Living in a tropical country, we don’t have spring or fall seasons as pronounced as other countries do. It was a surprise how Japan, for example, highlights such a time with special viewings and illuminations. It was then I thought if the Philippines has anything similar? Sometimes, it’s just a small and fun competitive exercise of “we can do that too,” surrounding the concept of (re)designing certain aspects of our country’s identity.
Then I saw these photos via Reddit, featuring trees that blossom simultaneously with other countries’ spring season. It bears the same pinkish-white bloom, akin to Japan’s world-famous cherry blossoms, aka Sakura. This is the Palawan Cherry Blossom Tree.
Looking things up, I came across this blog post by “Your Palawan Tour Guide,” featuring the blossoms. The trees are locally known as “Balayong,” of which a festival in Puerto Princesa is named after, which happens annually around the 4th of March.
The National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) of the Philippines has nothing much to say about it, other than it is called “Palawan Cherry,” with a scientific name of “Cassia Nodosa” in the “Caesalpiniaceae” family.
YPTG mentions that while Japan’s Sakura flowers bloom and fade in just less than a month (around 3 weeks), Palawan cherry blossoms actually showcase their petals for more than a month! Moreover, there seems to be a belief that there are two (2) kinds – a ‘male’ one with smaller reddish flowers vs the ‘female’ counterpart.
Personally think it’s a great idea to cultivate the beauty of what’s locally grown tropical trees, in order to generate some kind of interest that builds into the “beauty identity” of the country and its local floriculture. I won’t be surprised if bodies like the Department of Tourism (DOT) build around the likes of the Palawan Cherry Blossoms and the Philippine Fire Tree, to highlight our already naturally beautiful country.
I’ve only seen this in Bonifacio Global City. Apparently, it’s normal to see this in its hometown of Palawan. Maybe in the future, provided an even bigger display, spots like BGC might even host some kind of ‘viewing’ at full bloom, similar to how Japan does it for the Sakura.
Maybe then, people won’t come just for the beaches.
Maybe then, they would come to the Philippines for the fleeting beauty of our flowers too.
Photos c/o: u/sabrinacarpenter27 | u/jellytoebeansss | u/Fragrant-Patience891 | The Philippine Star | Philippine Trees | SPOT PH | Your Palawan Tour Guide