Flower of Paradise, also known as Caballero and Peacock Flower ( San Vicente Botanical Garden 12)

San Vicente Botanical Garden 12:

Flower of Paradise 

Bulaklak ng Paraiso - Caesalpinia pulcherrima Linn

(also known as Caballero and Peacock Flower)

Photos and Verse by Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Caballero - horseman, cavalier, in name,

 peacock's flair and Paradise symbol,

 behind a fence at sunset in yellow flame,

all glory is yours after the Fall.

Common names of Peacock Flower or Bulaklak ng Paraiso - Caesalpinia pulcherrima Linn include Poinciana, Peacock Flower, Red Bird of Paradise, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Poinciana, Pride of Barbados. The plant is native to the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. It is an erect, smooth shrub or small tree, 1.5 to 5 meters high. Branches are armed with a few scattered spines. After flowering, the fruits appear which are pod-like. When they ripen, the pods split open and disperse the small seeds. The seeds contain tannic acid that is poisonous and can result in gastrointestinal discomfort if ingested. 

On the other hand, the plant has beneficial properties owing to its anti-oxidant and anti-microbial properties as reported by researchers of the University of the Philippines and published in a scientific journal. Here is the abstract of the study. [ISSN 0975-413X CODEN (USA): PCHHAX Der Pharma Chemica, 2016, 

8(17):99-104 (http://derpharmachemica.com/archive.html) 99] (Internet)

Antioxidant Activity and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of the Crude Methanolic Extract of Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Swartz 

Angelina A. Atienza1*, Erna C. Arollado2,3, Richelle Ann M. Manalo3 , Leslie B. Tomagan3 and Gerwin Louis T. Dela Torre3 1Department of Basic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of the Philippines - Manila, Philippines 2Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of the Philippines – Manila, Philippines 3 Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences – National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines- Manila, Philippines 

________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to determine the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the leaves, flowers and seeds of Caesalpinia pulcherrima L.(Swartz) methanolic extracts. The methanolic extracts were subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening, minimum inhibitory concentration (125, 250, 500 and 1000 µg/mL) and antioxidant activity by 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl assay (DPPH, 50, 100, 250, 400 and 800 µg/mL). All the extracts showed potent antioxidant activity at 800 µg/mL concentrations comparable to the ascorbic acid standard (p values: leaves=0.088, flowers=0.102, seeds=0.056). For the antimicrobial activity, the leaf extracts showed inhibition against all the selected microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aureginosa, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus mutans, Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans, at 1000 µg/mL. These activities can be attributed to the phytochemicals present in the extracts including carbohydrates, reducing sugars, flavonoids, phenols, tannins, alkaloids and triterpenoids. In conclusion, all the C. pulcherrima plant parts used possess antioxidant activity while the leaves have potent antimicrobial activity against the selected microorganisms. These results can be used to utilize this plant as a potential source of new antioxidant compounds and antimicrobial agents for several infectious diseases, particularly in endodontic infections where microorganisms such as C. albicans and E. faecalisare dominant pathogens.~

Grow native onion leek at home

           Grow native onion leek at home

                                             Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Native onion grown in pot provides ready fresh onion leek for a number of recipes like fried eggs, soup, omelet, kilawin, porridge (lugaw), arroz caldo.

This is one way to encourage kids to have a daily supplement of vegetables. Vary the use of leek in their diet. Onion leek is rich in vitamin K, A, C and B6, manganese, folate, iron, fiber, magnesium, molybdenum, copper, calcium, and potassium. It also contains thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin, and antibiotic substances like Allicin and Alliin - from Allium, the genus of onion (A. cepa), garlic (A. sativum), kutchay (A tuberosum), and the original leek (A. ampeloprasum). Leeks generally have also high calorie value, and fair amounts of protein and fat. It is no wonder onion is the most important vegetable 

in  the world.

 

Spouting bulb of shallot or bulb variety (Red Creole). Gather only what you need for the moment using scissor. Don't cut the entire stem - only mature leaves.

