Friday, May 7, 2010

Gmelina philippensis (Hedgehog, Parrot's Beak)


Many thanks to Sui Tin from Melbourne who had identified the unknown plant in my last post. She referred me to TopTropicals.com website and the plant is listed as Gmelina philippensis (Hedgehog, Parrot's Beak, Ching-chai).

Following are some brief notes from the website on this plant :

Gmelina philippensis
Family: Verbenaceae
Hedgehog, Parrot's Beak, Ching-chai
Origin: Malaya, Malaysia, India, Philippine Islands

large shrub 5-10 ftsmall tree 10-20 ftfull sunsemi-shadedry conditionsyellow/orange flowersdeciduousincuded in CD catalog

An extraordinary round shrub with pendant branches, large long leaves and exotic flowers comprised of yellow blossoms which emerge at the end of a tube-like structure of overlapping bracts. The flower resembles parrot's beak. Large yellow pod contains 1 seed. Sow seed in standard potting mix with good drainage. Grow in full light, water freely and feed once a month. Related species - Gmelina Arborea. These are tropical plants, can be deciduous in cooler climates.


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