Katmon

The katmon tree does not grow into a very large tree making it ideal for backyard gardens.  This one is wild, growing in a farm patch in Odikin (Sta Barbara), Bulusan.

The layers of ornate pistils and the showy white petals attract wild bees and pollinators ensuring continued supply of wild katmon fruits.

While passionate gardeners are already cultivating the katmon as a unique backyard garden plant and for culinary purposes, in Bulusan it is still very much wild. My visit to Odikin (Sta Barbara) yielded several photos of wild katmon along the way. Its showy flowers were a joy to behold whether on top of the canopy or in a flower vase.

Katmon species can be found in primary and secondary forests of the Philippines but it is now cultivated and popular with garden enthusiasts and native tree conservationists. However, it is only in Bulusan that I've heard of two kinds of katmon - the 'lunohan' (soft) kind of katmon, this according to Oya Choleng, a native of Odikin, is the better katmon and the other one is the 'kidit' or the not so soft kind. Both  varieties are growing in their village.

Katmon flower is also a gem for macro photography with its ornate pistil layered in intricate organic forms.

The ASEAN Tropical Plant database listed Katmon as endemic to the Philippines with the following data:

Scientific name	Dillenia philippinensis Rolfe
Family name	Dilleniaceae

Photographs by Alma P. Gamil in Odikin
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines