Bougainvillea: Year Round Ornamental Plant

 Bougainvillea: Year Round Ornamental Plant 

 

“The bougainvillea is the most extravagantly beautiful 

flowering plant in all of nature.” – Christopher Turner

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Red and white Bougainvillea lend quaintness to cottage living. 

Courtesy of Dr Cynthia Valencia.  San Vicente, Ilocos Sur. 

The bougainvillea is dubbed "flowering machine," it flowers throughout 

the year, bursting into full bloom in the entire summer. Bougainvillea 

in full bloom along the fence of Rojas-Lazo residence in San Vicente 

Ilocos Sur. 

Bougainvillea spectabilis in bloom across the fence of San Vicente Botanical 

Garden,  San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.  Photos taken by the author, January 15, 2023 

Bougainvillea is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the four o' clock family, Nyctaginaceae. It is native to eastern South America, found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina. Different authors accept from 4 to 22 species in the genus. The first species recorded in the Philippines was Bougainvillea spectabilis. The other species, B. glabra and B. peruviana were introduced much later. Grenada's national flower is the Bougainvillea.

Botanically speaking, the flowers of bougainvillea are not true flowers in the sense that they do not have petals and other floral parts typical of a true flower.  The colored petals are modified leaves, specialized to attract bees, butterflies - including humans - to pollinate and fertilize the tiny true flowers centrally located, which seldom develop seeds. Bougainvillea is mainly propagated by cuttings. 

By the way,  bougainvillea is named after a person. It was first discovered by the French botanist Philibert Commerson in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 1760s. The name Bougainvaillea was named after his friend sailor Louis de Bougainville. ~

Natural Science Books at the Living with Nature Center

Natural Science* Books 

at the Living with Nature Center

"Natural science will in time incorporate into itself the science of man, just as the science of man will incorporate into itself natural science: there will be one science." -  Karl Marx 

Dr Abe V Rotor

  

The subject of ecology is relatively new.  Ecology emerged as the pioneer in the field of biology in the twentieth century, breaking its impasse as just a chapter of biology.  Traditionally biology was about living things, their diversity and taxonomy, life cycles taking place in nature, like water cycle and organic-inorganic cycle.  It was the dawn of many fields like anthropology, phycology, entomology and paleontology.  Then in the seventies biology rose in importance as core subject of ecology and later, genetic engineering.  Many books like these shown below were printed with the state-of-the art of printing.  It was the golden age of books.  

 

Books are generally expensive and rare in certain subjects.  Even reprints are limited.  It is the computer that brought the world of knowledge into homes and individual users.  Today whole libraries and sets of encyclopedia are virtually in "the palm of the hand."  Though the computer brought books to its sunset, many people realize that knowledge still has its roots in books.  Books are the anchor of history, the

repository of knowledge. the keeper of tradition and values, imprimatur of human achievements.  And books are coming back.

 

"Books, books, books, but not a piece to read."  Adapted from the Mariner's Tale, "Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink."  It is indeed a big challenge to education and media.

"If spiritual science is to do the same for spirit that natural science has done for nature, it must investigate quite differently from the latter. It must find ways and means of penetrating into the sphere of the spiritual, a domain which cannot be perceived with outer physical senses nor apprehended with the intellect which is bound to the brain."

 -  Rudolf Steiner 

These are popular publications in the seventies and early eighties about the living world which I used in the academe as professor.  They supplement heavy readings of technical works, and are useful in outdoor lectures and demonstrations. One drawback though is that these are foreign books, and may not apply to local conditions.. 

 

These subjects (above), otherwise too "scientific" are within

 the grasp of general readers, and they are entertaining, too.

 

These two books - Life on Earth and The Wonders of Life on Earth - are large and heavy, printed on glossy paper in full colors and easy-to-read types and fonts.  They are among my precious collections. Now and then I go over their pages like in an armchair travelogue.  A number of photographs and illustrations have inspired me as a painter and muralist on the subject of nature, from endangered animals to landscapes.

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"Travel stories teach geography; insect stories lead the child into natural science; and so on. The teacher, in short, can use reading to introduce her pupils to the most varied subjects; and the moment they have been thus started, they can go on to any limit guided by the single passion for reading." - Maria Montessori 

*Natural science, as distinct from social science, is generally divided into two: physical science (physics, chemistry, geology, and the like) and biological science or simply biology (botany, zoology, entomology, phycology, and the like).  However,  integration of the two, and with social science is the trend today with expanding knowledge and application.

Rizal's Books and Memorabilia at the Living with Nature Center - In Celebration of the 125th Anniversary of Philippine Independence (June 12, 2023)

Rizal's Books and Memorabilia 

at the Living with Nature Center

In Celebration of the 125th Anniversary of Philippine 

Independence (June 12, 2023)

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 

 Antique box crafted with old Philippine coins and a rare 

reverse portrait of the national hero.  It contains memorabilia 

about the life of the national hero, such as his writings and

correspondences. 

