to extract and hence, whole capsule is generally sown. Fruits may
be soaked in water overnight or up to two days after clipping off the end of the hard, woody
capsule to accelerate germination. Germination takes place within three to six weeks and
seedlings may attain 40 to 50 cm height in about six to eight months, which can used for
outplanting. Seedlings may be grown in partial shade to get better results. Stem cutting is
also commonly used in propagation. Heavy branches often develop low on the stem and
branches are slanted and look crooked in very old trees.
Delonix regia (Hook) Raf. – Fire Tree
Delonix regia (Hook) Raf.
Synonym: Poinciana regia
Common names: Fire Tree, Flamboyant Tree,
Status: Occasional; grown as an ornamental tree.
Description: A small- to medium-sized sized, semi-deciduous tree, about 8 to 15 m tall.

Crown is broad, umbrella shaped and spreading with long and nearly horizontal
branches. Trunk is large but short, buttressed and angled towards the base. Bark is
smooth, greyish-brown and with vertical lines of brown dots. Leaves are feathery,
compound, long, 20 to 60 cm in length and arranged alternately along the branches. Each
leaf has 10 to 25 pairs of pinnae and each pinna has 12 to 40 pairs of small oblongshaped
leaflets, which are stalkless, rounded at the base and apex. Flowers are very showy, large,
5 to 13 cm in diameter and borne in lateral dense clusters at the end of the twigs. Flowers
have five petals, orange-red in colour and broadly spoon shaped. During bloom, flowers
almost cover the entire tree top. Fruit is a flat pod, dark brown, hard and woody, 30 to 65
cm in length and 5 to 7.5 cm wide. It remains attached to the tree most of the year even
when the trees are leafless. About 35 to 45 seeds present in each pod, which are hard, shiny,
and grey in colour and oblong in shape. They look like date seeds.
Uses: Widely planted as ornamental and shade tree along streets, roadsides and in
avenues. It should be planted 3 to 4 m away from pavement or sidewalks since large
surface roots may grow beneath them and destroy them. Large pods and wood are used for
fuel. Wood is soft and heavy but weak and brittle and may be broken by strong winds and
storms.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows on many types of soils but prefers well-
drained sandy soil. Its tolerance to draught is high but limited to aerosol salt spray. It
requires full sun for better growth. Propagation is mainly by seeds but hard and woody
seeds take very long period to germinate. Seeds may lie in the soil for about two to three
years without germination. Hence, pretreatment of seed is required before sowing. A
portion of the seed coat can be clipped or seeds may be boiled in hot water and then
allowed to soak for 24 hours and such pretreated seeds germinate within five to ten days.
Growth in the initial stage is fast and nursery-raised seedlings should be outplanted
within three to five months, beyond which seedlings may be too tall to handle properly.
Trees can also be propagated by branch cuttings. To develop a strong, durable tree, major
branches may be pruned.
Desmodium umbellatum (L.) DC. - Kaliskis-dalag
Desmodium umbellatum (L.) DC.
FABACEAE
Synonym: Dendrolobium umbellatum
Common names: Horse bush, sea vetch tree
Tagalog names: Kaliskis-dalag
Status: Occasional in the forested areas along the shores of the southern islands; rare in
the northern islands.
Description: A small, evergreen tree or shrub that grows to 3 m in height. Branches are
stick like and young branches are densely covered with filamentous hairs. Old branches
are hairless. Leaves are trifoliate (with three leaflets), feathery, alternate in arrangement
and ovate-oblong or broad-oblong in shape. The middle leaflet, which is 6 to 8 cm long and
3 to 5 cm wide, is always larger than the lateral leaflets; upper surface of the leaflet is dark
green and without hairs and lower surface is pale and somewhat hairy. Leaves are
pointedly blunt at the tip. Inflorescence is an umbel, borne on short peduncle in the axils
of the leaf. Flowers are small and covered with dense silky hairs. Corolla is about 1 to 1.5
cm long, bright white in colour and entire flower looks like a white butterfly. Fruit is a
pod, 3 to 4 cm long, about 0.5 cm wide and curved, consists of three to five segments and
constricted. A small beak is present at the base of the pod. Seeds are small, hard, oval or
elliptical in shape.
Uses: It is a nitrogen fixing plant and excellent in controlling soil erosion. In the
Philippines, straight sticks are used as beams along the length of the roof and also as sides
of the traditional timber-built houses. Straight branches are also used as handle for scoops
used for drawing water from wells. Charcoal produced from the wood is widely used by
blacksmiths. Leaves are used as post-partum medicine for women after childbirth for fast
recovery. It is also grown as an ornamental plant.
Ecology, propagation and management: It tolerates a wide range soils, including

limestone. It is able to grow in wet condition but it prefers well-drained soil for better
performance. Propagation is by seed. Hard seeds need pretreatment such as pouring of hot
water over the seeds 24 hours before sowing. Treated seeds are sown approximately 0.5 cm
deep in water-permeable soil. It can tolerate moderate shading but growth is faster in full
sun. Pods that break into one seed units are sticky and thus spread by animals and human.
It is reported that seeds are dispersed by ocean currents also. It can be found growing well
along the shores, where it forms dense stands. It also grows as an under story in low
elevation forests.
Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. - Kalapinai
Dodonaea viscosa Jacq.
SAPINDACEAE
Synonym: Dodonaea angustifolia
Common names: Giant bush hop, sand olive
Dhivehi name: Kalapinai
Status: Common in some of the islands in the southern group; rare in the northern islands.
Description: A fast-growing small tree or shrub that grows to 1 to 3 m in height but is

capable of reaching 8 m. Bark is dark grey coloured, fissured and peeling. Branchlets are
rusty red in colour, sometimes narrowly winged or ridged. Branches exudate resin. Leaves
are simple, papery with very short petiole or subsessile. Leaf shape varies from lanceolate
to linear spooniform and secretes gummy exudate on both the surfaces and thus always
appearing shiny. Leaf margin is entire or inconspicuously wavy and the leaf tip is pointed
or round. Inflorescence is terminal or axillary and densely flowered. Flowers are very
small, borne on long and slender flower stalks. Sepals are four in number, greenish-yellow
in colour; petals are absent. Fruit is a capsule and two to three winged. In mature fruits,
wings are coral red in colour. Seeds are small, black and lens like in shape. Each chamber
of the fruit contains one to two seeds.
Uses: D. viscosa is very effective in sand dune fixation and controlling coastal erosion
since its roots are excellent soil binders. It is also used to reclaim marshes. It is grown as
an ornamental plant for its shiny foliage and pink-red winged fruit. Poles are useful in
fencing.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is a hardy shrub that can grow well on poor
soils and rocky sites. Seedlings, wildlings and direct sowing are the methods followed to
propagate giant bush hop. It is a fast-growing shrub that requires no management once it
is established. It regenerates rapidly after burning. Seeds are viable for about one year, if
they are properly stored and germination rates varying from 30 to 70%. Pretreatment of
seeds is not required before sowing. Seeds are also dispersed by wind.
Erythrina variegata L.- Dapdap
Erythrina variegata L.
FABACEAE
Synonym: Erythrina indica, Erythrina subumbrans (Hassk.) Merr.
Common name: Indian coral tree
Tagalog names: Dapdap
Status: Occasional; found in forested areas and near to residential areas.
Description: A deciduous tree that is capable of growing to more than 25 m tall. Canopy is
dense and spreading. However, a commonly grown cultivar has a narrow, columnar
crown. Branches are thick and sappy, armed with large, scattered thorns. Bark is grey-
green and furrowed. Young shoots and stems are covered with fine hairs at first, later
become glabrous. Leaves are trifoliate and alternate in arrangement. Leaf stalk is 2 to 28
cm long and rachis is 10 to 12 cm in length. Leaflets are green in colour, ovate to broadly
rhomboid in shape, usually wider than long; terminal leaflet is the largest. Inflorescence
is a dense raceme, axillary in position; 10 to 40 cm long with 7 to 25 cm long peduncle and
covered with rust coloured hairs. Flowers are large, orange-red in colour, scattered in
groups of three along the rachis. Flowers in the drooping inflorescences are upturned.
Fruit is a pod, sausage shaped or cylindrical, 10 to 45 cm long and 2 to 3 cm wide and slightly
constricted between the seeds. Seeds are ellipsoid or kidney shaped, 0.6 to 2 cm long,
glossy, smooth, black or purplish or purplish redbrown in colour.
Uses: It is popularly known as a shade, hedge and live-fence tree. It is also grown as an
ornamental tree. It is a nitrogen fixer and useful for enriching the soil. Foliage, which is
rich in protein, makes an excellent fodder for most livestock. Wood is soft, light and not
durable and not suitable as timber. However, it can be used as a fish float and for packing
boxes. In the Philippines, a sweetened decoction of bark and leaves used as expectorant.
Bark also used to facilitate the maturation of boils.Leaves and roots used as febrifuge.
Decoction of leaves used for coughs and asthma. Dried bark decoction or infusion in
alcohol used for lumbar and leg pain.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows well in sandy loams and tolerate acidic
to alkaline condition. It also tolerates moderate soil salinity and aerosol salt spray. It is
drought tolerant and grows well in nutrient-poor soil. It is commonly propagated by
branch cuttings. Branches of 2 to 3 m height and 5 to 10 cm diameter are commonly used
for planting. Larger cuttings establish quickly and survive better than smaller cuttings. It
can also be propagated by seeds. Seeds can easily be collected from dried pods. Seeds can
be scarified and soaked overnight. Seeds can also be immersed in hot water for ten
minutes and then in tepid water overnight. Seedlings of about three to four months old
are suitable for outplanting .
Euphorbia tirucalli L.
EUPHORBIACEAE
Common names: Milk bush, aveloz, pencil cactus
Status: Occasional; grown as ornamental and as medicinal plant.
Description: A succulent, cactus-like shrub or small tree, about 2 to 5 m tall. It grows along
the ground with ascending stems or is sub-erect in habit. Main trunk and older branches
are woody with browncoloured bark. Young stems are green, succulent, and cylindrical
with many fine longitudinal ribs. Leaves are green, fleshy, very minute, 0.7 to 1.5 cm in
length and 0.1 to 0.4 cm in width, linear spatula like in shape and attached to the tips of the
young branches without leaf stalk. Both old and young branches look leafless since leaves
shed so early that they are normally not noticed. Functions of the leaves are taken over by
the green young stems. Flowers are small and many and enclosed within a four to five
lobed involucre (a whorl or rosette of bracts), which are crowded at the ends of branches
or in axils. Number of male flowers is high and variable but always surrounds the female
flower, which is solitary. Fruit is very small, 0.8 cm in diameter and pale brown in colour
and seeds are about 0.5 cm long and smooth. All parts of the plant exudate latex.
Uses: Milk bush is reported to be widely used in folk medicine as a cure for a variety of
diseases, ranging from cough to cancer. Stems are used along with other ingredients to
serve as poultices for healing bone fracture. It is also considered as an important future
source of energy, capable of producing 10 to 50 barrel of oil per acre. Fibrous residue of the
wood after the extraction of latex can be used for paper pulp. It is also a well-known insect
repellent and fish poison.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows on a variety of light-textured, neutral to

acidic soils but requires good drainage and high water table for better performance. It is
highly tolerant to drought and aerosol salt. It is also moderately tolerant to soil salinity. It
is considered as a suitable species for cultivation in marginal and drought prone areas. It
can be easily propagated by stem cuttings. It is reported that 5 cm cuttings, taken from
fresh branches of a healthy bush might grow to 50 cm in height within a growing season.
Planting of stem cuttings in shallow trenches of about 20 cm where water can collect, is
normally practiced in large-scale cultivation of milk bush. In order to grow as hedge, it
should be trimmed and the top should be pruned.
Ficus benghalensis L. – Baleting-baging
Ficus benghalensis L.
MORACEAE
Synonym: Ficus indica
Common names: Banyan tree, Indian banyan tree
Tagalog names: Baleting-baging
Status: Abundant; found in forested areas and nearby residential places in all islands.
Description: A huge, wide-spreading tree that grows up to 25 m in height. It is

characterized by the presence of copious aerial roots, which hang from the branches. As
the tree becomes older these aerial roots reach the ground, take root and act like stems.
Leaves are simple, rough, and alternate in arrangement, ovate in shape with blunt tip and
heart-shaped base. Leaf size ranges from 10 to 30 cm in length and 7 to 20 cm in width. Leaf
has five to seven pairs of lateral veins; base pair that reaches onethird of the leaf plate
length is very conspicuous. Leaf stalk varies in length from 1.5 to 7 cm. Stipules are thick.
The flower stand is round and hollow and all the flowers attached onto the inside walls,
and thus cannot be seen from outside, which is a characteristic feature of all Ficus species.
Male flowers possess a minute stalk whereas female flowers are sessile. A small opening at
the top of the flower stand allows the pollinating insect to enter. Fruit, a fig, is sessile,
round and depressed, about 1.5 to 2 cm in diameter, green in colour when young and
orange to red when ripened.
Uses: It is used for shade tree or ornamental tree. It is also grown in forest.
Ecology, propagation and management: Propagation is by seed and stem cuttings. Seeds
are dispersed by birds, and seeds germinate and grow on other trees (host), eventually
overgrowing and strangling and shading the host trees to death. Banyan tree needs a
specific pollinator wasp namely, Eupristina masoni without which it cannot reproduce
and spread by seeds. In Maldives, stem and branch cuttings are the common method
followed for propagation. Cuttings of any size are used and establishment is improved by
providing shade and watering. Wildlings are also used for propagation.
Ficus benjamina L. - Balete
Ficus benjamina L.
MORACEAE
Common name: Weeping fig
Tagalog name: Balete
Status: Occasional; grown as ornamental and as shade tree.
Description: A small, evergreen tree that grows to 6 to 8 m in height but is capable of

reaching even 20m in height. Bark is grey and smooth. Branchlets are brown and shining.
Canopy is umbrella like with pendant branches that go down to the ground (hence, the
name weeping fig). As the tree matures, spread of the tree becomes broader than the
height of the tree. Leaves are simple, leathery, shiny on both surfaces and alternate in
arrangement and 4 to 11 cm long and 1.5 to 6 cm wide. Shape of the leaf blade varies from
oblong, elliptic, oval to lanceolate. Leaf tip is pointed, base is rounded, and the leaf margin
is entire and undulated. Fruit is a fig, solitary or paired, sessile or attached to the branch
by a small stalk. The fig shape is nearly round or somewhat oval, 0.8 to1.2 cm long and 0.7
to 1 cm wide, orange, yellow or dark red in colour.
Uses: Dense, round and symmetrical canopy and gracefully drooping branches made this
tree quite popular as an ornamental tree. It is also cultivated as a bonsai. In the
Philippines, it is grown along the pavements, sidewalks and also in home gardens and
other buildings as shade and ornamental tree.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows on clay, loam, sandy, acidic and alkaline
soil. It grows occasionally in wet soils but best performance is achieved only in well-
drained soils. It grows in full sun and partial shade. Propagation is by seeds and stem
cuttings. The reproductive system of the genus Ficus is unique. Each species of Ficus,
including all the species described in this book, has an associated species of wasp. A Ficus
species can be pollinated only by its associated wasp and in turn, the associated wasp can
only lay eggs within its associated Ficus fruit. Hence, for successful natural regeneration
a Ficus species associated wasps must be present. However, Ficus benjamina is
propagated by both stem and branch cuttings. Plants should be carefully watered when
young and later during droughts for better results. Some of the disadvantages of this tree
are that its rapidly growing roots can severely damage concrete surfaces of the sidewalks
and the size of the tree is much too large for residential planting.
Ficus elastica Roxb. ex. Hornem - Balete
Ficus elastica Roxb. ex. Hornem
MORACEAE
Common names: Indian rubber tree, Indian rubber fig
Tagalog name: Balete
Status: Ornamental tree; observed only in a few northern group of islands.
Description: A fast growing, evergreen tree, which normally grows 6 to 10 m tall but is
reported as growing to more than 30 m in height in its native habitat in the jungles of
tropical America. It also grows as an epiphyte, sending down many adventitious roots
from the trunk and larger branches. In trees, which are not growing as epiphytes, crown
shape is oval and spreading but irregular in outline. Leaves are single, leathery, shiny and
smooth and alternately arranged along the branches. Leaves are ellipticoblong in shape
and 15 to 25 cm long with tapering point. Stipules are deciduous, thin and usually red in
colour, often as long as the leaves, which is a characteristic feature of the Indian rubber
fig. Fruit is a fig, oblong-obovid in shape, about 1 cm long, axillary in position, stalkless,
smooth and greenish yellow in colour.
Uses: Grown mainly as an ornamental tree. Currently three different cultivars are
available, which are varying in leaf colour. One cultivar has broad, reddish-green leaves
with ivory coloured veins running down the centre of the leaf, another variety has yellow-
variegated leaves and the third cultivar has light green leaves with white or yellow
margins.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is adapted to all kinds of soil but prefers well-
drained soil for better growth. It is highly drought tolerant and moderately tolerant to
aerosol salt spray. It grows well in partly shaded environment. Propagation is mainly by
air-layering and stem cuttings. It easily breaks apart in strong winds. To develop strong
structure as well as to increase longevity, multiple branches
need to be removed during the early phase of the growth and lateral branches should be
pruned.
Ficus amplissima Smith
MORACEAE
Synonyms: Ficus tsiela, Ficus indica
Common names: Bat tree, tsiela
Status: Common in the northern islands.
Description: A fast growing, evergreen tree, which grows 6 to 12 m in height. Crown is
round in shape with widely spreading branches. Aerial roots are rarely developed from the
branches. Bark is smooth and greenish-grey in colour. Leaves are simple, leathery, and
smooth and spiral in arrangement, ovateelliptic to lanceolate-elliptic in shape with acute
tip and rounded base. Leaf size ranges from 5 to 12 cm in length and 2 to 6 cm in width. Leaf
stalk is long, varies from 2.5 to 8 cm in length. Leaves become grey-green to brownish in
colour when dry and dried leaves have the upper surface covered with minute raised dots.
Fruit, a fig, is subglobose to obovoid in shape, sessile and axillary in position and located
in the twigs below the leaves. Fig is about 1 to 1.2 cm in diameter, green when young and
pink to purple when ripened.
Uses: In Philippines, it is widely grown as ornamental and shade tree..
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows well in sandy loams and tolerate acidic
to alkaline condition. It also tolerates moderate soil salinity and aerosol salt spray. It is
drought tolerant and grows well in nutrient-poor soil. It is commonly propagated by stem
and branch cuttings. Stem cuttings of 45 to 60 cm without any leaves are planted in beds
in slanting position. Leaves appear within a month and after a period of about two months
these cuttings are transferred to polythene containers. After a month in the container
they are used for outplanting. In Maldives, larger branches are also used for outplanting.
Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud. - Kakawate
Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud.
FABACEAE
Synonym: Gliricidia maculata (Kunth) Walp.
Common names: Gliricidia, tree of iron
Tagalog Name: Kakawate, Madre de Cacao
Status: Occasional; found growing as shade and ornamental tree.
Description: A semi deciduous, medium sized tree of variable height, ranging from 3 to 15
m. Trees may have single or multiple stems with diffuse and irregular crown. Bark colour
is grey to brown, smooth or slightly fissured. Leaves are pinnately compound, 15 to 30 cm
long and arranged alternately along the branches. Each leaf has 7 to 17 leaf pairs and a
terminal leaflet. Leaflets are elliptical or lanceolate in shape, 3 to 6 cm long with pointed
tip and wedge-shaped base. Inflorescence is a raceme or panicle, numer2ous, erect or
upward curving, 10 to 12 cm long and borne at the base of leaves. Flowers are large, about
2 cm long, have light green calyx tinged with red and a corolla of five whitish-pink or light
purple coloured petals. Fruit is a flattened pod, 10 to 15 cm long, about 2 cm wide, which
contains three to eight seeds. Pods are yellow-green initially, turning to yellow and finally
brown or blackish when fully matured. Seeds are round and flat, shiny and light brown in
colour. Size and shape of the tree is greatly modified by repeated lopping in agriculture
environments.
Uses: It is a nitrogen-fixing tree grown for its environmental services and products. It is
used to provide shade to shade-loving crops, living fence posts for pastures and as a fallow
tree to improve degraded land. It also provides green manure, fodder and firewood. Wood
is very hard, heavy, durable and termite resistant and used for posts, house construction,
furniture and tool handles. Roots and seeds are used as rat poison. It is an ideal species for
agroforestry.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is adapted to grow in wide rage of soils, from
light to heavy soils and thrives well in deep, medium-textured, well-drained soil. It also
grows in calcareous soils that are rich in available calcium and tolerates aerosol salt spray
and thus suitable for growing in a large scale in atoll environment. Propagation is by seeds
and cuttings. Pretreatment of seeds is not necessary when fresh seeds are used for sowing.
However, seeds stored for a long time need soaking overnight in hot water and sowing
should proceed immediately after this treatment. Nursery-raised seedlings are ready for
planting within three months. Initial growth rate is rapid, may reach 3 m height in the
first year. Large cuttings, 2 to 2.5m long and 6 to 15 cm in diameter are used for quick
establishment. Rooting will be fast, if small incisions are made on the lower part of the
cuttings.
Guettarda speciose L. - Banaro
Guettarda speciosa L.
RUBIACEAE
Common name: Nit pitcha
Tagalog name: Banaro
Status: Abundant in forested areas; present in all islands.
Description: An evergreen, small- to medium- sized size tree that grows normally about 5
to 10 m in height but is capable of reaching more than 20 m. Crown is round and
spreading. Leaves are large, 15 to 25 cm long, 7.5 to 20 cm wide, dark green in colour and
ovate in shape. Tip of the leaves is blunt or sometimes acute and the base is rounded or
heart-shaped; midrib of the leaf and seven to ten pairs of lateral nerves are prominent.
Flowers are fragrant, tubular and white in colour. Corolla tube is light yellow in colour
and 2.5 to 5 cm long and corolla is about 3 cm across. Flowers are sensitive to sun and
hence, open in the evening and fall before dawn. During cloudy days or in shaded places,
opened flowers can be occasionally seen during daytime. Fruits are round and slightly
flattened, faintly ribbed, 2.5 to 3 cm in diameter and without stalk; green in color when
unripe, turns to brown at maturity. Each fruit has four to six cells and each cell has one
very small white seed. Matured fruits are cork like and dispersed by ocean currents.
Uses: Wood is white in color, dense, heavy, hard and durable. Wood is mainly used as poles
for house construction and boat building. According to some Maldivian elders, wood is
heated before using to increase its strength. It is said that nails once fixed in heated wood
cannot be easily removed. Wood is also buried in the sand near the sea to keep its freshness
for future use. Branches are excellent firewood.
It is also grown as ornamental tree and small poles are used for growing passion fruits.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows in light to heavy soils but prefers well
drained medium textured soil for better growth. It also grows well in poor soil. Its
tolerance to drought, aerosol salt spray and soil salinity is high. Propagation is mainly by
seeds. In the Maldives, it is not cultivated. But according to the elders, wildlings can be
used to raise this plant in desired locations. Cuttings are also used for propagation. Both
seedlings and cuttings require proper shading and watering in the initial stage to establish
and grow.
Hernandia nymphaeifolia (C.presl) Kubitzki
HERNANDIACEAE
Synonyms: Hernandia ovigera, Hernandia peltata, Hernandia sonora
Common names: Hernandia, Jack in the box
Status: Abundant in the forested areas; present in all islands.
Description: A medium to large sized tree, 10 to 12 m tall but is capable of reaching 30m in
height in favourable condition. Crown is round and irregular. Trunk is cylindrical and
straight, sometimes with slightly developed buttresses. Bark is white, grey or pale brown
in colour, scaly or flaky and slightly fissured. Leaves are simple, peltate, leathery, smooth,
shiny and alternate in arrangement. Leaves are also large sized, 15 to 18 cm long and 8 to 10
cm wide with 15 to 25 cm long leaf stalks are oval shaped with pointed tip and rounded base
and are dark green on the upper surface and dull green underneath. Inflorescence is
terminal or axillary and 10 to 20 cm long. Flowers are on a branched axis, white, slightly
hairy and about 1 cm across. Fruit is ellipsoid or somewhat rounded in shape and 1.5 to 3
cm long, black in colour and enclosed in an inflated green sphere. Fruit is single seeded.
Seeds are dispersed by ocean currents.
Uses: Wood is not very hard and easily decays in seawater.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows in sandy and well-drained soil but
prefers slightly wet soil and moist environment for better growth. It is saline tolerant but
tolerance to aerosol salt spray is moderate. Propagation is by seeds and stem cuttings. In
the Maldives, it is not normally grown but, in some islands, hardened wood cuttings, 35 to
45 cm in height and 5 to 10 cm in diameter are used for propagation. It establishes and
grows fast if proper shade is provided.
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Hibiscus tiliaceus L.- Malabago
Hibiscus tiliaceus L.
MALVACEAE
Common names: Sea hibiscus, beach hibiscus
Tagalog name: Malabago
Status: Abundant; present in forested areas and near to residential places in almost all the
islands.
Description: A small- to medium- sized sized evergreen tree 3 to 10 m in height but is

