Description

Kapok is an erect, deciduous tree,

growing to a height of 15 meters or less.
Trunk is cylindric, forming butaves are
palmately compound, with 5 to 9 leaflets,
lanceolate, 6 to 15 centimeters long,
pointed at both ends. Flowers are
numerous large, fragrant, and creamy
white, about 3 centimeters long. Fruits are
capsules, hartresses, usually bearing
scattered, large spines. Branches are in
distant whorls, spreading horizontally.

Ceiba pentandra

Habitat
- Planted in settled areas throughout the
Philippines.
- Native to tropical America.
- Now pantropic

Physiological characteristics
Ceiba trees are self-compatible, meaning they can selfpollinate to produce viable seeds. Pollination takes place at
night, and fertilization following deposition of pollen on the
stigma is dependent on suitable temperatures (~20 C),
otherwise the flowers will fall before fertilization takes place.
Ceiba trees grow fast in high light conditions and thus acts
as a "pioneers", colonizing cleared areas if a seed source is
nearby. Many are adapted to dry conditions and are able to
store water in the cortical cells of their trunk. At times this
gives the trunk a swollen or bulging appearance. A tall
columnar trunk topped by an umbrella-shaped crown is
characteristic of isolated Ceiba trees in tropical pastures,
and is a telltale sign that they are relicts from a past when
shadier conditions prevailed. Ceibas that recolonize open
areas after they have been cleared tend to have a shorter,
bushier, "open-grown" form.

Description
Manga is a large tree, with a dense and
spreading crown. Leaves are oblong to
oblong-lanceolate, 10 to 30 centimeters
long. The flowers are yellow, small, 3 to 4
millimeters long, borne on erect and hairy
panicles, which as as often as long as the
leaves. The fruit is a drupe, of varying
shades of yellow, fleshy, oblong-ovoid,10
to 15 centimeters long, and slightly
compressed, the skin is thin, and in the
center is a large flattened, fibrous seed,
and when ripe, surrounded by an edible
yellow pulp.

Manifera indica

Habitat
- Cultivated throughout the Philippines.
- Certainly introduced.
- In cultivation in the Indo-Malayan region.
- Now planted in all tropical countries.

Physiological characteristics
The mango seedling emerges in 2 weeks and grows
rhythmically from the start: a flush brings out the new shoot
which extends in about 1 month time, after which the buds
remain quiescent for shorter or longer periods. In a mature
tree many twigs produce no extension growth for a year or
longer, but in saplings most twigs flush up to 4 times per
year if there is enough moisture.
Flushes occur more or less synchronously depending upon
the climate; during a long wet season the synchronization is
gradually weakened. The tree roots to a considerable depth,
enabling it to find the moisture necessary for
flowering/flushing during the dry season. A seedling mango
comes into bearing after 57 years.
High temperature (2530C), actively growing rootstocks
and hardened scion wood are important ingredients for
success.

Description
Mani-manian is a prostrate, stoloniferous,
perennial tropical legume, growing about
8 inches high. Stems grow along the
ground and root at the nodes. Leaflets are
oval, four on each petiole. Flowers are
yellow, pea-like. Seeds are underground
nuts, light brown, one per pod.
Habitat
Native of central Brazil.
- Spread to Argentina, Australia, and the
U.S., later on to the Pacific, Southeast
Asia and Central America. (7)
- Planted as ornamental landscaping
ground cover.
- Used as alternative cover crop for
perennial crops: mango, avocado, coffee,
banana, palm oil, pineapple, etc.
- Cultivated for forage.
Arachis pintoi

Physiological characteristics
Seedlings of pinto peanut develop quickly following epigeal
germination, and with good growing conditions and several
plants per square metre, complete ground cover can be
achieved by a network of stolons in less than six months.

Seedlings develop quickly and can completely cover the

ground within 6 months. Pinto peanut can also be
propagated through cuttings. Pinto peanut has no particular
nutrient requirements but responds well to P, K, Ca and Mg
fertilizers.
Flowering commences three to four weeks after emergence
and continues through the growing season, appearing to
intensify following rain or irrigation. It grows best between
about 22C (72F) and 28C (82F)

Physiological characteristics
Description

Lantana camara is a low erect or

subscandent, vigorous shrub with
stout recurved prickles and a strong
odour of black currents.
It grows to 1.2-2.4 meters (or even
more). Its root system is very strong,
and it gives out a new flush of shoots
even after repeated cuttings. Flowers
are small, usually orange, sometimes
varying from white to red in various
shades and having a yellow throat, in
axillary heads, almost throughout the
year.

Lantana camara

Habitat
- A gregarious weed in the
Philippines, in settled areas in thickets
and waste places at low and medium
altitudes.
- Certain varieties are cultivated as a
trimmed hedge either alone or with other
shrubs.
- Native of tropical America.
- Now pantropic in distribution.

Lantana camara in best grown in bright light . If exposed

with too little sunlight, these plants will not be able to flower.
Normal room temperatures are usually suitable from early
spring to the end of the flowering period. The upper
temperature limit for lantana is unknown; however, shoots
are frost sensitive and growth is reduced below 5 C.6
Lantana growth is significantly constrained by water
availability and it prefers conditions where soil moisture is
available throughout the year. However, it can grow on poor
soils and pure sand substrates if there is adequate soil
moisture 68,80 and once established will survive long
periods of drought.

Description
Physiological characteristics
Flowers are very large up to 5 1/2" and
appear orange upon opening blending to
pink at the edges with very showy red
veins in th petals. There is a grainy
overlay of red-purple light on the left side
of the petal and becomes a dense stripe
on the right which forms the apparent
shades of red and orange.
Habitat
Usually cultivated for ornamental
purposes.
- Nowhere established.
- Introduced from Mexico by the
Spaniards.
- Now pantropic.
Plumeria rubra

Frangipani is not dependent on much water in their

environment in order to perform photosynthesis. They can
withstand high temperatures for long periods of time and
therefore they are very drought resistant. Plumeria plants
do well when the pH is between 6.0 to 6.7 which means
they usually thrive in slightly acidic environment. Roots
absorb mineral nutrients such as Nitrogen and Iron when
they are dissolved in water. Feed spring through fall
with high-phosphorus fertilizer to promote blooming.

REFERENCES
http://proseanet.org/prosea/e-prosea.php
http://www.weeds.org.au/WoNS/lantana/docs/bpm-profile.pdf
http://www.plantsrescue.com/lantana-camara/
https://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2013/houselog_kath/facts.htm
http://www.stuartxchange.com/
http://www.paliplumies.com/vitaminNutrientDeficiencySymptoms.html