This post is about the Corporate Gardens section of Floria 2010.
I was extremely hungry and thirsty when I arrived at this 'hut' entrance to the show garden of The Department of Agriculture of Malaysia. I almost wanted to give this exhibit a miss as I only had half an hour left and I still haven't visited the Garden Bazaar to do my shopping. Somehow, the strikingly showy heliconias and beehive gingers here were too tempting to be missed. So, I entered this area half-heartedly to have a quick look. Eventhough I was physically inside this show garden, my heart and mind were already busy shopping at the bazaar $$$
This is a flower wall of Alpinia purpurata /red gingers (above) and ixoras (below) decorated with bamboo and wavy rattan poles. The centrepiece is our traditional Malay styled garden oil lamp. You'll see plenty of these lamps during the festive Hari Raya season.
“Floria 2010 P9 - Fascinating Rainforest Plants”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on July 30th, 2010.
On the far right are some Heliconia chartacea Sexy Pink flowers cascading down seductively beside the red gingers.
The big clump in the middle of the 2 chairs is the Tiger Orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum), our giant ground orchid. Also known as Sugar Cane Orchid and Queen of Orchids, it is the world's largest orchid. It is native to New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia and The Philippines.
Tiger orchids can be found in the lowlands of our tropical rainforest. It may take 4-8 years for a tiger orchid plant to start blooming but once it starts to do so, it blooms every 2-4 years and the fragrant blooms can last 1-2 months. Each stalk has up to 80 flowers.
This is reminds me of the idyllic lifestyle of our rural villages or 'kampung'. Bamboo seats are cool to lie on. In the kampungs, we use a machete called the 'parang' to split open the coconut husk and shell, then drink the juice directly from the fruit. We can also use the big banana leaves as an umbrella when there is rain. On a hot day under the equatorial sun, palms and banana leaves provide shade and at the same time act as giant fans whenever it moves and sways at the slightest hint of a breeze.
However, this doesn't look like our usual banana plant. I didn't see a plant label but I think it resemble the Madagascar banana (Ensete perrieri), a native of Madagascar that looks like the banana plant!
Underneath the banana plant, there is a clump of dwarf Strelitzias, the exotic Bird of Paradise flowers. Do you think they look like orange-yellow birds?
Again this is our topical kampung style, reflecting serenity and the laid back way of life. In front is a planter with honeycomb gingers and heliconias.
Can anyone tell me if the needle shaped palms are yucca palms?
This is a replica of the world's tallest species of Heliconia, Phenakospermum guyanense (which actually is classified under the family of Strelitzias). When alive, the whole plant and blooms are green in colour.
A note says that the tallest in the world was recorded at 38.9 ft.
Behind the pink ginger plants are the Platycerium coronarium (Staghorn Fern) and the beautiful palm is Johannesteijsmannia altifrons.
Johannesteijsmannia is a genus of 4 species of Fan Palms native to the tropical rainforests of Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand. They usually grow without a trunk (Source: Wikipedia).
The 4 species are
1) J. altifrons
2) J. perakensis
3) J. magnifica
4) J. lanceolata
J. altifrons is the most common. The other 3 are endemic and endangered and they are only found in Peninsular Malaysia, not anywhere else in the world.
This genus is named in honour of Johannes Elias Teijsmann (1808-1882), a Dutch botanist, plant collector and curator of Bogor Botanic Gardens.
A closeup of Alpinia purpurata (pink ginger)
Philodendron xanadu
Heliconia vellerigera (King Kong).
This species from South America can reach a height of 15-20 ft.
Inflorescences looks 'furry' or hairy
Calathea rotundifolia "Fasciata"
Nepenthes sibuyanensis
Update:
The above specimen was labelled as N.rajah by the exhibitor but Aaron, of Aaron's Gardening Blog has pointed out to me that the correct name is N. sibuyanensis, a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Sibuyan Island of the Philippines. Aaron is a teenage gardener who has a wealth of experience growing pitcher plants. Aaron, thank you very much for highlighting this error.
Nepenthes rajah is an insectivorous pitcher plant species endemic to Mt Kinabalu and Mt Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysia.
We commonly call pitcher plants 'monkey cups' but some people cleverly call it 'money cups' and market picther plants as auspicious plants for good fortune.
The above specimen was labelled as N.rajah by the exhibitor but Aaron, of Aaron's Gardening Blog has pointed out to me that the correct name is N. sibuyanensis, a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Sibuyan Island of the Philippines. Aaron is a teenage gardener who has a wealth of experience growing pitcher plants. Aaron, thank you very much for highlighting this error.
Nepenthes rajah is an insectivorous pitcher plant species endemic to Mt Kinabalu and Mt Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysia.
We commonly call pitcher plants 'monkey cups' but some people cleverly call it 'money cups' and market picther plants as auspicious plants for good fortune.
Platycerium ridleyi (Ridleyi's Staghorn Fern), a rare fern.
Licuala grandis or Palma Kipas (fan palm)
Now, looking back at the pictures, I have no regrets that I had to forgo my shopping for this educational tour. It really opened my eyes and mind on what rich treasures lies within the jungles of the tropical rainforest.Today, we have come to the last episode of my hightlights about Putrajaya Floria 2010. Hope you have enjoyed the journey in the quest for knowledge. Whether your are bored to death or happy with excitement, I'd like to end my post with the following quote:
When student is ready, the teacher will appear
..... a Buddhist proverb.