Semanggi

The semanggi plant in my garden is flowering.

Semanggi is a wild water plant of the marcileaceae family. I found this plant growing wild in the front yard garden and moved it to a pot where it's flowering now.

In the wild, semanggi usually only produces small flowers. But in the pot, with the right nutrients and care, the flowers are bigger and brighter.

Wedding Hall Bouquet

The bouquets that lead to the wedding reception hall where my grand cousin (?) celebrated their her wedding last week. They are made of freshly cut flowers. They look very nice.

Kembang Tahi Kotok - Tagetes, Spp

These beautiful flowers have an unpleasant name here: kembang or bunga tahi kotok (lit. chicken shit flower) because of their pungent scent. Anywhere else it's called marigolds (Mexican, French, or African, depending on the species). It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and the South American regions in general and belongs to the genus of tagetes.

It is said that the pungent smell of this flower can deter some common insect pests. Hence, this kind of flower is often planted together with the main crops in tomato, eggplant, chili pepper, tobacco and potato gardens.

The marigolds grow well here. I took this photo at Cihideung flower village in the north of Bandung.

flowery cart

A street vendor selling flowers and other decorative plants on a cart at Jalan Aceh (Aceh street).

Thanks to its volcanic soil and temperate high-altitude climate, a lot of flowery plants grow well here. The city was even nick-named the flower city by its Dutch colonial rulers in the early 20th century. As some of you may remember, I have also previously posted a story about a village here whose farmers are specializing themselves in cultivating local and foreign flora.

The Blooming Flamboyant

This flowering tree is called by many different names in different places, e.g. Royal Poinciana, Krishnachura, Gulmohar, Peacock Flower, Flame of the Forest, Malinche, and Tabachine. In Indonesia, it is called "flamboyan" or "bunga flamboyan" (delonix regia). Here it normally blooms between September and October during the seasonal change from the dry season to the rainy season.

Flamboyant is originally from Madagascar. More information about this flower can be found here.





I took these photos at Monumen Perjuangan Rakyat Jawa Barat plaza sometime ago.

Happy Eid Mubarak - Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri 1430 H

Today is Eid ul Fitr. I went to the field near where we live to perform Eid prayer. (Unlike the daily prayers that can be performed at home or in the mosque, the Eid prayer and sermon are preferably performed in a field.)



At home we ate ketupat kari. Ketupat is steamed rice cake wrapped in young coconut leaves (see left picture below). We cut it open, slice it, and usually eat it with kari ayam (chicken curry) and sambal goreng ati (liver in dried chily souce).





It is also the traditon here that people decorate their homes with fragrant flowers like bunga sedap malam (polianthes tuberosa) - the white flowers on long stems in the picture - to welcome their guests. I forgot to buy it until late this morning, so when I got to the nearby florist, we didn't have much choice.

Cihideung Orchids

The Moth Orchid (phalaenopsis sp) is one of the more common (non-exotic) species of orchids cultivated and sold at Cihideung floral village in the north of Bandung.

The moth orchid is native to southeast Asia. Its native habitats spread from the Himalayan mountains in the west to the Philippines' Palawan island in the east, and from Taiwan's Ponso No Tao (the Orchid Island) down to Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku (the Mollucas), and Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda Islands) in the south.



The moth orchid (phalaenopsis sp.) is one of the most cultivated and popular orchids because it is easy to grow in artificial conditions. In its native habitats, it normally thrives in warm temperatures of between 20 to 35 degrees centigrades with high humidity level (between 60 to 70 percent) and low light intensity (under shades, with about 12,000 to 20,000 lux of light).

Lotus, Nelumbo, or Water Lily?

Most of you would know what this flower is. Many would call it water lily or lotus. Some would probably call it nelumbo. So, which one is it?

Water lily is the generic name of this kind of aquatic flowering plant that has its roots in the soil submerged in a body of fresh water and whose leaves and flowers float on or above the water surface. It belongs to the family of nymphaeaceae. Lotus or nelumbo used to be traditionally classified into this family for their apparent similar characteristics. However, lotus or nelumbo is now considered to be a separate family of nelumbonaceae. Unlike the water lily which belongs to the order of nymphaeales, lotus or nelumbo belongs to the order of proteales.

Now that you know that water lily is not the same as lotus (nelumbo) in their botanical classifications, you may want to know what characterizes their differences.

The lotus or nelumbo has peltate leaves, that is its leaves are fully round with an underneath stem. Water lily's leaves, on the other hand, are notched (v-shaped) from the edge into the center of the lily pad. In addition to this, the lotus or nelumbo has a very distinctive seed pod that water lily doesn't.

Now that you know this, can you tell which flower is on the photo? Water lilly or lotus (nelumbo)?

This flowering plant is one of the hundreds of decorative plants cultivated at the village of Cihideung, Bandung.

My World: Cihideung Pink Roses

There are more than 100 species of roses, and pink roses of this kind (not too pale and not too dark) are said to be the symbol of perfect happiness, secret love, grace and sweetness, and - unfortunately also - indecisiveness.

That, I think, many of us know. But what's Cihideung?

Cihideung is the name of a flower, nay, flora village in the north of Bandung, where - quite literally - hundreds of species of flowers and plants, both local and overseas, are cultivated.

There is no information about when farmers here began to cultivate different flowers and plants, or how the flower farms began. My estimation is that farmers here began to shift from vegetable farming to flower farming in the early or mid 1970s. The shift must have taken place gradually because until the 1980s, I could still see quite a significant number of farmers cultivating vegetables, corn, cassava, and even paddy. Now with about 80 percent of the farmers here are in the flower cultivation business, Cihideung is quite arguably one of the largest flora production centers in Indonesia. In fact, according to a recent publication by the Indonesian Department of Agriculture, the name Cihideung has now become indentified as some sort of "trade mark" in the flower business here.

Here are some more pictures I took from my recent walk in this village. I will probably post some more photos of the flora and other decorative plants cultivated here at sometime later.





This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in this week's My World Tuesday meme and my friend M of Ramblingwood's meme of Nature Note. Please follow the links to visit other participanting blogs from around the world.

The Lavender

Because of its elevation, mild climate and temperature, and fertile volcanic soil, Bandung highland is a very good place for agriculture. A lot of non-native plants grow well here, including a lot of varieties of flowers like this lavender, which is grown in several places in the northern hills of Bandung. This particular patch of lavender garden is part of the recreational and educational camping ground at Vin's Berry Park at Cisarua where my son and his classmates were camping a few weeks ago.

Lavender (the generic name for the 39 species of the flowering plant of the lavandula genus), by the way, is a native plant of the Mediterranean, parts of Africa, the Middle East, and India. It has a variety of uses. Its dried petals, for example, can be placed in the wardrobe to keep the clothes fresh and fragrant and repel moths. The oil extracted from its flowers is believed to have antiseptic property and is good for aromatherapy. In addition, lavender flowers are also rich in nectar that is a good feed for honey producing bees. (Bees fed with lavender nectar is believed to produce high quality honey.) In some countries like France, lavender is also used as some sort of "spice" for a variety of dishes, and even made into syrup (French lavender syrup).

Lavender is also believed (and has scientifically been proven) to have medicinal properties. A particular species of it, lavandula angustifolia, or the English lavender, has long been used to make balms and salves that can reduce inflammation and soothe and heal insect bites. Furthermore, its fragrant oil has the soothing property that can help reduce headache and naturally induce better sleep.

Despite its proven medicinal properties, however, it should be noted that lavender oil is also a very powerful allergen. Therefore, those who are prone to or suffering from allergies should avoid it.