Plants

Someone was talking about bananas and i was thinking why do we keep on looking at one type of fruits only these days when we heard the word 'local fruits'.

Where are the other fruits? Have Malaysians stop producing them? Is there a shortage of land or plantation to grow them? Or.. have all those rare fruits been eaten by elephants, squirrels and monkeys ? (Hehee..just a joke.)

The below article might shed a light a bit on this issue:

The production of rare fruits is rather limited due to low number of trees available for each species. However, some of the potential rare fruits are sold at night markets, 'pekan sehari' or along the roadsides. Most of the rare fruits are seasonal, but there are also species that are non-seasonal, producing fruits throughout the year. These rare fruits are usually grown in home gardens or orchards. Among the fruits that can be found in home gardens are Cermai, Ceri Terengganu, and Durian Nyekak.

One of the 'rare' fruits that cat would like to recall to memory is the one called 'Cermai'. I do not know what the English name for it is but scientifically it's called 'Phyllanthus Acidus'.

Even if you do not know any latin words, you can still make a quick guess on how the fruit taste like just by hearing the latin name: Yes, the Cermai is acidic and sour. It looks as small as a peanut and turns yellow in color when it's ripe (see photo).

Pregnant women just love this fruit as the sourness helps to keep the morning sickness away. Others prefer to eat 'Cermai' only when it has been pickled (put into a jar with a bit of salt and lots of sugar and water). This will certainly take away half of the acidity and leave you with a sweet & sour taste. Nice, kan :)

Kids love to collect the tiny fruits and uses it as an ammunition (easy to put in your pocket). Ammunition against what? Against the big fierce dog that lives further down the road (orang nak pergi mengaji pun susah.), against all the 'snails' eating the veggies, and against any big bullies.

Maybe that's also one of the reason the Cermai is less seen nowadays.

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MIMOSA

In Malay, mimosa is 'pokok semalu'. There seems to be 400 species of it in the whole world, but the one that capture's her eyes is the one called : Mimosa Pudica.



This plant..ehem.. cannot be eaten. (Even goats which are known to eat anything, avoid the plant). It's a simple plant, which some will categorize it under the grass family, with soft purple flowers. The mimosa can be found in the bushes, nearby to the drain area and places that does not have too much sun.

The unique thing about it is the way it protects it self. The small leaves will fold itself when someone touches it or if it's exposed to strong light. And you can't pull it out using your hands, because each of it's leaf has smaller thorns. If you try to jerk it from the ground, you'll get cuts in the palm of your hand.

She found this plant just outside the house when she was throwing out the rubbish. It made her think of how lucky this plant is. Even though God has made it in such a way that it can only grow in secluded places, it's also given a very effective way on how to protect itself. It surely doesn't need the protection of the bigger trees in order to survive. And best of all, it helps to beautify the area where it grows.

Doesn't it sounds nice to know in advance what is your purpose in life and to know where your strength lies? Hmmm..


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