Vampire or Simply a Bird Nest.....

Realising that today is Friday the 13th (oooohhhhh...), no its not that I'm being supertitious but it does gives me an idea to post something about the mythical belief among the locals and elders in this region. Oh no, I'm not going to start writing on some ghost stories but on something more related to my 'green fingers'.


This graceful species of the common fern is often associated in the Malay folklore with the Langsuir or pontianak (directly translated as the female vampire..and by the way, why the local version of the vampire must always be a female?? Something to ponder!). Thus, locally it is commonly known as Pokok Langsuir or the nicer version, Pokok Semun.

Botanically, the fern is known as Asplenium Nidus or commonly known as Bird Nest's Fern or Crow's Nest Fern. The fern is a native of Tropical Asia, Northern Australia, India and Japan. It can grow in great variety as an epiphyte* on large trees especially in rainforests. Independently, it can also be found on the forest floors or on rocks with good available light.



The unique formation of nest shaped radiating fronds has nest-like 'hairs' in its crown (that's how the name Bird's Nest derived) and water clogging should be kept away from it to prevent rotting. The roots of the fern is small, dense & spongy to keep it constantly moist.

The Bird Nest's fern is one of the easiest fern to grow. Propagation is by division of the mother plant or by spores found on the underside, mid-rift of the matured fronds or by young babies easily found in between rocks, plants, etc.


If propagation is by using spores, firstly place a leaf with mature spores onto a piece of paper or in a paper bag. Within a day or two, the spores can be collected and placed onto a pot containing moist peat moss, sphagnum moss or any moist medium. Placed the pot in a shady location and mist daily to encourage germination.

To propagate a division or the baby of the fern, placed the plant onto a well-drained medium in a pot, basket or tub and placed them on shaded areas with filtered sunlight to produce nice, green lust fronds. The roots should always be kept moist but not wet.


*epiphyte - plant growing on another

My First Plumeria Blooms

This is my one and only Plumeria that I bought a few months ago, just a small stem-cutting planted in a black polybag which costs me $3 in local currency. Recently, it presents us with slightly small, frangrance yellow blooms. I have since transferred the 3-branched plant to a 12 inch diameter terracotta pot.



The Plumeria or locally known as Frangipani (also known as Pokok Kemboja in Malay) is actually often locally associated with cemeteries..why is it so? One logic explanation to it, these trees (commonly the white flowers type) can easily be found planted in cemeteries but globally, the Plumeria blooms are often associated with Hawaii & the other southern islands. I was in a way interested in planting a Plumeria after a visit to the Greencultures Singapore website forum and really felt the enchantment of the beautiful colourful blooms that the members posted. There are many types of Plumeria available with each type producing blooms of different shades of colours. Plumeria can easily be propagated by stem cuttings or seeds (which is much slower to germinate & grow) and loves full sunny location with well-drained medium with fertilising once in a while. It is an easy plant to grow and if given an unlimited space, it can fully grow into a huge tree.