Laurel Clockvine (Thunbergia laurifolia), a fast growing and very vigorous vine with violet flowers, is a member of the Acanthaceae family and is native to tropical Asia. I have observed many Thunbergia species in Thailand. I came across this particular specimen (see picture) while touring the gardens of the Si Como No Resort in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. This is just another example of the horticultural exchange that exists between tropical Asia and tropical America. In the instance of Laurel Clockvine, when grown outside of it’s native habitat in tropical Asia, it can be very invasive and spread at the expense of native species. In Australia, as an example, Laurel clockvine has been classified as a weed and is considered an environmental threat.

My house during my childhood was located on Rajdamnern Avenue, the most famous street in Bangkok. Planted along both sides of this famous street, were many Golden Shower trees (Cassia fistula), which in Thailand is known as Ratchaphruek. This tree is known locally around the country by several other names including, Chaiyaphruek and Koon. I remember that in the summer month of April, my cousin and I liked to have our meals on one of the benches under the full bloom of yellow flower of the golden shower. During the flowering season, the leaves drop off leaving only the blooms on the tree. The golden-colored flowers are a treat to the eyes and leave a lasting impression.

Nowadays, the golden shower was designated as the national symbol because of its longevity and durability as well as its ability to grow well in all parts of the country. The brilliant yellow flowers signify the Thai nation and and is the color of Buddhism; in addition, yellow is the color associated with Monday and our beloved King Bhumipol was born on Monday. Moreover, the beauty of the flower with meaning is copied as the epaulet for Thai government officers.

Inspired by the brilliant yellow blossoms of the Ratchaphruek as well as its significant meaning, The Royal Flora Expo - Thailand’s International Horticultural Exposition which commemorates the King’s 80th birthday and 60 years on the throne - has adopted ‘Ratchaphruek’ flower as the name and logo of the event.

I came across this fine specimen of the Crimson Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) at Wilson Botanical Garden in Southern Costa Rica. Native to Southeastern Australia, this small tree has been cultivated worldwide and grows quite well in wet conditions. Also known as the lemon bottlebrush because the flowers have a distinct citrus aroma, the bright red flowers of this bottlebrush species attract many butterflies and hummingbirds.

For a very interesting article on Bottlebrush species (Genus : Callistemon), I recommend that you check out Trees near us: Ornamental trees of Lahore Pakistan

Globe amaranth(Gomphrena globosa), also popularly known as Everlasting or Bachelor’s Button, is native to Panama and Guatemala in Central America. Like other tropical ornamentals, it is now widespread in the tropics throughout the world and it is a popular bedding plant in many gardens. The flowerheads are usually a striking purple in color, but hybrids have been developed with red or white flowerheads.

In Thailand, Globe Amaranth is popular as a cut flower in flower arrangements and displays. In particular, during the celebration of the Loy Krathong, a harvest festival that takes place in mid November, the globe amaranth is used liberally in the miniature floral arrangements inside the Krathong (Banana Boat). See thumbnail picture on the right. In addition, Globe Amaranth plays a prominent role during the engagement ceremony for newlyweds in Northern Thailand. According to Lanna tradition, one of the ceremonial offerings presented by the groom to the bride’s parents is a large tray (Bai Si Nom-Maew) that uses banana leaves in cone shapes resembling cat-shaped blossoms. Filling the cones is a beautiful floral display, of which the globe amaranth flower is used to signify eternal love between the couple. Hence, Globe amaranth is called everlasting; this has a twofold meaning - the flowers never lose their color and the flowers symbolize eternal love.

What strikes me as sort of funny - bachelor’s button and eternal love (everlasting) seem to be in conflict with each other. Oh well…

References:http://www.roychapin.com/thailand03.htm

In Thailand, TOURISM is definitely one of the most important industries and major sources of revenue. The major tourist centers - Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Chang, Sukhothai, Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle, Mae Hong Son and the like - continue to prosper as tourists regularly to travel to these areas and spend their monies.

