A recent article by Vincent Chong on “Beautiful Tress in Italy” inspired me (with a little nudge from the man himself) to write about the trees in my homeland of Myanmar. The trees in Myanmar can be categorised as 1. Flower bearing; 2. Fruit-bearing; 3. Vegetable bearing, and 4. Sandalwood trees.
Perhaps a botanist would be able to provide a more accurate categorisation. Most of the trees I describe here are common in Southeast Asia & India. However, I’ve selected some unique or meaningful things about Myanmar for this blog.
1. Flower bearing trees
The tree bearing the national flower of Myanmar is the “Padauk”, the local term, the botanical name being Pterocarpus macrocarpus. The tree, also known as Myanmar rosewood & can grow up to 80 to 120 feet. The tree blooms seasonally around April in summer, bearing fragrant bright yellow flowers. The flowers symbolise the coming of the Myanmar New Year, celebrated by the Water Festival, also known locally as “Thingyan.”
The fragrant wood of the Padauk tree is also used to make furniture, chopsticks, trays, boxes and so on.
The next flowering tree that has a significant meaning in Myanmar culture is the “Kant Kaw” (local name), the botanical name being Mesua ferrea. It is also known as Ceylon ironwood or cobra saffron. This tree, which can grow up to 80 to 90 feet, blooms seasonally around April and bears lovely fragrant flowers with white petals and a bright orange-yellow centre.
Kant Kaw is synonymous with those born on a Monday; hence, Monday-borns, like one of my friends, have a tree planted in their garden. The name Kant Kaw implies that one will be lucky & achieve high status; thus, it is often used as an offering at Buddha altars. It is also said that the next Buddha will be born under the Kant Kaw tree and, as such, considered sacred & planted within temple & monastery grounds. The flower is much revered by ladies and worn in their hair. The dried yellow stamen of the flower is said to possess medicinal properties and is often sold in traditional Myanmar medicine shops. Even the Kant Kaw leaves are said to have pharmaceutical properties to cure snake bites.
2. Fruit-bearing trees.
Among the many fruit trees in Myanmar, the mango is probably the most popular with many varieties. A local saying goes like this: “Mango is the best fruit; pork is the best meat.” Below are some of the different types of mangoes unique to Myanmar, all having different flavours & textures. Included is a rough translation for each
Mangoes may also be consumed in their unripe state with a dipping mix of spices, made into a pickle, cooked with pork or usually as a salad, much like the Thai mango salad. Aside from mangoes, Myanmar has a host of other fruits, including durian.
To be continued
Dr Thazin Han is a retired radiologist with a strong interest in medical education. She worked as an education officer at the Dept of Diagnostic Radiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore from 2007 to 2019. She is retired but still practices radiology part-time and is a resource person and committee member of the Department of Medical Education, Defence Services Medical Academy.
