Located in Wong Tai Sin, Morse Park lies at the foot of Lion Rock, Hong Kong’s renowned mountain. The park consists of 4 sectors and at a total area of about 15.8 hectares, and is one of the largest parks in Hong Kong.
A highlight of the park is that there are lots of Crateva unilocularis (Spider Tree) planted in the park. Given the impressive massive blossoms with vivid leaves during its flowering period from February to April, with densely arranged flowers hanging on the branchlets, Spider Trees are highly valued ornamentals. Recorded by Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae, in Shiping and Jianshui of Yunnan, the local people pick its young leaves and pickle them in salt as a food, hence the species were given the Chinese name “Vegetables from Heads of Tree (樹頭菜)”. The origin of the Chinese name “Vegetables from Heads of Tree (樹頭菜)” is discussed above. The English name “Spider Tree” describes many stamens on its flower, which are purplish red, slender, long and exserted from corolla, looking like there are numerous “spiders” growing out from the tree.