Grow leek where there is sufficient sunlight, preferably on an elevated place. It's easy to grow leek from shallot (Sibuyas Tagalog) and from bulb onions (Granex or Creole). Staggered planting assures continuous supply of leek for the family - and for neighbors too.

A pot of onion leek makes a unique gift to friends who love to cook, those in their senior years, and those convalescing. Don't forget to add a little ribbon and a personal message. Make this as project in school and community. ~

Don’t stay in bed; walk!

Writing a column for the newspaper
Confidentially Doctor

Don’t stay in bed; walk!

Arturo B. Rotor, MD

Do you remember not too long ago, how after a routine removal of a chronic appendicitis your surgeon kept you in bed for a week or so? The idea was to have the operative wound heal completely; a weak scar would break with the first attempt to stretch out the leg muscles.

That was the best medical opinion at that time and it was followed by surgeons, obstetrician, and cardiologist. The typhoid patient stayed in bed for weeks, “to prevent a relapse,” and as for heart disease, some patients were told to resign themselves to being bed patients for the rest of their lives.

It took doctors a long time to find out that the dangers of keeping a patient in bed was often more serious than disease itself. Asher expressed the new philosophy in strong words:

“Look at the patient lying in the bed. What a pathetic picture he makes. The blood clotting in his veins, the lime draining from his bones, the scybala stacking up in his colon, the flesh rotting in his seat, the urine leaking from his distended bladder, and the spirit evaporating from his soul.”

Many factors contributed to this changed outlook. Firstly, the development of antibiotics necessitated a revision of methods of treatment. The fever of pneumonia could be brought down in 48 hours, gangrenous legs that formerly would be amputated could be saved, infected wounds that used to keep patients in bed could be cleared up in a week.

Gradually, the surgeons observed certain strange developments in their patients for whom they had prescribed prolonged bed rest. Often, after a brilliant operation, the patients would develop blood clots along their legs or lungs. Some persons could not even be kept in bed for more than a week or two for their muscles became flabby, or worse, they developed deep ulcers where their back pressed on their beds.

Newer methods of studying the heart and lungs also made the doctors realize how wrong some of their concepts were. It has been shown for example that when you are lying down, your heart does 25 percent more work than when you are sitting up. After major surgery the breathing capacity of the lungs is reduced by more than two thirds; you have to get up to breathe normally.

The modern physician therefore does the opposite of his predecessor. Instead of telling the patient to stay in bed, he tells him to go take a walk. In many cases, the effect on the patient’s morale is nothing short of miraculous. His face lights up, his appetite returns, he takes a long step towards convalescence. Typically, he expresses his regained confidence in one revealing sentence:

“Thank heavens; I can go to the bathroom again.”

Dr. Arturo B. Rotor Memorial Lecture, 11th Biennial Convention, September 6, 2008
Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

Big Bang – the Origin of Life

                                       Big Bang – the Origin of Life

Dr Abe V Rotor

Big Bang (19" x 23") painting by the author 2012

Once upon a distant past, a proto mass

     of converging gases, too huge

to hold on in space exploded -

     the Big Bang like a centrifuge.

Born the universe and galaxies

     in countless numbers expanding,

countless more, orphans in space,

     our known world but a sibling.

Were this true - life so little do we know

     today from its very spawn;

move over Oparin, move over Darwin,

     theories past and our own.  ~

Take me for a moment away from you, Mother Earth,

Take me for a moment away from you,
Mother Earth

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Aerial Views enroute Manila to Iloilo.  Photos by the author. 

Take me for a moment away from you, Mother Earth,
higher than the highest mountain, the tallest building,
that I may view life whole and solid and unabridged
in a perspective beyond details, and without stirring:

I see clouds shrouding you from the sun and blue sky,

in cumulus like giant mushroom on the horizon, rising,

and released into nimbus, becoming heavy, falling as rain

in the accompaniment of wind, thunder and lightning.