Without the resources or facilities to compete with the major resort centers for the tourist dollar, small rural communities in the hinterland have to come up with alternative strategies to develop a local tourism industry. One of the most effective and healthiest strategies is ECOTOURISM. Marketing the natural beauty of the surrounding forests and the traditional arts and culture can be an effective way to build a small but very sustainable tourism industry. As the growing tourism industry depends on preserving the natural beauty and the traditional culture, there is real incentive for the community to protect the wilderness areas and forests that tourists come to explore. A real conservation ethos and a healthy respect for the environment is developed within the community. As the tourism industry develops, small local guesthouses and hotels, restaurants, cafes will be built to accommodate the increasing number of out of town visitors. In addition, artisan centers and other cultural attractions can be developed and will flourish as well. So long as the host community maintains control of the tourist product and their lands, everybody will benefit from this type of tourism development, and the environment will benefit as well. This is a model for ECOTOURISM development.

In rural Thailand, a prime example of a successful ecotourism promotion evolving is in Sa Kaeo Province, where for the 2nd consecutive year in a row, they are staging a butterfly sighting festival at Pang Sida National Park for the months of June and July. Apparently for the first year (2005) of the promotion, there a was a substantial increase in the number of visitors to Pang Sida National Park for the month of June compared to the previous year 2004. The Pang Sida National Park has gained the reputation as ‘The Realm of Butterflies of the Eastern Forests”, with more than 350 species of butterfly easily sighted. This promotion has benefited the community substantially with the increased revenue of tourism dollars and with the development of new jobs - over 40 youths from the Sa Kaeo area were trained in 2006 as qualified butterfly guides. More importantly, this butterfly festival has given the community a real incentive to protect the Park and the indigenous wildlife that lives there, as that is the resource that is bringing them the tourism dollars.

For full story on Festival: http://thailand.prd.go.th/the_focus_view.php?id=1487

Let’s hear it for Butterfly Power!

While attending a tourism exposition in San Jose, Costa Rica in the early 1990’s, I learned about plans for a new ecotourist attraction that would allow people to explore and learn first hand about the rich and complex diversity of life in the rainforest canopy. It’s estimated that about two-thirds of a rainforest’s species live in the canopy (the uppermost, branching layer of the forest). One of the guest speakers at the Expo was the well-known tropical biologist, Dr. Donald Perry, who for many years had studied the diverse mix of fauna and flora in the rainforest canopy by utilizing a system of pulleys and cables to navigate among the treetops. Addressing the many travel agents, the press and members of the travel industry who were attending the Expo, Dr. Perry announced his plan to develop and operate the Rainforest Aerial Tram, Costa Rica’s First Canopy Tour. The Aerial Tram would be modeled after a ski-lift gondola ride consisting of a series of small open-air cable cars each held together by a three kilometers long cable. The first rainforest Aerial tram opened in 1994, about an hour’s drive from San Jose (Costa Rica’s capital city) on a private rainforest reserve just outside of Braulio Carrillo National Park.

Since the introduction of the first Rainforest Aerial Tram in 1994, the canopy tour business spread like wildfire in Costa Rica. Several more Aerial Tram tours opened - including a Rainforest Aerial Tram near the Pacific Coast Beach resort of Jaco (sister of the original Rainforest Aerial Tram near Braulio Carillo National Park) as well as an unrelated Aerial Tram near Arenal volcano. In addition, several canopy tours have utilized suspension bridges for tourists to walk among the treetops. However, it is the zip-line tour which has really taken over the canopy tour industry. Today, there are currently over 100 canopy tours available in Costa Rica, most of them located in close proximity to the more popular resort and tourist areas. By far most of the canopy tours are of the zip-line variety, which is very fast paced and is more akin to an amusement park ride than a means of learning about nature.

