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Project News

2009-02-14

Flowers of the Malay Rose Apple

Today is Valentine's Day.  In Panama, too, the custom is for lovers or couples to give each other a gift on this day.  In contrast to Japan, where the women give gifts to their beloved, here the men are also expected to give a gift to the women, which does seem to cause its share of headaches among the men...

On the occasion of this "Day of Love" I would like to present the red flowers of the Malay Rose Apple (scientific name: Syzygium malaccense?), which normally blossoms during this time of year.  For the last two years, I did not have my camera with me when I encountered the Rose Apple, but "the third time's a charm" and this year I finally captured it with my camera.  (All the photos were taken at the Victoriano Lorenzo community on February 12, 2009.)

The flowers themselves are very beautiful (photos 1 & 2), but the most fantastic sight is to see the ground tinted purplish-red with a bright carpet of flowers (primarily the stamens).  (Photos 3 & 4)  The flowers bloom on the inside of the tree so that from a distance one is not aware that the tree is even blooming.  This makes the sight all the more impressive when one suddenly comes upon the bright red carpet of Rose Apple blossoms.

Photo

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(Photos 1 & 2)

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(Photos 3 & 4)

(Mr. Isao SAKAI, Chief Advisor / Rural Development)

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