Blue flowers of otacanthus caeruleus

This plant with beautiful blue flowers was a gift from Mrs. Koh, a nice lady who lives in the neighbourhood. Just got the name thanks to Pino of GCS forum.

Curcuma longa (Tumeric)

This is a tumeric ginger from Thailand. I observed 2 main differences between the thai variety and local variety. Firstly, the local tumeric rhizome is thicker whereas the thai variety has rhizome of smaller diameter (they are equally bright orange in color). The local variety produces smaller plant whereas the thai variety has longer and bigger leaves. These are just my observations from the limited number of plants i have.

A must-have in any spice garden cos the leaves impart a very spicy flavour to your chicken curry. Just add 2 leaves (slightly crushed) and your chicken curry is instantly transformed. Some people are not aware that the leaves are used in many curry dishes in this region, not just roots. Not to mention that the flowers are truly beautiful as well.

Caterpillar on Penang Hill

There are lots of these caterpillars on penang hill. They can be found on the grassy slopes near the ginger plants. The many fine hairs are an obvious warning to would-be predators that they are not to be messed around with. I've had encounters with hairy caterpillars that left me with a burning and itching respect for them.

Beehive Ginger (ZINGIBER SPECTABILIS)

Beehive ginger growing on well maintained grounds of the Bellevue Hotel on top of Penang Hill

Close-up of the "beehive" or "honeycomb". Potential mosquito nursery? I think i better not think about planting this in case NEA come check my house every other day. But must admit that it is a lovely and interesting flower.

Close-up of the real flower. Doesn't it look exotic?

More Pics of Super Rosella

Super Rosella is so interesting. Not only are the bracts big and long, they are very thick as well.

Beautiful Water in Hills of Balik Pulau

A good supply of clean and nuitrient rich water is one reason why the fruits in the hills of Balik Pulau are so good. The water comes gushing through springs higher up in the hills and flow through the plantations, often forming the boundary between them. Along the way, many different plants flourish, like the torch ginger which is found everywhere.

Huge boulders sometimes stand in the way and the stream carves out a path between the boulders.

Many streams come together to finally form a river which flows down the hills. Along the way, small waterfalls and holding pools are excellent places for local children to take a dip.

Above is a still pic of the running water coming down from the hill towards Pantai Aceh in Balik Pulau. Below is a video clip of the running water.

Around the plantation

Nutmeg being dried in the sun. The red membrane is known as "Nutmeg flower" although it is not the real flower but a membrane covering the seed. It has medicinal properties so it is often used to make medical oilment.

Soursop is another local favourite

Pineapples were growing everywhere around the plantation. According to the owner, they need a lot of fertilizer after flowering in order to produce big fruits.

There were 2 or 3 huge mangosteen trees which produced lots of mangosteen.

These were the unriped Duku Langsat!!