capable of growing to 20 m tall. Canopy is usually much wider than the height of the tree.
Trunk is often short, with numerous crooked, sprawling branches. In the shrub like
forms, prostrate branches intertwine and form an impenetrable thicket. Bark is grey to
light brown, fissured and thick in old trees. Leaves are simple, 8 to 15 cm long, green,
smooth and glossy on the upper surface greyish and hairy on the lower surface. Tip of the
leaf is pointed, base is heart-shaped and the margins are minutely serrated. Flowers are
cup shaped, showy with corolla consisting of five radiating, obovate, lemon-yellow
coloured petals with dark maroon base. Flowers are fragile and shortlived, mostly falling
the same day that they open. Flower fades to pink colour prior to falling. Fruit is a capsule,
hairy, ovoid in shape, light brown in colour and about 2 cm long. It splits into five
segments upon drying. Seeds are kidney shaped, brown or brownblack in colour and
hairy.
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Uses: Timber is soft, less durable but hard. In the Maldives, it is widely used for boat
building. Trunk and stems are stripped off bark and soaked in seawater to discourage
insect attack and rot. Timber is also used for tool handles and fish floats. It is also used for
firewood. Smooth, fibrous, cream-coloured inner bark is used for making ropes, which
are stronger when wet. This rope is used for fishing nets, mats, bowstrings, net beg etc.
Leaves are good for composting. Tree is very useful to stabilize coastal sands and sand
dunes. It is an ideal species for agroforestry in atoll environment and a candidate species
for multispecies coastal bioshield.
Ecology, propagation and management: It tolerates wide variety of soils, ranging from
coralline, skeletal soils to waterlogged swampy soils of medium to heavy texture. It also
tolerates aerosol salt spray, brackish water and shallow flooding very well.
Wellestablished tree can also withstand drought. Propagation is by seed and stem
cuttings. For seed propagation, capsules should be collected before becoming brown and
then air dried to allow the capsule to split, which when shaken will release seeds. Seeds
can be scarified by lightly nicking the seed coat. Seedlings, five to six-month-old and about
25 cm in height are suitable for outplanting. Stem cuttings about 2 to 3 m long from
straight branches are commonly used for propagation.
Lawsonia inermis L. – Henna
Lawsonia inermis L.
LYTHRACEAE
Common names: Henna tree, Sinamomo (Tag.)
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Status: Common growing home gardens.
Description: A much-branched shrub or small tree 2 to 6 m in height. Bark is

greyishbrown, unarmed when young but branches of older trees are spine tipped. Young
branches are green in color and quadrangular which turn red with age. Leaves are small,
about 1.5 to 5 cm long, 0.5 to 2 cm wide, elliptic to broadly lanceolate in shape and opposite
in arrangement along the branches. Inflorescence is a large pyramid shaped cyme.
Flowers are small, about 1 cm across, numerous, fragrant, white in color with four
crumbled petals. Calyx is with a 0.2 cm tube and 0.3 cm spread lobes. Fruit is a small brown
colored round capsule. Fruit opens irregularly and splits into four sections at maturity and
is many seeded. Seeds are about 0.3 cm across, angular with thick seed coat.
Uses: Flowers are very fragrant and, in the Maldives, they are used to extract a perfume,
which is used as base for local scents. Henna leaf has an orange-red dye and leaf paste or
powder is widely used for decorating hands, nails and feet with patterns. It is also used as
a hair dye. Leaves, flower and roots are used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of
ailments. It is used for alleviating jaundice, venereal diseases and smallpox. Root is
considered as a potent medicine for gonorrhea and herpes infection. Leaves have cooling
properties and a paste made of the leaves is used to apply on the soles to reduce body
temperature. It is considered as a one of the "plants of the paradise" and once it was
forbidden to damage, cut down a tree or use wood as fuel.
No herbal medicine in the Philippines. It is considered as Ornamental tree.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is adapted to grow in all types of soil, from
clayey to poor, stony soils but prefers sandy soil for better performance. It grows both in
acidic as well as slightly alkaline soils. It requires high temperature for germination,
growth and development. Propagation is by seed and cuttings. Seeds are steeped in water
for three to seven days wherein the water is changed every day and then placed in small
heaps, which are kept moist for a few days. Well-swollen seeds are then selected for
sowing. Seedlings should be kept in the nursery for about four to five months, during
which time it would grow to about 35 to 40 cm. It is then cut back to 15 cm height and out
planted. It is easy to propagate from cuttings. Heartwood cuttings about 15 to20 cm can be
used for planting. It is a hardy plant and can survive without watering but to increase
growth rate watering is essential.
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Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. - Ipil-ipil
Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit.
Synonyms: Acacia leucocephala (Lam.) F.Dietr.
Common name: Leucaena, Wild Tamarind, Lead Tree
Tagalog name: Ipil-ipil, Komkompitis (Ilocano) Kabahero (Cebuano), Agho (Panay Bisaya)
Status: Occasional; observed only in a few islands.
Description: A bushy shrub to small or medium sized fast-growing tree, the height of the
plant depends on cultivars and types. Some cultivars may reach 20 m height at maturity.
Bark is smooth, grey to brown in colour with tan spots. Leaves are compound, bipinnate,
10 to 20 cm long with four to nine pairs of pinnae. Each pinna is 4 to 10 cm in length with 11
to 17 pairs of small, oblong-lanceolate shaped leaflets, which fold up in the night. Pinnae
are without terminal leaf and leaf arrangement is alternate. Flowers are very small, white
in colour, arranged in a round inflorescence, which is 2 to 2.5 cm in diameter.
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Inflorescence is single, axillary in position and with 5 cm long peduncle. Fruit pod is thin
and flat, up to 20 cm long and 2 cm wide and pointed at both ends. Seeds are elliptical in
shape, compressed and brown in colour.
Uses: It can be effectively utilized to improve soil condition since its nitrogen-fixing
capacity is very high. It fixes about 275 kg of nitrogen per year per hectare and thus
superior to Gliricidia, Casuarina and Erythrina. It is also a good source of fuel wood. Wood
is also used for light construction, flooring, pulp, poles and posts. Pods are used as fodder
and green manure. Tree is also widely used to control soil erosion because of its deep root
system. It is a good species for agroforestry.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is adapted to different soil conditions but grows
well in deep red soils. It also grows on calcareous and coral soil and tolerates acidic to
alkaline conditions. It is sensitive to flooding and requires good drainage. It is moderately
tolerant of salinity, aerosol spray and drought. Propagation is by seeds. Seeds can be
collected by thrashing mature pods. Seeds require pretreatment to break dormancy. Seeds
may be soaked in boiling water for two to three minutes and left in water at room
temperature for two to three days. Seeds can also be immersed in sulphuric acid for 10 to
15 minutes and washed and dried before planting. Seeds can also be scarified
mechanically. It can also be established by stem cuttings; cuttings about 4 m long and 10
cm in diameter can be rooted in a nursery and outplanted after trimming the roots to a
length of 20 cm.
Mangifera indica L. – Mangga
65
Mangifera indica L.
ANACARDIACEAE
Common name: Mango
Tagalog names: Mangga, Mampalam (Sulu), Paho (Panay Bisaya)
Status: Common both in the northern and southern group of islands.
Description: A well-known evergreen tree 10 to 25 m tall with spreading, round shaped,

dense crown. Trunk is short and multi-branched. Bark is grey-brown in colour and
longitudinally fissured. Leaves are simple, 8 to 40 cm long but narrow, lanceolate or
oblong in shape and arranged alternately. Leaves are somewhat leathery, with tapering
base and pointed tip with undulating margin and 12 to 30 pairs of nerves. Young leaves are
reddish, becoming dark green and shiny with age. Inflorescence is terminal, widely
branched panicles, which is up to 60 cm long with a numerous, small, yellow-green male
and bisexual flower. Flowers are with five lobed calyxes and five petals. Fruit is a fleshy
drupe, variable in size and shape, usually obovoid-oblong, unequal sided and up to 10 cm
long and 30 cm wide. Young fruit is green in colour, turning to red, orange, yellowish or
purple-brown as fruit matures. Flesh is yellow to orange coloured, juicy, may be fibrous,
sweet to turpentine flavored. The fruit is single seeded.
Uses: Both unripe and ripe fruits are eaten fresh. It is used for stewed fruit, juices, jam and
jellies. It is processed into pickles (burong mangga), chutney, curry and dried slices. In the
Philippines, a local variety called "Carabao", which sweetest mango in the world, is
widely eaten. Slices of green fruit with bagoong alamang (shrimp paste) is one of the
delicious items of the culinary of the Philippines. Wood is strong, heavy and durable and
can be used for boat building, carpentry, house building etc.; but in the Philippines it is
not used for any of these purposes since mango tree is not normally felled for timber.
Mango varieties in the Philippines are Indian, Carabao, Hawaiian (apple mango) and Piko.
Ecology, propagation and management: Mango grows in clay, loamy, sandy and acidic or
alkaline, poor but well-drained soils. It performs well in sand, gravel and even limestone
soil. Its tolerance to drought and aerosol salt spray is moderate. It is sensitive to soil
salinity. Mango is readily propagated by seed. Germination rate and vigour of seedlings
are highest when fresh seeds are used. No pretreatment of seed is required. Propagation
from seed is unable to perpetuate characters of the parent tree and also plants take more
time to bear fruit. Hence, many vegetative propagation methods have been developed
66
with varying degrees of success. Inarching and approach-grafting are the common
methods followed in vegetative propagation. Propagation by stem cutting and air layering
is less successful. Both cuttings and air-layers do not develop good root system and are not
practical for establishing large-scale plantations.
Manilkara zapota (L.) P.Royen - Chico
Manilkara zapota (L.) P.Royen
SAPOTACEAE
Synonyms: Achras zapota Linn., Manilkara achras (Mill.) Fosberg
Common names: Sapodilla,
Tagalog name: Chico, Tsiko
Description: A slow-growing, evergreen, upright, long-lived forest tree (in Central

