Flora, trees and plant life of the Philippines is quite abundant. There are some 8,500 different kinds of flowers, 1,000 different species of ferns and more than 1,000 different orchids. But Cebu has little or no forest cover left. Already at the turn of the century, virgin forests had disappeared. Mining, especially of coal, shipbuilding and commercial logging were the main causes. Today, it is due to population pressure, the island has three million inhabitants who share around 5,000 square kilometers. Because of the fact that most still cook on firewood, wood has become a fairly scarce commodity.

From its flowers the bougainvillea is the most abundant in Cebu. They are everywhere, in white, in purple, in red, in pink, actually in almost any color of the rainbow. Scarce, on the other hand, is the country’s national flower: the sampaguita.

Abundant are Cebu’s fruits. Most widespread is, of course, the coconut, fruit of the coconut palm, a tree of which everything is used. The leaves are for roofing, the stem for timber, and the fruit for food. In fact, the coconut is the centerpiece of the Philippine economy. The country is the largest producer of coconut oil and copra in the world. Copra is the dried “meat” of the coconut. Young coconuts, or “buko” in the local language, are especially delicious. They can be bought from street vendors. An experienced vendor cuts the top of the one-kilo heavy nut with one blow of his knife. You can drink the fresh coconut juice and eat the tender white meat.

The coconut also produces indigenous liquor. First there is the “tuba”. It is extracted from the unopened coconut bud and collected in a bamboo container. Fresh, it tastes bitter-sweet, many mix it therefore with Coca-cola. It contains 5-6 percent alcohol. If it is allowed to ferment for a few weeks the tuba become vinegar. Distilled tuba is called “lambanog”. It has very high alcohol content, most people drink it mixed with softdrinks or juices.

But Cebu is probably best known for its jumbo mangos. Bright yellow and very large they grow on huge, age-old mango trees. They taste deliciously sweet, and can be drunk as mango juice. Cebu is not only a large supplier of mangoes to Manila, but it also sells a substantial volume of mangoes abroad.

The island produces two native kinds of citrus fruits. One is the “kalamansi”, a small green lemon, which is widely used in cooking and as kalamansi juice. The other is a kind of orange, locally called “kahil”. Delicious, but with many seeds.

Also very popular is the papaya. Quite bigger than in most other countries. They easily grow to five kilo or more a piece. Jackfruit, or “langka” in the local language, the biggest fruit on earth, is common from February to June. A fully grown langka can reach a length of almost one meter. As it is practically impossible to consume a complete jackfruit they are usually sold in slices.

And then there is the banana. Often grown along the roads, they can be seen everywhere. There are many different varieties. There are bananas for boiling, for frying, for eating fresh and even a special one, the Cavendish, for exporting. A very popular fruit is also the “lanzones”. It is a yellowish, rather small fruit, about the size of a plum. It tastes sweetish and is harvested from November to February.

With a price of P6 or P7 per kilo lanzones are rather cheap. Also pineapples can be found everywhere. Many of the fruits are also available as juices or softdrinks.

Actually any kind of fruit can be grown in Cebu. The typical tropical fruits grow mostly in the valleys and along the coast. The more sub-tropical grow in the mountains, while fruits from moderate climates can be grown high in the mountains, especially in the mountain barangays of Cebu City, such as Busay and Babag I and II, and the mountain barangays of the southern town of Dalaguete. These areas also specialize in vegetables and flowers of cooler climates.

Attempts are ongoing to assist especially the flower growers in exporting to Japan.