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Buddha’s hand (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis) in a Korean scroll
Manus Brinkman sent us this interesting picture and text, which he got from the Virtual Collection of Masterpieces, VCM: Look at the servant to the right of Buddha, what are the fruits on his tray? The...
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How to make mango leather
The hot season is also the mango fruit season. What do you do if you have too many fruits? Traditionally Thai farmers would make mango rolls or ‘mango leather’. Pick mango fruits from the tree. Put...
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A modest orchid (Eulophia andamanensis) in our monsoon woodland
The Dokmai Garden monsoon woodland hosts many of the Orchid Ark’s terrestrial orchids. I have previously reported Geodorum recurvum flowers, and can add that a total of ten such individuals have been...
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The 100th bird species
On Tuesday we had five visitors from Boston, Hawaii and Esan (northeast of Thailand) and while checking out a guanabana fruit and a tarantula hole, I raised my eyes to screen the sky for raptors. There...
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Guest blog: Creating an edible forest garden
People who like Dokmai Garden and our philosophy will also like Faasai Resort and Spa in Chanthaburi, southeast Thailand. We believe it is important that good forces pull the same way and we are more...
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Flowering Sindora!
Buds turn into flowers. These pictures of the Siamese sindora (Sindora siamensis, Fabaceae) was taken yesterday on May 5th, 2013: Siamese sindora blossom. Photo: Eric Danell The flowering buds split in...
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Successful collection of Thai dwarf date palm fruits
Yesterday we spent a lovely day in the hills near Dokmai Garden, enjoying the results of the latest rains. Geodorum attenuatum ground orchids were in bloom along with yellow Globba sp. (Zingiberaceae)...
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Eulophia spectabilis
A new orchid of the Orchid Ark collection at Dokmai Garden is Eulophia spectabilis (Orchidaceae). It never bloomed while in its pot in the shaded but moist nursery, but released in the dry monsoon...
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How to establish lacquer trees
The lacquer tree (Gluta usitata, Anacardiaceae) is amazingly beautiful both in blossom, when fruiting and when making new foliage. Its traditional use as lacquer makes it a historical relic too. Ever...
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Time capsule
To allow our children a Swedish education and to expose them to Swedish culture, we soon move there. That means Dokmai Garden will be put in a time capsule. It will be exciting to see how the garden...
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The creeping fig in blossom
Dear friends of the monsoon flora, I am briefly back in the saddle again! After three months in temperate but gorgeous Sweden, revisiting my childhood local flora, making archaeological findings and...
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Fruiting sindora
Do you remember the blog about the flowers of the Thai sindora (Sindora siamensis, Fabaceae)? This is the time to harvest and cook their one-seeded pods. The pods resemble flattened horse chestnuts,...
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Is this the time to collect the Chin of Prometheus?
When German botanist Joachim Shiermeyer came to Dokmai Garden in February he was well prepared with a list of ‘want to see’ downloaded from our species list. His ongoing quest is to photograph...
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Back from the dead?
In previous blogs I have marveled at the ability of many plants to resurrect. As to bamboos it is a widespread truth that when a bamboo flowers it will afterwards die. Fortunately for home gardeners,...
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Red bananas
Dokmai Dogma has treated several banana varieties and species earlier, and today we continue with the red banana Musa acuminata AAA ‘Red Dacca’ (‘gluay nak’, gluay dhaeng or ‘gluay krang’ in Thai). The...
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The lion’s mane orchid
The orchid Bulbophyllum ovatum (Orchidaceae) opened its first flowers ever at Dokmai Garden on the 8th of September. The first day the flowers were bright orange, the following days they faded to a...
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New animals
1. First of all I wish to report a new bird species at Dokmai Garden: White-rumped Munia. According to literature this is a common bird found in most of Thailand. However, at Dokmai Garden the...
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Self-replicating machines
John von Neumann explored the theoretical possibilities to construct self-replicating machines. This is not science fiction. At Dokmai Garden we have self-replicating lawn mowers based on the latest...
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The 16th Flora of Thailand Conference
Although Dokmai Garden flourishes, tourism suffers as usual during times of political turbulence and embassy warnings. To keep up the spirits I have been asked to write a blog now and then from my...
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Would it be possible to create a northern Thai wooden library?
A week ago I took my Swedish arborist students to the library at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Alnarp. The aim was to study the 200 years old wooden library. Larix sp. Each of...
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