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  • LIFE

    Xerophytes win water fights

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 22/05/2016

    » May is almost at an end. Usually around this time, our friends Bantherng and his wife Phen are busy harvesting lychee in their orchard in Phetchabun. This year, however, not one of their more than 100 trees bore fruit. In fact, not one lychee tree in their district of Nam Nao, some 40km from Nam Nao National Park, had fruit this year.

  • LIFE

    Worthy of a name

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 04/12/2016

    » Piya Chalermglin, PhD, intrepid plant explorer and extraordinary researcher at the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, recently retired. He spent 20 years of his career surveying the country's plant genetic resources, particularly Magnoliales, which includes the custard apple family Annonaceae and the magnolia family Magnoliaceae. In the process, he earned the distinction of having discovered 17 species new to science, joining the likes of famous botanist Carl Linnaeus and other plant explorers who immortalised their names by inspiring the names of some plants.

  • LIFE

    All I need is the air that I breathe

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 20/11/2016

    » 'Please introduce air plant farms in the Bangkok area," an email I received recently requested. I am sure there are hobbyists growing air plants in their gardens or balconies, but because of high land prices, I doubt it if there are plant nurseries in Bangkok. Be that as it may, I went to my favourite haunt, the Chatuchak midweek market, last Wednesday to ask around.

  • LIFE

    Flowers of flame

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 10/04/2016

    » The Tabebuia rosea, or chompoo panthip, on Kasetsart University's Kamphaeng Saen campus in Nakhon Pathom province caused a traffic jam as it attracted people from far and near last February. The trees were planted on both sides of the road and when they dropped all their leaves, only to be blanketed by flowers all at the same time, they were a sight to behold.

  • LIFE

    Reach for your buzzers

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 10/07/2016

    » I know that bees gather nectar and pollen from flowers to produce honey to feed their young. As they fly from one flower to another they pollinate the flowers. I also know that there are beekeepers who raise bees for their honey. The bees are let out in the morning to gather nectar and return to their hives before nightfall.

  • LIFE

    Clearing the air

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 18/09/2016

    » I posted a photo of a plant on Facebook and was pleased with the interest that it aroused among some friends. "What is it?" several asked. "Is it aloe vera? Is it malunggay [maroom in Thai]?"

  • LIFE

    Nurturing fruits of your labour

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 11/09/2016

    » Many gardeners could not get their plants to bloom, much less bear fruit. Reader Murray Thomas' problem is just the opposite. His potted lime tree is exploding with fruit and more flowers are on the way. "As many as 15 small fruit on a single small branch," he wrote. "The tree is about 1.5 metres tall.

  • LIFE

    Time for cutbacks

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 29/05/2016

    » We have had thunderstorms and rain this month. Hopefully the summer heat will soon be a thing of the past as the rainy season starts.

  • LIFE

    A date with destiny

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 06/03/2016

    » If I remember it right, Thais started to plant Phoenix dactylifera, or date palm, in the 1980s. I have never heard of the trees successfully bearing fruit, so I put it down to the climate.

  • LIFE

    The best way to turn over that new leaf

    B Magazine, Normita Thongtham, Published on 03/01/2016

    » I have a young friend who lives in Fresno, California. She teaches science in high school but does volunteer work in her spare time, taking a group of elderly people to a public park to do gardening. “There are plots in the park where the elderly can plant flowers or vegetables,” she said when we talked on the phone recently. “They love it. They find it invigorating. Growing plants has given them a new purpose in life.”

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