America) with a normal height ranging from 12 to 15 m but it is capable of growing to 30m
height. However, grafter cultivars, which are normally grown in the home gardens, are
much shorter. It has a distinctly pyramidshaped crown when young, which becomes
round and dense with age and irregular in shape. Trunk is cylindrical and long in
forestgrown trees but become shortened in cultivars. Leaves are simple, alternate,
spirally arranged and clustered at the shoot tips. Leaves are elliptic or oblong in shape,
stiff, shiny and medium to dark green in colour. Flowers are single, small, greenish-white
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with a hairy flower stalk and bell-like in shape with six green sepals and six white corolla
lobes. Fruit is an oval, round or ellipsoid berry with a rough brown skin. Immature fruits
are hard, gummy and very astringent. Ripe fruits contain juicy, sweet, yellowish to light
or dark brown or reddish brown coloured flesh with a sweet and pleasant flavour
resembling that of a pear. Fruits contain 3 to 12, shiny, hard flattened, brown or black
seeds with one white margin. Fruits can also be seedless. All parts of the plants are rich in
white latex.
Uses: Though it is a multiple use tree, it is mainly cultivated for its fruit, which is eaten
raw or made into juice, sherbets, jam and syrup. Wood is very hard, strong, tough, dense,
insect resistant and durable and deep red in colour. It is suitable for heavy construction
and excellent for furniture. Latex of the bark, commonly called as chicle, was previously
the base for chewing gum. It is a strong tree and can withstand hurricane very well. It is
also a very good ornamental and shade tree.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is well adapted to many types of soil but
flourishes on rich, well-drained sandy loam. It is highly drought tolerant, can withstand
aerosol salt spray and very saline soil (approaches the date palm in its tolerance of soil
salinity). Propagation is by seed and vegetative methods. The best seeds are large ones
from large fruits. Seeds germinate readily but growth is slow and takes 5 to 8 years to bear
the fruit. Cultivars are normally propagated by air-layering, inarching, marcoting and
grafting. For air-layering two years old branches are used. Grafting is successful on several
rootstocks but grafts using Manilkara kauki and Manilkara hexandra as rootstock grow
vigorously and fruit heavily.
Mimusops elengi - Kabiki
68
Mimusops elengi L.
SAPOTACEAE
Common names: Tanjong tree, Pagoda gum tree
Tagalog name: Kabiki
Status: Common; grown in public places and home gardens. No individual tree is found in
the wild.
Description: A handsome evergreen tree about 8 to 15 m tall with a dense, round and
spreading crown. Trunk is straight. Bark is grey in colour and fissured deeply in old trees.
Leaves are single, shiny, leathery, oblong and lanceolate in shape and opposite in
arrangement. They are small in size, 4 to 12 cm long and 3 to 6 cm wide with slightly curled
margin and pointed tip. Flowers are solitary or in pairs, starshaped, 1.5 cm across and
axillary in position and very fragrant. Sepals are green, tough and 12 in number, which are
arranged in two series of eight and four. Petals are creamy white in colour, 24 in number
and arranged in two series, the outer series with 16 and inner series with 8
petals. Fruit is a berry, ovoid to egg-shaped, green when unripe, orange-red when ripe and
fleshy. Each
fruit contains a single, hard and dark brown seed.
Uses: In Maldives, it is widely grown as a shade and as an ornamental tree because of its
dense, dark green canopy and fragrant flowers, which fill the night air with deep, rich
very pleasant aroma. Flowers retain their odour for many days after they fall and they are
used to stuff pillows. A pleasant perfume is also obtained from the flowers. Fruit with
sweet, aromatic and yellow-coloured flesh is edible but rather astringent. Unripe fruit is
used by silk dyers to fix colours. It is also an excellent timber tree. Its heartwood, which is
deep red in colour, is very hard, strong, durable and fine grained, easy to work with and
polishes well. Various parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine. Bark decoction is
widely used to maintain oral hygiene. Ripe fruit, pounded and mixed with water, is given
to promote delivery in childbirth. It can be grown as a wind breaker and can be a part of
multispecies coastal bioshield.
Ecology, propagation and management: It tolerates a variety of soils but grows well in
coastal sandy soil. It requires good moisture for better performance. Trees growing in dry
soil may have pale yellow foliage. It is propagated by seed. Seeds are collected from
69
ripened fallen fruit. Outer skin and flesh of the fruit can be easily removed and seeds can
be used directly for plantation. No pretreatment is necessary. Since growth rate is very
slow, seedlings grown in the nursery for about two years are used for outplanting. It can
be grown as an avenue tree in rows with 4 m interval. It requires regular watering in the
early stage for establishment.
Morinda citrifolia L. - Apatot
Morinda citrifolia L.
RUBIACEAE
Synonyms: Morinda bracteata, Morinda litoralis
Common names: Indian mulberry, cheesefruit
Tagalog name: Apatot
Status: Common; found mostly in the forested areas.
Description: An erect, evergreen, smooth shrub or small tree 3 to 10 m tall. Bark is greyish
or yellowbrown, shallowly fissured and somewhat shiny. Young branches are light green
in colour and fourangled. Leaves are simple, opposite in arrangement along the branches,
elliptic to elliptic-ovate in shape, 20 to 45 cm long and 7 to 25 cm wide. Leaves are dark
green in colour, shiny and deeply veined. Flowers are small, white, numerous and about
70 to 90 flowers can be seen in a ovoid to round flower head, which has 1 to 4 cm long
peduncle. Inflorescence is axillary and normally opposite to leaves in position. Flowers
are bisexual and fragrant; corolla is five lobed on a short greenish yellow coloured tube.
Fruit is yellowishwhite in colour, fleshy, roughly cone like in shape, 3 to 10 cm long and 2
70
to 3 cm wide. It is soft, somewhat gelatinous when ripe, and strong smelling. Each fruit
has many seeds and each seed is enclosed in a distinct air chamber.
Uses: Indian mulberry was previously cultivated for a reddish-purple and brown dye from
the bark and roots to colour cloths. Now it is widely cultivated for medicinal purpose.
Fruit juice is used in alternative medicine for a host of illness such as diabetes, high blood
pressure, arthritis, and muscle aches, menstrual difficulties etc. Fruit juice is considered
as an excellent adaptogen (can keep body systems in homeostasis). In the Maldives, fruit
is normally given to old people to alleviate illnesses resulting from senility. Leaf juice,
obtained by crushing leaves or cooked leaves are applied on the swollen body parts to
reduce swelling and pain.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows on a wide range of soils and harsh
environmental conditions, such as brackish tide pools, limestone soils or outcroppings on
coral atolls. It also tolerates seasonal water logging but prefers free, well-drained soils for
better performance. It grows well both in acidic and alkaline soils. Its tolerance to
drought, aerosol salt spray and water and soil salinity is very high. Its growth and fruit
production is somewhat reduced in windy areas. Indian mulberry can be easily
propagated by seeds and stem cuttings. Seeds float in water due to presence of air bubbles
inside and such floating seeds from mature fruits can be collected and scarified to improve
germination rate and time. Seeds may be directly sown or seedlings of about 2 to 12 months
can be outplanted. Stem cuttings 20 to 40 cm long can be grown in containers and used for
outplanting after six to nine weeks.
Moringa oleifera Lam. - Malunggay
71
Moringa oleifera Lam. MORINGACEAE
Synonym: Moringa pterygosperma
Common names: Drumstick tree, horseradish tree
Tagalog name: Malunggay, Marunggay/ Komkompilan (Ilocano), Kalamungai (Cebuano)
Status: Common in the northern islands; occasional in the southern islands.
Description: A small, fast growing, deciduous to evergreen tree that can grow up to 10 m
in height. Crown is umbrella shaped and open. Branches are slender and drooping. Bark
is corky and grey in colour. Leaves are compound, leathery and up to 50 cm long with
many small leaflets, which are about 1 to 2 cm long. Terminal leaflet, which is obovate in
shape, is usually larger than the lateral leaflets. Lateral leaflets are elliptical in shape.
Flowers are white or creamy white in colour, fragrant and 1.5 to 2 cm long, borne in
axillary inflorescence. Fruit is a pod, pendulous, triangular in cross section, normally 30
to 50 cm in length but some may be as long as 120 cm. Young fruits are green in colour,
turning to brown and splitting into three parts when dry. Each pod contains about 20 dark
brown, three-winged seeds, which are embedded in pith.
Uses: It is a multipurpose tree and almost every part of the drumstick tree is of value for
food. Leaves are used as greens, in soups and salads and in vegetable curries. Pods, which
looks like giant beans and taste like asparagus are widely used in curries. Seeds can also be
eaten fresh as peas. Flowers are also used as a vegetable. Thickened root of the drumstick
tree is used as a substitute for horseradish. Seeds yield sweet high-quality oil called ben
oil, which is used in art, salads, and hairdressing and as a lubricant for fine machinery
such as that of watches. Leaves, flowers and pods are high in proteins (5 to 10% on average)
and rich in vitamins and iron and calcium. Because of the high nutritive value drumstick
tree is considered as one of the important trees with reference to nutritional security of
rural communities. It is an ideal species for agroforestry in the coastal areas.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is adapted to a wide range of soils but grows
well in dry sandy soil. It is highly tolerant to drought but foliage production reduces
considerably under continuous water stress. It can be easily propagated by stem cutting
and seed. Seeds collected from dry pods can be sown directly. Seedlings, which grow very
fast, can be raised in a container for outplanting. Stem cuttings of about 1 m long is
normally used for planting. It requires protection against high winds.
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Muntingia calabura L. - Aratiles
Muntingia calabura L.
TILIACEAE/Muntingiaceae
Common names: Japanese cherry, Jamaica cherry tree
Tagalog name: Aratiles, Datiles, Seresa (Ilocano)
Status: Common in forested areas and around residential areas.
Description: A fast growing, slender, evergreen tree that grows up to 10 m tall. Branches
are nearly horizontal like a fan, spreading, hairy and drooping at the tip. Mainline
branches become erect after leaf fall and contribute to the development of the trunk.
Leaves are simple, alternate in arrangement, ovate to lanceolate in shape, covered with
tiny sticky hairs on the upper surface and grey or brown hairy on the underside. Leaf
margin is irregularly toothed and leaf blade is strongly asymmetrical. Flowers are solitary
or up to three in number with five green sepals and five white petals and are borne in leaf
axils. Flowers open just before dawn and last for only a day. Fruit is a berry, round, 1 to 1.2
cm wide, red or sometimes yellow in colour, smooth, thin with tender skin. Fruit pulp is
juicy, soft, and lightbrown in colour with sweet, musky flavour. Seeds are minute,
elliptical and greyish yellow in colour and numerous.
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Uses: Fruits are edible and somewhat strawberry tasting. They are eaten raw and can be
preserved as jam if they are available in plenty. Fruits are also used in tarts. Bark can be
made into ropes. Wood, which becomes light weight when dry, is a source of fuel wood
and not used for any other purpose. It can be grown as a shade tree for nursery. In the
Philippines, tree is grown for shade and ornamental purposes. Bark, fruit and leaves are
used in traditional medicine such as - Flowers are antispasmodic. Decoction of flowers for
abdominal cramps.Decoction used as emollient. Flowers used as antiseptic and to treat
spasms.Leaves used as antiseptics or antipruritic; also, to treat abdominal cram. Also used
to relieve colds and headaches.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows in dry soil but flourishes in slightly moist
and acidic soil. It is tolerant to shade but tolerance to salinity and aerosol salt spray is very
poor. It spreads spontaneously and seeds are dispersed by birds and fruit eating bats. It is
reported that fresh seed germination is enhanced by passage through the digestive tract
of bats. Seed germinates in high temperature and light. M. calabara is normally not
cultivated except in some places in Brazil, where fresh seeds are sown directly. To collect
seeds, water is added repeatedly to the squeezed juice, resulting in sinking of viable seeds
to the bottom of the container. Collected seeds are washed and dried for future use. In the
Maldives, wildlings are used for growing in home garden as a shade tree.
Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. – Curry tree
Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng.
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RUTACEAE
Common name: Curry leaf
Status: Common; grown in home garden.
Description: An evergreen, fast growing and spreading small shrub that grows up to 2.5 m
in height. Bark is dark green to brownish and can be peeled off longitudinally, exposing
the white wood underneath. Leaves are bipinnately compound and 20 to 35 cm long. Each
leaf bears about 24 leaflets, which are 5 cm in length and 1.8 cm in width and lanceolate in
shape. Inflorescence is a cyme, terminal in position and bearing about 60 to 90 flowers.
Flowers are white in colour, funnel shaped, fragrant and about 1.2 cm across. Calyx is
green in colour, five lobed and persistent. Corolla is white with five lanceolate shaped
petals. Fruit is round to oblong in shape, 1.4 to 1.6 cm long and 1 to 1.2 cm in diameter and
pulpy, green when young but ripe fruits are black in colour with shinning surface. About
30 to 80 fruits can be seen in a cluster. Each fruit contains a small greenish seed. In the
Maldives, a variety of curry leaf is grown, which is shorter in height and does not flower
and fruit.
Uses: Fresh leaves have a very pleasant aroma and it is widely used fresh to add flavour to
curries. Leaves are commonly fried in oil or butter or even oven dried or toasted before
use. Because of their soft texture curry leaves are not removed from curries. In
Philippines, curry leaf is widely used in special fish curries as well as in delicious chicken
and beef curries. Fruits are considered as very nutritious and can be eaten raw. Fruits too
have many medicinal properties.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows on a variety of soil but performs well
only in deep, welldrained red soil. In clayey soil its performance in the initial stage is good
but soon it will wither. Their performances in saline and alkaline soil is very poor and
because of this reason many of the plants grown in the Maldives exhibit choloritic
symptoms (leaves becoming abnormally pale green or yellow due to partial or complete
loss of chlorophyll). It is propagated by growing the small suckers from the base of the
tree, by root cuttings or by seed. Seeds lose their viability quickly and should not be dried
before planting. Germination rate is high, if fresh seeds are used in nursery beds after
carefully removing fruit skin and flesh. Sometimes fruit is soaked in water for two days
before removing the seeds. Seedlings about 30 to 40 cm in height are suitable for
outplanting.
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Ochrosia oppositifolia (Lam.) K. Schum
APOCYNACEAE
Synonym: Ochrosia borbonica
Common name: Cork wood tree
Status: Common in wild and also grown in home gardens.
Description: A small- to medium- sized sized evergreen, upright tree that grows up to 12
m. Trunk is straight and short. Young branches are somewhat shiny and green in colour
with the leaves often crowned at the end. Leaves are leathery and shiny, 14 to 20 cm long
and four to ten cm wide, widest in or frequently above the middle, tapering at the base.
Leaf apex is round or faintly acuminate and obtuse with prominent midrib and lateral
veins underneath. Inflorescence is an umbel with peduncle of two to 12 cm and terminal
or lateral in position. Flowers are white in colour with 0.5 to 1 cm long cylindrical tube and
fragrant. Corolla is deeply divided into five lobes, which are longer than the tube and
oblong or obtuse in shape. Fruit is a drupe, comes in pair, smooth, distinct, elliptical in
shape, 5 to 8 cm long and bluntly pointed. Matured fruit is bright yellow in colour. Each
fruit contains an ovateshaped strongly flattened seeds.
Uses: Wood is soft and has distinct odour. Sapwood is yellow or shades of yellow and
heartwood is dark coloured. Wood can be used only for lighter construction and firewood.
According to elders, the wood was normally heated before use to make it stronger and long
lasting. Leaves were also once used as a green and were popularly used to cover cooked
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foods. Children sometimes eat ripe fruits. Now it is frequently grown as a support tree for
betel leaves. Flowers are used to make medicines for skin diseases.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows in clayey and loamy soil but prefers well-
drained sandy soil for better performance. Its tolerance to drought and aerosol salt is high
and tolerance to sail salinity is moderate. It grows well close to the sea in full sun or partial
shade. It can be propagated by seeds and cuttings.
Peltophorum pterocarpum (DC.) K. Heyne – Siar Tree
Peltophorum pterocarpum (DC.) K. Heyne
Synonyms: Peltophorum ferrugineum (Decne.) Benth., Poinciana roxburghii G.Don.
Common names: Copper pod, golden flame, yellow Poinciana, Siar Tree
Status: Occasionally grown as an ornamental and shade tree.
Description: A fast growing, upright, semi-evergreen tree that normally grows up to 8 to

20 m tall. However, it is capable of reaching 50 m in height in optimal climatic and soil
conditions. Crown is dense, round shaped and spreading. Bark is smooth and grey in
colour. Leaves are large, delicate, feathery, dark green in color and arranged alternately
77
along the branches. Leaves are pinnately compound, have 4 to 15 pairs of pinnae, each
pinna with eight to 20 pairs of oblong leaflets. Inflorescence is in panicles of spikes at the
end of branches with orange-yellow colored flowers and rustcoloured buds. Flowers are
showy, fragrant, about 2.5 cm in diameter with frilly margins. Fruit is an elongated pod, 5
to 10 cm long, flat, thin and winged; copper red in color when young, dark red when ripe
and then turn black. Each pod contains 1 to 3 seeds.
Uses: It is widely grown as a shade and as an ornamental tree. Its dark green and feathery
leaves create welcoming cool shade. During the summer, entire canopy is smothered with
beautiful, showy and grapelike fragrant flowers. Heartwood of the tree is light reddish-
brown or black in color, moderately hard, moderately heavy and somewhat lustrous, used
for light construction, cabinet making, woodcarving etc. Bark contains about 20% of
tannins and it is an important component in the black or dark dye used for batik work in
Indonesia. It is also used for tanning leather and preserving and dyeing fishing nets.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows on clay, loam and sand, acidic and
alkaline soils but prefers light to medium textured free-draining alkaline soils for better
performance. It requires full sun for better growth. It is highly drought tolerant but
tolerance to aerosol salt and soil salinity is poor. It can be propagated by seed, stem and
branch cuttings. Seed germination can be improved by scarifying one end of the seeds or
immersing them in sulphuric acid for about 25 minutes followed by washing or immersing
them in boiling water for about two minutes and then soaking in cold water overnight.
One year old nursery raised seedlings are used for out planting for better results. Wildings
can also be used for planting.
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Pisonia umbellifera (J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) Seem.
NYCTAGINACEAE
Common names: Lettuce tree, grand devil's claw
Tagalog name: Maluko
Status: Occasional in the southern islands and common in the northern islands.
Description: A small sized tree 6 to 20 m tall with smooth, thick, greyish cream or dull pale
brown coloured bark with prominent pores. Leaves are usually thin but fleshy if exposed
to salt spray. Leaves are broadly elliptic to oblong in shape, 9 to 30 cm long and 6 to 18 cm
wide with distinct lateral veins. Leaf apex is acute or bluntly acuminate. Leaves are
variously arranged, opposite to sub-opposite, sometimes alternate on the same tree.
Leaves of wild trees are dark green. Inflorescence is a dense, terminal or sub-terminal
cyme, alternately or irregularly branched with light brown hairs. Flowers are unisexual
on the same tree or on different trees. Male flowers are 4 to 6 mm long, broadly deltoid in
shape with short lobes and covered with minute hairs. Female flowers are less in number
and smaller than male flowers. It has a unique fruit type called anthocarp, a structure in
which the outer sterile part of the flower is united with the fruit. Fruit is about 1.5 cm long,
leathery, five ribbed and each rib is with one row of large, black, sticky glands.
Uses: Wood is soft, weak and brittle and, hence, not used. Foliage makes an excellent
fodder for livestock. It is also grown as an ornamental tree, especially "female" trees with
beautiful light greencoloured foliage is commonly grown in dooryards. In the Philippines,
it is widely grown in the home gardens as a support tree for beetle vein. Leaves are used to
make salad and curries. In the traditional system of medicine leaves are used to alleviate
stomach disorders. They are also used as an analgesic, antiinflammatory and diuretic.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is an important component of the beach forest

of atoll environment and it is often the dominant forest tree of coral islands that have large
seabird colonies. It provides favored nesting grounds for a variety of seabirds. In fact, it
has evolved to grow on seabirddominated islands and it is one of the few trees that thrive
in the acidic guano deposits produced by large numbers of nesting seabirds. Attached to
the feathers of seabirds, the sticky seeds spread over long distances. It can be easily
propagated by stem cuttings. Cuttings of various sizes are used for planting and they
establish easily if watered regularly in the initial stages. It can also be propagated by seeds.
79
Entire fruits can be sown directly or seeds may be removed in water and used afresh for
sowing.
Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth. - Kamatsile
Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth.
Synonym: Mimosa dulcis Roxb., Albizia dulcis (Roxb.) F.Muell.
Common names: Manila tamarind, sweet tamarind
Tagalog name: Kamatsile, Damortis (Ilocano), Kamunsil (Panay Bisaya)
Status: Common; grown in home gardens and public places.
Description: A small- to medium- sized sized semi-evergreen tree that grows up to 20 m

height. Crown is spreading but irregular. Trunk is short, about 1 m high, with crooked
branches and somewhat shiny branchlets. Bark is grey and smooth in young trees, turning
to slightly rough and furrowed in old trees. Bark exudes reddish-brown gum when
injured. Leaves are bipinnately compound with a pair of pinnae, each with two leaflets
that are kidney shaped and dark green in colour. Spines are present in pairs at the base of
the leaf. New leaf growth and shedding of old leaves occur almost simultaneously, giving
the tree an evergreen appearance. Inflorescence is about 10 cm long and 1 cm across,
located at the end of the branches with 15 to 20 white flowers in round heads. Each flower
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is 0.3 to 0.5 cm long with hairy corolla and calyx. Fruit is a pod, 10 to 15 cm long, 1 to 1.5 cm
wide, curled up tightly and reddishbrown in colour. Each pod has five to ten shiny black
coloured seeds, which are surrounded by thick, spongy, dry pulp.
Uses: Fruit pulp, which is sweet and acid in taste and white or sometimes red in colour, is
eaten fresh with seeds. Pulp and seeds together are used to make a sweet drink. Seeds are
also used in curries. Pods and leaves are excellent fodder. Wood is strong, moderately
hard, durable but soft and flexible. It is also easy to work with and finishes to a smooth
surface. Short spines and irregular crooked branches make the wood of this tree less
attractive. Tannin can be extracted from the bark, leaves and seeds, which can be used to
soften leather. Bark extract can be used to dye fishnets. Oil is extracted from the seed,
which is edible. It can be a candidate species for agroforestry in atoll environment.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows well both in wet and dry areas. It is found
growing well in clay, limestone, sandy and other poor soils. It is rated as highly tolerant to
soil salinity and grow even with its roots in brackish water. It can be easily propagated by
seed. Seeds can be extracted from mature fruits remain viable for about six months and
can be used for direct sowing. No pretreatment is required. Seedlings may also be grown
in the nursery. Seedlings raised in nursery bed are transplanted to containers after six
months and used for outplanting when they are about one year old. It can also be easily
propagated by stem cuttings.
Plumeria obtusa L. - Kalatsutsing-puti (Left) Plumeria rubra L.- Kalachuchi (Right)
Plumeria obtusa L.
APOCYNACEAE
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Synonym: Plumeria krugii
Common names: Frangipanni, temple tree, pagoda tree
Tagalog name: Kalatsutsing-puti
Status: Common; grown as an ornamental plant.
Description: An evergreen shrub or small tree 4 to 5 m tall with coarse textured, vase
shaped, open canopy. Branches are rough, blunt, sausage-like, thick and grey-green in
colour. Branches are upright, soft but sturdy, rather crowded on the trunk, giving a vase-
like appearance to the entire plant. Leaves are simple, leathery, and alternate in
arrangement, oval or obovate in shape, 30 to 45 cm long and 15 to 30 cm wide, dark green
and shining above, light green with prominent venation beneath. Apex of the leaf is
rounded. Flowers are large, 4 to 5 cm across, showy, pleasantly fragrant, creamy white in
colour with a yellow centre. Corolla is funnel shaped with five spreading petals, which are
fused at the base and the corolla tube is cylindrical, 2 to 3 cm long. Inflorescence is a cyme,
which is borne on a long peduncle. Fruit is a double follicle with winged seeds. Fruits are
rarely produced. A milky sap is exuded from the branches when they are bruised or
punctured.
Plumeria rubra L.
APOCYNACEAE
Synonyms: Plumeria acuminate, Plumeria acutifolia
Common names: Red frangipanni, red jasmine
Tagalog name: Kalachuchi
Description: It is similar to Plumeria obtusa in all characters expect the following: leaves
are deciduous and have acuminate apex, which is tapering to a point; flower is red or pink
coloured (Plumeria alba has white flower).
Uses: Both P. obtusa and P.rubra are grown as an ornamental plant.
Ecology, propagation and management: Both Plumeria obtusa and Plumeria rubra grow
in clay, loam and sandy, acidic and alkaline soil but prefer moist, neutral and welldrained
soil for better survival and growth. Their tolerance to drought and salt spray is high. They
are moderately tolerant to soil salinity. They can be easily propagated by herbaceous,
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woody, softwood, semi-hardwood cuttings. Normally, large hardwood cuttings are