I see rivers swell and lakes fill to the brim in monsoon,

flooding fields and pasture, spilling through the valley,

meandering, roaring over waterfalls and boulders,

resting in swamps and estuaries, then flowing to sea.

I see farmers in the field, women and children, too,

and work animals pulling the plow and the harrow;

I hear singing and laughter and joyous conversation,

barking of dogs, cackling of fowls trailing the furrow.

I see harvesters gather the golden grains by hand;

drying shocks in the sun, and building haystacks;

I see flocks of pigeon and native chicken gleaning,

women and children, the sun setting on their backs.

I see the fields scorched, a smoke here and there -

bush fire! when the grass dries up bursts into flame

spreading all over, burning anything on its path -

what a waste! but it is nature's work and game.

I see poor harvest, good harvest, where and why,

crops early or late, and fields never planted at all;

I see farming a way of life, farming as a business,

and farm life in all seasons, happiness is its goal.

I see children flying kites of various makes and colors,

beside them grownups cheering, coaching, flying

their own kites too, oh, they have not forgotten

the art of their childhood, so do I, reminiscing.

I see children playing patintero, trompo and sipa,

games of old folks when they too, were children;

games of beetles and spiders as gladiators;

palo de sebo and pabitin cannot be forgotten.

I see tourists, I see balikbayan, I see old and young;

familiar and unfamiliar faces, sweet, shy, and bold;

I see children going to school, housewives to market,

people of all walks of life, always on the move.

I see the hills and mountains, to me they're the same,

but where have the forests gone, the pasture?

I see the rivers, the lakes and ponds old as they are,

I have always loved all of these as I love nature.

I have seen enough, let me return, Mother Earth,
to my home, sweet home, on the farm, to my family;
and tell them of what I've seen in my short sojourn;
down below I saw my friends, my neighbors, and me. ~

The Heart of a Living Rock

               The Heart of a Living Rock

Dr Abe V Rotor

Batungan,a rock formation in Mandaon, Masbate.

I entered the heart of this living rock,

     hollow and eerie;

bats and strange creatures lurk in the dark;

     it's a scary story.

Years after I visited this scene once more;

     and stayed longer;

I saw shadows moving in the rock's core;

     it's a story to wonder.

It speaks of an allegory and history

     where man was born;

when man lived a simple life and was free,

     happy and at home. ~

Ode to a Stream on the Wall

Ode to a Stream on the Wall

Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor


Markus 1 (in stroller), with friends at home in Lagro QC, 2016

Flow gently, sweetly with the breeze
and sing with the little children;
whisper with the rocks and trees,
make every creature their friend.

Sing the songs of the forest deities,
the cheerful crickets and birds,
lullaby of Mozart, chorus of Liszt:
"Grow and be happy,” they urge. ~

Nature takes shape in plants - an art exercise for children (San Vicente Botanical Garden 11)

 San Vicente Botanical Garden 11:

Nature takes shape in plants - an art exercise for children

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

We feel a sense of awe and wonder when we look closely at the natural world.  The natural world has developed patterns and forms which are marvels of efficiency and beauty such as in the aerodynamics of the wings of birds or in the hexagonal compartments of honeycombs. 

This exercise serves as guide for on-the-spot drawing and painting in a garden, with an art instructor. Draw with pastel on Oslo paper, or paint with water-based acrylic paints on canvas or board.

The white immaculate flower of Sampaguita or Jasmine appears like a star, and in fact a bunch of stars as the buds open in succession to form a cluster.  

Closeup of the inflorescence of a sedge

Lobster's Claw inflorescence: pattern of bilateral symmetry, opposite alternation, and  color harmony. 

 

Maguey and Bromeliad represent two forms of radial symmetry, one is spherical for protection and defense (maguey); the other is funnel-like for function.  The crown serves a funnel to collect rain and dew. 

 

 Inflorescences of lily (spherical) and ornamental pineapple ( radially  symmetrical) are colorful to attract insect pollinators.  

The puff-like flowers of makahiya or Mimosa attract insects mainly bees. The leaves fold when touched making the flowers all the more prominent  which enhances pollination.  

