The Arboretum - San Vicente Botanical Garden

The Arboretum*

 San Vicente Botanical Garden

Microcosm of a Tropical Forest

Dr Abe V Rotor 

This towering native mango is more than four generations old.  It dominates several heritage trees which include talisay (Terminalia catappa), caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito), and macopa (Eugenia jambalana), and other upcoming heritage trees in the arboretum. On its limbs and branches hang lianas and epiphytes like rosary bead (Abrus precatorius), philodendron, ferns, bromeliads, mosses and lichens.  The tree in itself is an ecosystem, complete in biodiversity and dynamic balance season after season in a state of homeostasis.   

  

A grove of heritage trees makes a fort-like wall against strong wind, 

flood and erosion - and irritating noise. (Trees are excellent buffers 

of sound.)  It is the home of arboreal animals like gecko lizard, 

bats, tree frogs, sparrows, wild honeybees, moths and butterflies, 

other arthropods notwithstanding.  The trees also serve as seasonal

 host to migrating birds like tarat, panal and perperocka, and 

occasionally martinez, black crow and kingfisher, and hawk. 

Heritage palm trees - anahaw (Livistona rotundifolia) and betel nut (Areca catechu) - rise as emergents through the canopy of the arboretum.  They are the abode of bats, resting during the day 

 under their drooping broad leaves - a perfect base for their 

nocturnal habit.

 

University of Northern Philippines students tour the arboretum

 for their outdoor research and extension studies.

   

On-the-spot painting contest under the trees is a rare experience of children from different schools of the Municipality of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, in celebration of Earth Day last April 22, 2023, sponsored by LGU 

and the Living with Nature Center.  

    

 My grandchildren - Mateo, Mackie and Markus - enjoy their summer 

vacation in the arboretum, a different kind of adventure to the 

young city-bred generation. 

 

A flimsy canopy of treetops allows sunlight to penetrate

 and nourish the small trees, shrubs and ground plants. 

This explains the dense vegetation of rainforests. The 

deciduous nature of most tropical trees, that is, seasonal 

shedding of leaves, enhances this phenomenon. 

 

Clearing in between trees is maintained regularly for outdoor

 workshops and study tours for house guests and study groups. 

Trees are robust and green throughout the year, and are most noticeable in the dry season, thus trees are the refuge of many organisms, from birds to reptiles - and even fish and amphibians - when the surrounding fields and ponds are virtually dry. 

Trees give off oxygen and capture carbon dioxide and other gases. 

They filter the direct rays and heat of the sun, dusts, spores, and radiation. Breeze, mist and dew keep temperature and humidity stable.
Music of nature - chirping of birds, shrill of cicada, fiddling of crickets, rustling of leaves, bass of toads and frogs - all these constitute a soothing and harmonious symphony.  Mozart's Effect must have originated in such ambiance, so with Beethoven's famous symphony,  Brahms's Lullaby and Grieg's Prelude to Morning. 

The Parthenon of Greece must have its origin from the imagination 

of our ancestors who saw the beauty and grace of standing trees reaching for the sky. Nature is indeed the greatest architect, and 

man is but her student.

The built-in knots, twists and crevices on trees are natural homes of lizards, bees, ants, birds, and the like. They also serve as rivulets and waterholes that catch and store rain and dew, serving as arboreal pond for dragonfly naiads, tadpoles, and even certain species of fish. Shown here are macopa (Eugenia jambalana) and palomaria trees (Callophyllum inophyllum), which are among the heritage trees in the arboretum.  

*An arboretum (plural: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed of trees and a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arboreta are in botanical gardens as living collections of woody plants and is intended at least in part for scientific study.

In Latin, an arboretum is a place planted with trees, not necessarily in this specific sense, and "arboretum" as an English word is first recorded used by John Claudius Loudon in 1833 in The Gardener's Magazine, but the concept was already long-established by then. Wikipedia

San Vicente Botanical Garden

Partial List of plants in their common and scientific names 

and family to which each plant species or variety belongs. 