recommended for propagation and these cuttings should be allowed to heal by drying for
several days before planting. Water requirement is moderate. It can be grown with a
single trunk or branched low into a multi-trunked specimen.
Premna oderata Blanco - Alagaw
Premna oderata Blanco
VERBENACEAE
Synonyms: Premna integrifolia, Premna obtusifolia
Tagalog name: Alagaw, Argaw (Cebuano), Abgaw (Panay Bis.), Anobran (Ilokano)
Status: Common in the forested areas.
Description: A small deciduous shrub or tree 4 to 8 m tall with dense, round crown.
Sometimes it may be prostrate and form impenetrable thickets. Bark is brown and rough.
Branches and branchlets are slender, brown or light brownish in colour with prominent
corky leaf scars. Leaf shape is highly variable, elliptic or oblong-elliptic or oblong or even
sub-ovate, 3 to 12 cm long, 2 to 8 cm wide and opposite in arrangement. Tip of the leaves is
also variable, obtuse to short acuminate or ending abruptly in a short sharp point. Leaf
margin is smooth, sometimes shallowly notched or coarsely serrated. Inflorescence is
terminal, much branched and many flowered. Flowers are small with distinctly toothed
calyx, greenish, or pale greenishwhite or pale yellowishwhite in colour and unpleasantly
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aromatic. Fruit is a small round drupe, fleshy, surrounded at the base by enlarged calyx
and dark blue or black in colour when mature. Stone is hard, normally four chambered
and four seeded.
Uses: - Common In thickets and secondary forests at low altitudes from the Batan Islands
and northern Luzon to Mindanao, in most islands and provinces.
In the Philippines, sugared decoction of leaves with a little "calamansi" as tea helps loosen
up phlegm and effective for coughs.
The Ayta community of Dinalupihan, Bataan, Philippines apply decoction of leaves and
shoots directly to wounds to facilitate healing. (25)
Ati negrito use external application of boiled leaves for postpartum bleeding. (27)
The Ilongot-Egongot community of Aurora, Philippines apply leaves and stem-bark to

wounds.
(28) · Decoction of fresh leaves used for vaginal irrigation.
· Decoction of leaves for fever and colds, cough and bronchitis, fever blisters of the lips and
stomachaches.
· "Kochoi," a local patent preparation, is claimed to benefit tuberculosis.
· Decoction of leaves used for flatulence (gas pains) in adults; in children, crushed leaves
mixed with a little coconut or sesame oil are applied to the abdomen.
· Crushed leaves applied to forehead and temples for headaches.
· Leaf decoction has been used for tuberculosis.
· Roots are chewed and the saliva swallowed for cardiac troubles.
· Infusion of leaves is carminative.
· Decoction of roots, leaves, flowers, and fruits used as sudorific, pectoral, and
carminative.
· Decoction of shoots used as parasiticide.
· Decoction of leaves used for bathing infants; also used as treatment for beriberi.
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· Extract of leaves for cleaning wounds and for ticks and fleas.
· Leaves applied over the bladder facilitates urination.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is well adapted to shallow, dry, alkaline coastal
soil but better performance is seen in deep soil with high moisture content. It is also
capable of growing in rocky areas near the shore. Its tolerance to drought and aerosol salt
spray is high and tolerance to soil salinity is moderate. It is not cultivated in the Maldives
though it can be propagated by seed and stem cuttings.
Seeds can be removed from the fruit by crushing them in water and can be used for direct
sowing. Seedling growth is moderate and requires regular watering but intolerant to
excess watering. Stem cuttings 1 to 1.5 m height and 6 to 10 cm in diameter can be used for
easy establishment.
Psidium guajava L. - Bayabas
Psidium guajava L.
MYRTACEAE
Synonym: Psidium aromaticum Blanco, Myrtus guajava (L.) Kuntze
Common names: Guava, common guava
Tagalog name: Bayabas, Guayabas, Tayabas, Bayawas (Bikolano)
Status: Common; cultivated in home gardens.
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Description: A shrub or small evergreen tree that grows to a height of 10 m. However, most
of the trees found in the Maldives are only around 4 to 5 m tall. It is many branched, which
are crooked and spreading. Young branches are four sided and downy. Bark is smooth,
mostly copper coloured or mottled green and peel off in thin flakes continuously. Leaves
are simple, opposite in arrangement with short leaf stalk and are oval or oblong in shape.
They are stiff, dull green to yellow green on the upper surface and leathery with
conspicuous veins; aromatic when crushed. Flowers are small, about 2 cm across and
borne singly or in a cluster of two to three in the axils of the leaf. Flowers are white in
colour with four to five petals, which drop immediately, leaving a tuft of white stamens.
Fruit is round, oval or pear-shaped berry with floral remnants at the apex and has a sweet
musky odour. Fruit skin is thin, yellow in colour and frequently blushed with pink. Next
to skin a thin, juicy flesh is present, which is white, yellowish, light or dark pink or near
red in colour. The central pulp is darker in colour, juicy and filled with small seeds.
Immature fruit is green, hard and astringent in taste.
Uses: Fruit is eaten raw and varieties differ widely in taste, flavour and seediness. Guava
is used to make jam, jelly, juice and nectar and also preserved in varieties of forms. Guava
is made into a paste by evaporating the pulp with sugar and eaten as sweetmeat. Wood is
brown or reddish, hard, moderately strong, and durable but because of the short and
crooked nature of the stem it is not widely used. Leaves and bark pieces are used to make a
decoction that is used externally to treat skin diseases.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is a hardy tree that grows in a wide variety of
climatic and soil conditions. It grows well on poor soils with good drainage but growth
and fruit production are better in rich clayey loams. It is drought resistant but less tolerant
to soil salinity. In high aerosol salt condition, the leaves become chlorotic. It has a very
shallow root system with no taproots and thus tolerance to high wind is limited. It can be
propagated from seeds, which are pretreated by boiling for five minutes or soaked for two
weeks. Seedlings about 25 cm height are used for out planting. It is also propagated by air-
layering, shield or patch budding on seedling rootstock, grafting and stem cuttings. Root
cuttings are also used for propagation.
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Pterocarpus indicus Willd. - Narra
Pterocarpus indicus Willd.
FABACEAE
Synonyms: Pterocarpus pallidus Blanco, Pterocarpus blancoi Merr.
Common names: Burmese rosewood,
Tagalog Name: Narra, Asana, Sagat (Ilocano)
“National tree in the Philippines”
Status: Common in Male and being introduced into other islands.
Description: A large tree, that grows up to 33 m tall and 2 m in diameter. It is evergreen in

nonseasonal humid climates like Maldives but in regions with seasonal rainfall it is
deciduous. Trunks are usually fluted and with pronounced buttress. Crowns are large and
bear many long arching branches, which may droop at the ends. Bark is smooth, light
yellow-brown in colour and exuding red sap when wounded. Leaves are pinnately
compound with 7 to 11 leaflets, which are arranged alternately.
Leaflets are ovate or oblong ovate in shape, shiny and pointed at the tip. Flowers are large,
1 to 5 cm long, fragrant, showy, yellow in colour, arranged at axillary panicles. Fruit is a
87
pod, circular in shape, flat, 4 to 5.5 cm in diameter including 1 to 1.5 cm wide surrounding
wing. Seedpods are soft haired when young becoming almost smooth when mature.
Uses: It is an important timber tree and its wood is highly valued. Timber is moderately
hard, moderately heavy and smells like camphor or cedar. Timber develops a range of
colours from yellow to red and has conspicuous growth rings that impart a fine figure to
the wood. The more the red the heavier is the wood. It is easy to work with and takes polish
well. Timber is in great demand and used for high-class furniture, carving and specialty
items. It is grown as an ornamental and shade tree.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows in a wide variety of environmental

conditions, ranging from deep inland forests to coast. It also grows near the sea and along
tidal creeks, indicating its tolerance to salinity. Regarding soil, it grows well in sandy or
clayey loam with neutral or slightly acidic soil.
Propagation is by seeds and stem cuttings. Seeds are very difficult to extract from the fruit
and hence, whole fruit is used for propagation. There is a little difference in germination
time and percentage between extracted seeds and whole fruits. It can be propagated easily
by rooted cuttings. Stem cuttings 2 to 3 m in length and 10 cm in diameter are normally
used for planting.
Punica granatum L. - Granada
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Punica granatum L.
PUNICACEAE
Common name: Pomegranate
Tagalog name: Granada
Description: A small, multi-stemmed deciduous shrub or tree that normally grows to 2 to

5 m tall but is capable of growing up to 10 m in optimal environmental condition. Canopy
is open and crown base is low. Stem is woody and spiny. Bark is dark grey in colour and
smooth. Slender branches start out upright then droop gracefully and unpruned shrubs
have a drooping or fountain- shaped habit. Leaves are simple, 2 to 8 cm long, oblong or
obovate in shape, shiny, opposite in arrangement or arranged in whorls of five or six.
Flowers are large, showy, trumpet shaped and borne singly or as many as five in a cluster
at the tips of the branches. Flowers are characterized by the presence of thick, tubular,
redcoloured calyx with five to eight pointed sepals forming a vase from which emerge the
three to seven wrinkled, orangered or white or variegated petals. Fruit is a globose berry
and shiny, tough, leathery with reddish- or yellowishcoloured rind when matured and
crowned at the base by persistent calyx. Fruit is divided into compartments by
membranous walls and spongy tissue, filled with numerous seeds. Each seed is encased in
a juicy, somewhat acidic, red, pink or whitish pulp. Seeds are angular, soft or hard, white
or red in colour.
Uses: Juicy seeds, which have sweet-sour and very pleasant taste, are eaten raw or made
into juice, which is a very popular drink in the Philippines. It is also made into jellies and
jams. In India, seeds are dried and used as a spice for vegetable dishes. It is also grown as
an ornamental tree and there are several cultivars selected just for the showy and
variegated flowers.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows on a variety of well-drained soils,

ranging from deep acidic loam to alkaline calcareous soils. It is highly tolerant to drought
and seasonal water logging. Its tolerance to soil salinity and aerosol salt is moderate. It is
easily propagated by seeds and cuttings. Seeds readily germinate, if sown directly and
seedlings grow vigorously. However, it is normally propagated by hardwood cuttings to
avoid seedling variation. Hardwood cuttings 20 to 30 cm in height are planted for rooting
in containers and they are kept in the nursery for 12 to 18 months before being
89
transplanted to the field. It is slow growing and lopping, pruning and coppicing are the
recommended management practices. Normally, seedlings are trained with a single stem
up to 30 to 45 cm or as a bush with three to four main stems. Thinning should be done
occasionally for good aeration and to avoid interception of sunlight.
Ricinus communis – Tangan-tangan
Ricinus communis L.
EUPHORBIACEAE
Common names: Castor bean, castor oil plant
Tagalog name: Tangan-tangan
Status: Occasional, found mostly in wasted lands
Description: A perennial shrub that normally grows to 3 m tall but in suitable condition it
grows as an evergreen tree and may reach up to 12 m height. In shrub form, stem is
succulent with sap and in tree form it is woody, soft and light with central pith. Bark is
light brown, smooth and exhibits rings at nodes. Leaves are large, 10 to 60 cm across,
alternate in arrangement, palm like in shape with five to nine finger like lobes and sharply
toothed leaf margin. Leaf stalk is long, attached to the centre of the leaf blade. Flowers are
small and without corolla. Male and female flowers are on the same plant, and are
produced on a clustered spike inflorescence, which is located at the end of the branches.
Male flowers have greenish calyx, which is deeply cut into three to five segments and
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enclose numerous, much branched, yellow stamens. Male flowers are found in the lower
portion of the flower head. Calyx of the female flower is slightly reddish in colour and cut
into three segments. Fruit is a round capsule with soft prickles and deeply grooved. Each
fruit contains three shiny, ovoid and tick-like seeds of variable colour.
Uses: Seeds yield fast-drying, non-yellowing oil, used mainly in industry and medicine. It
is used as additives in paints and varnishes, in the manufacture of high-grade lubricants
mainly for aircrafts, printing inks, in textile dyeing, in leather preservation and in the
production of a nylon-type fibre. Oil and its derivatives are used as skin moisturizer and
smoothing agents. Hydrogenated oil is utilized in the manufacture of waxes, polishes,
carbon paper, candles and crayons. Seeds are highly toxic and the principal toxin is ricin.
Ecology, propagation and management: It tolerates a wide variety of soil but performance
is good in fertile, well-drained and neutral soil. Its tolerance to aerosol salt and salinity is
low. It requires full sun and high temperature for better yield. It colonizes disturbed and
wasted lands, where it grows rapidly, shading out native species and producing
monospecific stands. It is cultivated as an oil crop and it is propagated entirely by seeds,
which retain their viability for two to three years. Pretreated seeds to resist diseases are
sown directly. Seedlings grown in nursery are also used to raise plantation. It exhausts soil
nutrients easily and hence, application of fertilizers is necessary.
Scaevola taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb
GOODENIACEAE
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Synonyms: Scaevola frutescens, Scaevola sericea
Common names: Sea lettuce tree, scaevola, half flower
Status: Abundant along the shoreline.
Description: A low branching, spreading bushy shrub that grows up to 3 m tall with
softwooded and crooked main stem. Slender branches are green in colour, somewhat
succulent with soft spongy tissue inside (pith) and with clear leaf scar on the outside.
Leaves are simple, slightly alternate in arrangement, normally crowded at the tip of the
branches; slightly fleshy, obovate in shape, 15 to 30 cm long and 8 to 10 cm wide with
rounded apex and prominent midrib. A tuft of white long hairs is present in leaf axils.
Inflorescence is a cyme, axillary in position, branched and slender. Sea lettuce is often
called as half flower because corolla tube, which is about 1.5 cm long, appears to be split
down one side with five spreading petals. Flowers are white or pinkish-white in colour
and fragrant. Fruit is a drupe, white or purplish in colour, ovoid or sub-globose in shape,
about 1.5 cm in diameter, soft, fleshy and tasteless. Stone is ellipsoid in shape, ribbed with
corky outer layer.
Uses: In the Maldives, earlier it was used for building traditional houses. Harvested stems
were kept in the seawater for a few days and after that bark was removed to get beautiful
white sticks, which were used as roofing strips and rafters. According to some elders,
leaves of sea lettuce were eaten though bitter during the Second World War when no food
was available. Presently, it is mainly used for firewood. Pith of large stem is used for
handicrafts. It is also used in traditional medicine. Leaf juice is used to alleviate painful
swellings and a few drops of juice extracted from the seeds are added to the eyes to reduce
reddening. It can be one of the important components of the front row vegetation of
coastal bioshield and can be multiplied for coastal stabilization.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is one of the early colonizers (one of the first to
grow in open places) of the beaches of the Maldives. It grows well in sandy, calcareous,
alkaline soil. It is highly tolerant to drought, aerosol salt spray and salinity. It grows well
in full sun. It is not cultivated in the Maldives.
However, it can be easily propagated by seeds. Fruits float and the seeds remain viable for
more than a year in seawater. However, they will germinate only with freshwater. It can
also be propagated by stem cuttings. Stem cuttings need shade and regular watering for
better survival and growth rate.
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Sesbania grandiflora - Katuray
Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poiret
FABACEAE
Synonyms: Agati grandiflora, Sesbania formosa
Common names: Agathi, Sesban
Tagalog name: Katuray
Status: Occasional in some of the southern islands.
Description: A fast growing, small tree 8 to 15 m in height with a cylindrical trunk, which
is up to 25 cm in diameter. Bark is grey in colour, rough and furrowed. Leaves are pinnately
compound, alternate in arrangement, 15 to 20 cm long with 12 to 20 pairs of oblong,
rounded leaflets. Leaflets are 3 to 4 cm long and 1 cm wide, light green in colour when
young, dark green when mature, turn to bright yellow before falling. Leaves are borne
only on terminal ends of branches. Flowers are large, 5 to 10 cm long, about 3 cm wide,
curved before opening and cream or white coloured. Fruit is a pod, 20 to 50 cm long but
only about 0.8 cm wide, slightly curved with swollen margins. Each pod contains 15 to 40
seeds, which are bean like and pale coloured.
Uses: Leaves, flowers and pods are edible. Flowers are steamed or cooked in soups and
stewed after the stamen and calyx have been removed. Steamed, cooked leaves are also
93
eaten. Leaves and pods are valued as fodder; however, because of high protein content
they are not fed to animals solely. Gum extracted from the bark is used as a substitute for
gum arabic. Wood is used for pulp and fuel. It is generally considered as a poor fuel wood
because it burns very easily and smokes excessively when burning. It can be effectively
used to improve soil health. It is a good nitrogen fixer and leaves; flowers and pods can be
used for mulching to improve soil fertility.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows well even on poor and waterlogged soils
and also tolerates saline and alkaline conditions. It also has the ability to grow in acidic
soil and tolerates prolonged dry season, that is up to nine months. It tends to break in high
winds. It is easily propagated by seeds. Seeds may be pretreated by scratching or nicking
round end of the seed or soaking in cold or tepid water for 24 hours. Seeds can be sown
directly onto the field. Seedlings can also be raised in the nursery for outplanting.
Syzygium samarangense (Blume) Merr. - Makopa
Syzygium samarangense (Blume) Merr.
MYRTACEAE
Synonyms: Eugenia aquea, Eugenia javanica Lam.
Common names: Water apple, Wax apple/Jambu
Tagalog name: Makopa
Status: Common; mostly found in home gardens.
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Description: An evergreen large shrub or small tree 3 to 10 m in height. Trunk is crooked,

