Tropical Trees!

Trees of the Tropics!

1/11/2016

Hubs with an unidentified, very large tree!

One of my favorite parts of being in a new place (or even being at home!) is learning about new plants. Today we walked some of the golf course where our condo is located and I got to take pictures and identify trees I'd never seen before. There are many bean-type trees here in Panama, as is common in this area of the world. However, we also found fruit trees and trees used for other purposes as well.

Mango trees grow all over the golf course and resort here. The fruit is used for chutneys, salsas, ice cream, jams, and pies. It can also be dried. Some people eat the small green fruits with lemon and saot. Some of the home remedies made from mangos are used to treating intestinal worms, coughs, and diarrhea. The bark is used for diarrhea, fever, and asthma. Oil can be made from the seed and used to replace cocoa butter in chocolate-making. The wood can be used as lumber for furniture, chopping blocks, bowls, flooring and crates.

Mangifera indica (Mango)

A green mango fruit.

Flamboyant trees are one of my favorite here; short and very wide! It is part of the Fabaceae (bean) family, as are many of the trees growing here. After years of having thought to be extinct, the tree was rediscovered in 1932. Now it is a popular ornamental. I was lucky enough to find a flower.

Delonix regia (Flamboyant)

Flamboyant flower

Nance trees produce yellow, sweet-sour fruits. They can be eaten raw, and are also made into preserves, candies, wine, and even ice cream in Brazil. Some think the fruit should not be eaten because it provokes gastrointestinal disorders. The hard and heavy wood is used for cabinets, furniture, tool handles and turned objects. In times past, the bark was used to make red dye for coloring leather, cloth and wooden floors. Parts of the tree are used medicinally for diarrhea, chest colds, and fever. In Venezuela, people make fish poison from the nance.

Byrsonima crassifolia (Nance)

Eucalyptus or gum trees come in 739 species. The trees we found on the golf course were tall with elongated leaves, often grown on plantations. They grow quickly and are used for timber, fuel, tannin, and essential oils. I've done floral arrangements with silver dollar gum (E. cinerea) and seeded eucalyptus, but haven't seen the elongated variety that grows here sold in the US. There are four different types of eucalyptus essential oil that I know of. I like using the oil for homemade vapo-rub.

Eucalyptus bark

Eucalyptus leaves

This Ficus tree we found has been one of the most fascinating of all trees that I've seen. Ficus, or fig, varieties of trees are also called stranglers. They begin growing in the crotch of another tree, and then send aerial roots (that is, roots that don't need water) to the ground and the root eventually becomes another tree trunk. The "host" tree gets overgrown by the fig, fails to get enough sunlight, and dies. After this host tree has decomposed and rotted away, only the multiple- and fused-trunk fig is left. Some stranglers end up with an interior passageway from base to crown, which makes a great jungle gym for kids and adults alike.
These types of trees are often grown as bonsai plants, something that is on my list of things to do. :)

I've really enjoyed using my new plant book on this trip. It's helped me learn not only about trees, but also about ornamentals, herbs, flowers and fruit! Just this week I bought some maracuya fruit (Passiflora edulis... the plant I grew in my bedroom!) and today I was able to make a delicious iced juice drink for Hubs and I. The other day I ordered maracuya juice at a restaurant, having no idea what it was, but now I've been enlightened.