Indian 'Goa Tree' flowering in Bintulu

Goa Tree

Yesterday ( 17/7) while paying a visit to the wood factory at Bintulu town, I passed this flowering Goa Tree. Situated along the main highway into the Bintulu Town proper, just a few meters away from Ngiu Kee Supermarket , this Goa Tree ( well, you reckon the trees must have flourished in Goa, India and then brought over to this part of the world) was about its mature height i.e. 10- 15 m high. The flowers are small and purplish. In Bintulu it is grown as a roadside tree on residential roads and aterial and sub-arterial town roads. Good for shade and specimen planting, too. Its column of leaves are typically round in shape though when it gets slightly older the crown may look spreading. After the flowering season is over, the tree will bear fruits that are like almond- shaped ( like our local ' kedundong' fruit ( Otaheite or ambarella). Fruits of our local kedundong are edible but not the Goa Tree fruits. As a roadside tree, due to its height and spreading nature, it is best to plant them at a planting distance of 40 meters. Oh, ya just for the record, some people call this tree, the cabbage tree.