We are visiting family here in Mindanao, Philippines and I’m amazed by all the colorful flowers that grow almost everywhere. Right outside our fence, along the side of the road, are many different kinds of flowers. One flower in particular caught my interest as it’s very large and brightly colored. This flower has a deep saturated red hue with a hint of orange. The height is about 1.5 meters and the flower’s diameter measures about 20 centimeters. The seeds are very small black round dots. I’ve never seen anything like this back home so I was curious about knowing more.

I tried asking around but nobody seems to know the flower’s name. I googled it but couldn’t find anything. I also searched many images on Google but nothing close came up. I finally asked my sister in law and she asked around at work and thinks she has it identified. It’s common name is Palong Manok. The scientific name is Celasia coccinea Linn. According to the Philippine Medicinal Plant website it has a variety of common names such as:

Daling-manok (Sul.)
Pandong-pandongan (Bis.)
Palong-manok (Tag.)
Palong-palungan (Bik., Tag.)
Papaknongon-manok (Bik.)
Taptapiñgar (Ilk.)
Cockscomb (Engl.)

The Palong Manok gets it’s name because it looks like a rooster. The Bisaya word manok means chicken, or rooster. It is not used medicinally in the Philippines, but some other countries use it for medicine. With more time this winter, when the snow and cold are with us, I’ll remember walking around Mindanao smelling all the flowers.