29 September 2012

The Lipa Tree

Not many people know that Lipâ is named after a tree! Indigenous to the Philippines (that is, growing naturally here in our islands but can also be found in the wild in other countries) and I guess, growing profusely more in our area than in other locations nationwide, Lipa follows a long, pre-Hispanic Malay tradition of naming places after native plants that flourish in that locale. It is highly probable that Lipa grows wild, at least in the greater area that surrounds Taal Lake, since it is widely accepted but little known that the city originally began in the lakeshore of Taal, below what is now known as Mataas na Kahoy. But that's another story altogether...

Though it sounds romantic to learn about the origin of the city's name, most people including locals, have no love lost for this rather notorious tree. In English, it is called the Stinging Nettle Tree, belonging to a family of plants; some trees while others are shrubs, that releases a poisonous fluid when one comes into contact with the leaf's underside. It has small, fine hairs that will stick to one's skin and will start to make you itch and eventually lead to rashes and irritation that can last for several days!

Lipa is one of two Philippine Trees that I wrote about when I contributed articles to the recently-launched book Philippine Native Trees 101, which aims to inform people about the  richness and variety of our local flora, including unusual specimens like the infamous Lipa.


8 comments:

  1. wow this is good to know information about lipa,

    Thanks Lipa City

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  2. Dear Alex,

    Nice blog with good pictures !

    In Europe we have nettles, a smaller variety of the Lipa Tree. The leaves are great for soups or tea.
    But since you grow plenty of stuff, i would recommend to make some ferlizer with Lipa Leaves. It works wonders with nettles but i can't find anything about done with the Lipa Leaves, my guess it shall work as well or even better.

    HOW TO DO IT
    Collect some Lipa Leaves (attention doing this, gloves...)
    Chop the leaves small
    Put the leaves in a container that you can seal, fill it with rain water
    After 2 days it shall start make some foam
    It will take about 2 weeks to be ready, every few days give it a mix with a stick
    After 2 weeks, no more foam, VERY STINKY, brownisch color...
    Use it on the stem of plants diluted with water 1 to 10.

    I would be glad hear from result, but my guess is that is an excellent bio fertilizer...

    You can find more about this with google and nettles fertilizer...

    regards
    Pascal

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  3. hi i would like to ask where we can find the exact place of this tree?

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  4. Hi! Nice article! Can I ask why is Lipa city named after this plant even though there aren't any said plants growing around Lipa city?

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    Replies
    1. Lipa City's patron saint is San Sebastian with his statue crucified on a Lipa tree that can be found on the side of Lipa City cathedral. Actually, there are Lipa trees all over Lipa City and all other surrounding cities and barangays with Batangas province. They are removed from places where people frequently go because of its painful "sting".

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  5. napakakati ang dahon nyan, makintab pero sobrang kati parang may mga karayom

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  6. Where can I buy Lipa tree.I collect Philippine native trees.
    Pls kindly help me in procuring one.TY

    ReplyDelete