Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Another Iconic Rain Tree Blown Down



A 131-year-old raintree was partly uprooted during heavy rain on 20 January 2018 Saturday.


It was reported that part of Taiping Lake Gardens had been closed off to motorised vehicles since Dec 15 last year, in a move to preserve its precious rain trees.

The 630m-stretch of road, which makes up about a quarter of the entire Lake Gardens loop, has now permanently become a pedestrian walk and cycling path.


To date, the council has officially tagged 113 raintrees at the park and also maintains over 1,300 other types of trees with help from arborists and experts from the FRIM.

Previously used as a mining ground, Taiping Lake Garden is the first public garden established during the British rule in the country in 1880 and is fully administered by the council.

Alon Jalan Pekeliling near the junction to Flemington Hotel

Shallow roots of the raintree

Right across the road.....

Almost the same area - a fallen raintree on 22 August 2012 


Ten Easy Ways To Kill A Rain Tree

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

History of Old Taiping

History of old Taiping - a video:









Beautiful Taiping Lake Gardens- A Look From Above.

Aerial Footage shot by a custom drone in the skies of Taiping,
 Perak
Aerial Footage shot by a custom drone in the skies of Taiping, Perak by Mathew Jacob
Mohmad Maslan Mahayyudin
Travel Footprints
Destination Perak

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

10 Easy Ways On How To Kill The Iconic Rain Trees In The Taiping Lake Gardens

Beautiful scenery. Photo taken in August 2008

It took the iconic rain trees (Samanea saman or Albizzia saman) in the Taiping Lake Gardens more than 120 years to grow to their present magnificent size and beauty. On the other hand, it will only take a fraction of this time to destroy them.

Here are 10 easy ways on how to kill these beautiful and monumental trees.  The first four ways are quick and ensure a complete kill (photos are redone for special effects). The remaining six ways will take a slightly longer time but they will eventually destroy the trees we love.

1. Excavator or Back-Hoe : Push and topple.


An excavator at work. This monsterous machine has the sheer power
to push and topple any tree regardless of its size in a few seconds. 

 Back-hoe. A popular and multipurpose machine use for all sorts of work.
It whacks everything in its path (see the broken branch). 
Toppling a rain tree is child's play for a back-hoe.

Rain trees are completely defenseless because they are shallow-rooted as most of the roots are on the surface. They can be easily up-rooted, cut and removed completely in seconds by these two humongous and powerful machines - the excavator and the backhoe.Very fast and efficient kill.

2. Chainsaw : Cut and slice.


Lumberjacks love chainsaws for their sheer speed and sharpness. 

Modern chainsaws can cut into any type and sizes of wood. Rain trees have relatively soft wood compared to the hard wood of the teak trees. Moreover, most of the Taiping Lake Gardens rain trees have trunks diameters less than six feet (3 meters).

It will be easy work for the lumberjacks and their lean and mean machines to cut and slice a rain tree quickly and efficiently. A fast kill but the tree stump may take a little longer to be removed.

3. Axe : Chop and Cut.


The soft wood of the rain trees are again no match against the 
modern felling axes used by professional axe-men or wood-cutters.

Modern felling axes are made of steel unlike traditional axes that are made of iron. These simple machines are very sharp and can cut all sorts of wood fibers easily and efficiently.

An expert axe-man can effortlessly chop and cut down a big rain tree in a couple of minutes. Another fast kill but need extra time to remove the tree stump from the ground.

4. Herbicides : Drench and Disrupt


Herbicides, or commonly known as weedicides, are chemicals used
to disrupt the natural functions of the plant cells causing them to die.

Some herbicides are fast acting and cause the plant cells to rupture so that they cannot function properly and die quickly. Some weedicides cause the plant cells to grow very quickly and become distorted and die.

Some herbicides cause the natural functions of the plant to slow down. Some inhibit protein synthesis or root growth, while others inhibit the plant growth. Any one of these disruptions will eventually kill the tree.

Drench a rain tree with herbicides and this would disrupt and shut down the tree's working parts depriving the tree of water, food and/or sunlight.  Cutting off any one of these will eventually kill the tree. Another very effective way to destroy a tree but may require several months for a total kill.