 

Facsimiles of the original classical works of Rizal - Noli Me Tangere

(Touch Me Not) and its sequel El Filibusterismo - that spurred

Philippine Revolution and subsequent freedom from Spain,

thus ending an almost 400 years of colonial rule. Noli Me Tangere

is considered one of the best novels ever written in the ranks

of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

 

Posthumous portrait and the only portrait of Rizal painted by national artist Fernando Amorsolo years after the hero's death. Amorsolo based this painting on an early black and white photograph.

You still find copies of these books at the bookstore. Rizal is a 3-unit subject required in a number of courses in college. I taught Rizal at St Paul University in QC in the eighties for humanities and communication, as well as other social science courses.

 

A rare book about Rizal in old cloth bind. Right, a textbook in Philippine history written by one of the most respected Philippine historians from UP, Teodoro A Agoncillo, I had the chance to use the draft copy of the book when I took up the subject at the Lyceum of the Philippines in early 1960s under the late Professor Paulino M Capitulo.

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Left, Noli published worldwide by Penguin Books. I received an early copy of the book, compliment of my niece, Miss Elda Rotor who is a member of the editorial staff of Penguin Books based in New York. There are versions of Noli in Pilipino and English published locally, among them textbooks written by veteran historian Gregorio Zaide. These books are still used in secondary and tertiary schools.

 

  

Rizal's writings make several soft bound copies such as these shown above. One thing we are happy about is that Rizal's writings are preserved, unlike the works of Jose Burgos whose numerous writings are nowhere to be found. (Search Jose P Burgos in this Blog) ~  

Books are coming back! The Classics Simplified

Books are coming back!

The Classics Simplified 

Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dr Abe V Rotor

"Books last longer than the computer

in mind, heart and spirit." - avr

"Build a home library where knowledge grows into wisdom." - avr 

Sampaguita - National Flower of the Philippines.

Sampaguita  

National Flower of the Philippines.

Sampaguita is ever present on special occasions such as wedding and graduation. Even in ordinary times sampaguita is used in many ways, such as pendant on the rear mirror of a car or jeep, lei for Santo Niño, brooch, necklace, headdress, and the like.

Dr Abe V Rotor

It was a long walk and the hikers knew they were getting near their destination, a flower farm in San Luis, Pampanga in Central Luzon, Philippines. The air was filled with the singular fragrance of an immaculate white flower, the sampaguita. This flower is the pride of the Filipinos, it being their national flower. Its scientific name is Jasminium sambac.

The source of the fragrance sprawled before the hikers – a track garden very much like a hillside tea farm in China or in Sri Lanka. Sampaguita and tea have a common growth pattern. They are bushy shrubs, trimmed waist high to form a continuous hedge that makes harvesting easier. It also reminds one of vineyards in Europe and California where grapes are grown along the shape and contour of the land.

Sampaguita Farming

Each garden is the size of a typical rice paddy, a tenth of a hectare (or one mu in China). This is equivalent to 1,000 square meters or one-tenth of a hectare. Small as it may when compared with other farms, sampaguita is a high value crop. It requires initial high investment and takes around two years to become commercially productive. Production technology is rather new and the industry - from farming to garland making - is labor intensive. But the profit derived may be several times over that of an ordinary field crop. For a size of one to two mus, a family can comfortably live on the farm’s produce, and this is appropriate for small landholdings of fairly large families. The farm which the group of hikers visited (one of whom is the author) is just ideal for one family to manage.

“Sampaguita must be a profitable business,” we remarked. The lady gardener smiled and looked down in a gesture of humility while doing some mental computation. The lady is an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW)-turned-entrepreneur. She is Brigida S. Batac, a former school teacher who went to Saudi, then returned some years later. Today she heads the family farm.

Brigida S. Batac and sister, Cristina (2nd and 3rd, respectively) demonstrate to their guests the making of sampaguita leis and garlands

Sampaguita Garlands

The garland making area is the family porch. Brigida’s sister, Cristina, 27, demonstrated the technique of garland making. As the farming business includes "manufacturing", the value of the product is increased, hence the term, value added.

The lesson to be learned is that production, processing and marketing must be integrated under one roof, with the entrepreneur and members of his or her family having control over these aspects of business. Subsequently, the business becomes more self-reliant and viable.

Marketing Scheme

The main markets of sampaguita garlands are in Manila - Quiapo, Divisoria, Balintawak Caloocan, and Malolos in Bulacan. These centers serve as bagsakan (unloading and wholesale zone). From here, the sampaguita garlands are retailed in sidewalks, around churches and restaurants where parties are usually held. It is the sampaguita a little girl offers, gently tapping your car’s window after stepping on the brake at some busy intersection in the city. It is the sampaguita we wear on graduation day, when we are greeted at the airport, when we pray to Santo Niño. It is the sampaguita we simply hang in our sala (living room) or bedroom. Its sight and fragrance exudes a feeling of freshness and peace.