often branched near the base. Canopy is dense and irregular in outline. Bark is thick, light
brown in colour and fissured in old trees. Leaves are simple, opposite in arrangement,
elliptic-cordate to obovateoblong in shape, large, about 7 to 25 cm long and 2.5 to 16 cm
wide with short leaf stalk. Leaves are pale to dark green in colour, somewhat curled and
slightly aromatic when crushed. Inflorescence is at the tip of the branches or from axils of
the leaf with three to seven large flowers. Flowers are white in colour, 2.5 to 3.5 cm across
with four petals, which spatula-like and up to 0.7mm long. Stamens are numerous, hairy
and up to 2 cm long. Fruit is a berry, cone shaped, shiny, white to red in colour with
translucent skin and crowned by calyx segments. Flesh is juicy and watery. Each fruit
contains one to two or at the maximum six seeds, which are small and round in shape.
Uses: It is grown mainly for fruit, which is eaten fresh and nearly 80% or more of the fruit
is edible. In some countries fruits are used in salad or sometimes pickled or stewed. Fruit
is sweet, somewhat astringent and considered as thirst quenching. Shelf life is very short.
Wood is hard and reddish in colour, normally not used because it is considered as weak
and brittle. Various parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine. It is observed in the
Maldives that the tree bark is used to grow orchids. It is also grown as a shade plant.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows in sandy and light soil but flourishes in
heavy soils with easy access to water. It grows in hot climate with fairly long season but
not tolerant to draught. It is weakly tolerant to salt spray and salinity. Propagation by
seed, stem cuttings and air-layering is common. Seeds lose their viability quickly and
should be sown fresh from the fruit. Air-layering is commonly employed in many
countries, and it is also widely practiced in the Maldives. In the old method, sand is mainly
used as medium which is tightly packed with the help of jute sack and watered daily.
Sometimes, 1 to 1.5 m cuttings are taken and kept in water for rooting and then out
planted.
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Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels - Duhat
Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels
MYRTACEAE
Synonyms: Eugenia jambolana Lam., Syzygium jambolanum (Lam.) DC., Myrtus cumini L.,
Eugenia cumini (L.) Druce, Calyptranthes cumini (L.) Pers.
Common names: Jambolan, Indian blackberry, black plum
Tagalog name: Duhat, Lumboy (Ilocano and Cebuano)
Status: Common in southern islands and occasional in the northern islands.
Description: A fast growing, evergreen tree that normally grows to 12 to 15 m tall but is
capable of growing up to 30m in height. It is low branching and multiple branches can be
seen at about 2 to 3 m from the base. Crown is irregular or globular. Bark is thick, rough
and flaky on the lower part of the trunk and smooth and light coloured in the upper part.
Leaves are simple, opposite in arrangement, thick, leathery, hairless and broadly ovate,
elliptic or elliptic-oblong in shape; pinkish when young, dark green when mature with
transparent margin and conspicuous midrib. Leaves produce a faint turpentine smell
when crushed. Leaf stalk is 1.5 to 2 cm long and yellow coloured. Inflorescence is a panicle,
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5 to 12 cm long, usually on leafless branches. Flowers are small in size, lightly fragrant,
white or pink coloured with four to five united white, round, concave petals, which shed
quickly leaving only the numerous stamens. Fruit is round or oblong, turns from green to
light pink, then dark-purple or nearly black as it ripens; present in clusters of 10 to 40 or
even less fruits. Fruit skin is thin, smooth, shiny with purple or white, juicy pulp. Each
fruit encloses a single, sometimes two to five green or brown seeds.
Uses: Timber is reddish-grey or reddish-brown in colour, strong, durable in water,

resistant to termites. It is used in boat building and carpentry.. According to some of the
elders, trees in the Maldives are now affected by a disease, which cause decaying of
heartwood of large trees and thus making them not suitable for any use. Fruits are
collected and eaten raw or made into juice and sherbet. In the Philippines, the fruit Juice
can be made into wine; used in the manufacture of red wine, "tinto dulce.". It is best
treatment for diabeties, toothache and dysentry.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is adapted to a variety of soil but prefers deep,
rich and welldrained soil. It can tolerate drought and prolonged flooding. Its tolerance to
salinity is also good. It is propagated by mainly seeds. Freshly collected seeds are normally
used for direct sowing. Seedlings can also be raised in the nursery and for better
performance, soil moisture is more important than shade. Growth of the seedling in the
first year is slow and normally two-years old seedlings are used for outplanting.
Inarching, grafting, budding and stem cuttings are the other methods of propagation.
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Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston - Tampoy
Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston
MYRTACEAE
Synonyms: Eugenia jambos L., Jambosa jambos (L.) Millsp., Myrtus jambos (L.) Kunth
Common names: Rose apple, jambos
Tagalog name: Tampoy
Status: Rare; a tree is observed near the Presidential palace in Male.
Description: An evergreen, low branching shrub or small tree that grows to 6 m in height
with dense and spreading crown. Stem is cylindrical and mostly twisted at the base; four
sided when young. Bark is palebrown in colour, smooth and somewhat shiny. Leaves are
simple, opposite in arrangement, thin, narrowly lanceolate in shape and 10 to 23 cm long.
They are slightly leathery, glossy, rose coloured when young and dark green when
mature. Leaves are produced in a dense luxuriant mass that hides all the branches from
view. Flowers are large, 5 to 10 cm wide, showy and white to pale cream in colour. Flowers
consist of four petals and four sepals with 300 to 400 stamens, which are about 4 cm long.
There are about four to five flowers together in terminal clusters. Fruit is nearly round or
oval in shape, 2 to 5 cm in diameter and crowned by persistent four-lobed calyx. Fruit skin
is smooth, thin, pale-yellow or whitish and sometimes pink blushed. Flesh is crisp, dry to
juicy, yellowpink in colour, sweet and fragrant like rose. Each fruit contains one to four
seeds in the central hallow, which are brown, rough coated and round in shape.
Uses: Grown mainly for fruits, which are eaten out-of-hand by children. It is also made
into jam and jelly with lemon juice added and can be candied by stewing them in heavy
sugar syrup. Fruits can also be used to extract a high-quality rose water. Essential oil is
extracted from the leaves for perfume production. Heartwood, which is heavy and hard,
can be used for construction.
Ecology, propagation and management: It flourishes on deep loamy soils and also on sand
and limestone with very little organic matter. It tolerates semi-arid condition but does not
tolerate prolonged dry spell. It requires frequent watering during dry season. It can be
grown in coastal location as it is tolerant to wind and salt spray. Propagation is mainly by
seed but the seedlings are not uniform in character and growth. Many methods of
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vegetative propagation, such as hardwood cuttings, airlayering and budding are tried but
protocols are yet to be standardized. However, in some countries airlayering is commonly
practiced and rooted layers are planted during the rainy season.
Tamarindus indica L. - Sampalok
Tamarindus indica L.
Common name: Tamarind
Tagalog name: Sampalok, Salamagi (Ilocano), Sambag (Bisaya), Asam (Sulu)
Description: A slow growing, long lived, evergreen tree that is capable of growing up to a
30 m tall. It is an open, low-branching tree with dense, round, spreading crown. Bark is
grey brown in colour, rough and fissured. Leaves are pinnately compound, long, alternate
in arrangement with 10 to 18 pairs of leaflets. Leaflets are narrowly oblong in shape, 1 to
3.5 cm long and 0.5 to 1 cm wide, apex rounded to square and slightly notched. Leaflets
close up at night. Flowers are about 2.5 cm across with five petals and four sepals and pale
yellow or cream coloured with orange or red streaks. Flower buds are distinctively pink in
colour due to the outer colour of the sepals, which are shed when flower opens. Flowers
are arranged in small racemes. Fruit is a pod, 10 to 18 cm long, straight or curved with
round base and brittle rustybrown shell. It is slightly constricted between seeds. Fruit
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pulp is sticky, thick, and blackish-brown in colour. Seeds are hard, shiny, and smooth and
embedded in the pulp.
Uses: Fruit pulp is widely used in the preparation of curries and chutneys and also in
various food preparations. Young leaves, flowers and pods are sometimes used for curry
or eaten raw. Oil and gum can be extracted from the seeds for industrial use. Timber is
very hard, strong and durable and heartwood is dark purplish in colour.In the Philippines,
the fruit can make a candy and ingredient of sinigang.
Ecology, propagation and management: It is adapted to a wide range climatic and soil
conditions but prefers well-drained alluvial soil for better performance. It is drought and
wind tolerant. It is also tolerant to aerosol salt spray. It requires long, well-marked dry
weather for fruiting. It is commonly propagated by seeds and also vegetatively by
marcoting, grafting and budding and stem and air layering. Seeds need to be soaked in cold
water for about 12 hours or nicked mechanically. Seedlings 80 cm in height are normally
used for outplanting. Grafting and budding are normally followed to propagate desirable
selections. Trees generally require minimum care but young trees are pruned to allow for
the development of well-spaced branches. It is generally considered not very compatible
with other plants because of its dense shade and allelopathic effects.
Tectona grandis L. – Tekla, Teak
Tectona grandis L.
VERBENACEAE
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Common names: Teak, Indian oak
Tagalog name: Tekla
Description: A medium to large sized deciduous tree about 25 to 30 m tall but is capable of
reaching 50 m height. Trunk is straight, often low buttressed and the first branch may
appear at about 10 m above ground in tall trees. Bark is brown, fibrous with shallow
fissures. Leaves are simple, large, up to 55 cm in length and 37 cm in width which shed for
about three to four months during the dry season. Leaves are round, oval or oval-oblong
shaped, shiny above, hairy below with conspicuous veins. Inflorescence is large, about 40
cm long and located at the tip of the topmost unshaded part of the crown. Flowers are
small, white in colour with seven lobed corollas and five to seven lobed calyx which
becomes inflated enclosing the fruit. Fruit is a drupe with four chambers, round, hard and
woody, brown in colour at maturity. Each fruit contain up to four seeds. Uses: Teak is
well known for its high-quality timber. Heartwood, which is often yellowish when freshly
cut but turns to golden brown or dark greyish-brown after exposure, is resistant to rot,
decay and termites. It is used for boat building, house building, bridge building, furniture,
etc.
Ecology, propagation and management: Teak grows well in deep, well drained, fertile
neutral to slightly alkaline soil, which is rich in calcium and phosphorus. Teak does not
tolerate water logging and its tolerance to salinity and aerosol salt spray is weak. It is
propagated by seeds, seedling stumps and cuttings and by tissue culture. Seeds collected
from floor are generally used for direct sowing. Pretreatment is necessary and several
methods such as alternate soaking and drying, soaking the fruit for 48 hours in running
water, removing exocarp are followed. In seedling stumps, seedling of about one year old
is removed from nursery, stem cut off and stump is used for planting. Normally growth
rate is fast in young trees and a ten-year-old tree can reach up to 25 m in height in optimal
climatic and soil condition.
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Terminalia catappa L. – Talisay
Terminalia catappa L.
COMBRETACEAE
Synonym: Terminalia procera
Common name: Country almond, Indian almond, Umbrella Tree
Tagalog names: Talisay, Logo/Lugo (Ilocano)
Status: Abundant in the forested areas and also grown around residential places.
Description: A tall, semi-deciduous, erect, medium to large sized tree 10 to 25 m tall. Trunk
is usually straight and more or less cylindrical but it may also be crooked and leaning. Bark
is grey brown coloured, smooth in young trees, rough with age. In younger trees branches
are almost horizontal and erect and arranged in tiers, giving the tree a pagoda like shape,
which becomes less noticeable as the branches elongate and droop at the tips. Leaves are
single, alternate, obovate in shape, large (15 to 36 cm long and 8 to 24 cm wide) and spirally
clustered at the tips. Leaves are dark green above, pale below, leathery and shiny; before
dropping leaf colour changes to yellow and red. Flowers are small, white or cream
coloured, five lobed and arranged on long axillary spikes. There are no petals. Majority of
the flowers are male and bisexual flower are located towards the base of spikes. Fruit is a
sessile, laterally compressed, ovalshaped drupe. Fruit colour changes from green in young
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to dark purplish red at full maturity. Rind of the fruit is light, pithy or corky tissue and
float in the sea and thus dispersed by ocean currents. Each fruit contain a cream-coloured
seed, which encloses the kernel (nut).
Uses: It is use for shade tree or ornamental tree.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows on silt, loam, clay soils but prefers
neutral or slightly alkaline sand and sandy loams. It tolerates slightly saline soils and its
tolerance to drought is moderate. It is adapted to salt-laden winds but tolerance to aerosol
salt spray is limited. Country almond can be readily propagated by seeds. Seeds can be
collected from fresh fruits and should be sown within four to six weeks. No pretreatment
is needed. Seedlings grow rapidly in the initial stages. Seedlings of fourmonth-old or about
25 cm in height can be used for out planting. Stem cuttings of 20 to 30 cm can be rooted in
the nursery before planting.
Thespesia populnea (L.) Soland. ex Correa - Banago
Thespesia populnea (L.) Soland. ex Correa
MALVACEAE
Synonyms: Hibiscus populneoides, Thespesia macrophylla
Common names: Thespesia, tulip tree, milo, portia tree
Tagalog name: Banago
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Status: Abundant in the forested areas and also grown as avenue and shade tree.
Description: A small, evergreen tree 6 to 10 m in height with short and often crooked main
stem. Crown is round, broad, dense and regular in outline. Bark is brownish or greyish
and fissured. Leaves are simple, alternate with 5 to 10 cm long leafstalk. Leaf blade is
broadly ovate in shape, 8 to 15 cm long with pointed tip and very broad, slightly heart
shaped base. Leaves are somewhat fleshy, shiny and palmately veined and turn yellow
before falling. Flowers are single, large, about 4 to 7 cm long, bellshaped and borne on the
axils. Petals are five in number, which are broad, round shaped, overlapping and yellow
in colour with a maroon spot at the base of each petal. Flower open and close on the same
day and flower colour changes to purplish as the day progress. Fruit is a capsule, round but
flattened, grown on short stalks and clustered at the ends of the branches. Matured
capsules are brown to grey in colour and exude a bright yellow resin when cut. Seeds are
brown in colour and hairy. Fruits float in seawater and are dispersed by ocean currents.
Uses: Tulip tree is one of the important timber species of the Maldives. Timber is fine
grained, heavy, strong, and durable especially under water and highly esteemed. Timber
is mostly pale-pink in colour. Wood from mature trees is widely used in building many
parts of the boat. It is a premier carving wood, because the wood can be cut to fine details.
It is also used for furniture and household items. Wood from young stems and trees are
less dense and more prone to rotting. Bark may be used for rope and caulking boats. It is a
candidate species for multispecies coastal bioshield in atoll environment.
Ecology, propagation and management: It grows well on nutrient poor coastal sandy soils
and also on soils derived from limestone. It prefers slightly alkaline soil condition. It is
highly tolerant to both soil salinity and aerosol salt spray. It is also tolerant to drought. It
is easily propagated by seed and stem cuttings. Seeds can be collected from dry capsules by
crushing them by hand. Normally no pretreatment is required but germination may be
improved by soaking the seeds in water overnight. It can be directly sown or seedlings can
be raised in nursery. Seedlings 40 to 50 cm, which are hardened off with reduced watering
and exposure to full sunlight, can be used for outplanting. Stems cuttings 2 m long are
normally used for propagation but smaller cuttings produce healthier trees. Initial
growth is slow.
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Vitex negundo L. - Lagundi
Vitex negundo L.
VERBENACEAE
Synonym: Vitex incisa
Common name: Five-leaved chaste tree
Tagalog name: Lagundi, Dangla (Ilocano)
Status: Occasional; grown as an ornamental plant.
Description: A large, deciduous, much-branched shrub or small tree 3 to 5 m in height.

Branchlets are four-sided and hairy. Crown is round, spreading, open and irregular in
outline. Bark is thin, grey coloured and smooth. Leaves are palmately compound with
three to five leaflets, which are lanceolate in shape, 4 to 10 cm in length, pointed at both
ends, somewhat shiny on the upper side and hairy beneath; middle leaflet with distinct
stalk is always larger than the others. Leaf when crushed produces a fragrant smell.
Flowers are small, pleasantly fragrant, bluish-purple in colour and arranged in a pyramid
shaped terminal inflorescence. Fruit is a succulent drupe, black when ripe and 0.4 to 0.5
cm in diameter.
Uses: Vitex negundo is a best treatment of cough, colds and headache in the
Philippines.There are many other herbal uses for other diseases.
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Ecology, propagation and management: Five-leaved chaste tree grows in clay or sandy
soils but prefers a loose, well-drained moist but not wet, alkaline soil for better growth
performance. It often suffers from shoot dieback in organic rich, murky or other soil,
which is too wet. Its tolerance to hot weather is good and to aerosol salt is moderate. It
grows well in full sun and light shade. Propagation is generally by stem cuttings that are
planted in nursery beds or polythene containers and transplanted after two months.
Cuttings can also be planted directly. Its growth rate is moderate to fast. Though it is
usually seen as a shrub with multiple branches it can be trained onto a tree with one or
several trunks.
Chrysophyllum cainito Linn. – Kaymito
Chrysophyllum cainito Linn.
SAPOTACEAE
Common Name: Star Apple, caimito
Tagalog Name: Kaymito
Caimito is a tree with a spreading crown, growing to a height of 15 meters. Branches are
numerous and slender; the young tips are copper-colored and covered with appressed
hairs. Leaves are leathery, ovate or oblong, 7.5 to 13 centimeters long, pointed at the tip,
blunt or rounded at the base and covered underneath with silky, golden-brown, soft hairs.
Flowers are purplish-white, small and clustered in the axils of leaves, with 5 sepals, and a
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tubular corolla with 5 lobes. Fruit is large and rounded, 6 to 10 centimeters in diameter,
shiny and smooth, purplish or light-green skin, with a translucent whitish or purplish,
soft pulp surrounding flattened seeds about 1 to 1.5 centimeters long. The flesh, contains
a small amount of milky juice, somewhat fibrous, sweet, mild and pleasant tasting.
Use: Fruit can be eaten fresh or used in ice cream. Bark, latex and fruit and seeds have
medicinal value. Wood is suitable for construction and branches are used as an orchid
growing medium. Also planted as an ornamental.
Ecology: Grows well in most soil types and within a wide climatic range in lowland areas.
Performs best where soil is fertile and well drained
Artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco – Marang
Artocarpus odoratissimus
MORACEAE
Common Name: Marang
Marang is a medium-sized tree growing to a height of 18 to 25 meters, sometimes with low

buttresses. Twigs are 4 to 10 millimeters thick, with long, yellow to red, spreading hair and
stipule-scar rings. Leaves are alternate, ovate, 7- to 9lobed, the lobes lanceolate, glossy,
dark green above, green below, stiff and petioles. Inflorescences occur in the leaf axils.
Male flowers are minute, in stiff spikes. Female flowers are in conical heads. Fruit is sub
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globose, up to 20 centimeters in diameter, green yellow, densely covered with stiff, hairy
processes about 1 centimeter long, borne at the end of long flexible branches, with a mass
of seeds embedded in pulp. Fruit flesh is white, edible, juicy, and fragrant but
strongsmelling edible pulp.
DISTRIBUTION
 Abundant in Mindanao, cultivated for its edible fruit.