5. Critical Root Zone : Pave and Compact

A magnificent rain tree growing with the least disturbances
at the Taiping Lake Gardens

Rain trees grow and flourish into big and beautiful trees in it's natural environment. The ground beneath the trees is untouched by humans.

The rain trees' shallow roots spread out undisturbed to support 
and nourish the trees and its magnificent growth.

 Then people came to enjoy the cool shade and beautiful scenery of the rain trees. And it also brings along with it the many subtle ways to kill a rain tree.

 They build roads and pavements. Erect electrical and telephone
poles, benches, signboards etc. as close to the trees as possible
for their own comfort and convenience
but to the dismay of the rain trees. 



The rain tree roots have to bear the tremendous weight, noise, smoke,
and vibration of hundreds of cars and buses that pass overhead 
each day. It's only a matter of time before they succumb
to this onslaught created by humans.

A jewel in the crown. This beautiful rain tree is situated right 
smack in the middle of a small roundabout or rather the roundabout 
was built around it and slowly strangling it to death

Concrete structures, signboards and litter are common features
around the tree trunk. They are great stuff to smother
the tree roots to death.


The hallowed ground beneath a tree is commonly referred to as the critical root zone or tree protection zone. This zone is often defined as an imaginary circle on the ground that corresponds with the the greatest extent of a tree’s branches end (dripline).



Paving roads, walkways and erecting concrete structures and signboards etc. on this critical and protective ground above the rain tree roots is very harmful to the trees as it compact the soil.

Rain trees' roots hate soil compaction because it reduces the amount of pore space in the soil normally filled by oxygen (micro-pores) and water (macro-pores). Roots need plenty of oxygen and water to function properly.

Compounding this problem is the ever-increasing volume of vehicular and human traffic that use these infrastructures. More soil compaction means less oxygen and water for the roots. Eventually the roots shriveled and die and the tree dies too. 


6. Tree Bark : Injure and Rip It Off


Bang and scraped off the bark of low-lying ranches

Motor vehicles traveling under the rain trees very often bang against the tree trunk and rip off pieces of bark. They also stripped away low hanging branches and leave behind terrible scars on the tree.

Destroy the bark and you destroy the tree!

More often than not, a lawnmower or weed trimmer under the hands of an inconsiderate maintenance worker can easily injure and rip off parts of the tree causing irreparable damage.

The bark is a tree's natural armor and protects it from external threats. It is also the tree's most vulnerable body part above ground and the easiest target to kill a tree. The tree's inner bark consists of xylem, phloem and cambium and together they affect a tree's life.

Xylem cells carry water and minerals from the roots to the leaves and is considered the tree's wood. Phloem, a living tissue, carries manufactured food (sugars) from the leaves to the roots. The cambium, which is a moist layer only a few cells thick, is the regenerative layer giving rise to xylem on its inside and phloem to its outside.

If the food-transporting phloem is severed all the way around the tree (a process called "girdling"), food cannot be carried to the roots and they will eventually die. As the roots die, so does the tree.

7. Use Rain Tree As A Living Support For Utilities : Girdling and Disrupt

A very abused rain tree beside the MPT building. It's at the corner of 
Jalan Kelab Lama and Jalan Kota. It doesn't has a tag

Large and heavy spotlights are fastened to the branches with nails
and steel wires inflicting irreparable damage to the rain tree


This poor rain tree is situated just outside the MPT building

The biggest culprits are the same people who are empower to protect and maintain the rain trees. The pictures speak for themselves.

Decorative lights hang from the delicate branches of the rain trees

 These inconsiderate people conveniently use the rain trees as living support for spotlights, decorative lights, banners, flags, notices etc. They bang in nails and use steel wires to secure all these utilities.

Rain trees branches are fragile and cannot support heavy loads. Steel wires wrapped all the way around a branch is like girdling the food-transporting phloem and disrupt the food manufactured by the leaves from reaching the roots below. The roots eventually starve to death and the tree dies.
The metallic road, pavement and road-sign are strangling 
this poor rain tree to death



8. Construction Around The Tree : Digging and Littering

A sure way to kill rain trees is to invite construction around the rain trees. Any construction work is destructive if it is within the critical root zone.

