| Angsana
Trees Scientific name: Pterocarpus indicus (Bean Family) Common names: Angsana or Sena. Also known as Padauk trees. The chinese name for it is translated literally as 'Green Dragon Wood'. Origin: The Andaman Islands and distributed throughout India, Southern China, the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines. Prof E.J.H. Corner's description of the Angsana is unmatched in the Wayside Trees of Malaya. Here's some excerpts from the book: |
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'This magnificent tree is wild in a few
parts of Malaya, chiefly by the sea; in the east of johore it was
not uncommon along tidal creeks and rivers. It is best known as a
roadside tree, for which purpose it excels in the beauty of its vast
shady crown and its fragrant yellow flowers. In mature trees the lower
branches spread outward and droop so that their ends sway in the wind
and may even sweep the ground: the uppermost branches are short, erect
and twiggy, while the middle branches are intermediate in length:
and this configuration gives the even dome-like crown. Pollarded trees,
like those in front of the hospital at Penang, develop enormous ascending
limbs.' 'Early in the year, after the break in the wet weather, the Angsana sheds its leaves, becomes bare for a few weeks and then develops new leaves and flowers.' '...the Angsana is peculiar because its flowering is not continuous. In any neighbourhood, the trees which are ready to flower will burst into blossom on the same day; the petals will rain down the next morning, laying the familiar yellow carpets by the road, and then there will be an interval of several days before all such trees in the neighbourhood flowers again: and so the trees continue in fitful bloom until their inflorescences are exhausted.' 'It seems that the flower-buds, like those of the Pigeon Orchid, are stimulated to develop by a sudden drop in temperature, as is caused by a heavy storm,...' 'The three trees by Anderson Bridge in Singapore are the remnants of the avenue which fronted the sea along the Esplanade.' |