 Also occurring in Mindoro, Basilan, and the Sulu Archipelago.
 Probably introduced from Borneo.
 In Borneo, common in the wild state. - Usually cultivated for its edible fruit.
Anacardium occidentale L.- Kasoy
Anacardium occidentale L.
Anacardiaceae
Common names: Cashew
Tagalog Name: Kasoy, Balogo (Ilocano)
An evergreen tree up to 12 m high with a dome-shaped crown.
Branching starts at 0.5– 1.5 m above the ground. Bark is smooth and brown. Leaves
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Alternate, on 1–2 cm long stalks, obovate to obovate-oblong, up to 20 × 15 cm, leathery, red-

brown when young, later shining green, smooth, with prominent midrib and veins.
Flower stands terminal, drooping panicles, up to 25 cm long with fragrant flowers with 5
petals, 7–13 mm long and 5 sepals, 4–15 mm long. Male flowers with 7–9 stamens,
hermaphroditic flowers usually with 9 short and 1 long viable stamen. First whitish later
turning pinkish-red. The “real” fruit is a kidney shaped nut about 3 × 1.2 cm sitting on the
much enlarged and swollen flower stalk-the fruit-like cashew apple, which is pear shaped,
10–20 cm × 4–8 cm and red to yellow.
Use: Nuts are used as a main food or delicacy depending on availability. The cashew apple
is eaten fresh, mixed in fruit salads or made into juice. Seed coats and shells are used as
poultry feed. Valuable oil can be extracted from the shell. The wood is used as fuel or low-
quality timber. Cashew also contains tannins and gum. Young shoots and leaves are eaten
raw or cooked. All three parts are used in traditional medicine, especially for treating skin
ailments.
Ecology: Requires high temperatures. Rainfall distribution more important than amount.
Tolerates dry conditions if roots have access to soil moisture.
Distribution: From its native Brazil introduced throughout most of the tropics. In this
region reported from all countries except Laos.
Durio zibethinus Murr. - Durian
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Durio zibethinus Murr.
Bombacaceae/Malvaceae
Synonym: Durio acuminatissima Merr.
Common names: Durian, Civet Fruit
Description: A large tree to 40 m tall, developing buttresses, with dark red-brown bark,
peeling off irregularly. Leaves alternate, elliptical to lanceolate, 10–17 cm long and 3–12.5
cm wide, papery, with acute to obtuse base and slenderly pointed tip, smooth, glossy and
densely reticulate above, densely covered with silvery or golden scales with a layer of
stellate hairs below. Flowerstands on the older branches, forming fascicles of panicle-like
groups (corymbs) each with 3–30 flowers, up to 15 cm long. Individual flowers 5–6 cm long,
whitish or greenish-white, on 5–7 cm flower stalk, with 5 petals and numerous stamens in
5 bundles. Fruit a globose, ovoid or ellipsoid capsule, up to 25 cm long and 20 cm in
diameter, yellow-green to brownish, covered with pyramidal, sharp, up to 1 cm long
spines. The fruit opens in 5 thick valves wherein the up to 4 cm long seeds are embedded
in yellowish, sweet aril with a smell described as a mixture of rotten cheese and garlic,
turpentine and bad drains.
Use: Fruits are eaten fresh or processed into cakes, cookies and ice cream. Boiled or roasted
seeds can be eaten as a snack and young shoots and unripe fruits may be cooked as greens.
Dried fruit rind is used as fuel, in particular to smoke fish, and several parts are used
medicinally. The coarse and light wood is sometimes used for indoor construction and
lower quality furniture.
Ecology: A strictly tropical tree growing from sea level to 800 m altitude between 18°N and
S, where rainfall is 1,500 mm per year and well distributed, and soils are deep, well drained
and light.
Distribution: Native to Southeast Asia and cultivated in all countries covered by this
guide.
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Eucalyptus deglupta Blume – Mindanao Gum, Bagras
Eucalyptus deglupta Blume
Myrtaceae
Synonyms: Eucalyptus multiflora, E. naudiniana, E. schlecteri
Common names: Mindanao gum
Tagalog Names: Bagras
Description: A very large evergreen tree up to 70 m high and 2.4 m in diameter, often with
buttresses. Bark smooth, peeling off. Fresh exposed surface green, then gradually turns
blue, purple and finally yellow or red. Twigs square with young leaves opposite, but older
leaves may become alternate. pointed, slightly leathery, 7.5–15 cm × 5–7.5 cm, with twisted
leaf stalks, aromatic when crushed. Inflorescence in leaf axils and at tip of twigs, 3–7 white
flowers in each. Fruit round with pointed tip, 3– 3.5 mm in diameter.
Use: General purpose timber and pulp, veneer, plywood, particle board, hardboard,
wood-wool board as well as firewood.
Ecology: Prefer non-stagnant river flats with adequate soil moisture. In native
distribution found from sea level to 1,800 m altitude.
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Garcinia mangostana Linn. - Mangosteen
Garcinia mangostana Linn.
Clusiaceae/Guttiferae
Synonym: Mangostana garcinia
Common names: Mangosteen, Manggis (Sulu)
Description: A 6–25 m tall tree with a straight trunk, symmetric branches and pyramid-
shaped crown. Leaves opposite with short stalks, oblong or elliptical, 15– 25 cm long and
7–13 cm wide, thick leathery, entire, sharply pointed tip, smooth and olive green above
and yellow green below, with a pale green central nerve and evenly spaced, many
prominent side nerves. Flowers on short, thick stalk, alone or in pairs at tip of branchlets,
about 5.5 cm in diameter with 4 sepals and 4 yellow green petals with red edges. The
mangosteen fruit is a globose, smooth berry, 4–7 cm in diameter, dark purple when ripe,
with the sepals remaining on the fruit. The “skin” is about 0.9 cm thick, purple with 0–3
big seeds embedded in the glossy white
“flesh”.
Use: The highly praised fruit is mostly eaten fresh and only occasionally preserved. The
fruit rind is used as a dyeing agent, and also, together with the bark, have several
applications in traditional medicine. The wood is dark red, heavy and very strong and
used in carpentry.
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Ecology: Thrives in high temperature and humidity in protected places in tropical areas,
often found together with durian. A short dry spell stimulates flowering.
Gmelina arborea Roxb.
Verbenaceae/Lamiaceae
Common name: Gmelina, melina (Tag.) , Yemane Tree
Description: A medium sized tree up to 40 m tall and 140 cm in diameter, but usually
smaller than this. Bark is thin and grey. Leaves are opposite, more or less heartshaped, 10–
25 cm × 5–18 cm, smooth or velvety beneath. The yellow or brown flowers are arranged in
panicled cymes, 15–30 cm long, and appears after leaf-fall. The trumpet-shaped flowers
are 4 cm long, nodding, hairy and short stalked. The fruits are ovate or pyriform, 2–2.5 cm
long and contain 1–4 seeds.
Use: The wood is used for light construction and pulp as well as fuelwood and charcoal,
and the leaves are good cattle fodder. A number of plant parts have medicinal value.
Ecology: Found in rain forests as well as dry deciduous forests. Tolerates a wide range of
conditions from sea level to 1,200 m altitude and annual rainfall from 750– 5,000 mm.
Prefers temperatures between 21–28°C and moist fertile soils.
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Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers. - Banaba
Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers.
Lythraceae
Common names: Queens flower, Crape Myrtle
Tagalog name: Banaba, Nabulong (Negrito), Kauilan (Panay Bis.)
Description: Up to 30 m tall and 40 cm in diameter. Bark gray with thin yellowish lines.
Leaves simple, opposite or slightly alternate, entire, usually smooth and rather large,
becoming reddish or yellow before falling. Young leaves dull reddish brown and very
shiny. The flowers are usually purplish, 2.5–3 cm long, grouped at tip of branches. The
fruit is a small ovoid or ellipsoid capsule, 2–3.5 cm in diameter with small, pale brown
seeds inside with 12–18 mm long wings.
Use: The wood is used for agricultural implements and the leaves have medicinal value.
Often planted as an ornamental along city streets.
Ecology: Grows naturally in secondary forests at low to medium altitudes.
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Lansium domesticum Correa - Lansones
Lansium domesticum Correa
Meliaceae
Synonyms: Lansium parasiticum (Osbeck) K.C.Sahni & Bennet
Common names: Langsat
Tagalog name: Lansones
Description: Tree, up to 30 m high and 75 cm in diameter (in cultivation 5–10 m tall). Bole
irregularly fluted, with steep buttresses and furrowed bark, mottled grey and orange and
containing milky, sticky sap. Twigs sometimes hairy. Leaves alternate, odd-pinnate, 30–
50 cm long with 6–9 leaflets, smooth to densely haired with leaf stalk up to 7 cm long.
Leaflets alternate, elliptical to oblong, 9–21 cm long and 5–10 cm wide, glossy, paper-like to
leathery with asymmetrical base, shortly pointed tip and 10–
14 pairs of lateral veins. Stalks of leaflets 5–12 mm long, thickened at base. Inflorescence
manyflowered 10–30 cm long raceme, single or in groups of 2–10 on trunk or large
branches. Flowers small with fleshy, cup-shaped, greenish-yellow calyx with 5 lobes.
Petals fleshy, white to pale yellow, 2–3 × 4–5 mm. Fruit an ellipsoid or globose berry, 2–4 ×
1.5–5 cm (or larger), yellowish hairy with persistent calyx, thin skin and white translucent
flesh.
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Use: Fruit eaten fresh. Tough and durable wood for house posts, tool handles and similar.
Dried fruit peels are burnt as a mosquito repellant. Fruit peel, seeds and barks have
various traditional medicinal uses.
Ecology: Grows in sheltered, shaded and humid environments up to 800m altitude, with
well distributed rainfall and preferably well drained, humus rich and slightly acid soil.
Nephelium lappaceum Linn. - Rambutan
Nephelium lappaceum Linn.
Sapindaceae
Synonyms: Nephelium glabrum, N.chryseum, N. sufferugineum
Common names: Rambutan
A fairly large tree in natural vegetation, but cultivated trees are about 4– 7 m high with
spreading crown. Leaves are alternate, jugate with up to 6 pairs of, ovate to obovate
leaflets, 5–28 cm long and 2–10.5cm wide, smooth above, sometimes hairy on midrib,
below variably hairy, nerves slightly to strongly curving. Inflorescence axillary,
superficially appearing to be at branch tips. Flowers white, yellowish or greenish with 4–
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5 (sometimes 7) sepals, about 1–2 mm long and no petals. Trees with male or
hermaphroditic flowers, the latter being functionally either male or female. The fruit
ellipsoid or sub-globular, up to 5 × 7 cm or 20–95 g, yellow to purplish-red with dense,
filiform, curved, 0.5–2 cm long appendages.
Use: Sweet fruits are eaten fresh, sour ones can be stewed first. Can also be canned or made
into jam although losing some of its taste. Leaves, bark, fruit, roots all have various
traditional medicinal uses. Young shoots are used for silk dye and a solid fat can be
produced from the seed kernel.
Ecology: Low or middle-storey tree in primary and secondary forest types in humid
tropical lowlands up to 600 m altitude, on dry to swampy weakly acid soils, with annual
rainfall of 2,500 mm or more and low wind exposure.
Sandoricum koetjape (Burm.f.) Merr. - Santol
Sandoricum koetjape (Burm.f.) Merr.
Meliaceae
Synonyms: Melia koetjape Burm. f., Sandoricum indicum Cav., S. nervosum Blume
Common names: Santol, Wild Mangosteen
Description: A medium sized, semi-deciduous tree up to 30 m high and 90 cm in diameter

with milky latex. Leaves alternate, trifoliate with a leaf stalk up to 18.5cm. Leaflets are
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elliptic to oblong-ovate, pointed at tip, shiny green above, pale green and fine haired
below, top leaflet 6–26 cm × 3–16 cm, side leaflets 4–20×2–15cm, turning red-yellow before
leaf fall. Flowers numerous, fragrant, yellowishgreen, about 1 cm long with cup-shaped, 5
lobed calyx and 5 petals in 1 cm long. The fruit is a depressed globose, fine haired, golden
yellow berry, most varieties 5–6 cm in diameter and 60–100 g, some cultivars from
Thailand up to 7–9 cm and 300 g. Fruit flesh soft, white, sour to sweet with 2–5 glossy
brown seeds.
Use: Fruits are eaten fresh or made into jams, jelly, marmalade, chutney or candy.
Wood is used for construction, carpentry, household utensils and implements. Leaves,
bark and roots have numerous medicinal uses.
Ecology: A hardy tree growing from lowland up to 1,000 m altitude, preferring well
drained, clay loams or sandy clay loams with plenty of organic matter. Tolerates
prolonged dry season but prefers more evenly distributed rainfall.
Swietenia macrophylla (L.) Jacq. - Mahogany
Swietenia macrophylla (L.) Jacq.
Meliaceae
Common name: West Indies Mahogany
Description: A large deciduous tree up to 40–60 m high, branchless up to 18–25 m, and up

to 200 cm in diameter, with buttresses up to 5 m high. Bark on older trees scaly, shaggy,
deeply furrowed, brownish grey to reddish brown. Inner bark red-brown or pinkish red.
Leaves alternate, even pinnate, with 2–8 pairs of leaflets, each about 9– 13 × 3–4 cm.
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Flowerstands 10–20 cm long, flowers with 5-lobed calyx, ciliate sepals and 5 (or 4) petals.
Light brown seed capsule, 10–22 cm long, opening by 5 valves, seeds 7.5– 12 cm long, with
wings.
Use: One of the finest timbers for high quality furniture and cabinet work, interior
panelling, doors and decorative borders, boat building, musical instruments, carving and
other uses. The bark is used for dying and tanning leather and oil can be extracted from
the seed kernels. In India gum is tapped from cuts in the bark.
Ecology: Growing naturally in tropical rain forests up to 1,500 m altitude.
Distribution: From Central and South America. Planted throughout the tropics, including
Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Theobroma cacao Linn.– Cacao, Kakaw
Theobroma cacao Linn.
Sterculiaceae/Malvaceae
Common names: Cacao, Chocolate Tree
Tagalog name: Kakaw
Description: A scrub or small evergreen tree, 5–8 m tall (wild specimens can be up to
20 m) with a canopy about 4–5 m in diameter at 10 years age. Branches in whorls of 3–6.
Leaves are semideciduous, 15–50 cm long and 4–15 cm wide, oblong ovate, acuminate with
rounded base which is shortly 3 veined. Leaf stalk 1–10 cm, thickened at both ends. Yellow
to white 5-merous flowers single or grouped on trunk and branches, about 1–1.5 cm in
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diameter. Fruit variable in shape, mostly ovoid, oblong, 10–30 cm long, usually pointed,
wrinkled with 10 furrows of which 5 are prominent, yellow, green, red or purplish in
color.
Use: Almost exclusively grown for the fruit which yields the cacao beans.
Ecology: Grows in warm, humid tropical habitats up to 700–1,000 m altitude, with

uniform rain distribution of 1,000–5,000 mm annually, deep, well drained, fertile soil, rich
in organic matter and not to acid.
Vitex parviflora Juss. - Molave
Vitex parviflora Juss.
Verbenaceae
Common name: Molave, Mulawin (Tagalog), Tugas (Bisaya)
Description: A medium sized deciduous tree up to 30 m tall and 1.5 m in diameter with an
open widespreading crown and sometimes buttresses. The greyish ochre fibrous bark is
smooth or thinly flaked. Leaves opposite, palmately compound on 9– 11 cm long leaf stalk,
with 3–5 shiny and glabrous, lanceshaped, pointed leaflets, 4– 15 cm long and 2.5–7 cm wide
on 3–10 mm long stalks.
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Inflorescence is about 20 cm long pyramid-shaped panicle with many bluish flowers, 6–8
mm long. The fruits are small, round drupes, 5–10 mm in diameter, purple to black when
ripe.
Use: The very strong and durable wood is used for house construction, ship building,
railroad ties, plows and agricultural implements. Leaves can be fed to livestock.
Ecology: Grows naturally in open primary and secondary lowland tropical forests up to
700 m altitude, preferably on limestone or volcanic soils, in areas with a distinct dry
season.
Alstonia scholaris (Linn.) R. Br. - Dita
Alstonia scholaris (Linn.) R. Br.
Apocynaceae
Synonyms: Echites scolaris Linn., E. pala Buch.-Ham. ex Spreng.,Tabernaemontana

alternifolia
Common names: White cheesewood, milkwood pine, blackboard tree
Tagalog name: Dita, Dirita (Ilocano) Tanitan, Tangitang (Bisaya)
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Description: A medium to large tree up to 40 m high and 125 cm in diameter with a

cylindrical bole. Older trees with buttresses up to 6 m high and reaching 2 m out from a
bole. Outer bark brown or yellowish white, smooth, coming off in small papery flakes;
inner bark yellow to brown with white latex. Leaves 7–23 cm long, in whorls of 4–8 on 1.5–
3 cm long petiole, oblong-lanceolate or elliptical with rounded tip and numerous
secondary veins. Flowers greenish to yellow, fragrant, with soft haired calyx. The fruits
are slender cylindrical follicles, 20–40 cm long and 4–5 mm in diameter.
Use: Most important source of pulai timber. Wood yields good pulp. Bark and latex is used
medicinally for many purposes.
Ecology: Most abundant in monsoon areas. Tolerates a variety of soils and habitats and
found up to 500 m, sometimes even to 1,000 m altitude.
Distribution: Widely distributed from Sri Lanka and India through mainland Southeast
Asia, southern China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to Australia, and also
planted elsewhere.
Bixa Orellana Linn. - Atsuete
Bixa orellana Linn.
Bixaceae
Common names: Annato, lipstick plant / achiote
Tagalog name: Achuete
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Description: A small bushy tree, 2–8 m tall and up to 30 cm in diameter. Bark color varying
from green to red, young twigs with rust colored scales. Leaves alternate, ovate or heart-
shaped, 8–20 cm long and 5–12 cm wide. Flowers pink or white, 5–8 cm in diameter with 5–
7 obovate petals. Fruit green to dark red, 2–4 cm, fleshy and spined - resembling rambutan.
Seed pods brown with 10–50 bright orange to yellowish-red seeds.
Use: Often used as an ornamental or as living fences. Stem and branches cen be used for
firewood. Seeds are traded commercially as a dyeing agent for food, particularly cheese
and butter, leather, floor polish and cloth. The bark and leaves have various medicinal
uses.
Ecology: Lowland tropical species occurring up to 800 m altitude. Prefers moist deep,
loamy soil but is adaptable. Tolerates mild droughts, shorter than 4 months.
Dipterocarpus alatus – Hairy-leafed Apitong
Dipterocarpus alatus
Dipterocarpaceae
Synonym: Dipterocarpus philipinensis
Common names: Hairy-leafed apitong, apinau, ayamban
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Description: A medium to large size tree up to 55 m tall and 150 cm in diameter, with a tall,
straight and cylindrical bole, branchless for up to 20 m. Bark thin, greyish and smooth.
Leaves narrowly ovate to elliptical-oblong, 9–25 cm long and 3.5–15 cm wide with cuneate
to rounded base and acute tip, 11– 18 (sometimes 20) pairs of secondary veins, sparsely soft-
haired above and densely soft haired below. Leaf stalk 2.5–4.5 cm long with greyish-yellow
soft haired scale-like appendages at base. Fruit usually with 5 wings (calyx lobes), two
larger ones up to 14cm long × 3cm wide with three parallel nerves, and three shorter ones
up to 1.2–1.4 cm long.
Use: A very important source of construction timber. The oil rich resin is sometimes
tapped in Myanmar for various minor uses, including medicinal.
Ecology: Occurs along rivers up to 500 m altitude, where it is a rapid colonizer of alluvial
soils. In the Philippines found in mixed dipterocarp forest at low and medium altitudes.
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Coffea arabica Linn.
Rubiaceae
Common name: Coffee
Tagalog name: Kape
Description: 4–5m tall. Horizontal branches in opposite pairs. Leaves opposite, dark
green, shiny, 5– 15cm long, 6cm wide, oval or elliptical, pointed, sometimes undulating.
Flowers white, 2–20 together in leaf corners. Red or yellow berries oblong, 15mm long.
Use: For coffee production. Dried pulp used in livestock food, for cottage soap production
and fertilizer.
Ecology: In its native habitat it grows at 1,300–1,800m altitude, prefers temperature

between 13–24°C (not below zero) and annual rainfall of about 1,900mm, but will grow with
as little as 750mm a year if evenly distributed. A short mild drought facilitates uniform
flowering. Prefers deep, slightly acid, fertile and well drained soils.
Dimocarpus longan - Longan
Dimocarpus longan
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Sapindaceae
Common name: Longan
Description: Up to 40 m high and 1m in diameter, sometimes with buttresses. Branches

cylindrical in cross-section with 5 faint grooves and covered with dense short reddish-
brown hairs. Leaves with 1– 20 cm long petiole, hairy and 1–2 (sometimes 3) pairs of
elliptical leaf-lets, 3–45 cm long and 1.5–20 cm wide. Leaflets with dense short hairs on
midribs and nerves on underside. Flowers usually grouped in cymes of 1–5 yellow-brown
flowers at tip of branches. Flower with 5 petals 1.5–6
× 0.6–2 mm sometimes densely wooly. Fruit 1–3 cm in diameter, smooth to warty or

granular, yellow-brown (some varieties green). Seeds round, shining blackish-brown,
enveloped in thin, translucent white flesh.
Use: Fruit is eaten fresh or canned. A drink can be prepared from the dried flesh. Seeds is
used in shampoo and seeds and flesh have various medicinal purposes.
Ecology: A subtropical tree requiring a cool period for good flowering and fruiting, 1,500–
2,000 mm annual rain and sandy soils.
Persea americana Mill. - Abokado
Persea americana Mill.
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Lauraceae
Synonym: Persea gratissima
Common names: Avocado, Alligator pear
Tagalog name: Abokado
Description: A spreading dome-shaped tree up to 20 m tall, although normally about 8– 10

m, with brittle twigs and often with drooping branches when older. Leaves alternate,
simple and crowded at the shoot tips, with pleasant smell when crushed. The leaf blade is
ovate, oblong, dark green and somewhat shiny above, dull below, 10–20 cm long and 3–10
cm wide. Flowers grouped in compound, soft haired panicles in the leaf corners and
crowded towards the shoot tips. The small flowers are hermaphroditic, greenish cream
colored and very fragrant. The large round, oblong, pear- or bottleshaped fruits are 7–20
cm long and 7–10 cm wide, yellowish green to dark green, sometimes tinged with purple.
Skin very variable: Shiny or dull, smooth or rough, thin and papery or thick and brittle or
thick and leathery. One large seed, variable in shape, constituting about half the weight of
the fruit. Avocado is divided into 3 races: Mexican, Guatemalan and West Indian.
Use: Grown primarily for its nutritious fruits, mainly eaten fresh. Oil extracts is used in
cosmetic products. The fruit and leaves are used medicinally. Wood not durable but can
provide lower quality firewood.
Ecology: A tropical and subtropical rain forest species. Mexican and Guatemalan races
tolerate light frost. Tolerate a wide variety of well drained soils but not saline or
waterlogged ones.
Diospyros discolor Willd.
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Ebenaceae
Synonym: Diospyros philippinensis (Desr.) Gürke, Diospyros blancoi A.DC.
Common name: Velvet Apple
Tagalog Name: Mabolo, Kamagong
Mabolo is a medium-sized tree growing to a height of 20 meters. Leaves are leathery,

oblong, up to 20 centimeters long, with a round base and acute tip. The blade is glossy
green, smooth above and softly hairy below. Female flowers are axillary and solitary,
larger than the male. Fruits are fleshy, globose, up to 8-10 centimeters in diameter, densely
covered with short brown hairs. The pulp is edible. The fruit hairs have to be rubbed off
before eating as it can cause peri-oral itching and irritation.
Distribution:
 In forests, at low and medium altitudes.

