The Botanical Gardens of Penang

Malaysian national flower

entrance to the Botanical Gardens

My final days in Penang have been really hectic with so many tasks still feeling 'unfinished'.  I have spent all of my time here in Penang with so much work to do for WABA that I have had to try to cram in all of the 'extra curricular' stuff in small bits of time here and there.  Malaysia is a beautiful and fascinating country.  So much to see....

The large waxy flowers of cannon-ball tree

Canon-ball tree

'Mr Sureesh', my taxi driver, decided that I really needed to see the Botanical Gardens in Penang before I departed.  So after work on Tuesday, even though it was overcast and rainy, he drove me to the botanical park on the way home from the WABA office.  Since he was waiting for me, I of course didn't want to take the 2 hrs necessary to walk the entire grounds - but I did spend about 20 minutes walking around one 'loop' of paths.  Really beautiful (and mosquito -y!).  One very interesting specimen:This Couroupita guianensis tree has rather unusual flowers, they grow directly out of the main trunk, a condition termed as “cauliflory”. The large fleshy flowers last for weeks and exude a strong fragrance that attracts insects for pollination. The cannon-ball tree can grow up to 20 m tall. The species is deciduous and will shed all of its leaves during the dry season. The fruits are huge, brown in colour resembling cannon balls, hence its name. Within the fruit are many small seeds. The cannon-ball tree is a native of South America.
Next time I come to Penang ( and I do so hope that I can return some day), I plan to spend a full day at the gardens enjoying all it has to offer.