weird but i like it

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hi, i picked this up in the bonsai village near my home for $5 , nobody else seemed to like it but i can see a good tree in it. does anybody know what its botanical name is? in thai its called nam plom and is used for bonsai a lot , the new branches are dark green and has thorns. regards john . 

ps the bonsai village is called phook kieow and is situated at base of mountains < phook means mountain > and the whole village collects yamadori for sale and there are dozens of shops, well worth a visit for anybody planning a trip to thailand .

Sorry cannot help with the ID but I see a nice bonsai in the making as well. Good find and well worth a few times more than what you paid for it IMHO. Please keep us posted as this develops.

I don't know tropicals that well, but based on that little bit of foliage on the left my guess is natal plum, (Carissa macrocarpa). There are some thorns at the lower left of the image.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carissa_macrocarpa

I think so too William

When you blow up the image you can see a leaf way off on the left with that sharp little extension on the tip. Geez.. when even the leaves are sharp, never mind the thorns!

Great find for 5 bucks!
-Jay

Yes I know exactly wat it is. Its called a Num- num (noem-noem) Carissa macrocarpa It is actually a shrub, and we use it for hedges here in South Africa. Ther are a couple of species, Carissa biospinosum is actually the best for bonsai , for the leaves are a tenth the size of macrocarpa(used to be called Carissa grandiflora) The fruits has got a milky juice, but are edible, and are very sweet when soft, make an excellent jelly!!

William, you know your stuff... But this is actually not the Natal plum, the Natal plum is a Carissa nataleinsis, and the plant and foliage are very sparse and not good bonsai material. O the Zulu word for the Carissa macrocarpa is Amatungulu, ( you say the A with a clicing sound) I love that name.

Hi John.

Does it bear black fruits in cluster form?
If it is, it is similar to the one we use here and can be found all over South East Asia. I think it is "black plum"- Syzygium cumini

If it is, it would be nice as a big bonsai, because the leaves doesn't reduce much. just around an inch if it reduced in size.


regards,
jun

Looks like what we call natal plum.

thanks everybody, its not far away language wise from noem plum to thai nam plom especialy with thai pronunciation . well i,m really pleased thanks again everybody. they are not easy to reestablish as bonsai here, this is the 3rd one i,v bought and the others died, and the thai guys say they have the same problem, if they come in the native soil they are ok but if bare rooted they die. this one is in the original clay and its ok, so i,ll take a long time to wean it into bonsai soil. jun i don,t know if its the same but the leaves are quite small , original size is only 1/2 inch. i,v seen mature ones and the leaves are still 1/2 inch but fruit tree leaves are known for not reducing. regards john

hi, this is the nam plum that i posted a while back, i thought i,d post an " />update to show how its doing. still a lot of refinement to do yet, but getting there , thanks john

Hello,

Very nice John!, I think it will look better if the top branch will remove  .

this species name in Thai is "หนามพรม" you can use this Thai text for more information in Google.
anyway it is "Carissa spinarum"

Regards,
Pongsatorn.K

Very nice tree! Especially for that price; wow! It looks like Natal Plum to me; at least what most of the nurseries call Natal Plum here in the USA.

hi pongsatorn, the branches and foliage is very juvenile but as it matures that top branch will merge with the one below it to form one branch but with greater depth to form a crown, thats my theory anyway  

powerful chunky semi-cascade, you haven't changed much John,  

Hope you are enjoying yourself out there?,
the elm I bought from you has gone into final pot this season,
looking good, I'll send you a pic.

thanks john , i,m coming to the uk on the 16th aug for a while send me your phone no. and i,ll give you a ring . regards john

john5555leonard wrote:
ps the bonsai village is called phook kieow and is situated at base of mountains < phook means mountain > and the whole village collects yamadori for sale and there are dozens of shops, well worth a visit for anybody planning a trip to thailand .

John, where exactly is this place? i'd like to visit for sure.

hi steve, its near chaiaphum city in issan and is 1 1/2 hrs from khon kaen , if you do,nt get before when i come back from uk next year come and visit me and i,ll take you . cheers john

ps steve, there is also ratchaburi < pronounced larkburi > which is the main bonsai area in thailand, its nearer to you and is near the bridge over the river quai exhibit west of bangkok but they mainly sell field grown material not yamadori

Very nice job!