 A shade tree, it is planted along roads and parks.
Antidesma bunius (L.) Spreng – Bignay, Bugnay
Antidesma bunius (L.) Spreng
Euphorbiaceae
Common name: Currant Tree
Tagalog name: Bignay, Bugnay (Ilocano)
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Bignay is a small, smooth, dioecious tree, 4 to 10 meters high. Leaves are shiny, oblong, 8
to 20 centimeters long, pointed at the tip, rounded or pointed at the base. Spikes are
axillary or terminal, simple, and usually 5 to 15 centimeters long. Flowers are small and
green. Male flowers are about 1.5 millimeters in diameter, borne on spikes, while the
female flowers grow out on racemes. Fruit is fleshy, red, acid, edible, ovoid, and about 8
millimeters long, single-seeded, and borne in grapelike pendant clusters (often paired),
wrinkled when dry, the seed becoming somewhat compressed - Common from northern
Luzon to Mindanao, in thickets, etc., in the vicinity of towns and settlements, and
occasional in forests.
- Also reported in Sri Lanka, India, eastern Himalaya, Burma, Indo-China, China,
Thailand, Indonesia, and Australia.
Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn – Kapok, Bulak
Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn
Common name: White Silk Cotton Tree
Tagalog names: Kapok, Bulak
Kapok is an erect, deciduous tree, growing to a height of 15 meters or less. Trunk is

cylindric, usually bearing scattered, large spines. Branches are in distant whorls, spread
horizontally. Leaves are compound, with 5 to 8 leaflets, lanceolate, 6 to 15 centimeters
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long, pointed at both ends. Flowers are numerous large, fragrant, and creamy white,
about 3 centimeters long. Fruits are capsules, oblong, pendulous, leathery, oblong, about
15 centimeters long, 5 centimeters thick, containing numerous black seeds, which are
- Planted in settled areas throughout the Philippines. - Native to tropical America.
Acacia crassicarpa Benth
Leguminosae (Mimosoideae)
Common names: Salwood, Golden wattle, Knife Acacia
Tagalog name: Auri
Description: A small to medium sized fast-growing tree, 8–25 m high, diameter reaching
60 cm. Often with crooked (and multiple) stem and low and heavy branching. Bark grey or
brown, first smooth, then becoming rough and fissured. Flattened leaf stalks acting as
leaves (phyllodes) are 10–18 cm long and 2–3 cm wide with parallel veins. Seedlings with
small compound leaves. Minute yellow flowers in up to 8 cm long spikes. Fruits are 6–8 cm
long coiled pods with brown seeds attached by orange filaments. Hybridizes with A.
mangium.
Use: Erosion control, land reclamation and soil improvement. The wood is used for pulp,
fuelwood and has limited use for construction, implements and furniture. The bark
contains tannins.
Ecology: In its native habitat a colonizer of tropical coastal lowlands and found along
streams, in open forests, savannas and adjacent to mangroves, often in sandy soils. Very
tolerant to different soil conditions and water supply. Thrives best in seasonal climates
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receiving 2,000–2,500 mm annual rainfall but may here become quite competitive towards
other species.
Canarium ovatum Engl. – Pili Nut
Canarium ovatum Engl.
Common Name: Pili nut
Burseraceae
Pili is an erect and spreading tree, deciduous, predominantly dioecious, medium-sized to

large, reaching up to 30 meters or more, with trunk diameters of 50 centimeters or more.
Leaves have deltoid to lingulate stipules, spirally arranged, imparipinnate, about 40
centimeters long. Leaflets are ovate to elliptic, 4 to 24 centimeters long and 2 to 12
centimeters wide, stiff-coriaceous, entire, base oblique, rounded to subcordate, apex
acuminate with 8 to 12 pairs of nerves. Flowers are borne on cymose inflorescences at the
leaf axils of young shoots. The fruit or nut, botanically a drupe, ovoid to ellipsoid, 4 to 7
centimeters long, 2.3 to 3.8 centimeters wide. Pulp has a thin skin, smooth and shiny,
turning from light green to black when ripened. Shell is carpellary, elongated and
trigonous, nearly triangular in transverse sections, with a basal pointed end, and a blunt
and obtuse apical end, dirty brown outside, shiny and glabrous inside. Inside the shell is
the functional locule containing the mature seed.
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Canarium ovatum belongs to the family Burseraceae with 75 known genera and about 550
species. In the Philippines the family is represented by five genera, namely Canarium,
Dacryodes, Garuga, Protium and Santiria.
Grown in many areas of the Old World as ornamental, in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the
Philippines. - Only the Philippines processes the pili nuts commercially. Its center of
diversity is the Bicol region where it is the priority crop. The trees have spread to the
provinces of Catanduanes, Masbate and the southern Quezon area.
With symmetrical branches, C. ovatum makes an attractive border and avenue shade tree.
Cleft grafting is best method propagation for pili nut tree.
Ficus nota Merr.- Tibig
Ficus nota Merr.
Moraceae
Common Name: Tibig
Tibig is an erect, spreading, dioecious perennial tree, growing to a height of 8-10 meters.
Branchlets are hairy. Leaves oblong to elliptic-obovate, 15 to 35 centimeters long and 8 to
12 centimeters wide; soft and pubescent beneath, the margins irregular and distinctly
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toothed, the apex abruptly acute, and the base auriculate. Midrib of leaves is stout, with 7
to 9 pairs of ascending, curved nerves. Petiole is brown, tomentose, 3 to 5 centimeters
long. Tubercles are mostly cauline, occasionally from larger branches, clustered,
rebranched, rigid, 20 centimeters long, bracteate. Figs are subglobose, 2 to 3.5 centimeters
in diameter, glabrous, fleshy, pedunculate, green, becoming yellowish-white at the base,
the umbilical scales exerted. Peduncle is acute, 2 centimeters long, with three bracts.
Distribution:
 In thickets and forests, especially in areas saturated with water, at low and medium
altitudes.
 Used as live fence.
 Occurs in Batan Island, Polilio, Mindoro, Culion and Balabac regions of Palawan,
Panay, Samar, and Leyte.
 Also occurs in North Borneo.
Citrus reticulata Blanco- Dalanghita
Citrus reticulata Blanco
Rutaceae
Synonyms: Citrus nobilis, C. deliciosa, C. chrysocarpa
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Common names: Mandarin Orange, tangerine
Tagalog name: Dalanghita, Sintones
Description: A small, usually spiny tree up to 8m tall. Twigs slender. Leaves lanceolate or
elliptic, 4–8cm long, 1.5–4cm wide, acute tip and base, usually crenate, dark shiny green
above, yellow-green below. Leaf stalk narrowly winged or margin-ed. Small white flowers
single or in small groups at leaf corners, 1.5–2.5cm in diameter, 5 petals. Fruit a depressed
roundish berry with thin, loose peel, orange when ripe. Pulp orange, sweet and juicy.
Seeds small, green embryo inside. Many cultivars.
Use: Fruit consumed fresh, canned or as juice. Pectin, essential oils in rind.
Ecology: Grown between 45°N and 45°S with different cultivars having different
requirements. Prefers cooler climates with a dry season.
Distribution: Originates in Malesia but is now strongly differentiated and very widely
distributed in all tropical and subtropical parts of the world
Terminalia microcrpa Decne. – Kalumpit
Terminalia microcrpa Decne.
Combretaceae
Common Name: Kalumpit, BATANGAS CHERRY, Kalumagon , Kalumangog (Bikolano)
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Kalumpit is a tree growing to a height of 25 meters and a diameter of 1 meter. Bark is black,
hard, and fissured. Leaves are 6 to 15 centimeters long, smooth, and pointed at both ends.
Flowers are small, yellowish-white, on slender spikes growing from the axil of the leaves.
Fruit is about 3 to 5 centimeters wide, smooth, and dark red when ripe, fleshy and sour.
Very common and widely distributed in primary forests at low altitudes from northern
Luzon to southern Mindanao.
Occurs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and Papua New Guinea
Nauclea orientalis L. – Bangkal
Nauclea orientalis L. Rubiaceae
Common name: Leichhardt tree
Tagalog name: Bangkal, Bulabangkal, Hambabalos (Bisaya) Bulubitoan (Panay. Bis.)
Bangkal is a smooth tree, 7 to 16 meters high. The leaves are leathery, elliptic to
oblong-ovate, 11 to 25 centimeters long, blunt-tipped and rounded or heart-shaped at the
base. Stipules are green, ovate to elliptic, 1 to 3 centimeters long. Flowers heads are
solitary, peduncles and terminal, 4 to 5 centimeters in diameter. Flowers are fragrant,
round, yellow or orange with white spikes.
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 -In secondary forests at low and medium altitudes from the Batan Islands and
northern Luzon to Mindanao, in most islands and provinces.
 Also occurs in India to Malaya.
 Cultivated for ornamental purposes.
Artocarpus blancoi (Elmer) Merr. – Antipolo
Artocarpus blancoi (Elmer) Merr.
Moraceae
Common name: Antipolo (Tagalog), Pakak (Ilocano) Kalo, Kolo (Bisaya)
Antipolo is a large tree, growing up to 30 meters tall. Its habit, size, and leaf characteristics
are similar to Artocarpus altilis (Rimas). Leaves are simple, spirally arranged, with one to
three pairs of lobes. Hairy petioles are about 8 centimeters long. Hairy stipules are about
10 centimeters long. Male inflorescence is smooth and cylindric, 5 to 8 centimeters long,
flexuous, with spine-like structures. Fruit is ellipsoid, 10 centimeters long, 7 centimeters
in diameter, ripening to yellow and orange-brown. Anthocarps are extended into 1-
centimeter long, spiculate appendages. Seeds are ellipsoid, about 1 centimeter long,
embedded in the fleshy part of the flesh.
 Endemic species.
 Found throughout the Philippines, in thickets and forests, at low and medium
altitudes.
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Dracontomelon dao (Blanco) Merr. & Rolfe– Dao/Dau tree
Dracontomelon dao (Blanco) Merr. & Rolfe

Anacardiaceae
Common name: Pacific walnut
Tagalog name: Dao/Dau tree
Dao is a large tree, growing 30 meters or taller, with the trunk 1 meter or more in
diameter. Leaves are alternate and pinnately compound. Leaflets are smooth, oblong, 5 to
7 pairs, up to 15 centimeters long and 4 centimeters wide, pointed at the apex, and abruptly
tapered at the base. Flowers are small, white, and fragrant, hanging in lax panicles. Fruit
is globose, green turning yellow when ripe with oval markings on the upper side of the
fruit, about 2 to 3 centimeters in diameter.
In the Philippines, the municipality of Dao, Capiz and barangay of Dau in Mabalacat,
Pampanga are named after the dao tree.
 Previously common and widely distributed in forests throughout the Philippines.

 Native to Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanman, Papua New
Guinea, Solomon Islands, Thailand. (7)
 Occasionally planted as a shade tree or roadside ornamental. - Now becoming rare.
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Cananga oderata (Lam.) Hook f. & Thomson- Ilang-ilang
Cananga odorata (Lam.) Hook f. & Thomson
Annonaceae
Common Name: Perfume Tree
Tagalog Name: Ilang-ilang, Ylang-ylang
Ylang ylang means "flowers of flowers."
A variety, Cananga odorata macrophylla (Cannagium odoratum macrophylla) yields

Cananga oil, also used in the manufacture of cosmetics and soap, flavoring of foods as
gelatins and puddings.
Ilang-ilang is a medium-sized tree growing 10 to 30 meters in height, with pendulous

branches, with drooping, leafy twigs. Flowers are fragrant, axillary, in umbellate hanging
clusters, with three sepals and six petals, twisted when young and drooping when mature.
Leaves are dark green, up to 20 centimeters in length, alternate, simple, entire. Fruit is
black in color, 1.5 to 2 centimeters in length, in axillary clusters, fleshy and olive-like, with
six to 12 seeds in each fruit.
 Cultivated for ornamental purposes.

 Native to Cambodia, China, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, India, Jamaica, Madagascar,
Reunion, Seychelles, Sri Lanka.
138
Dillenia philippinensis Rolfe – Katmon
Dillenia philippinensis Rolfe
Dilleniaceae
Common Name: Philippine Catmon/Dillenia
Tagalog Name: Katmon
Katmon is a tree reaching a height of 6 to 15 meters, smooth or nearly so. Leaves are
leathery, shining, ovate, elliptic or oblong-ovate, 12 to 25 centimeters long, and coarsely
toothed at the margins. Flowers are white, large, soft, fleshy, and green, 6 to 8 centimeters
in diameter, with large fleshy sepals tightly enclosing the true fruit.
 According to Quisumbing's compilation, found only in the Philippines, in forests,

at low and medium altitudes.
 Categorized as "Vulnerable" in IUCN Red of List of Threatened Species (Date
assessed: 01/01/1998)
139
Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre
Fabaceae
Common Name: Pongam oil tree
Tagalog Name: Bani, Baluk-baluk (Cebuano) Malok-balok (Panay Bis.)
Bani is a smooth tree growing to a height of 8 to 25 meters. Leaves are compound, 20

to 25 centimeters long, with 5 to 7 leaflets that are smooth, ovate, 6 to 15 centimeters long,
with the terminal one larger than the others, pointed at the tip and usually rounded at the
base. Flowers are fragrant and numerous, purplish, pink or nearly white, 1.5 centimeters
long, borne on axillary and hairy racemes 15 to 20 centimeters long. Pods are woody,
smooth, and oblong, 5 to 7 centimeters long, 5 to 8 millimeters thick, beaked at the apex,
with a single seed measuring 3.5 to 5 centimeters long.
Along the seashore throughout the Philippines.
In some localities it extends inwards (Laguna) and near the border of lakes.
Also occurs in the Mascarene Islands, in tropical Asia, across Malaya to Australia and
Polynesia
Crateva religiosa – Salingbobog
Crateva religiosa
Capparidaceae
140
Common Name: Sacred garlic pear
Tagalog Name: Salingbobog
Salingbobog is a moderate-sized, spreading, unarmed, deciduous tree growing to a

height of 15 meters. Bark is gray, the wood yellowish-white, turning light brown when old.
Leaves are clustered at the ends of the branchlets, with common petiole 5 to 10 centimeters
long, at the summit of which are three leaflets. Leaflets are ovate-lanceolate or ovate, 7.5
to 12 centimeters long, 4 to 6 centimeters wide, pointed at the base, a a rather slender point
at the tip. Flowers occur in terminal corymbs, about 5 centimeters in diameter, greenish-
yellow, and at length, purplish. Petals are ovate or oblong, with the claw half as long as the
limb. Fruit is ovoid or rounded, 3 to 5 centimeters in diameter, with a hard and rough rind.
Seeds are about 10 centimeters in length, numerous, kidney-shaped, and embedded in a
yellow pulp.
In waste places, along streams and in thickets near the sea from northern Luzon to
Masbate and Palawan, probably also in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago.
Sometimes planted as an ornamental tree for its beautiful flowers.
Native to Japan, Australia, and much of SE Asia.
Occurs in India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia and China.
Bombax ceiba - Malabulak
141
Bombax ceiba
Synonyms: Salmalia malabarica, Bombax malabaricum
Common names: Silk cotton tree, red cotton tree
Tagalog name: Malabulak
Description: A large deciduous tree up to 40 m tall and 80 cm in diameter, often with

buttresses. Branches in regular whorls. Bark light brown or grayish and fairly smooth.
Young stem and branches are covered with large conical thorns. Leaves palmately
compound of 5–7 oblonglanceolate, pointed leaflets, 10–20 cm long, leathery and smooth.
Leaf stalks longer than leaflets. The flowers are 8–10 cm long, red, occurring at or near end
of branches, appearing before the leaves. The fruit is a cylindrical pointed capsule, 12 to 17
cm long with numerous seeds inside embedded in silky material.
Use: Silky material around seeds is used as stuffing (kapok) but of lower quality than Ceiba
pentandra. Bark is used for rope making. Wood can be used packing cases, toys, matches,
canoes and others. Young flowers can be eaten as a vegetable. Flowers, pods, roots and
gum are used in traditional medicine.
Ecology: Tropical humid lowland species, often found near stream banks.
Spondias purpurea Linn.– Sineguelas
142
Spondias purpurea Linn.
Anacardiaceae
Common name: Spanish plum
Tagalog name: Sineguelas
Sineguelas is a deciduous tree growing to a height of 5 meters. Trunk is stout, with thick
spreading branches. Leaves are pinnate, 15 to 25 centimeters long. Leaflets occur in 5 to 9
pairs, oblong-ovate, 5 to 7 centimeters long. Flowers are solitary or fascicled in the axils of
the fallen leaves, reddish, and 3 to 3.5 millimeters long. Fruit is smooth and thin-skinned,
oblong or subglobose, about 2.5 centimeters long, with a fleshy pericarp, yellowish green
or dark-purplish outside, with a large and stony seed. When ripe, the seed is surrounded
by a soft, sweet, and aromatic juicy pulp.
Distribution
Cultivated for its edible fruit throughout the Philippines.
Introduced from tropical America by the Spaniards.
Now pantropic; naturalized throughout the tropics all over the world
Pouteria campechiana (Kunth) Baehni - Tiesa
Pouteria campechiana (Kunth) Baehni
Sapotaceae
143
Common name: Egg fruit
Tagalog Name: Tiesa, Chesa
Tiesa is an erect tree growing to a height of 15 to 20 meters. Leaves are alternative, smooth,
dark green, elliptic to narrow-obovate with entire margins. Flowers are greenish white,
in axillary clusters. Pedicels are long. Fruit is extremely variable in size and form, oval,
subglobose, pear-shaped or spindle-shaped, with or without an pointed apex or curved
beak, yellow-orange when ripe with an edible sweet and meatpulp.
Distribution
 Indigenous to South America.

