Telosma Update

I forgot that I stuck a mature Telosma seed pod in a bag a few weeks ago. I found it opened to reveal the feathered seeds inside.
You can really tell at this stage that they really are from the milkweed family. The silky hairs or pappus are soft and silvery.
It is quite a gorgeous seed pod really. I think we're going to have to collect some more seed pods and have fun releasing the seeds.

What a fun discovery!

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber

Record. Research. Draw!

RECORD & DRAW
I noticed a vine growing in my friend's backyard some time ago. It caught my eye since the flowers were new to me. I messed up my digital camera a few months ago so I couldn't take any pictures. I remember a long time ago before the advent of digital cameras that I used to record things in a journal. I decided to commit what I saw to memory and draw what I could in a used notebook using a pen and colored pencils.

I took some time trying to remember details of the vine, flowers, seed pods and leaves. After reviewing later, I noticed that there were a lot of inaccuracies in my notes. Oh, well!A few days later, I was able to borrow my friend Ashley's camera but the flowers had all fallen off and the seed pods were all gone! I was pretty frustrated to say the least. I decided to ask the neighbor to see if he knew anything about the mystery plant. Good thing I asked because I found out that he was responsible for my missing samples.

He said that the Filipinos use the plant as a vegetable and the Ilocanos called them bagkobagkong and that the Pangasinans called them, abopoyat. He said that you can simply boil the seed pods and eat them like that. I imagined that they looked liked Psophocarpus tetragonolobus or winged beans (sigarillas in Tagalog; sigidiyas in Chamorro).

A few weeks later, there were more flowers and a few more seed pods. I just had to borrow Ashley's camera again. Recording what they looked like in pictures was just the beginning: Identifying them would take longer I figured.

The flowers.Flowers and heart-shaped leaves (I drew the leaves as a tripinnate incorrectly). The "winged" four-sided seed pods (I noted three-sided incorrectly). More seed pods and leaves.

Fresh leaves. The old ones turn a dull yellow color.

It is a good thing that plants and animals are grouped and classified according to similarities in their parts. The best clue I had to their identity also came from the neighbor who ate them! I didn't have a chance to see the pods mature so that I could look at the seeds, so I asked him if he knew what they looked like. He said that they were like cotton! That was a great clue because I thought that the fruits would contain "winged" seeds like the African tulip or gold or trumpet tree since their pod looked like dehiscent pods (pods that open when they mature and dry to disburse seeds).

RESEARCH
I know that milkweeds in the dogbane family had similar structures in seeds and seed pods, so it wasn't long before my Internet searches led me to upon the genus Hoya, or wax vines. This was a whole new world for me because I never knew that they had such a big following. People collect them like orchids and there are hybrids and highly sought after varieties.

I sought the help of Margie, a Swedish mother of 5, who owns a website on Hoyas called Hoyor.net that has been online since 1999. She is a collector and an expert with approximately 250 Hoyas in her collection! She pointed out that the leaves of my mystery vine did not come paired like all Hoyas and that they are probably a relative. She also pointed me to Ted Green of Rare-Hoyas.com. Ted's fame comes from the fact that he has introduced more than 1/3 of all the Hoyas currently being traded. He finally helped me identify my plant of genus Telosma! Thank you Ted & Margie!

A few more searches revealed that Telosma flowers are eaten as vegetables but only found one site about them in the from the Philippines. It's entitled Fruits & Vegetables of the Forest and calls Telosma precumbens, babagkong. The flowers are collected and eaten, and the site claims that these wild vegetables are more nutritious than the farmed vegetables (although more expensive). This is most likely the information that I was looking for! It also states that the vine flowers during the rainy months of June through December.

Here is a picture of the collected flowers from that website
(Food & Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region).

I also found some information on the Telosma that is eaten as a vegetable in Thailand. It is called Dok Kachorng in the Thai language and here is a photo from a blog showing a delicious looking Telosma stir fried with what looks like garlic and chicken. Looks yummy, right? Well, I’ll have to ask the local Thai restaurants here to see if they ever serve Dok Kachorng!

This photo is from this blog and they have pictorials and the recipe in Thai.

A Telosma native of China and India that has become a favorite lei flower in Hawai’i is the Pakalana, or Telosma cordata. The yellow green flowers are not really known for their beauty but more for their fragrance.

This picture of a gorgeous Pakalana and Pikake lei is from Sweetblossomshawaii.com

I found also found a plant survey online done in Guam's War in the Pacific National Historic Park. According to the article, they found Pakalana where the Piti Guns are located, and according to Dr. Lynn Raulerson (my old biology professor! Wootwoot!), they are most likely escapees from someones property that became naturalized there.