 

The aster-like flowers of wild sunflower or Tithonia jot out of the thicket among weeds breaking the monotony of the place.

The flowers of Lantana or bangbangsit (Ilk) make a beautiful carpet of various colors, shades and hues, the product of multiple cross breeding of different varieties. This is a good exercise on color combination.

Flower clusters of dwarf Milflores or Santan outnumber the leaves but are short-lived. Santan comes in various colors, popularly red, yellow, orange and white varieties. Examine the four-petalled individual flowers.  

                 

 

African Oil Palm or Elaeis guineensis elegantly stands on manicured ground. Study the symmetry of the palm and the surrounding plants at its base. Pioneering Ivy  bravely clings on a rock wall, and gardener's care, it will spread and transform the wall into green.  

Nature's art in flowers applying the three shapes in various combinations through radial symmetry, bilateral symmetry, spiral, parallel and alternate arrangements. Nature's beauty is also expressed through asymmetry (no specific symmetry). ~

Don't Cut the Trees, Don't 2: Trees - Nature's Gift to Man

Don't Cut the Trees, Don't 2

Trees - Nature's Gift to Man

Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

Poem by Anna Christina Rotor-Sta. Maria

  

"Don't cut the trees, don't!

Make a stairway across;

Save he clouds that fill the font,

      We have had enough, the Cross." 

Don't Cut the Trees, Don't 2 in acrylic (36"x48") 2021 by AVRotor. Painting on display

at Living with Nature (San Vicente, Botanical Garden), San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Trees - Nature's Gift to Man*

We grow up with trees.

We want them to grow big;

we want them to be around us; 

to give us shade in which we play;

to give us strong trunk and branches

on which we climb and swing and laugh;

to give us fruits which make us full,

healthy and strong;

medicine to make us well; 

wood tat keeps our body warm,

cooks our food;

leaves to keep our air clean

and to whisper and sing 

and dance with the breeze;

and above all,

to give us aesthetic beauty

through which we feel

how lucky we are alive.

How irrational would it be to kill a tree,

even if we reason out that we need its wood,

its bark, its roots, its flowers and fruits and seeds,

to keep us alive!

It is paradox 

that for us to survive and progress,

we kill the host of life - 

life of birds that build their nest on its branches,

passersby who find respite

from the beating sun,

a myriad of small life forms

from insects to lizards

that find a home

and harbor on its roots and crown.

What a paradox

if we kill the tree that gives us oxygen

that brings down the cloud as rain,

that keeps the environment cool, clean and green

to kill a friend,

a companion and a guardian,

the link of our earth and sun,

God and His Son. ~  

* From a speech of Anna Christina Rotor-Sta. Maria,

then 16 years old at School of Saint Anthony QC, 1999

Drynaria*, trees would be bare without you;

You hang on their trunk and lanky limbs, too;

Deep in your bosom some little ponds lie,

Oasis to fish, frog and dragonfly.

*Aerial fern 

It is paradox 

that for us to survive and progress,

we kill the host of life - 

life of birds that build their nest on its branches,

passersby who find respite

from the beating sun,

a myriad of small life forms

from insects to lizards

that find a home

and harbor on its roots and crown. 

- Anna ~

A Naturalist's World of Paintings (A Visit to an Art Gallery Part 5)

A Naturalist's World in Paintings

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

Drynaria Fern

Two kinds of leaves have you to catch the sun,
rain and organic matter;
When in summer time, one dies into cap and pan
to give life to the other.

    Vortex

Beware of the beautiful with fangs of fire;

like the eye of a storm and a woman's ire ~

A Parthenon of Trees, Temple of Nature

The Parthenon of Greece is but an imitation,
false pride of claiming God's Creation.


Ripples of Rainbow

Clear as the rainbow in the sky,
its image on the pond a far cry.


Transition of Life

Land dies into a pond, pond into land,
in seres, one after another;
living mass into organic matter over time.
death to living in this order.


