| Head-Turning
Lalang Tree: Morinda elliptica |
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| See close-up of the flower and the compound fruit which is so much smaller than Mengkudu, our familiar Noni Fruit. |
My Diary (23 Aug 2006): I was pleasantly surprised to catch sight of an 'old friend' while travelling on a bus along Upper Paya Lebar Road. Staring back at me through the window was a young tree called Mengkudu Kechil, or what Corner whimsically called -- the Lalang Tree. It was growing next to a bus-stop located between How Sun and Quemoy |
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My first encounter with the Lalang Tree happened in Penang many years ago. As the name suggested, it grows profusely like Lalang, especially in suburban areas where it establishes itself happily in any nook or cranny that holds a decent provision of soil.
Penangites boil the leaves for a tonic drink which they claimed can prevent cancer. I found at least one of the several runner-clubs there serving this hot drink free to anyone reaching their hilltop rest-station. They are such an easy-going and friendly lot... these Penangites! I like to think of them as truly 'tree-people', and the tree a 'people-tree'!! : )
See Mengkudu Akar - a related native liana that is commonly found near the sea.