20 February 2011

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: