Santan for Children

I have this attractive flowering plant at home. It is called Santan in my country and internationally known as "Jungle Geranium", "Flame of the Woods" and "Jungle Flame". Amazingly sounds very distant, where have we got the name for it?
I can still remember the first time I brought home this oldest known flowering plant in the Philippines. It was in full-bloom that I never wished to see its flowers ailing after time. Santans can be seen anywhere standing along fences at heights ranging from half a meter to four meters if it is not grown as bonsai. The one I got was a hedge of one meter and a half. I have to guide it with a bamboo stick to keep it from falling down when its flowers are in bloom. I'd like to think for my plant's case, that the stem couldn't carry the weight of its clustered red flowers and leaves. I like this ornamental shrub for it flowers all year round even with lesser care supplied. Although with no inviting fragrance, this plant is loved by several kinds of insects like ants. Kids when I was young taught me how to sip the liquid substance inside the like-straw stem of its little flower. It's very sweet. Ha-ha.

Aside from ants which I seem to like, there are also bad bugs and aphids violently molesting my flowers so I tried spraying insecticide to eradicate these sucking insects. I once tested propagating Santan for another pot by cutting from the grown one. I most likely prefer to mix garden soil with compost in a clay pot for the new one. Incredibly, this one really needs not much of your attention. Watering regularly keeps it active and healthy. Expect more and more clusters of flowers if it is set under full sunlight and lesser if placed in shade. Filipino folks recognized some medicinal qualities of Santan. It was believed that its flower decoction is used as treatment for hypertension, amenorrhea and menstrual abnormalities. Its leaves are also used for wounds, sprains, eczema, boils and contusions. Because Santan is a genus of roughly over 420 to 450 species, there are now hundreds of colorful hybrids that are intentionally cultivated to produce flower cluster color varieties such as pink, white, red, orange, tangerine and more reason why some are used in making color leis. What is more interesting about this plant is that little children like me collects its little flowers from tens to hundreds and make them into adorned red necklaces and again sip what we called its nectar after play time.

Good Day!
-dp