It will destroy the most venerable part of the tree beneath the ground - the tree's shallow roots. At first, everything seems normal above the ground until the leaves start to dry up, follow by twigs and branches and eventually the tree just topple over because the supporting roots have been killed.

 Any construction around the rain trees will affect the fragile
environment. Kill the roots below and the tree above will die too.

 A cruel act of inconsiderate drains construction beneath the 
rain trees at the open field in Kampung Boyan

Dig trenches to lay concrete slabs. Cut the tree roots and litter
the area around the trees with dug-up soil and rocks to compact
the critical root zone.

9. Erect Power-line : Declare Raintree A Hazard

Which came first - the rain tree or the electric power-pole?

An ingenious way to get rid of a rain tree is to erect an electric power-pole as close to the tree as possible. Over time, the authourities will decreed that the electric power pole is more important than the tree. The rain tree has now become a hazard to the safety and comfort of the people. It has to go. 

Erecting a telephone pole next to a rain tree does not have the same impact as this is considered less critical to the people.

Note: This poor and neglected rain tree is situated at the Green House area. Enjoy its beauty as much as you can while it is still there for it will be gone very soon.

10. Prune Tree Excessively : Remove and Reduce


Pruning or trimming is cutting off branches of a tree for a purpose whether to remove dead, diseased or damaged branches or to make a tree smaller and conform to a certain shape.

Very often a tree is excessively pruned so as to make way
for vehicles passing under the branches.

Pruning is contagious and it's lots of fun cutting off living branches.  An enthusiastic and inexperienced worker may just go on cutting the green branches until the poor tree is almost bald.

Who cares about the very simple basic rule of pruning that is not to remove more than 1/3 of the live canopy or crown at any one time. If a tree has less than 2/3 of its original canopy of leaves, it will struggle to survive and may even die.

 This poor tree is just waiting for the day to get out of the misery and abuse

Moreover, the cuts are often terribly done leaving jagged edges along the cut that allow water and diseases to easily enter the tree and causing decay (see inset picture above). Eventually the whole tree rots and has to be removed.  Then the workers complain because it's hard work removing dead branches.

Now, you know what are the 10 easy ways on how to kill the magnificent rain trees in the Taiping Lake Gardens. These are the things we do not want to see if we want our iconic rain trees to survive for future generations to enjoy. Without the rain trees, especially those along the lake side, the Taiping Lake Gardens is no better than any lake gardens in Malaysia or in Southeast Asia.

Cross-section of raintree. Probably more than 20 years-old


There are many more ways to kill rain trees. You can also love them to death by over-watering and applying fertilizers of the wrong kind and at the wrong dosage, timing and placement. However, that's another story.

A fallen comrade and one less monumental rain tree.
This poor tree could not stand the abuse anymore and 
collapsed during a heavy storm on 22 August 2012.
(read more here)

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Taiping Lake Gardens - Get To Know Your Rain Trees

Taiping Lake Gardens is the most beautiful lake garden in Malaysia

It's very sad that some selfish people, under the guise of development, are threatening and literally choking to death the famous rain trees which surround the Taiping Lake Gardens. The beauty and tranquility of this priceless natural treasure is at stake...and once the damage is done it is gone forever. See news video here.

Not only it's an eyesore but a direct threat to these 120-year old rain trees

Recently, many Taipingites and visitors have voiced their concern and dissatisfaction with the local authourities for their uncaring and foolishly bold attitude in developing the area in front of the Flemington Hotel...and this is only a couple of feet or inches to the metaled road and certainly under the shade of the rain trees and on top of the critical roots zone of the rain trees.

 This may be the foundation of the defunct BMX bicycle track but 
it had blended well with the surrounding rain trees

 Now, another part of history is gone...in its place is a sterile and
ugly piece of land that marred the serenity of the rain trees

Do You Know What Is A Rain Tree?

It's equally sad to note that many Taipingites do not know much about their rain trees and called them incorrectly as "golden rain trees" and "angsana or pterocarpus indicus".

So, it's about time we get to know more about our rain trees. When we get to know them well, we will be more concerned about its welfare and safety. Be a friend to the rain trees for they certainly need our help to survive the relentless push of development.

