White Santan - Symbol of Christmas in the Tropics

White Santan - Symbol of Christmas

in the Tropics

Dr Abe V Rotor

A grove of white  santan blooms luxuriantly in the cold winds of Christmas coming all the way from far Siberia.  It's amihan season to Filipinos - harvesttime, kite flying, and yearend vacation. (Photos by the author)

 

White santan (Ixora chinensis) grows into a shrub, a small tree at most,

at San Vicente Botanical Garden (San Vicente, Ilocos Sur).

Dr Eduardo Quisumbing introduced me to this plant which bears clusters of umbellate inflorescence as Christmas approaches. Dr Quisumbing was my professor in botany and thesis critic way back in 1959 at Araneta Institute of Agriculture, the first private agricultural college in the country, now De La Salle University, Araneta campus.  

The old campus was plentiful with santan of various shade and hues from pure white to yellow to red.  It was a beautiful view of a landscape since santan makes an ideal hedge - natural or shaped - and grows wild with little or no care at all.  

But I loved most the white towering shrub reaching the size of a tree, Ixora chinensis which my mentor separated from a close species, I. coccinea. It is preference above all Ixoras about 500 different kinds.  Today there are a hundred-and-one cultivars of Ixora, thanks to horticulture and garden enthusiasts. 

In my research  I found several folkloric uses of Ixora. 

- In the Philippines, infusion of fresh flowers, drunk ad libitum, is said to be good for incipient tuberculosis and for hemorrhage.

- Malays use decoction of root after childbirth.

- In Indonesia, decoction of roots used for bronchial disorders; flower decoction used for amenorrhea and hypertension.

- Decoction used for urinary problems.

- In Vietnam, roots, stems, leaves, and flowers are used for irregular menses, high blood pressure, tuberculosis, hemoptysis, rheumatism, and acne.

- Studies on anti-tumor: In a modified tumor promotion test, complete inhibition of all kinds of tumors was exhibited by decoctions of flowers of I. coccinea and I. chinensis.

With increasing cases of cancer and other ailments the search for alternative medicine is carried out more vigorously, thanks to the pioneers and top proponents of alternative cure - Dr Quisumbing, Dr Arturo B Rotor, Dr Juan Flavier and Godofredo U. Stuart Jr., et al, and the institutions they represent.

I observe that santan, with many cultivars, is among the most popular ornamental plants to grow, perhaps next to croton or San Francisco. Both plants are compatible with most garden plants. They have natural repellant properties against mosquitoes and other destructive insects, and they add to the quaintness of a tropical garden year round - with white santan blooming in Christmas time. ~