Milton's Query

If Paradise was lost because of man's disobedience,
was it regained in his absence? 

Lahar Flow

Fiery breathe of the angry earth

far from the comfort by the hearth,

wait 'til it settles down with time

to  become tame and sublime.

Spring on the meadow

 

Mist into dewdrops like beads of pearl, 

cling on grass before the sun is up, 

else vanish in the air and lost forever,

come and drink with my little cup. ~

The World in the Hadal Deep

The World in the Hadal Deep 

Painting by Dr Abe V Rotor

Hadal Deep in acrylic, twin paintings depicting life at the deepest bottom

 of the sea in Marianas Trench and Philippine Deep, by AVRotor 2021

The hadal zone is full of life, seat of rich biodiversity, real and imagined, a world of Jules Verne*, and Jacques-Yves Cousteau**, novelist and scientist, respectively.

The hadal deep is beyond reach of the sun, the prime mover of life through photosynthesis as we know, but here the life-giving process is chemosynthesis.***

The hadal deep, thinnest layer of the earth's crust, sits on the Ring of Fire studded with submarine volcanos and vents that continuously emit heat, gases, lava and other debris needed in chemosynthesis.

The hadal deep, is self-sustaining, self-generating, like any ecological system we know; it forms a biome - aggrupation of ecosystems, likened to our forests and coral reefs. 

The hadal deep biome, the least understood of the biomes we know, operates on the principles of energy flow governing food chains, food web, ecological pyramid, and other forms of inter-relationships. 

The hadal deep settled down after the earth's turbulent geologic past, although still dependent on continental drift, tectonic movement, and other phenomena,   

The hadal deep, to the imagination of the enlightened, is a paradise in its own kind, a refuge from the busy world, where in darkness blooms a unique, beautiful scenery as shown in this painting. ~

• The hadal zone, also known as the hadopelagic zone, is the deepest region of the ocean, lying within oceanic trenches. The hadal zone is found from a depth of around 6,000 to 11,000 meters, and exists in long but narrow topographic V-shaped depressions. Wikipedia

• Dr AV Rotor is a former professor of Marine Ecology at the graduate schools of UST and DLSU-D 

*   Fiction writer, among his futuristic novels is Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.

** Jacques-Yves Cousteau, AC was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water.

***Chemosynthesis is a process by which food (glucose) is made by bacteria using chemicals as the energy source, rather than sunlight. Chemosynthesis occurs around hydrothermal vents and methane seeps in the deep sea where sunlight is absent.

Post-Halloween Impressions

Post-Halloween Impressions 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Remnants of candles offered on-site the day after All Souls Day 2021

Halloween is over, 

but memories in the heart

and soul live forever,

 after death thou us part. 

Candle remnants speak

of the departed silently  

reliving the bereaved 

with sweet memory.~

Drip, drip, drip on a tomb, each a prayer of remembering.

Where have all the salmon gone? We might as well ask now.

Where have all the salmon gone? 

We might as well ask now.

Genetically Modified salmon could escape from farms and irreversibly destroy wild salmon populations and ultimately the ecosystem.

A First for Fish: Genetically Modified Salmon
Reprint by Catherine Zuckerman
National Geographic, January 2015


Love them or hate them, genetically modified foods are making their way into grocery stores.

Soybeans and corn have been for sale in the US since the 1990s. Now if the FDA gives the green light, the first GM animal, a farmed fish known as AquAdvantage salmon, could one day join the ranks.

Developed by Canadian scientists, the fish (photo) is an Atlantic salmon with two tweaks of its DNA: a growth-hormone gene from the large king salmon and genetic material from the eel-like ocean pout, to keep that growth hormone activated. The fish which is female and sterile, should reach maximum size quickly in the land-based tanks where it could be raised.

To keep feed a hungry planet, the GM technology could be used in other species, says spokesman Dave Conley: "Many of the benefits have been downplayed or ignored."

