Stretching across Kowloon City and Prince Edward, Prince Edward Road West is one of the most important and busiest roads in the city. Every March to May, the road is fringed by beautiful trees with massive blossoms of white and yellow flowers of Crateva unilocularis.
Their flowers are white at first and then turn into creamy yellow in the later stage. Thin, long and purplish red filaments stretching out from the flower resemble spider legs, thus the tree’s common name, Spider Tree. This tree produces abundant and spectacular blossoms and is widely planted as street trees.
The Chinese common name is called “Vegetables from the Tree Top”, as young leaves on the treetop is pickled and served as preserved vegetables in some parts of China. Meanwhile, the timber is used in the production of woodcrafts and musical instruments, whereas the peel of its fruits can be used as dye.
