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Plant ofthe Month
Phalaenopsis Champion Lightning
Phalaenopsis Champion Lightning is an orchid hybrid from parents Phalaenopsis Mount Lip and Phalaenopsis New Angel. It has white petals with light purple streaks at the margins. This beauty can be grown in indirect light with occasional misting. During Lunar New Year, the Chinese believe that decorating the home in shades of red brings good fortune. Consider getting this lovely orchid to celebrate the festive spirit!
Animal ofthe Month
Nycticebus coucang (Boddaert, 1785)
The critically endangered Sunda Slow Loris is the only venomous primate in Singapore. It produces a yellow secretion from glands on the insides of its elbow, which combines with saliva to form venom. During the day, it sleeps on branches or in tree holes by tucking its head into its belly and rolling into a ball. Globally, the population size of Sunda Slow Loris is decreasing due to habitat loss and illegal pet trade.)
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A Pipe’s Trap
Did you know the Aristolochia acuminata (Dutchman’s Pipe) can trap pollinating insects in its flower? This woody climber produces small pipe-like flowers, specially modified to attract and trap unsuspecting pollinating insects like fruit flies. The trap works when the insect slides down the slippery and hairy tube of a fresh flower that opens in an upright position. As the insect feeds on the nectar or attempts to escape, it is dusted in pollen, and its movements pollinate the flower. After fertilisation, the flower starts to wilt and tilt downwards, providing an escape route for the trapped insects.
Dutchman’s Pipe
World’s Largest Inflorescence
Did you know the Corypha umbraculifera (Talipot Palm) has the largest branched inflorescence in the world? Its inflorescence has roughly 24 million tiny yellowish-white flowers and can reach up to 9 m long and 12 m wide! This long-lived palm can grow to 80 years old and puts up a magnificent inflorescence just once in its lifetime, before dying. Due to the its durability, manuscripts were made of the leaves of the Talipot Palm in India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
World’s Largest Inflorescence
Furled fiddleheads
Did you know that the young fronds of Stenochlaena palustris or Akar Paku, are edible? While most ferns are inedible to humans, the Akar Paku is an exception. In Southeast Asia, the furled fronds also known as fiddleheads can be fried with sambal belacan and eaten as a vegetable. The fern is traditionally consumed as 'ulam', or salad, in Bornean cuisine. Its taste has been compared to that of asparagus and research has shown that it is a promising source of antioxidants.
Furled fiddleheads
Breathing in the mud
Did you know the conical structures sticking out of the soil at the base of some plants help plants breathe? These specialised root structures are known as pneumatophores and are usually seen in mangrove species. Sonneratia caseolaris (Crabapple Mangrove), a mangrove species, develops pneumatophores that protrude out of the soil allowing root respiration in the anaerobic muddy soil. When growing on well-drained soil, the plant may not produce as many pneumatophores as there is little need for assistance in aboveground respiration. In some parts of Southeast Asia, the pneumatophores are harvested and used as corks or fishing-floats when dried.
Sonneratia caseolaris
Record Breaking Pumpkin
Did you know the heaviest pumpkin grown in Singapore weighs 5.9 kilograms. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital set this record during the Community Garden Edibles Competition held in 2019. It is easy to cultivate pumpkins in Singapore under full sun with regular watering and fertilising. Who knows? You might be the next record holder!
Pumpkin
Superfood Elephant Foot Yam
Did you know the Elephant Foot Yam is a superfood? Its starchy tuber is rich in minerals such as calcium and phosphorous. While the tubers of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius are commonly used in curries of Asian cuisines, the leafy parts are cooked as vegetables. The plant produces only one large leaf each time, and the unique inflorescence emits an odour that attracts pollinators like flies and beetles.
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Sunda Slow Loris
Video of wild Sunda Slow Loris in Singapore, captured on Night Vision Equipment.
Flora & Fauna News
View AllA game of hide-and-seek
High in the Hengduan mountains of Southwest China, the valuable herb Fritillaria delavayi commonly known as Fritillary or 梭砂贝母(suō shā bèi mǔ) in Chinese, grows. Traditionally used to treat respiratory ailments, the group of Fritillary herb (川贝 chuān bèi) can be found in Asian cough remedies. A kilogram of the plant’s bulb is valued more than SGD 600 (approx. USD480). This herb can only grow at high elevations with cold and dry conditions, making the growing conditions hard to replicate for cultivation. As a result, fritillary can only be harvested from the wild and wild populations run the risk of getting overharvested. However, researchers found that in areas where fritillary is popularly harvested, the colours of the plant have become duller, blending into the surrounding. Whereas in inaccessible areas, the colours of the herb remain vibrant. This plant may be the first threatened species where natural selection can be observed to have played a part for the species to hide from its predator – Humans. Click on the title to read more.
08 Feb, 2021Newfound Species is Possibly World's Ugliest Orchid
Researchers have recently described a leafless orchid with mottled brown flower which resembles a moldy paper bag. The orchid named Gastrodia agnicellus spends most of its life hidden underneath leaf litter on the forest floor in Madagascar and resurfaces only for pollination and seed dispersal. This small orchid relies on fungus for food as it does not have photosynthesis ability. The flower produces musk rose-like scent that becomes stronger under warmer temperatures to attract flies for pollination. Click the title above to read more.
20 Jan, 2021Interest in gardening surges amid pandemic
Gardening has flourished during COVID-19. In Singapore, especially during circuit breaker period, many people who are stuck at home has picked up this new hobby to occupy their free time. Some of them have transformed a small part of their home into their own unique oasis. Nurturing these plants have helped people to relieve their stress and calm their minds. Click the title above to read more.
01 Dec, 2020