Still, the company was fined for environmental violations, and critics worry the fish could escape into the wild and create new problems. The FDA has yet to approve it for human consumption. If allowed, says Ocean Conservancy chief scientist George H Leonard, "it's imperative to be labelled, so consumers can vote with their wallet."

AquaBounty salmon is the first genetically modified food animal 

to be approved for sale in Canada. (AquaBounty)

I mourn for the inevitable fate of the beloved wild salmon

Dr Abe V Rotor

Sockeyed salmon on the run to spawn upstream.

David and Goliath, native and GM types in the wild, won't end up with the biblical ending; the smaller salmon won't stand any chance in competing for food, territory and mate, in fact in all aspects of competition in nature.

GM salmons will consume more - preys and other food sources - to mature earlier and bigger, armed with planned voraciousness, unwittingly limiting supply for their native counterparts, thinning the latter's population.

It is not just simple one-on-one competition; it is overall and interconnected displacement of members in the food chain, cutting links; worse, the food web is disrupted as chains are disturbed, destroying the integrity of the food web, and may collapse pulling down the local ecosystem.

Why the change in feeding habits? GM salmon carries genetic materials of two unrelated species of fish with different eating habits rolled into one - a heretofore salmon feeding, eating almost anything, small and big, live or dead, freely or covertly or savagely, often in quantities more than it needs called luxury feeding, a laboratory induced characteristic to gain Goliath size in a short time.

GM salmon invade and dominate, native salmon population narrows down, soon the overall biological diversity of streams and rivers and lakes, in fact even the ocean since salmons travel far and wide into the open sea before returning to their place of birth - exacerbated by unabated pollution, infrastructures like dam impeding free movement, over and illegal fishing notwithstanding.

Why GM salmon in the first place? Short term economic advantage to feed an exploding human population and meet virtually endless affluent living. Corporate dominance, cartel in the supply GM stock and methodology of production, making GM salmon growers down the line, captive of the "package" they themselves cannot provide except to grow the fish commercially.

Through corporate linkage with the exclusive supplier can GM producers operate, in the like of Bt Corn which is unprofitable to plant the F2 harvest in the hands of the farmer; the GM female salmon is made sterile, in the same way hybrid seeds carry suicide gene, and that hybrid vigor declines in the succeeding generations, an ethico-moral issue worldwide, on patenting life and depriving the small man of his right and need.

Fishing as sport loses its essence, it is like fishing in a fishpond. The thrill dies with the GM salmon et al. In the first place, has the GM salmon lost its homing instinct? Would it rather join its half-brother eel fish living freely in the ocean? Or would the GM salmon rather stay put in its borrowed spawning ground - rivers and lakes? How about the GM-contaminated wild type, now a GM-native hybrid. Has it lost its homing instinct, or its adventurous lifestyle?

How fast will GM contamination spoil natural salmon gene pools; the answer is disturbing as egg fertilization occurs in open water, where the GM sperm fertilizes the native salmon egg, by the millions, nay billions, and here the GM female produces only sterile eggs; which means a single GM salmon male can spoil a whole stream in a short time of GM2 degenerate salmon, like BtCorn polluting whole fields of corn sans its intended resistance - both cases sowing fear, in reality and uncertainty, as to the consequences on humans and the environment.

It might be the Waterloo of the natural salmon - symbol of pride, culture and values, barometer of pristine environment, doyen of Ichthyology, iconic specimen of natural history; I fear and lament, it might be gone forever, because genetic pollution is permanent, and that it spreads out indefinitely to contaminate the last member of the genetically related species.


Community fishing, a favorite Canadian sport; lodging house for guests in Lac Du Bonnet where the author spent weekends fishing.
Many a weekend I spent fishing in Lac Du Bonnet, Winnipeg River and Red River in pre-GMO era, when the adventure of youth was free of threats of modern technology, but today, in postmodern era, I can only go back to cherish sweet memories in archive - and holding hope for the brighter side of Homo sapiens to examine sustainability for the sake of future generations and our living world. ~



Salmon farming in floating cages and fish pens.

Acknowledgement: Internet photos