Dainty Pink Blossoms

When i was home last weekend my nephew was excitedly telling me of their visit to the nearby forest with his playmate. This forest is just 20min away, but we don't go there. I was there last when i was still in high school, decades ago. There was a deep ravine at the middle with a small flow of water.  Actually there is still a path where cattle farmers pass to the other side of the hill, crossing over the water flow. My nephew saw group of monkeys, maybe around 50 of them, travelling on tree branches. He animatingly reported that even the monkey babies are with them hanging on the mothers' bellies.

So the next day i asked my nephew to bring me there, hopefully to see the monkeys on their playful transfers among the canopies. We waited for an hour without hearing even any noise of the monkeys. But i am not totally disappointed because the vegetation, butterflies and some lizards give us some fun. Moreover, I love the scene given by this tree, the Palawan cherry or Casia nodosa. This tree gave me a lot of hardwork because I  had to climb a 70 degree incline to be nearer its branch. It also  provided a sweet scent around the area. I am so surprised that this species is just very near us without my knowledge.

This tree is endemic to the Philippines, the tropics' counterpart to the cherry blossoms or Japanese sakura. Normally, it flowers ahead way before the leaves during the start of the dry season. So the above photo means these branches have been flowering for a longer period. A lot of fallen petals also cover the ground below. An older post about this tree from a far province of Siquijor is here from my other blog.

It is amazing how flowers change color as they mature, from dark pink to lighter pink and finally to white, when they are ready for abscission. Young leguminous pods remain on the tree to mature for another few months.