A Third Look at Dillenia

Arrangement # 93

This display reminds me of how we often overlook at our local beauties.  We take them for granted. They flower freely. They are always there when you want to look at them. You wrap food with their leaves and let our children have fun with their fruits.Charlie was impressed.  

His second look was at Melastoma.  Locally known as ' senduduk' or Straits Rhododendron ( Melastoma malabathricum) its purplish- black fruits attract the birds and the boys who like to stain their tongue with their fruits.  Thus the Greek word for 'melastoma' to mean 'black mouth'.

Charlie's third look was at Dillenia.  She's every where.By the roadsides, the waysides and the most unlikely places - the disturbed areas. Her cabbagy  leaves are used to wrap food and fermented rice.  Her fruits when ripe let loose red-fleshed seeds that are the prime target of the feathered species.  Her name dear Charlie is the 'Shrubby Simpuh' or 'Simpuh Air'( Dillenia suffruticosa )

Charlie is now a confirmed admirer.  He's takes great love to looking up these beauties. In the story above, the greenery ( the envy? ) is provided by 'creeping Charlie' ( Pilea nummulariifolia )

All good things must come to an end. no matter what.

The two beauties looked back  at Charlie and with the sweetest of smile uttered the two cutest words...

Recognize me ? 

Plain Beauty

I had an early morning walk with my four cats this morning.  I am trying hard to train them  following my footsteps while climbing the hill.  They have so far managed to do it very well.  After about fifteen minutes of walking them , then food is served.  This routine normally starts around 6.30 am. when the morning light appears and the mosquitoes are still in slumber( think so).  This morning I saw a wild orchid clump flowering next to the oil palm tree.

I have yet to get the actual name for this orchid but I bet it belongs to the Arundina family of which the most common one being the 'Bamboo Orchid' ( Arundina graminfolia) . Don't have the picture of the bamboo orchid yet. Anyway, while the bamboo orchid has small rosy mauve flowers the one in the picture above has white flowers. I guess because it has white flowers and so prevalent here that makes it not worth collecting. The habits of this orchid plant is that it prefers to live in a crowd and resembles tall grass.  The generic name ' Arundo' is derived from Latin meaning reed ( i.e the stem resembling that of a reed).  I took a few cuttings of its flowers and decided to display them in today's composition.

On second thought, since I don't have many of the orchid blooms today, why not add some wild Straits Rhododendron ( Melastoma malabathrium)?  In my eco-farm this free-flowering shrub can be found everywhere in the open and sunny places. The above picture shows the dark pink colours of the Straits Rhododendron flower.  Go zoom in to the picture and you'll notice the oval fruits which are frequented by the butterflies and birds.  The oval fruits when ripe are purplish-black.  I had fond memories of eating these fruits in my childhood days.  In our local dialect we call the plant, 'Senduduk'. Children like to eat the fruits and as a result get their tonques stained black. ( Hence, the name melastoma which in Greek means 'black mouth'.)

Arrangement # 41

Arrangement# 42

Arrangement # 43

Arrangement # 44

The above compositions are based on wild and free-flowering plants, available any moment of the day at the farm.  There are too common and taken for granted. But not for me. I have decided to name the above composition....Plain Beauty.