WHEN I look at the local scene, trees wise, it seems four out of five are foreigners, at least in the Santurce area where i operate. Asia and the South Pacific neck of the woods dominate in edibles and not.
Altocarpus altilis, Mangifera indica, Tamarindus indicus, Calliandra haemathophalla, the Ficus pest, and our hero Pterocarpus indicus are just a few.
The latter grows a huge canopy, with lots of organic waste, mostly seeds. But it has charm. The yellow 'flowers'
brighten our days, in the third person, not only with their color, but their fragrance. Just, like most flowers for a short period and unlike my favorite, Plumerias, for a longer one.
At any rate, most Pterocarpus in this concrete and asphalt isle, are planted in the wrong context, as those presented here. Such trees should always be in the front lines, not the rearguard of any installation. Lucky me.
The sweet, subtle fragrance reminds your humble servant of that of Cananga odorata, certainly and ugly name. This tree is one of the ugliest I have observed, I do not care about its looks, in any way, shape or form, to use a cliche. Many people love that overwhelming, tilted towards vanilla, fragrance of Canangas.. Pterocarpus is nice, but not superior in my subjective smell perception than either Gardenia augusta, Plumeria or Poliantes tuberosa, in my collection, not necessarily in that order.
If it seems that I have a tendency to constantly evaluate the individuals in the garden by this or that, you are correct. Gardening should be an activity full of pleasure, after the constant effort and sweat of the chores. More pleasure with less sweat implies more time to enjoy the fruit of the work, by yourself or in the company of other flora and fauna making it possible for all.
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