A Legend

It is said that the Pakalana’s fragrance becomes more intense in the evening. In fact the Chinese name, Ye Lai Xiang (夜来香), literally means, “fragrance comes through the night”. There is even a Chinese legend that tells of a fierce army that lay siege to a castle. As the day grew late, the Pakalana flowers that lined the countryside leading up to the castle started opening and sending out their fragrance. The later it became, the more intense the Pakalana’s perfume lingered in the air consequently, calming the soldier’s down. By nightfall, the soldiers were disarmed by the fragrance giving up the siege and the castle was, in the end, saved by the Ye Lai Xiang!

DRAW!

Well that is my story about my mystery vine. I hope you liked talking stories with me once again. I also hope that there is inspiration in this that taking notes the old fashion way is still a good way to record things that are important, and that all it takes are observation, some paper and something to write with. Plus, its fun to doodle stuff! I always appreciate a good Star Wars doodle!

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber

P.S. If you want to research more Telosma cordata has other synonyms and many common names: Telosma minor, Pergularia minor, Oxystelma ovatum, Telosma odoratissima, Asclepias cordata, Pergularia odoratissima, Pakalana vine, Tonkin Jasmine, Cowslip Creeper, and Chinese violet. Sorry, but I could not find anything else about Telosma precumbens or if it is another synonym to T. cordata.

Saying “I love you” in the jungle

Guy: Do you see that vine with the balloon looking things hanging on them?

Gal: Yeah, what about them?

Guy: Let me get one for you. Now open it and what you find inside will tell you how I feel about you (wink* wink*).
Gal: Ok...

Gal: Oh, wow!

Guy: There are three hearts meaning: "I...love...you."

Gal: Awww! I LOVE YOU TOO!

My friend Sean says that I am full of lore when we go hiking. Well, I guess I just like to share and talk stories. That scenario is probably one of the best ones to share with people as you introduce them to the sights of Saipan. I actually owe this bit of lore to my little brother, Patrick who used to call them "love seeds". It took a while for me to find information about this particular vine and the internet finally caught up with several articles about them.

They are called Balloon Vine and their scientific name is Cardiospermum halicacabum. Cardiospermum translates to "heart seed" and the funny name halicacabum is Greek for "salt barrel" referring to the round fruit. They are also called heart pea or love-in-a-puff. In Mexico they are called frolitos which means "little lanterns."

Balloon vine is native to North and tropical America but has been distributed pan tropically. It has been naturalized here in the CNMI and doesn't seem to bee too invasive to the native environment. On Saipan, you can find them creeping in gardens and roadsides. They may or may not be native to Hawaii and I am still researching what their local names for the plant means. Anyone know what haleakai‘a, ‘inalua, pōhuehue uka, or pōniu means?

I found these ones climbing on a friend's wire-linked fence so you really can find them here and there.

Balloon vine is a year round (perennial) creeping vine that has trifoliate 4 cm leaves and paired tendrils that help them climb. The flowers are white and minute at 3 mm. The three-sided balloon-like fruits are about 3 cm in diameter which holds usually three of the characteristic black seeds with white hearts that look like they were painted on. The hearts are actually the hilium, or the scar that is the point of attachment for the seed to the fruit.

Balloon vine is part of the Sapindacea or Soapberry family, a group of plants contain saponin, a chemical that produces a soapy froth when mixed with water. Saponin is mildly toxic and can hemolyze blood but it is mostly found in the sap of the plants which doesn't stop us from enjoying the most well known members of the family which are the delicious lychee, longan and my favorite, the rambutan. C. halicacabum tincture is also used in anti-inflammatory ointments and gels as treatment for itchy skin conditions like eczema, neurodermatitis, psoriasis and allergic skin reactions.

WARNING: If you try this lore on someone make sure you look at the pictures so that you'd be able to tell C. halicacabum from what appears to be C. grandiflorum. C. grandiflorum or Showy balloonvine has bigger leaves (2.5 - 10 cm) and bigger more angled seed capsules (4.5 - 6.5 cm). The seeds don't always come in threes and the hearts aren't as white and shapely. I've seen C. grandiflorum on the way to Ladder Beach, the cliffs of Old Man by the Sea, and San Antonio Beach.
Look closely at the differences. The lore won't be as good or won't always work if you pick these instead!

The hearts aren't as bright and formed as you can see here plus there were only two seeds.

Thank you for letting me share one of my favorite lore.

The Beachcomber