 Introduced to the Philippines during the Spanish times.
 Cultivated for its edible fruit and as shade tree.
Pouteria caimito (Ruiz & Pav.) Radik.- Abiu
Pouteria caimito (Ruiz & Pav.) Radik.
Sapotaceae
Common name: Abiu
Abiu is an evergreen tree with a dense crown that grows to a height of 6 to 24 meters; in
favorable conditions, as high as 35 meters. Leaves are elliptic to oblong, varying in size
from 10 to 20 centimeters in length, 3.5 to 65 centimeters in width. Fruits vary in shape,
144
from spherical to oval; vivid yellow when ripe, containing one to four ovate seeds. Seeds
are covered by a thin layer of pulp. Flesh of the fruit is transluscent, with a creamy or
custard-like texture, with a flavor hinting of rambutan. Not fully ripe fruits yield a latex
that stick to lips. Flowers are hermaphroditic, arising singly or in clusters from leaf axils,
borne by slender, elongated shoots. Petals are small, four to five, cylindrical, white to
greenish in color. Flowers blossom in the morning and staying open for about two days.
Distribution
 Recently introduced.
 Widely distributed throughout Latin America.
Wrightia pubescens R. Br.- Lanete
Wrightia pubescens R. Br.
Apocynaceae
Common name: Lanete
145
Lanete is a tree growing to a height of 35 meters. Trunk is 60 centimeters in diameter.

Bark is yellowish brown. Young branchlets are yellowish, pubescent, becoming glabrous
with age, densely lenticellate. Petiole is about 1 centimeter. Leaf blade is narrowly oblong,
ovate, or narrowly ovate, 5 to 10 by 3 to 6 centimeters, papery, puberulent to glabrous
adaxially, with 8 to 15 pairs of veins. Cymes are about 5 centimeters, pubescent. Sepals are
ovate, 2 to 5 millimeters. Corolla is white or pinkish white, funneiform; lobes are oblong,
1 to 2 centimeters; corona is fringed Stamens are pubescent, inserted at the mouth of the
corolla; anthers are exserted. Follicles are connate, sublinear, 15 to 30 by 1 to 2 centimeters.
Seeds are narrowly fusiform.
 In deciduous lowland thickets and forests. - Also occurs in China, India, and
Australia.
 Sometimes used for reforestation projects.
Syzigium nitidum- Makaasim
Syzigium nitidum
Myrtaceae
Common name: Makaasim
Description: A tree growing up to 25 meters and a diameter of about 60 cm or more. Bark

is brownish and slightly flaky. SImple leaves are 8-15cm long by 3-6cm wide, elliptical
oblong to broadly oblanceolate, brightly colored above, light green beneath, long
146
petioled. Inflorescence is paniculate, chiefly terminal, 6 cm long, densely flowered with

short, thick stalks. Flowers are white, small, delicate and elegant. Fruits are round, 1.5 cm
across, hard, and greenish. Distribution: From Northern Luzon to Tawi-tawi
Combretodendron spectabilis – Toog
Combretodendron spectabilis Lecythidaceae
Common Name: Toog tree
Description: A large tree reaching 40m in height and a diameter of 150cm. Bark is dark
brown and flaky. Leaves are simple, obovate, 10-16cm L x 5-7.5cm broad.
Distribution: Widely distributed in Mindanao Botany:
Similar to Bauhinia acuminata but grows only to medium size. Butterfly flower is an
evergreen tree with a rounded crown, growing to a height of 3-10 meters. Flowers are
showy and about 10 centimeters across; petals spreading, pink, purplish, the middle petal
with numerous, small red-purple dots. Fertile stamen is only one.
Distribution
 Introduced.
 Widely cultivated in cities and towns in the Philippines.
 Native to Borneo.
 Naturalized in tropical America.
147
Syzygium polycephaloides (C. B. Rob.) Merr.- Lipote/ Baligang
Syzygium polycephaloides (C. B. Rob.) Merr.
Myrtaceae
Common name: Lipote/ baligang (tagalog)
Description: A tree growing up to 15m high and 90cm in diameter. Leaves are opposite,
with narrowed base auriculately rounded. Strong midrib with 14-18 pairs of conspicuous
nerves whose tips form a definite submarginal vein. Flowers are whitish usually in 3’s.
Fruits are irregularly globose, fleshy, and reddish-purple. Flowers observed May-June.
Distribution: Luzon (Cagayan, Tayabas, Laguna, Camarines, Albay, Sorsogon), Mindoro,

Samar, Leyte.
Cynometra ramiflora Linn.-Balitbitan
148
Cynometra ramiflora Linn.
Fabaceae (Caesalpiniaceae)
Common name: Balitbitan (tagalog)
Description: A much branched, small tree growing 4m – 26m tall. 1-2 pairs of leathery,
inequilateral, 10cm leaves. Pale yellow leaves are in drooping tassels. Flowers are whitish
yellow and with large silvery bracts. The 4cm pods are wrinkled and knobbed.
Distribution: Luzon, Cagayan, Rizal, Quezon.
Bauhinia monandra Kurz - Alibangbang
Bauhinia monandra Kurz
Fabaceae
Common name: Butterfly flower
Tagalog name: Alibangbang
Similar to Bauhinia acuminata but grows only to medium size. Butterfly flower is an
evergreen tree with a rounded crown, growing to a height of 3-10 meters. Flowers are
showy and about 10 centimeters across; petals spreading, pink, purplish, the middle petal
with numerous, small red-purple dots. Fertile stamen is only one.
Distribution:
149
 Introduced.
 Widely cultivated in cities and towns in the Philippines.
 Native to Borneo.
 Naturalized in tropical America.
Madhuca betis (Blanco) Merr. - Betis
Madhuca betis (Blanco) Merr.
Sapotaceae
Common name: Betis
Betis is a good-sized tree reaching a height of 30 meters. Bark is brown and ridged. Leaves
are clustered at the ends of the branchlets, oblong-obovate, 20 to 25 centimeters long, 7 to
9 centimeters wide, smooth on the upper surface, very hairy beneath, pointed at both
ends. Flowers are numerous, hairy, pale white, borne in rounded clusters. Fruit is
ellipsoid, brownish, grows upon thickened smooth stalks, 3 to 4 centimeters long, with a
large and shiny seed.
Distribution:
 Confined to Northern and Southern Luzon.
150
 In the Philippines, in primary forests at low altitudes, in the Luzon provinces of

Cagayan, Cavite, Rizal, Quezon, and the Camarines; in Mindoro and Mindanao. -
Also reported in the primary lowland forests of Indonesia and Borneo.
Melia azedarach - Bagalunga
Melia azedarach
Meliaceae
Common name: Bead tree
Tagalog name: Bagalunga
Bagalunga is a handsome, deciduous tree growing 6 to 15 meters high. Bole is straight and
cylindrical, without branches up to 10 meters. Leaves are crowded, long-stalked, 30 to 90
centimeters long, usually bipinnate. Leaflets are in 2 to 5 pairs, ovate to ovate-lanceolate,
4 to 8 centimeters long. Panicles in the upper axils are shorter than the leaves, and many
flowered. Flowers are numerous, violet and white, fragrant, about 8 millimeters long,
borne on the upper axils of the leaves. Petals are hairy. Fruit is drupaceous, ellipsoid,
about 1.5 centimeters long, smooth, shining, and yellowish when ripe. Seed is solitary in
each cell, pointed smooth and brown.
Along the seashore, and in thickets and secondary forests, etc., and inland, at low and
medium altitudes.
151
In Ilocos Norte, Quezon, Bulacan, Bataan, Rizal, and Camarines Provinces in Luzon; and
in Mindoro, Negros, Cebu, Siquijor, Bohol, and Mindanao.
Also reported from India to tropical Africa, southern China and Taiwan, and through
Malaya to tropical Australia.
Koordersiodendron pinnatum Merr. - Amugis
Koordersiodendron pinnatum Merr.
Anacardiaceae
Common name: Amugis
Description: Tree reaching a height of about 25m and 120cm in diameter. Leaves are
smooth and glossy green above, yellowish-green below. Flowers white-yellowish green.
Distribution: Widely distributed in the Philippines, Celebes, Moluccas, New Guinea
152
Spathodea campanulata P.Beauv. – African Tulip Tree
Spathodea campanulata P.Beauv.
Bignoniaceae
Common Name: African Tulip Tree, Sirit-sirit (Tagalog)
African Tulip Tree is a robust tree, growing to a height of 20 meters, with a dense, dark,
shining, green crown. Leaves are pinnately compound, 20 to 25 centimeters long, divided
into 5 to 8 pairs of leaflets. Leaflets are elliptic-oblong, 7.5 to 11 centimeters long, and 3.5
to 7 centimeters wide, with a pointed tip, and several glands along the midrib near the
base. Flower bud is ampuleshaped and contains water. Flowers are large, bell-shaped, up
to 10 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide, borne in terminal, erect inflorescences
(racemes), with a peculiar smell. Calyx is spathe-like, strongly curved, brownish, velvety-
smooth, and split nearly to the base on one side. Corolla is curved, the tube being narrow
below, but strongly inflated and 5-lobed above, scarlet or crimson red, with yellow, frilled
edges. Pods are firm, thick, dark-brown, and 15 to 20 centimeters long. Seed is about 2.5
centimeters wide, with a broad, silvery white, transparent wing.
Distribution:
 Cultivated in the Philippines for ornamental purposes.

 Found in parks, gardens and along roadsides.
 Native of tropical Africa.
 The world’s invasive tree species
153
Polyalthia longifolia – Indian Tree / Mast Tree
Polyalthia longifolia
Annonaceae
Indian tree is a small- to medium-sized evergreen tree growing up to 15 meters. Young

plants have straight trunks and weeping pendulous branches, longest at the base and
shorter at the end of the trunk.. Leaves are long, narrow and oblanceolate, dark green,
glossy and wavy margins. Flowers are delicate pale green with wavy petals. Fruits are
ovoid, black when ripe.
Spondias pinnata (Linn. f.) Kurz. - Libas
154
Spondias pinnata (Linn. f.) Kurz.
Anacardiaceae
Common Name: Libas , Common Hog Plum
Libas is a tree reaching a height of about 25 meters and a diameter of about 60 centimeters.
Bark surface is smooth, with irregular cracks, grey to pale reddish brown, exuding a clear,
sticky sap with a turpentine smell. Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, 20
centimeters or more in length. Leaflets are pointed at the apex, rounded or abruptly
pointed at the base, 7 to 14 centimeters in length. Flowers are small and in panicles. Fruit
is rounded, yellow, a one-seeded drupe, with a finely flavored, edible pulp.
Distribution
In primary forests at low altitudes.
Occasionally planted as a shade tree.
Widespread from India to Celebes and the Moluccas.
Toona calantas Merr. & Rolfe.
Meliaceae
Common Name: Kalantas (Tagalog), Danupra (Ilokano), Lanigda, Lanigpa (Bikolano)
Kalantas is a large forest tree. Leaves are alternate, oddly pinnate, 30-50 centimeters long
or longer. Leaflets are smooth or hairy along the nerves below, oblong or broadly
lanceolate, 12 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide. Panicles are profuse, lax, equal to
or shorter than the leaves. Fruit is 3 to 4 centimeters long, with a 5-ridged central column.
Seeds are distinctly but unequally winged on each side.
Distribution
In primary forests at low and medium altitudes in the Batan Islands, Cagayan to Sorsogon
Provinces in Luzon; Mindoro, Samar, Negros, Leyte, Cebu and Mindanao.
Also reported in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.
Heritiera littoralis Aiton
Sterculiaceae
Common Name: Dungon
Description: A large evergreen tree growing up to 45m with a trunk up to 100cm thick.
Trunk is buttressed; outer bark grayish-reddish brown; shallowly fissured and scaly. Fruit
has large wing, scaly, ellipsoid to globose nut with woody wall.
Distribution: Philippines, Sulawesi, Irian Jaya.
Habitat: Dry primary forest at low and medium altitudes.

Economic Importance: Heavy hardwood for interior construction; flooring, furniture,

staircases; steam-bent work; formerly valued for bullet proof shields because of
toughness. Ecological Status: Threatened from habitat loss
Intsia bijuga (Colebr.) O. Kuntze
Fabaceae
Common Name: Ipil (Tagalog), Ironwood, Mulato (C. Bis.)
Ipil is a medium-sized, slow growing tree reaching a height of 20 to 45 meters and a trunk
of 0.5 to 5 meters. Mature trees have steep rounded buttresses. Bark is 5 to 8 millimeters
thick, gray in color with an orange tinge. The inner bark is light brown and mottled with
brown specks. Leaves are alternate and simply compound with usually two pairs of
leaflets, 8 to 12 centimeters long and 5 to 8.5 centimeters wide. Flowers are fragrant, white
or reddish, borne in panicles 6 to 10 centimeters long. Pods are oblong or pear-shaped,
woody, tardily dehiscent, 10 to 25 centimeters long and 4 to 6 centimeters wide, with 3 to 9
orbicular seeds.
Distribution
Along the seashore, and in some localities, in inland forests, from the Babuyan Islands and
northern Luzon to Mindanao and Palawan.
Also occurs in India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, New
Guinea to Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Sindora supa Merr.
Fabaceae
Common Name: Kerosene Tree
Tagalog Name: Supa
Supa is a is a deciduous, unarmed tree reaching a height of 20 to 30 meters. The bole is

straight, regular, and without buttresses. Leaves are pinnate, about 15 centimeters long,
with three pairs of leaflets which are glabrous, coriaceous, elliptic, 3.5 to 9 centimeters
long and 2.5 to 5 centimeters wide. Panicles are terminal or axillary, 10 to 15 centimeters
long. Pods are broadly ovate, about 4 centimeters long and 6 centimeters wide, rounded at
the base, somewhat beaked at the apex, evenly provided with spinelike thorns. Seeds are
1-3, black, shiny, with a large and fleshy aril.
Distribution
Native to the Philippines.
Found in forests at low and medium altitudes in Quezon, Nueva Ecija, Camarines and
Albay provinces in Luzon; and in Mindoro.
Gardenia pseudopsidium (Blanco) F.-Vill.)
Rubiaceae
Common Name: Malabayabas (Tagalog), Kalanigai, Kalanigi (Panay Bis.)
Malabayabas is a small tree. Leaves are crowded at the ends of branchlets, obovate-oblong,
11 to 22 centimeters long, 4 to 10 centimeters wide, and pointed at both ends. Flowers are
fragrant, white, but turning yellow, 7 to 10 centimeters long, and 5 to 8 centimeters wide.
Calyxtube is obscurely ridged, and the upper half linearly segmented, green and smooth.
Corolla-tube is 5 to 6 centimeters long. Fruit is green, hard, ovoid or somewhat rounded,
5 to 7 centimeters long, obscurely ridged longitudinally, and terminated by the calyx
crown. Seeds are many and embedded in pulp.
Distribution
Common in the primary forests at low altitudes in Cagayan, Benguet, Nueva Viscaya,
Pangasinan, Tarlac, Rizal, Bataan, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, and the Camarines
Provinces in Luzon; and in Mindoro, Busuanga, Masbate, Negros, Samar, and Mindanao.
Reference:
http://www.fao.org/3/ai387e/AI387E05.htm - Broad Trees in Maldives
(copy and paste but some of content was revised)
http://www.fao.org/3/ac775e/ac775e03.htm &
http://www.fao.org/3/ac775e/AC775E04.htm - Trees of Southeast Asia (some of
details of tree species) https://caintaplantnursery.com/ - Cainta Plant Nursery
(Native Trees)
http://www.stuartxchange.org/OtherHerbals.html - Philippine Herbal Medicine
(Some botanical description and folkloric/uses of each trees)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree - Introduction of trees
http://www.fao.org/3/XII/0680-B1.htm - Introduction (first Paragraph)
https://brainly.in/question/12655308#:~:text=Plant%20more%20trees%20
and%20as,water%20by%20preventing%20soil%20erosion. &
Trees - Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

An Encyclopedia of Philippine Trees

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An Encyclopedia of Philippine Trees

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An Encyclopedia of

Created by: Derrick Yson

Synonym: Adenanthera gersenii

Common names: Red bead tree, coral wood, red sandalwood

Tagalog name: Saga hutan

Ecology, propagation and management: Adenanthera pavonina is found growing on a

Albizia saman (Jacq.) Merr. - Akasya

Albizia saman (Jacq.) Merr.

Synonyms: Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr., Albizia saman (Jacq.) F. Muell

Common names: Rain tree, monkey pod, Acacia

Tagalog Name: Akasya

Status: Occurs occasionally in nature; now it is widely planted

Description: A fast growing, semi-deciduous tree, which normally grows to 15 to 25 m in

Synonyms: Annona australis, Annona chrysocarpa, Annona peruviana

Common names: Pond apple, bullock's heart

Annona muricata L. - Guyabano

Synonym: Annona bonplandiana Kunth

Common names: Soursop

Tagalog name: Guyabano, Bayubana (Ilocano), Babana (Panay Bisaya)

· Ripe fruit is antiscorbutic.

· Seeds and green fruit are astringent.

· Flowers are antispasmodic.

· Infusion of leaves used as sudorific, antispasmodic and emetic.

· Flesh of soursop used as poultice to draw out chiggers.

· Decoction of leaves used of head lice and bedbugs.

· Pulverized seeds and seed oil effective for head lice.

· Fruit used as a bait in fish traps.

· Decoction of leaves used as compresses for inflammation and swollen feet.

· Flowers used to alleviate catarrh.

Annona reticulata L. – Custard Apple

Synonyms: Annona humboldtiana Kunth, Annona humboldtii Dunal

Common name: Custard apple

Status: Occasional; grown as fruit tree in home gardens.

Description: An erect, deciduous tree of about 4 to 10 m height with round or spreading

Annona squamosa L. - Atis

Synonyms: Annona asiatica Linn., Annona cinerea Dunal, Annona glabra L.

Common names: Sweetsop, sugar apple, custard apple

Tagalog Name: Atis

Status: Common; grown in home gardens.

Artocarpus altilis (Z.) Fosb. - Rimas

Artocarpus altilis (Z.) Fosb.

Synonyms: Artocarpus communis, Artocarpus incisa

Common name: Breadfruit

Tagalog name: Rimas, Kamansi

Status: Abundant; found in all places, except very near to beaches.

Description: A massive evergreen or semi-evergreen tree reaching a height of 30 m with

methods of propagation are air-layering, inarching, budding, stem cuttings and

Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. - Langka

Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.

Synonym: Artocarpus integrifolia

Common name: Jackfruit

Tagalog name: Langka, Nangka

Status: Occasional; grown in home gardens.

· Leaves used for fever, wounds, abscesses,

· The ripe fruit is laxative; in large quantities, it produces diarrhea.

· The roasted seeds believed to have aphrodisiac properties.

Averrhoa bilimbi L. - Kamias

Common names: Bilimbi, cucumber tree

Tagalog names: Kamias, Pias (Ilocano), Kalingiwa (Bisaya), Kiling-iba (Bicolano)

Status: Common in-home gardens.

Averrhoa carambola L. - Balimbing

Common names: Carambola, start fruit

Tagalog name: Balimbing

Status: Occasional; grown in home gardens.