Thanks to Ms. Alma Gamil and her blog, her incessant featuring of endemic flora in Bulusan area has gained the curiosity of not a few plant enthusiasts (botanists, collectors, the academe, etc.). This amimis (Pittosporum resiniferum or petroleum nut tree) or hanga in Tagalog, for instance, has faithful followers. Although not exclusive to BVNP area, the fruit of this epiphyte has been a household item of our lolas tucked in her maram-an garagumoy box. When we were kids we had a village mountebank we fondly called “Mayaman”. He had in his daily wares kamanyang, asupre, amimis—which incidentally are all produce of the BVNP. Our forests abound in amimis. Original habitat: atop bigger trees, thus an epiphyte. In Bulusan Lake area there a few amimis on big trees around the lake. Banggoy and Inoy Terio in Barangay San Roque started cultivating them by cuttings. Out of 10, one or 2 would survive. So here now along house fences and in farms like Balay Buhay sa Uma Bee Farm are fruiting amimis. Two of these came from seedlings we found growing atop a pili tree in Purok Iraya. They bloom late April or early May, with the white dainty fragrant flowers profusely covering the whole tree. In our bee farm, Trigona biroi feast on them like mad. And when the fruits start to ripen in October, we leave some of the mature fruits until they open and dry up. For related readings I recommend “Petroleum Nut: Sustainable, Wonder Biofuel” by Michael Bengwayan.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 23:40:58 +0000
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