BARRINGTONIA JOSEPHSTAALENSIS

This is one unusual slow growing Barringtonia with striking pink new leaf flushes and I wonder if it maintains a monopodial growth habit as a sapling and whether it will branch out as it grows bigger.

BUND, SILVERLEAF, CHINESE GARDENS ETC

Today's weather - sunny

These are some of the bromeliads on the Cool Dry Bund. The colours are more vibrant under the full sun conditions. The Lantana montevidensis is growing so well at this corner that it is sprawling onto another green brom.

At the SilverLeaf Garden, the Butia capitata was producing masses of fruits. The Supertrees planted with Tillandsias and other plants looked amazing.

Next to the filter bed, the Plain Tiger butterfly was flitting around the Wrightia religiosa shrub. Looking up the stairs from the base of the Chinese Garden, the scenery reminds me of a conifer forest. Near the area is a Barringtonia acutangula planted at the base of the slope. At the other flight of stairs were planted rows of droopy Leptospermum madidum ssp. sativum. A pink Calliandra haematocephala, a red Calliandra tergemina var. emarginata and beds of red Russelia equisetiformis stood out from amongst the light green vegetation.

HORTPARK

At the Floral Walk, this brightly coloured variegated Ravenia spectabilis reminded me of the sad and poor specimen that I have at home. I bought it some time ago and it has been faring poorly along my corridor and dropped most of its leaves.

Anyway, two variegated Solanum wrightii (synonym: S. macranthum; common name: Giant Potato Tree; Family: Solanaceae) were planted near to the normal variety that is at least 5 m tall now. The free flowering small tree produces flowers that change its colour from white to purple over time and a link on this tree is shown below:

http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/SOLANUM_MACRANTHUM.htm

Nearby, the ground was littered with pink Periwinkle like flowers, from the small tree Kopsia fruticosa. Right at the HortPark entrance, the Corymbia 'Summer Beauty' was sending out numerous bunches of inflorescences and floral buds. Yet across the Corymbia is an unknown deciduous Barringtonia, or so I was told, with reddish-orange leaves.

BARRINGTONIA ACUTANGULA

The Barringtonia acutangula at the carpark end flowered for a while and recently, we noticed small seedlings growing at the base of the tree. Yes, I already informed someone to harvest the seedlings for growing.

BARRINGTONIA ACUTANGULA SSP. ACUTANGULA

The mangrove tree Barringtonia acutangula (synonym: B. spicata, Eugenia acutangula; common name: Freshwater Mangrove, Indian Oak, Itchy Tree; Family: Lecythidaceae) is a showy tree especially when it is flowering.

This single specimen planted at HortPark was in bloom recently and the ground around it was littered with all the shed flowers with extended long red filaments and cream coloured anthers.

I mentioned in an earlier post that there is a Barringtonia acutangula and a B. acutangula ssp. acutangula and I am naming this one as such because from the fruits etc, it seems this is not the native one and could be from Australia.

Just look at the pendulous strings of red floral buds and opened flowers. I must admit it was quite a spectacle to see the fully bloomed tree but it was quite a challenge to take the photos.

A few links on the plant are shown below:

1. http://skipas.wordpress.com/native-plants/plant-families-l-m/lecythidaceae/barringtonia-acutangula-freshwater-mangrove/
2. http://keys.trin.org.au:8080/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Barringtonia_acutangula_subsp._acutangula.htm
3. http://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi?family=Lecythidaceae