What Is An Angsana or Sena Tree?

The angsana or sena (Pterocarpus indicus) is another tall magnificent tree which has achieved almost the same stature as the famous rain tree. And we have some beautiful specimens in Taiping which we can proudly proclaimed as monumental trees.

One tragic example of a giant angsana tree that fell victim to recent development was located along Jalan Tupai diagonally opposite the Balai Bomba and Hawkers' Center.

Monumental Angsana or Sena tree (Pterocarpus indicus).
 Picture taken in 2008.

A grand new project called Taiping Mall is being developed on this large tract of land behind the tree. And sadly this majestic angsana tree became the latest victim of the uncaring developers and authourities. Why can't they leave the tree alone and build around it just like many developed countries do to conserve trees that are revered by the local people. Or relocate the tree to another site where it can continue to grow in peace providing beauty and shade. This news story from Subang Jaya is a fine example all developers should follow.

 
Outline of the angsana tree against the hugh crane and blue fence 
of the Taiping Mall project along Jalan Tupai.

In early 2005, another magnificent angsana tree that once stood near the junction of Jalan Tupai and Lorong Tupai was felled for the sake of development (see news story here).

 The giant Angsana tree stump that once stood along Tupai Road

This particular angsana tree was believed to be at least 60 to 80 years old and beneath its shady canopy were several food stalls selling noodles and drinks especially for the morning crowd. It was a popular spot and the local Chinese fondly called it "Foot of The Big Tree".

This noodle shop is now located at the Taiping Hawker Centre

The angsana is a big tree with a round crown unlike the umbrella-shaped rain tree. Angsana has beautiful, big, single leaves compared to the small, compound leaves of the rain tree. Angsana tree has small, yellow and fragrant flowers while the rain tree bears small, white or pink flowers that look like a group of needles.

Umbrella-shaped raintree and the rounded canopy of the angsana


Samanea saman (syn. Albizia saman), (Photo:James J. Ludemann)  
Angsana by Francisco Manuel Blanco (O.S.A.)

Thus, the angsana or sena tree (Pterocarpus indicus) is a different species of trees compared to the rain tree (Samanea saman or Albizzia saman). The only thing that is common to both trees is that they belong to the same legume, pea or bean family of Fabaceae or Leguminoseae.

It is also incorrect to say that the rain trees there are called "golden rain trees" because I have not seen any rain tree in the Taiping Lake Gardens that is golden or yellow - all of them is green.

Golden Rain Tree or Yellow Rain Tree


A golden colored rain tree was first discovered in Singapore during the early 1950s as reported by Professor Joseph Arditti.  It is called the Golden Rain Tree or the Yellow Rain Tree and this golden or yellow form is due to genetically recessive gene.  Both refer to the same variety of Rain Tree.
  
" The difference in appearance is due to differences between young and old leaves.  Young leaves are apple green in color initially but as they mature their color changes first to yellow and then to golden.  During hot weather and dry periods the golden color appears to be more brilliant."  Maryland Nursery, Singapore

You can see many Golden or Yellow Rain Trees in Singapore because these unique trees are very popular in large gardens and roadsides landscaping there. But you won't find any of them in the Taiping Lake Gardens. The rain trees that surround the Taiping Lake Gardens are the common green form.



 This looks like a golden raintree but the colour is not as intense as
the golden raintree of Singapore. This tree is located beside the main gate
of KE School along Station Road, Taiping (photo taken 20 October 2012).
See how yellowish are the leaves compared to the greenish leaves
of the raintree in the background on the left.

Rain Trees In The Taiping Lake Gardens

Scientific or Binomial Name

The rain tree is a species of flowering tree in the legume, pea or bean family of Fabaceae or Leguminoseae.

There are two schools of thought regarding the preferred scientific or binomial name of the rain tree.

Scientists from ASEAN countries and the Pacific Islands refer to it as Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr. (reference ASEAN Tropical Plant Database) while those from South Asia call it Albizzia saman (Jacq.) Merr. (orth.var) (reference Wikipedia).

While Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr. and Albizzia saman (Jacq.) Merr. (orth.var) are now generally accepted by most people, the rain tree has been called by other obsolete names such as:

    Calliandra saman (Jacq.) Griseb.
    Enterolobium saman (Jacq.) Prain
    Feuilleea saman (Jacq.) Kuntze
    Inga cinerea Willd.
    Inga salutaris Kunth
    Inga saman (Jacq.) Willd.
    Mimosa pubifera Poir.
    Mimosa saman Jacq.
    Pithecellobium cinereum Benth.
    Pithecellobium saman (Jacq.) Benth.
    Pithecellobium saman var. saman (Jacq.) Benth.
    Pithecolobium saman (Jacq.) Benth.
    Zygia saman (Jacq.) A.Lyons

Taiping Lake Gardens Rain Trees in front of the jetty
(photo taken in Dec. 2008)


Same location but see the numbers of cars parked
have increased significantly (photo taken 21 Oct. 2012)
Rain trees hate cars parked over their delicate roots. 
Result - trees bear fewer leaves and not as green and lush as before.


Rain-tree cross section probably more than 20 years-old tree

Common Names


Its origin is in the North tropical regions of South America and its range extends from Mexico, south to Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. It has been widely introduced and naturalized in South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii.

Common local names in the Asean countries:

*  Philippines rain tree, akasya
*  Indonesia trembesi, kayudan, ki hujan
*  Malaysia hujan-hujan, pukul lima
*  Cambodia ‘âmpül barang’
*  Laos sa:m sa:
*  Thailand kampu chamchuri, chamcha
*  Vietnam me t[aa]y



Common English names include rain tree, saman, monkey pod, giant thibet, inga saman, cow tamarind, and East Indian walnut.

Common Malay names are pokok hujan-hujan and pokok pukul lima and these two names aptly described the rain trees.


 Do you know why they are called rain tree?


Even though the shape or silhouette of the rain tree is like an opened umbrella and generally remind you of rain, it is not how it gets its name. The name rain tree has been generally attributed to:

   •  The leaflets are light-sensitive and fold together on  rainy or cloudy days allowing rain to fall through the canopy to the ground below.
Thus, the grass is often much greener under a rain tree than the surrounding grass. 

 Leaflets fold during an afternoon shower

   • 
Being light-sensitive, the leaflets also fold together from dusk to dawn. Dusk at 5.00 pm (pukul lima)? Well, probably this was true during the old days. Japan Standard Time is set 9 hours ahead of GMT. Territories occupied by Japan during World War II, including Singapore and Malaya, adopted Japan Standard Time for the duration of their occupation, but reverted after Japan's surrender. We have changed the local time on several occasions and the latest one was  on 1 January 1982, when Peninsular Malaysia changed it's local time from Greenish Mean Time+7:30 to GMT+8:00 or UTC+8  i.e. 8 hours ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time .

Leaflets fold during rain and at about 7.15pm in the evening. 
Inset: opened leaflets during bright sunshine

      •  Nectaries on the leaf petioles excrete sugary juice that collects on the leaf surface. During a strong breeze, this sugary juice sometimes falls from the tree like rain. 

      •  A steady drizzle of honeydew is often created by  sap-sucking insects such as cicadas. 

      •  During heavy flowering, stamens can drop from the canopy like rain. 

Flowers pink and white, in dense subcapitate heads in corymbs,
2-5 together in axils of distal leaves.

=========================================

Oldest Rain Tree In The World

One of the oldest rain tree in the world was known as Samán del Guère located near Maracay, a city in north-central Venezuela. This giant rain tree was first described in 1799 by Alexander von Humboldt,  a Prussian geographer, naturalist and explorer.

 Samán del Guère, a true beauty as described in1799 by Alexander von Humboldt

Its umbrella-shaped crown had a circumference of 576 ft (about 180.8 m). The trunk measured 9 ft (about 2.8 m) in diameter. The tree was 60 ft (nearly 19 m) tall.

"Samán del Guère" now stood as a national monument of Venezuela.


See "Samán del Guère" on YouTube


View Larger Map

 A Small Seed 

A song discourses on how a small seed has to grow up before becoming a strong and healthy tree. Scenes taken at the Taiping Lake Gardens.

 Producer: Bodi Langka Ram Buddhist Temple - Ng Chuan Soon