Not alphabetically arranged and classified as to type of 

growth and other botanical characteristics, June 12, 2023

Dr Abe V Rotor

1.  Achiote or Annatto – Bixa orellana - Bixaceae

2.     Alagaw – Premna odorata - Lamiaceae

3.     Anahao -  Saribus rotundifolius - Caryophyllaceae

4.     Apatot – Morinda littoralis/citrifolia - Rubiaceae

5.     Arios – Podocarpus costalis - Gymnospermae

6.     Balete - Ficus benjamina - Moraceae

7.     Bird’s Nest fern – Asplenium nidus - Aspleniaceae

8.     Bougainvillea – Bougainvillea spectabilis Nyctaginaceae

9.     Bromeliad – Portea   spp - Bromeliaceae

10. Caballero plant – Caesalpinia pulcherrima - Fabaceae

11. Caimito – Crysophyllum cainito - Sapotaceeae    

12. Calamansi – Citrus macrocarpa - Rutaceae

13. Chico – Achras (Sapodilla) zapota - Sapotaceae

14. Chinese Bamboo – Bambusa multiplex - Poaceae

15. Coconut – Cocos nucifera - Arecaceae

16. Creeping Fig – Ficus pumila - Moraceae 

17. Cyperus – C. papyrus Cyperaceae

18. Dalandan – Citrus decumana - Rutaceae

19.  Duhat – Syzygium cumini – Myrtaceae

20.  False Bird of Paradise – Heliconia psittacorum – Heliconiaceae

21. Giant Bamboo – Dedrocalamus giganteus - Poaceae

22. Giant Thorny Bamboo – Bambusa bambos Poaceae

23. Aplas - Ficus hawili - Moraceae

24. Kalachuchi – Plumeria rubra/ P alba   Apocynaceae

25. Ilang-ilang – Cananga odorata - Annonaceae

26. Makopa – Eugenia jambalana - Myrtaceae

27.  Mayana - Coleus blumei - Lamiaceae

28.  Red Anthurium – A. andraeanum - Araceae   

29.  Sanggumay – Dendrobium anosmum Orchidaceae

30.  Bromeliad – Guzmania spp. Bromeliaceae

31.  Gumamela – Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Malvaceae

32.  Maguey – Agave cantala – Asparagaceae (sub-F Agavoideae)

33.    Mahogany - Swietinia macrophylla - Meliaceae

34. Strangler’s Fig (balete) Ficus benjamina - Moraceae

35. Molave – Vitex parviflora  - Verbenaceae

36. Narra – Pterocarpus indicus - Dipterocarpaceae

37. White Lauan – Shorea contorta - Dipterocarpaceae

38. Bitaog - Calophyllum inophyllum– Calophyllaceae

39.   Bikal Bamboo – Schizostachyum dielsianum - Poaceae

40.   Staghorn Fern – Platycerium bifurcatum - Polypodiaceae

41. Oak fern – Gymnocarpium dryopteris - Cystopteridaceae

42. Balimbing – Averrhoa bilimbi -Oxalidaceae  

43.   Tubang Bakod – Jatropha curcas - Euphorbiaceae

44. Jatropha (coral plant) – Jatropha podagrica/multifida - Euphorbiaceae

45. Castor bean – Ricinus communis - Euphorbiacae  

46. Calamansi – Citrus microcarpa - Rutaceae

47. Sampalok – Tamarindus indica – Ceasalpiniaceae

48. Banaba – Lagerstroemia speciosa - Lythraceae

49. Golden Shower – Cassia fistula - Fabaceae

50. Lobster’s Claw plant – Heliconia rostata - Heliconiaceae

51. Soro-soro – Euphorbia neriifolia - Euphorbiaceae

52. Buntot Tigre – Cordyline roxburghiana - Agaveceae 

53. Barbados Cherry – Malphighia emarginata

54. Kamachili – Pithecolobium dulce - Fabaceae

55. Pandakaki – Tabernaemontana pandakaqui - Apocynaceae

56. Pandan – Pandanus amaryllifolius - Pandanaceae

57. Mahogany – Swietenia macrophylla - Meliaceae

58. Maiden Hair Fern – Adriatum raddianum - Pteridaceae

59. Lantana plant – Lantana camara - Verbenaceae

60. Nangka – Artocarpus heterophyllus - Moraceae

61.   Philodendron – P. melanochrysum

62.   Indian Mast Tree – Polyalthia longifolia

63. Fishtail palm – Caryota mitis - Arecaceae

64. Shanghai Beauty – Jatropha integerrima - Euphorbiaceae

65. Selaginella – S, lepidophylla/braunii - Selaginellaceae

66. Tsaang Gubat – Ehretia microphylla - Boraginaceae 

67. Manga – Mangifera indica - Anacardiaceae

68. Mulberry – Morus nigra - Moraceae  

69. Yellow Bell – Tecoma stans – Bignoniaceae family

70. Kamias – Averrhoa bilimbi - Oxalidaceae

71.   Forget-Me-Not – Myosotis scorpioides - Boraginaceae

72.   Rambutan – Nephelium lappaceaum  - Sapindaceae

73. Bromeliad – Portea   spp - Bromeliaceae

74. Sisal – Agave sisalana - Agavaceae

75. Thorns of Christ plant – Euphorbia milii - Euphorbiaceae

76. Mickey Mouse plant – Ochna serrulate Ochnaceae

77. Lagundi – Vitex negundo Verbenaceae

78.   Lotus – Nelumbium nelumbo Nelumbonaceae 

79.   Nymphaea – Nymphaea alba/ colorata - Nymphaeaceae

80. Santol – Sandoricum koetjape - Meliaceae

81. Tibig – Ficus nota - Moraceae

82. Fortune plant – Dracaena sanderiana - Asparagaceae
83. Gummamela - Hibiscus rosa-sinensis - Malvaceae
84. Palmera – Borassus flabellifer - Araceae
85. Talisay (Lugo’) – Terminalia catappa - Combretaceae ~