Architect’s Field Guide to Common Philippine Native Trees
1st Edition 30 October 2020
Contents 1. Narra (Pterocarpus indicus)
2. Botong (Barringtonia asiatica) 3. Katmon (Dillenia philippinensis) 4. Talisay (Terminalia catappa) 5. Siar ((Peltophorum pterocarpum) 6. Balete (Ficus benjamina) 7. Balete (Ficus virens) 8. Balete (Ficus veriagatta) 9. Antipolo (Artocarpus blancoi) 10.Dita (Alstonia scholaris)
Glossary of terms • Bipinnate leaf - a leaf having pinnate leaflets; as ferns.
• Pinnate leaf - a leaf resembling a feather; having the leaflets on each side of a common axis. • Deciduous – falling off at maturity, leaves seasonally shed off • Evergreen – trees and shrubs that remain green and functional beyond one growing season
• Glabrous - Lacking surface ornamentation such as hairs, scales or bristles; smooth. • Lenticel. a loosely-packed mass of cells in the bark of a woody plant, visible on the surface of a stem as a raised powdery spot, through which gaseous exchange occurs.
• Whorl - an arrangement of leaves, sepals, petals, stamens, or carpels that radiate from a single point and surround or wrap around the stem or stalk
NARRA
(Pterocarpus indicus)
NARRA Large deciduous tree growing to 30–40 m tall, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The leaves are 12– 22 cm long, pinnate, with 5–11 leaflets, the girth is 12–34 m wide. The flowers are produced in panicles 6–13 cm long containing a few to numerous flowers; flowering is from February to May. Dried leaves appear June to September.
Narra (Pterocarpus indicus)
BOTONG
(Barringtonia asiatica)
BOTONG It is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 7–25 m tall. The leaves are narrow obovate, 20–40 cm in length and 10–20 cm in width. Fruit produced as mentioned earlier, is otherwise aptly known as the Box Fruit The fruit measures 9–11 cm in diameter, where a thick spongy fibrous layer covers the 4–5 cm diameter seed.
Botong (Barringtonia asiatica)
Lee Ann Canals-Silayan
KATMON
(Dillenia philipinensis)
KATMON Katmon is a medium-sized evergreen tree that grows as high as 10 to 15 meters. Its trunk is erect and the branches usually start midway of the trunk. The tree is buttress-forming, evergreen, and shade tolerant. The bark is smooth with shallow fissures. The leaves are leathery, shining, ovate, elliptic or oblong-ovate, about 12 to 25 centimeters long, and coarsely toothed at the margins.
Lee Ann Canals-Silayan
Katmon (Dillinea philippinensis)
TALISAY (Terminalia catappa)
TALISAY The tree grows to 35 m (115 ft) tall, with an upright, symmetrical crown and horizontal branches. As the tree gets older, its crown becomes more flattened to form a spreading, vase shape. Its branches are distinctively arranged in tiers. The leaves are large, 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) long and 10–14 cm (3.9–5.5 in) broad, ovoid, glossy dark green, and leathery. They are dryseason deciduous; before falling, they turn pinkishreddish or yellow-brown
Talisay (Terminalia catappa)
SIAR
(Peltophorum pterocarpum)
SIAR /aka Yellow Flame Tree, Yellow Flame, Yellow Flamboyant. It is a deciduous tree growing to 15–25 m (rarely up to 50 m) tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m belonging to Family Leguminosae and sub-family Caesalpiniaceaea. The leaves are bipinnate, 30– 60 cm long, with 16–20 pinnae, each pinna with 20–40 oval leaflets 8–25 mm long and 4–10 mm broad. The flowers are yellow, 2.5–4 cm diameter
Siar (Peltophorum pterocarpum)
BALETE (Ficus benjamina)
Ficus benjamina is a tree reaching 30 m (98 feet) tall in natural conditions, with gracefully drooping branchlets and glossy leaves 6–13 cm (2 3⁄8– 5 1⁄8 inches), oval with an acuminate tip. The bark is light gray and smooth. The bark of young branches is brownish. The widely spread, highly branching tree top often covers a diameter of 10 meters. It is a relatively small-leaved fig.
Balete (Ficus benjamina)
BALETE (Ficus virens)
Balete – Ficus virens, Red Balete It is a medium-sized tree which grows to a height of 24–27 metres (79–89 ft) In dry areas and up to 32 metres (105 ft) tall in wetter areas. It is a fig tree belonging to the group of trees known as strangler figs, which is because its seeds can germinate on other trees and grow to strangle and eventually kill the host tree. This is a very massive tree in which the size of the crown can sometimes exceed the height of the tree.
Balete (Ficus virens)
BALETE
(Ficus veriagatta) Aka Tangisang Bayawak
Balete Ficus veriagatta, Tangisang Bayawak Ficus variegata is a well distributed species of tropical fig tree native to the Philippines. Although It occurs in many parts of Asia, islands of the Pacific and as far south east as Australia. The Ficus veriagatta is a non-strangling fig which may reach 30 meters Local name came from the fact that lizards have a hard time climbing the tree due to its smooth trunk.
Balete / Tangisang Bayawak (Ficus veriagatta)
ANTIPOLO (Artocarpus blancoi)
Antipolo (Artocarpus blancoi) Endemic to the Philippines. Fast growing straight with large broad leaves. Vulnerable conservation status as of 2020 IUCN Red List of vulnerable species.
Antipolo (Artocarpus blancoi)
DITA
(Alstonia scholaris)
Dita (Alstonia scholoaris)
Alstonia scholaris is a glabrous tree and grows up to 40 m (130 ft) tall. Its mature bark is grayish and its young branches are copiously marked with lenticels. Leaves occur in whorls of three to ten
Dita (Alstonia scholaris)
This field guide is meant for architects who may encounter any of these common trees on project sites. These are among the most popular native species in the Philippines. Architects are engaged to design around these species as the provide excellent ecosystem services to other species in the environment. Version 30 October 2020 Jojo Gutierrez / Architect