It’s good to have a favorite tree. Here’s mine:
Mallotus philippensis
This is commonly known as Banato (Philippines), Kamala, .
I first noticed this tree in 2012. It was covered in powdery red seed capsules that looked like berries. I looked it up and found out that in India, the powder is used to make dye as well as Ayurvedic medicine. They also use the bark, leaves and seeds for medicine. I was happy when we ended up building our cottage right next to the tree. Now I wouldn’t lose track of it!
I sort of “forgot” about the tree until the birds started paying lots of attention to it. We saw lots of Lowland White-eyes in the tree last month. This week Tonji counted at least 20 Black-naped Orioles in the tree! I’m not sure if the birds are attracted to the seeds or the insects in the trees. Or maybe both.
I thought we had only that one tree behind the cottage. But it turns out that there are two others, a bit further away in front of the cottage. The Orioles have been flying a circuit around the cottage from tree to tree.
It may be their favorite tree too!
Tonji and Sylvia's Wildlife Refuge 
Sylvia!!!! may I have some seeds?
Will collect seeds for you Gina!
Good day! I am a 4th year pharmacy student and we plan to conduct a research/study about the Mallotus philippensis or commonly known as Banato plant in the Philippines. May I know if you and your husband is from the Philippines perhaps? We really appreciate if you can inform us about the location of this plant in the Philippines. Thank you and I hope you can reply to this comment right away if you are not busy. 🙂