Tree,: Licuala Grandis, ruffled fan palm

This strange looking palm is a native of the Vanuatu,in the Pacific. The nice thing is that it will only grow to around 2 meters.

Plant	Licuala Grandis
Common name	Ruffled palm
Location	Paradise Ranch
Cameras	Motorola XT 531 Fire phone(first and second photos), Nocia C3 phone(third and fourth photos)
Reference	Wikipedia

Insects: Red damselfly and pink dragonfly together

Photo taken with Samsun WB150F by Dr. Ernesto Adorio with fstop 5.8, 1/125 shutter, iso 320
4320x3240

A common medicinal plant: Turnera Ulmifolia , yellow alder

Finally the identity of a common yellow flower, considered weedy by some people, which escaped this author for a long time is now uncovered. The botanical name is Turnera Ulmifolia. All along I thought it was a Philippine native but it is actually a a native of Mexico and the West Indies!

I find it more than once, growing together with vincas or madagascar periwinkle and it has powerful medicinal properties. Perhaps gardeners find thru experience that vincas and yellow alders are naturally complementary? See the Wikipedia reference. Strangely this plant is not in the list by Dr. Stuart in his stuartxchange online handbook of Philippine medicinal plants.

Plant	Turnera Ulmifolia
Common name	Yellow Buttercups, Sage rose, Yellow Alder
Location	UP Clarkfield
Camera	Samsung WB150F
Photographer	Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio
References	Wikikpedia

Plant: Thunbergia Erecta, King's mantle, bush clockvine

The plant shown in this photo was formerly identified as strobilanthes dyerianus, Burmese conehead, Persian Shield. We have corrected this entry to Thunbergia Erecta, since the leaves matches those in our reference photo.

The first time I saw the flower I thought it was a morning glory. but the petal look thin and it has no dividing ray lines in the petals. I posted the photo in our Facebook Handbook of Philippine Plants and Flowers and it was first identified as a Burmese conehead also commonly known as Persian Shield. But checking my the Southern Living Book Garden Book reference, I saw the leaves and there was a stronger match with the one in our photo. This plant is native to Africa.

Here is the corrected entry.

Plant	Lamiales/Acanthaceae/Thunbergia Erecta
Commmon Name	King's mantle, bush clockvine
Location	Paradise Ranch, Pampanga
Camera	Samsung WB150F
Photographer	Dr. Ernesto P. Adorio
Reference	Southern Living Garden Book, p.54 (photo),p. 570 (description)

Revisions

• Sep. 10, 2012 - change the ID to thunbergia erecta.
  

Orchid Tree, bauhinia Purpura

Normally I would see orchid plants growing on a tree, and I was taken aback by a tree which produces its own orchid like flowers! I found the it in Paradise ranch, just across the wide Sacobia river in Pampanga. I have identified the tree as Bauhinea Purpura, and it looks different from the flower symbol of Hongkong, the bauhinea blakeana.

Here is a second photo which is much more "orderly":

Stuart Xchange,

Plant	Bauhinia Purpura
Common Name	Orchid tree, Butterfly tree
Location	Paradise ranch, Pampanga(1st photo), University of the Philippines, Diliman campus(2nd photo)
Camera	Samsung WB150F
Photographer	Dr. Ernesto Adorio
Acknowledgment	Al Claud (common name, butterfly tree)
Reference

Pilea Cadiere, aluminium plant.

Here is a photo from my FB friend in Gladstone, Australia of a plant we call alum locally.

Plant	Pilea Cadiere
Common name	Aluminium plant
Location	Australia(first photo), Philippines(2nd photo)
Photographer	Susan Estrope Dicker(first photo), Dr. Ernesto Adorio(2nd photo)
Camera	Panasonic Lumix S3(first photo), Olympus VG-110(2nd photo)
Acknowledgment	Ella Benales Jacildo(common name)
Reference	Wikipedia

First photo image owned by Susan Estrope Dicker. Published with permission in this blog.

Costus Speciosus, crape ginger

Here is a plant which is similar to ginger plant except that it has only one row of spirally arranged leaves. It is not as colorful as the fiery red torch ginger plant, but the white flowers are much larger! This plant was photographed in a resort in Pampanga besides the wide Sacobia river.

Plant	Costus speciosus,
Common Name	Costus, crape ginger
Location	Paradise Ranch, Pampanga
Camera	Samsung WB150F
Photographer	Ernesto P. Adorio
Acknowledgement	Romana Reyes(common name)
Reference	Wikipedia