Just like there is the Christmas tree, there is also a tree to celebrate the Chinese New Year – the plum tree. This is because the Chinese New Year actually celebrates the advent of spring. The plum tree cannot be found in hot and humid Malaysia so we have to do the next best thing; we create one. Every year we would strip a small tree of all its leaves and then decorate it with plastic pink and white plum blossoms.
As the Chinese New year is just around the corner, I was chopping down a branchy "catapult" tree at the edge of a forest the other day when I spotted this flower.
I had not noticed it at first because it resembles the purple flower of the "catapult" tree, although slightly bigger, until I saw the two green hairy elongated globes behind it. This is the first time that I have come across this flower and I was intrigued. Upon further examination, I found a darkened and split mature globule with tiny seeds further down the branch and realized that the hairy globules are actually the fruits. I have now planted the seeds and hopefully, they will germinate. Now, maybe someone can tell me its name.