Sampaguita has made lasting impressions in the lives of Filipinos. It draws out romantic feelings like in this verse.

“A trophy, that I would rather miss;

for a sampaguita from a Miss

who gives it to me with a kiss.”
The sampaguita flowers are shy under the noonday sun but the scenario is a respite as if we were among the blooming hedges of some Italian- or French-type garden.

We tried our hands stringing sampaguita buds, forming the familiar leis and garlands. It is not an easy job. It takes a lot of skill, and speed to catch up with the freshness and aroma of the flowers, thus meeting the market schedules. Both sisters, Brigida and Cristina, were patient teachers, and soon enough the group began to form a production line of sorts, a prototype of the assembly line for mass production.

Selling sampaguita stand on the sidewalk.

Tapping the Potentials of an Enterprise

With the bright prospects of expanding the industry, we sat down with the family and talked about some aspects of the business. This is what we found out which may be useful to those who would like to put up a sampaguita business.

There is an economic farm size for every crop in a farm. A feasibility study is needed. Consult those who have larger farms.

Production technology must be improved to attain higher, and more uniform production volumes, while cutting down on costs. Work towards sustainable productivity.

Integrate the flower planting business with pendant flower production such as champaca (Michella alba), ilang-ilang (Cananga odorata), and camia, some of the pendant flowers in demand.

Introduce cut flower production for roses, gladiolus, daisies and even orchids for diversification. Planners call this horizontal integration. Blossoms of Heliconia (lobster’s claw or bird of paradise) have recently become popular in flower arrangement. From the results of pilot testing, select those flowers which are adaptable and profitable.

Eliminate the use of dangerous chemical pesticides. Replace them with botanical pest exterminators such as pyrethrum and rotenone which are biodegradable. Greenhouse cultivation is too sophisticated and expensive for the average farm. But there are makeshift plastic greenhouses using Japanese and Chinese models. Chlorinated hydrocarbon and phosphatic compounds, chemical pesticides which act as systemic poisons, are hazardous to the gardener and the seller alike, through poison inhalation and skin contact.

There is need to expand research into the many uses of sampaguita. There are a number of medicinal uses of sampaguita. In Malaysia, women soak the flowers in water for washing their faces. In China the flowers are used to give added aroma to tea. The flowers are applied as poultice, or medicated mass, covering to the breasts of women to reduce their secretion of milk. A paste compounded with the roots of Acacia is applied to relieve headache. The leaves are used as poultice and spread over sores or other lesions.

The production of sampaguita for perfumes, car fresheners or room deodorizers is another challenge for cottage industrialists. Enterprise and Cooperative

The profitability of an enterprise for a family is one thing, but the collective success of a community of families is another.

While it is true that there are individually successful entrepreneurs, it is essential that this success be duplicated. Hence, there is need to organize small enterprises such as a cooperative to enable them to compete in the bigger market. Economies of scale dictates that big and organized enterprises survive where unorganized and small businesses may not. And this is the reason why multinational businesses dominate the markets, forcing small ones to fold up.

Small is Beautiful

We have no biases against big business. But we have learned from experience how difficult it is to manage a big one. As gleamed from EC Schumacher’s book, Small is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered, he pointed out that progress has a limit, and that bigness alone is not a guarantee of dominance and stability. Small enterprises are more resilient in weathering socio-economic storms, which explains the book’s title. This award-winning book won the author the title, “Hero for the Planet Earth,” given by Time Magazine. Small farm businesses tend to be more environment friendly, if they are conscious of sustainable productivity concept.

The last thought that came was to hope that the success of these model enterprises could be translated into better health and nutrition of the people. After all, what justifications can a state give for having a good GNP (Gross National Product) but poor HDI (Human Development Index)?

GNP, HDI and GNH

The Gross National Product can be raised to as much 10 percent, a very high estimate for the Philippines. (Our projection is five percent this year, compared to Vietnam’s seven percent.) But what equally matters is that increasing or having a desirable GNP should be accompanied by just as desirable Human Development Index, and lately Gross National Happiness (GNH) which is being pioneered by Nepal as a measure of national progress.

HDI is measured in terms of education, health, employment, and literacy of the people, including rates of mortality, morbidity and malnutrition of infants and children. Therefore, if the aggregate rates of return for services and manufacturing and agriculture are high, then there would be less poor people, and the standard of living improved.

Having said goodbye to the Brigida family, we wished them that their efforts continue to serve as a catalyst in the development of their community and make their barangay a microcosm of a progressive and happy nation. ~

Rizal as Zoologist

                                                  Rizal as Zoologist 

Dr Abe V Rotor

As a zoologist, Rizal discovered living organisms unnamed in his time, such as a flying (gliding) lizard (Draco Rizali), Harlequin Tree Frog (Racophorus Rizali), among others, named after him. 

            

Acknowledgement: Internet