Monday, November 15, 2010

see it in our own backyard



i know a friend who travelled all the way to india to see a tree which can be found in our own backyard - in our nature parks. he had gone with his wife on a conducted tour to india. the tourist guide took them to see this fascinating tree, which is quite a common tree in india. he had not known that such a tree could be found in singapore until he joined me for a walk at west coast park.

it is the cannonball tree which can be found in some of our nature parks. i have seen them at west coast park, fort canning park and the botanic gardens.

the flowers and the fruit, which is the size of a coconut without its husk, grow from the trunk of this evergreen tree.



it is hard to miss the cannonball tree. if the attractive flowers or the unusual fruits do not catch your attention, the aromatic smell, which the flowers exude, will surely draw you to the tree.

the orange, red and pink flowers give off a smell which is quite overpowering. however, it is not an unpleasant smell. in fact, it smells like some perfume.

on the other hand, the fruit, which usually cracks open upon falling to the ground, has a smell that puts people off. in other countries, some animals, including domestic animals, like chicken and pigs, have been seen eating the fruit.

8 comments:

Lam Chun See said...

When my kids were young we often brought them to the parks and one of those tree that facinated them was this cannonball tree at Botanical Gardens.

Lam Chun See said...

I have also seen one in front of the Beauliew House at Sembawang Park.

yg said...

chun see, don't remember seeing the one in front of the beaulieu house but i think there may be a few at sembawang park.
so, how was your kuching trip?

Lam Chun See said...

Hardly had opportunity to step out of the hotel. Monday night, my host brought us to a traditional house/resturant (I think it was called barok) just across the river for some traditional food. There is also a food centre which wasn't there during my last trip in Dec2008. The boat ride cost 50 sen person.

yg said...

chun see, the boat ride used to cost 5 sen many years ago. the last trip i paid 40 sen. i think the locals pay less. anyway, the boatman does not check; the passengers just leave the money on the bow of the boat as they step ashore.

doris said...

cannon balls trees also grow at airport T2 where buses exit to PIE and along the PIE b4 turning at 4B into tampines ave 2.

WK Tan said...

There are a number of Cannonball trees scattered along the jogging/cycling path in East Coast Park e.g., round the Lagoon wakeboard skiing area.
Regards,
wee kiat
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yg said...

wk, i will look out for them the next time i vist east coast park. i have also seen some at the edge of the forested area along the expressway. can't remember if it is pie or bke.