On the zip-line tour, people are attached to an overhead cable with a safety harness, propelling themselves from one tree platform to the next at relatively fast speeds. Small animals and birds that live high up in the canopy might mistake you for a flying ape or a UFO. This type of canopy tour may frighten some people who are afraid of heights. A word of caution - while this type of tour is undeniably fun and thrilling like bungee jumping, it can also be very dangerous. There is no government regulation in Costa Rica of these canopy tours, so before you get strapped into the harness, you should check out the safety standards of the outfitter and verify that they have a proven track record in these types of tours. Since 1997, there have been two zip-line tour deaths in Costa Rica that have been attributed to faulty harnesses.

The canopy tour, which has been entrenched in Costa Rica as a popular eco-attraction, has since been introduced to many other popular tropical destinations from South Africa and Ghana in Africa to Jamaica and St. Lucia in the Caribbean and Peru in South America.

While I have not been on any canopy tours in Costa Rica per se, I did have the pleasure of going on a canopy tour in December 1995 while visiting Ghana in West Africa. Located not far from from Ghana’s Gold Cost, Kakum Rainforest was chosen as the site of Ghana’s first canopy tour. A relatively new attraction at the time, this canopy tour consisted of a series of suspension bridges between platforms located high up in the rainforest canopy. It was very fun but my traveling companion, a young lady from Accra, Ghana’s Capital, experienced a fear of heights. Eventually she conquered her fears and completed the walk among the treetops feeling total exhilarated.

Factoid: It is reported that Canopy tours generate some $120 million annually in Costa Rica , and attract by conservative estimates over 200,000 tourists every year.

Reference:

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=costa_rica@53&cur_section=fea&feature=30011

Parrot’s Beak’s (Gmelina Philipensis) is a tropical shrub native to the Philippines. The long pendulous flowers are comprised of yellow blossoms which emerge at the end of a tube-like structure of overlapping bracts. (Source: Flowering Plants of Thailand - A Field guide by Patrick D. McMakin). I first encountered this unusual looking plant in Barbados at the Flower Forest (picture 1-2 top left). During my travels to Thailand, I also stumbled across Gmelina Philipensis (where it is known locally as Ching-chai) in a unique shrine-like setting in the gardens of one the small guesthouses near Chiang Dao (picture top right).

The most unusual plant that I have seen during my travels has to be the Bat Plant or Devil Flower (Tacca chantrieri). I encountered this exotic looking plant while touring Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden in Northern Thailand; I was really awestruck to say the least when I first saw of this plant - it had the appearance of something very sinister or evil, ‘like a plant from hell”, No wonder some people called it the devil’s flower. Other people have likened to this plant to a flying bat or a mean cat with lots of whiskers

Native to Southeast Asia, the Bat Plant (Tacca chantrieri) is grown in shade with filtered light and protection from the wind; as a houseplant it thrives with high humidity. Berries are produced after flowering.

Needless to say, I think I’m going to buy one of these plants for my house as it makes a very interesting conversation piece.

Source:http://mgonline.com/batplant.html

The storied history of the Water Lily (Nymphaea lotus) begins during the times of the Pharoahs in ancient Egypt. The water lily was revered by the Egyptians and the mighty Pharoahs were often buried with these flowers. The plant is quite popular in Thailand, where it is found growing in water gardens and ponds as well as water planters. The water lily comes in many different colors including white, violet and blue. I took this picture at Jim Thompson House and Gardens in Bangkok. If you look at the photo carefully enough, in the lower foreground of the picture (towards the center), you’ll see a wasp sitting on one of the leaves.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphaea

Monarch butterflies are known worldwide for their majestic beauty. As any butterfly enthusiast knows, the host plant for all monarch butterflies are plants that belong to the Milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae). In Northern Thailand, I came across three Thai monarch butterfly caterpillars feasting on Blood Flower (Asclepias curassavica), which is indigenous to Central America but has been introduced throughout the tropics.

In Thailand, there are several native Milkweed species including Giant Indian Milkweed (Calotropis gigantea), Oxystelma esculentum, Tonkin Jasmine(Telosma minor) , Tylophora indica and Hoya kerrii, of which the latter four are climbers.