▌Ficus virgata Reinw. ex Blume 

Ficus virgata reinw. ex blume is also known as “bai-ro- rong” in Chinese. (Bei-Ro means white meat and rong refers to banyan.) Although it belongs to the family of Maraceae and Ficus, it does not have the aerial root, commonly seen in trees like banyan. We can notice its vitality from its extension above the other plants in the garden. Ficus virgata reinw. ex blume is as strong as other plants of the family of Ficus. The fruit of ficus virgata reinw . ex blume is the most beautiful one among the Ficus family. The fruit is (orange) red and it looks like a ruby that hangs on the tree under the sun. Bulbuls like Chinese bulbuls and black bulbuls are attracted to eat the fruits.  

▌Jasmine 

The jasmine originates from India and Arabia. In Taiwan, there is a well-known folk song with lyrics as “What a beautiful jasmine is. It blossoms with fragrance and spreads far and wide. It’s fragrant and white. It’s loved by everyone.”  The lyrics indicates clearly its character. The jasmine is known as “Muoli” in Chinese, which is a sound translation from Sanskrit. Reputedly, in India, to express love, one has to give their lover the jasmine not a rose. That the girl who receives such gift and inserts the flower to the hair implies the unchanged love. Therefore, people call the “jasmine” as “flower of love.”

▌Asia Beltree 

Asia Beltree 
 One of the tall trees in the garden, Asia Beltree has a split and hollow trunk, but its persistent vitality remains. 
The reason that the tree is named “Shan- (mountain)- Zai-Dou (kidney bean) in Chinese is because of the shape of its fruit. It is thin and long as the legume. It looks like the kidney bean on the tree from the far distance.  It blossoms at the mid- summer night. In its bloom, the white flower with the trumpet shape can often be found on the ground and the juice will come out if one steps on it by accident. Such juice is the delicious food for the nocturnal insects. You can see its natural vegetation in the rural areas of Taipei such as the valley of Wulai or Sanxia.

▌Indian Dillenia 

It’s the kind of tree whose leaves will fall sometimes. Its leaves will have color changes accordingly from emerald to tawny due to the different seasons. Moreover, its big blade and apparent wrinkle on the vein can draw people’s attention from far away.

▌string Bamboo 

This plant has such name is due to its shape. Its real name should be “stripe bamboo.” According to the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, it originates from Africa. 
Bamboo has been the metaphor of the litterateurs or the topic of the article from the old time; therefore, it’s a commonly seen plant in the traditional Chinese garden. It occupies 2,2000,000 hectares on earth (the dimension for natural vegetation and economic growing included) which is six time bigger than Taiwan. We can find it from the plain to the 3,000-meter high mountain from which we can see the close connection between this plant and the mankind in life in these years.

▌Dita Bark 

It belongs to Apocynaceae. A white juice will come out from its broken branch or leave which is the character of plant of this category. Keep the juice away from the skin or mouth to avoid allergy. 
Its wooden structure is loose, soft, and delicate. It is easy for the chalk writing. Moreover, its trunk is perfectly straight for which it is commonly used for blackboards; therefore, it is called “Blackboard Tree.”

▌Nandina domestica 

It’s commonly grown together with rockery, Mondo grass (currently the Ophiopogon japonicus cv. “Nanus in the garden is a kind of low Mondo grass) or Rhododendron nudiflorum in the traditional Chinese gardening. Its fruit is red and can remain for months, so it symbolizes longevity. It is very often to be put together with plum flowers and pine branches for decoration. So a pine, a bamboo, and a plum flower are considered as three winter friends in Chinese culture.

▌Muller’s Barbet 

It’s a very common remaining bird, but a specific kind. The male and female birds have almost same size and feather color. 
Its head is big and its body is quite fat. Its forehead and throat are yellow with red spots before its eye and under the throat. Its face is blue and its beak and feet are gray black. Fresh green is the major color of its body. In short, various colors can be seen in this bird for which it is called as bird of multi- colors.

▌Melia azedarach L. 

It’s the most appreciated plant in the garden. In spring, there is green leaflet growing in the branch. Later the tiny light purple flower with delicate fragrance blossoms on the tree- crown and it falls when a breeze passes by. In winter, there are gold solid and abundant fruits among the sparse leaves, for which it is also known as gold small bell.

▌Chinese bulbul 

As soon as you enter the garden, you can hear a lovely voice. Who is singing? Look around. Have you found the Chinese bulbul? 
The Chinese bulbul extends widely. Wherever you’re in a city or a village, you can see the pioneer bird. It is one the three city musketeers, Chinese bulbul, sparrow and Japanese White- eyes. You can see this bird wherever there is human being. 

▌Royal Palm 

In the corner of the pond of the Fan-Jian Study, there is a royal palm. It originates from the distant lands such as Cuba, Jamaica, or Panama. This tree has a long history. In its straight and gross trunk, there are carved characters left by the visitors. The characters can be traced back to the year 1947 when the garden was abandoned. Nowadays, people know how to treat the plants well without carving on them.

▌Water Lily 

The name of Fang-Jian Study comes from the poem, a space in the half-pound with skylight and cloud shade together. The light reflecting on the pound with the water lily can manifest more the world of lotus, mentioned in the Flower Garland Sutras, religious Buddhist book. This plant is imported and is the well- known kind of water lily.

▌Sparrow 

It’s very common in Taiwan. We all know it. Wherever there are people, there are sparrows. They just live nearby or together with us. They nest by the air- conditioner or among the beams or column. Wherever there is space, they can build nest, live, and have their baby birds.