Can somebody give me an idea if this is the TERMINALIA IVORENSIS, (Combretaceae)? I'm not sure about it.
Re: of a temple in Bangkok - Tree ID: Terminalia mantaly 'Tricolor' The photo shows a young Terminalia mantaly 'Tricolor' (Variegated Madagascar Almond). The variegation does not appear to be completely stable -- I had come across some trees that produce branches with completely-green foliage. You need to prune away these green-reverted branches, if you wish to have a completely-variegated tree. This cultivar & the species form (Terminalia mantaly) are quite commonly cultivated as a landscape tree for their neat geometrical form in places like Taiwan, Hong Kong, southern China (Guangdong province), & (to a lesser extent) Singapore. Photos & info for Terminalia mantaly 'Tricolor': Sun Chui Estate: Palm & Terminalia Garden (Hong Kong Housing Authority) Plant Profile (NParks FloraFaunaWeb) Photos & info for Terminalia mantaly: The Virtual Botanic Garden World Agroforestry Centre Ecocrop (UN Food & Agriculture Organization) AgroForestryTree Database (World Agroforestry Centre) Unlike Terminalia ivorensis which can attain up to 45m in mature height, T. mantaly only reaches 10-20m height, while T. mantaly 'Tricolor' is somewhat shorter & sparser. Form-wise, T. ivorensis tends to more "untidy", esp. as it ages. Mature trees also have a flattish top. I have yet to come across a variegated form of T. ivorensis. Photos & info for Terminalia ivorensis: Protabase Plant Atlas of Liberia Ecocrop (UN Food & Agriculture Organization) AgroForestryTree Database
Re: of a temple in Bangkok - Terminalia mantaly & "imposters" In Singapore, Terminalia mantaly has been getting quite popular since around the mid-2000s (esp. amongst government agencies & boutique-type landscape architects) for its perpetually-tidy appearance. However, this species was until quite recently (2010/11) often misidentified either as Terminalia buceras (syn. Bucida buceras), or even Terminalia molinetii (syn. Bucida molinetii, Bucida spinosa). Terminalia buceras & T. mantaly have a rather similar tiered crown when young, which may explain the mix-up between the 2 species. In S'pore, one can sometimes come across a row of T. mantaly trees with 1 or 2 nos. of T. buceras sticking out like sore thumbs (for lack of a better expression), although these were all planted at the same time. As the row of trees mature, the T. buceras "interlopers" (with their fuller bushier crowns & "relaxed" dangling shoots) become more obviously "out-of-place" amongst the stiffly-tiered & manicured T. mantaly -- rather like Emma Thompson juxtaposed against Anthony Hopkins in the movie 'The Remains of the Day'. The below-attached photos (taken in Feb 2011) show an example of an unintentionally mixed-up planting at a public housing carpark in southern Singapore. On the other hand, Terminalia molinetii -- whether as a juvenile (photo) or oldish tree (photo) -- looks distinctly different from T. mantaly. Unlike the latter, T. molinetii also produces flowers & fruits regularly from a relatively young stage. Furthermore, this species is more often used as a bonsai specimen rather than as a landscape tree. As such, I wonder how it could have been easily confused with T. mantaly. S'pore obtains most of its Terminalia mantaly planting stock from neighbouring Malaysia -- & funnily enough, the Malaysian private suppliers have quietly been tagging the trees as Terminalia sp. while invoicing the purchasers (S'pore government agencies) for Bucida sp. or Bucida molinetii (ie. the buyers' mistaken identification of the tree). Well ... as the saying goes, the customer is always right, eh ? ;)
