Local Herbs - The Sawtooth Coriander

Many times in life, we tend to take many things for granted.  However there are times when suddenly something that is so common is no longer sighted  despite  we searching high and low for it!  My sister was back from overseas a couple of months back. One morning while at the wet market she asked me to buy the sawtooth coriander as she missed it very much. So we went through the whole wet market but  could not find any.  So sad... so I decided I might as well plant it, but how to find the stock?   This article(  http://www.greenculturesg.com/articles/sep07/sep07_sawtoothcoriander.pdf )  mentioned that I can propagate from seeds, but I looked through the packets of vegetable seeds sold commercially abut  can't find any.  Always a last resort, I peered into other people's garden, hopefully can ask for stock.....no luck !! 

During our childhood days this sawtooth coriander always existed in our garden. My mother liked to use this herb when she cooked meat dishes, pork or chicken and in soups. As a child, I thought the smell of the herb was a bit too strong, but I loved it anyway.  Then  once at a friends place, she served this sawtooth coriander all chopped up with the chilli padi  in light soya sauce.....as a dip for some chicken ---- ooo.... heavenly ! Until recently I never realised how much I missed this herb! 

So can anyone imagine how delighted I was to find this herb right under my nose ?  I decided to clear a pandan bush two mornings ago as  the bushes had been growing too rapidly these days . I counted four clumps of pandan bushes in different locations!  I will have to remove two more  clumps  to allow the space for the other plants to grow.  Clearing the pandan is easy as the roots do not go too deep in.   After clearing the pandan....I spied this herb sitting innocently there just waiting for me to find it !   It was so totally  unbelievable....!  Believe it or not  here it is ...the Sawtooth Coriander, the search is over ! What a great start to 2011....!

Leucophyllum Revisited....

The beauty of the leucophyllum (posted 29th August 2010) when it blooms never fails to amaze me.  I think it  must be the most unique plant  in my collection with its unusual coloring .  The contrast of the pink flowers and silver leaves are just so stunning !  Looking at it just make my day.....  Oh dear, instead of me going on and on about its beauty -   do judge for yourself  and  enjoy these shots  below from buds to blooms that I took recently .....

 

The buds ....

Just trying to compose a shot

camera shy?

It blooms  !

Mass of  Pink Beauties ....

Just Stunning  !

Due to the continuous rain the past months, I decided to bring it under cover on the porch where it still gets its daily dose of morning sunshine.  Internet source recommended direct sunshine for best blooms, so initially  I placed it in the garden for full sunshine where it  was thriving until the rains started.......

Looking its best last year  !

 Too much  rainwater was just too much for this plant....the leaves were dropping and it looked sick.   Now at its new location  for  the last two months or so,  it seems healthier  and happy again  -  blooming  to my delight   !!!  Frankly I was getting a bit worried when I noticed the leaves dropping and stems drying out.  There are still some black mold on the  base of the stems and I am mulling how to get rid of them. I am monitoring them, if they  get really naughty and destructive, I will have to spray some chemicals.  I am also seeing if I can propagate this plant from cuttings....not so successful, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that a couple of  cuttings will grow now that  they have taken root.

The Rain Lily

For some strange reason, my children seemed to like the Rain Lilies very much.  This bulb plant  is commonly planted in most gardens and seems to grow well  without much care or maintenance.  How did I get mine ? When we moved here, I noticed this tiny patch of Rain Lilies growing in a corner.  Somehow they managed to survive despite the havoc created by the contractors when they redo the tilings on the porch,  piping works, etc....      

When I was young, I remember being fascinated by the fine leaf blades. There is  this vegetable, chives (or koo chai) that we liked very much - the leaves are similiar.  So we used to call this plant the 'Koo Chai Hua".   

The rain lily flowers are rather dainty and delicate looking.  Despite its looks, this plant is rather robust. Once established, it seems to grow and multiply without much fuss. 

Pomegranate

At a nursery almost two years back, I noticed these beautiful  bright-orange flowers  on this oriental looking plant.  The leaves were small oval shaped, not dense, the stems were  thin  but hardy. The plant seemed to give an aura of grace and dignity.   I did not recognize the plant immediately as I was so fascinated by the showy orange flowers on this plant hardly two feet tall.  The nursery assistant confused me  a bit by saying this plant  is only grown for the flowers, and  not for fruits.  I thought it cannot be the pomegranate,  perhaps a  flowering version of it.  At that time  my  exposure to plants  was  rather limited and I  mistakenly believed  pomegranate shrubs did  not thrive well in our climate and the fruits  were small, and hardly edible.  At least the shrub that my mother used to have hardly bore fruits, and  when there were  fruits, they were  normally  small , hard and dried up pretty fast. I thought  this plant  was grown for ornamental  reasons rather than for fruits.  Lately however during my walks around the neighborhood,  I noticed that some people grow shrubs with nice looking big pomegranate fruits so it must be the species rather than the environment.

Anyway, I decided to buy one plant from that nursery as I rather liked the flowers, and I thought the plant  was nice looking.  Initially  I placed this plant  in a  container.  It  soon flowered and  I liked the flowers very much indeed.  As  the man said, the flowers did not convert to  fruits.  It soon outgrew the  container,  the leaves tend to dry up and it did not look healthy.   I decided to transfer  the plant to the ground. Pretty soon it flowered again and  subsequently bore me three fruits. I liked  the buds and flowers as the  colors  really stand out against the foliage.  I guess orange must be my favorite color for flowers.....  here are some photos of my first pomegranate shrub taken sometime this year (oh no, I mean last year 2010).

When the flowers bloom

The Buds

The petals about to unfold...

Buds only

The small fruit..sweet! 

The 2nd Pomegranate Shrub

About a year back I bought a second plant. The man at the nursery assured me that this plant will bear big juicy fruits.  These couple of weeks I noticed buds on this second plant.  Take a look at the photos I took over a  few days.  I am feeling very  delighted  and in much  anticipation of nice fruits to taste.....lol! With fruits or no fruits, these pomegranate shrubs are nice looking and pleasing to the eye.   I like them very much.  In fact I propagated a couple more plants  from  the cuttings when I trimmed the plant.  The cuttings take root easily actually but are slow growers until established.  

Buds --- like bells !

More buds to delight....

The flower...

Petals are tucked in, nature is so neat ....

Like me the ant is curious ....

Petals unfolding...

 Again, will 2011 bring some pomegranate fruits? Actually I do not expect fruit trees to bear fruits under 3 years, but no harm hoping ......!