Philippine Tree of the Month: Piris

Since the book launch of Philippine Native Tress 101, I've become conscious learning more about native trees in the farm. My staff have been extra generous in keeping me informed and one tree that I absolutely did not even mind nor notice before is what they call "Píris" (apparently, Garcinia vidalii), coincidentally flowering and fruiting now at this time of the year. It's a medium-sized tree that wildly flourishes in the cliffside, going down the river. Our staff, Díko gamely grabbed some fresh young leaves that richly smelled of citronella!

Apart from this tall specimen (left), there are scattered around young trees that are still in the flowering stage (below).

But more exciting are the mature seeds that are easily visible even from afar! The local birds are feasting on them day in and day out, presumably since local trees' fruits are the preferred avian diet of our native birds. In the next days, we'll figure a way to collect the fruits so we can germinate them and hopefully help build better awareness and availability of our beautiful native trees.