TERMINALIA CATTAPA

We have lots of Terminalia cattapa (common name: Ketapang, Sea Almond; Family: Combretaceae) trees planted in Singapore, especially in coastal areas. I always remember a senior colleague's comment that Ketapangs never fail in terms of tree failure.

This is one of the biggest trees here with large autumn-shade leaves. In fact, the leaves contain tannins and flavonoids and can be used in aquariums to lower the pH of the water when keeping freshwater fishes that prefer slightly acidic waters.

A link on the tree is shown here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminalia_catappa

TERMINALIA CATTAPA (VARIEGATED)

The Terminalia cattapa (common name: Sea Almond, Ketapang) from the Combretaceae Family is very commonly planted in Singapore, especially at coastal areas.

The large tree with huge buttress roots can grow quite tall and its big deciduous leaves turn orangey-red and shed at certain times of the year, giving an impression of autumn. Someone once said to me that Ketapangs never fail, implying that these trees are typically very stable with its highly supportive roots and very rarely fall over.

In fact, the leaves have another useful application in freshwater aquariums in that the leaves in the tank water would increase the acidity or reduce the pH to a level suitable for keeping some fishes.

This is a variegated version of the tree and the leaves were just amazing. I hope it would be planted at somewhere prominent someday.