BALINESE PLANTS AND FRUITS

Nowadays, Ebony trees or Pangge Baya are rarely found because these trees are the best material for wood carving.

Bamboo is a multi purpose building material, and also used for craft and household materials. Long thatch grass is woven with bamboo pipes to produces thatched roofs for Balinese house. Most villages have bamboo groves, where it grow along the rivers and streams.

Colorful coral reefs and sea weeds are the habitat for marine life. Sea weeds are commonly use to produce jelly and for the purpose of medicine. Sea weeds soup is a popular dish at some sea shore villages.

CROPS
Bali is an agriculture land, fertile for rice harvesting. Verdant rice terraces pampered mostly in all over the mountains' slopes.

Copra and coffee are the main export crops of Bali. Clove plantation in the highlands also support the crops trading.

FLOWERS
On Bali, flowers and fruits are very important for offering to the gods. Beautiful flowers such as Allamanda, Lotus lilies and Bougainvillea are mostly used to give color in landscape. Frangipani, Kenanga and Sedap Malam (Night fragrant) flowers particularly used for ritual and dance purposes. Flamboyant, Kasia flowers generally planted in the street side to give shade to the road. Jasmine flower is the national flower of Indonesia, its pure white color symbolize of the purification. Variety species of Orchid are the favorite of garden and in-house flowers. Import flowers like Roses and Margriet are also available in the flower shops, sell in a high price.

FRUITS
In the monsoon season, most of the tropical fruits on Bali are coloring the markets: sweet Orange, sweet-sour Salak (Snake fruit) Bali, Papaya, Passion fruit (Balinese grape), local Grape, Water Melon, Melon, Wani (Balinese mango), Banana, Apple (the famous "Manalagi" are imported from Batu highland - East Java). Some seasonal fruits are rarely found if not in season: Rambutan, Durian, Mango, Manggis.

HERBS AND SPICES
Black pepper and hot chili peppers are used to put a special taste and smell for food and leave you with a sweaty forehead and teary eyes. If you find your mouth on fire because of these two spices, try to eat or drink hot tea or cucumber, or eat krupuk (shrimp or fish crackers).