Trees are so helpful to mankind. Aside giving us food, shelter, and fuel and might also be of clothing, trees helps to purify the air we breathe. They also provide us shade against the heat of the sun as well as they provide dwelling to animals. Trees can also add beauty to our surroundings of which I will have to share some notable species of flowering trees that I had witnessed to bloom upon the start of the year until the present time. So let start with the month of January.
These are madre de cacao (Gliricida sepium) trees or kakawate trees that start to shed their leaves upon the start of the year which give some kind of an autumnal ambiance to the surroundings then on the following month, the flowers start to show up and dominate the entire tree which, have the likeness of its ambiance to blooming cherry blossom trees of Japan.
Then on the month of February, another tree will shed its leaves to show off their beautiful flowers but unfortunately, I wasn't able to photograph the whole tree as I saw this tree along a dirt road when I am about to go to my workplace one evening.
Shown in the photographs above are the flowers and some leaves of sacred garlic pear tree which native to the Philippines and other Asian countries. Tthis tree have a pungent smelling sap that smells like garlic as well as the aroma of its fruits when crushed. It is also called as spider tree because of the appearance of its showy flowers that have long stanens. Lastly, the tree is commonly found in temples thus it is called Crateva religiosa in its scientific name.
Another tree that blooms on the month of February is the coral tree or Erythrina variegata and known locally here in the Philippines as "bagbag" and "dapdap." It is also known by its English common name as cat's claw tree because of its sharp thorns on its trunk and branches that resembles cat claws. However, the trees are no longer found on my locality due to habitat loss caused by human settlements along the shoreline where the tree thrives.
Also blooms on the month February are the rain trees or Samanea saman which are very common in my locality as they can be found in the mountains, rivers and parks. Shown in the following photographs below is the tree of which I regularly take a rest after walking along the river.
This tree is one of my favorite subjects when taking sunset photographs as their silhouette reminds me of the animation movie The Lion King.
By the month of March, China berry tree or Melia azedarach will shed its leaves and start to flower. Took this photograph along a trail while having a hike on a mountain side.
The flowers almost dominate the entire tree and I feel so fortunate that the tree is apart from other trees that I was able to photograph in whole from a distance.
Another tree that is in full bloom by the month of March is the fire tree or Delonix regia also known as the flamboyant tree due to its showy red flowers.
The tree start to shed its leaves upon the start of the year which can give a picture perfect sight when taking landscape photographs or silhouette photographs of trees, again, this is very ideal for golden hour photographs, isn't it?
Look how this fire trees adorned the landscape when they are in full bloom.
Here's a single firetree in full bloom along a roadside.
These are the beautiful flowers of the fire tree:
Then on the month of April, a towering tree known locally in the Philippines as "dalipaoen" or "dita" or known as Alstonia scholaris by its scientific name start to bloom. I rarely see this tree bloom in my village as the tree is very tall for me to reach the flowers and I was just fortunate to see a blooming tree when I took a walk on a mountain trail of a neighboring village.
And from the hot months of April and May, golden shower trees start to bloom and like the fire tree, the view of this tree is so spectacular.
Took this photograph at the backstage of a primary school in our village while attending the graduation of my youngest daughter way back then.
Also to be expected to be in full bloom this month is the Lagerstroemia speciosa or giant crepe myrtle that is locally known here in the Philippines as "banaba."
To close this article allow me to share this unknown species of tree that I found along the shoreline where I look for clams.
Trees are so important to mankind as they provide our needs as well as they play an important role to safeguard our environment of which they filter the air we breathe and stabilized the soil against erosion so we need to plant more trees for a clean, green and healthy ecosystem of which man and nature co-exist.
This is my entry for this week's POINT OF BRAIN CONTEST by 
