Elevated boardwalk at the Singapore Botanic Gardens Learning Forest (Photo credit: NParks)

Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out the Learning Forest, the newest feature of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. With a lush lowland rainforest and freshwater wetland ecosystem, the Learning Forest hosts an impressive diversity of flora and fauna that are fun to search for. About the size of 15 football fields, there’s a lot to see here, and a series of boardwalks make it easy to explore.   

Here are some plants and animals to keep an eye out for on your visit:

Drongos in the rainforest

Take a stroll along the 260 m-long boardwalk at the SPH Walk of Giants to get an elevated view of the rainforest. From here, look up into the trees to search for the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus). This forest bird has two distinct tail streamers, making it easy to identify. Interestingly, it can mimic the sounds of other birds and animals in the forest.

The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, with its distinctive tail streamers (Photo credit: Francis Yap)

The Pride of Burma in the SPH Walk of Giants

Another species that’s easy to spot along the SPH Walk of Giants is this large evergreen tree that can reach up to 15 m in height. Commonly known as the Pride of Burma (Amherstia nobilis), it produces clusters of beautiful red flowers that hang down pendulously from the tree. It can be seen from the boardwalk next to the Canopy Web – while you’re there, take a moment to rest on the ‘web’ and peer up into the canopy.    

The attractive flowers of the Pride of Burma (Photo credit: Ada Davis)

Dragonflies at Pulai Marsh

Part of the Keppel Discovery Wetlands, the Pulai Marsh hosts an impressive diversity of dragonflies in a range of colours and patterns, from the red-and-blue marked Ornate Coraltail (Ceriagrion cerinorubellum) to the almost bumblebee-patterned Yellow-barred Flutterer (Rhyothemis phyllis). It would be easy to spend a morning or late afternoon here looking for dragonflies, frogs, or any of the other rich biodiversity that inhabits this freshwater forest wetland ecosystem.

The Yellow-barred Flutterer (left) and the Ornate Coraltail (right) (Photo credits: Robin Ngiam)

Ridley’s Bamboo at the Botanists’ Boardwalk

While you’re exploring the Keppel Discovery Wetlands, take a stroll along the Botanists’ Boardwalk to see some plants that are associated with the Gardens’ illustrious botanists. In fact, there you can see a bamboo that’s connected to two former directors of the Botanic Gardens. Named after H.N. Ridley (director from 1888 to 1911) by R.E. Holttum (director from 1925 to 1949), Ridley’s Bamboo (Gigantochloa ridleyi) can be found growing right next to the boardwalk.   

Ridley’s Bamboo along the Botanists’ Boardwalk (Photo credit: NParks)

Common Putat at the Keppel Discovery Wetlands

Another plant to keep an eye out for at the Keppel Discovery Wetlands is the Common Putat (Barringtonia racemosa). This tree can be found along rivers in the region and can be identified by its bright pink powder-puff like flower clusters and pear-shaped fruit. It is well adapted to wetland habitats, as its fruit has a layer of spongy flesh that allows it to float, carrying it along the water to disperse its seeds away from the parent plant.

The flowers (left) and fruit (right) of the Common Putat (Photo credits: Ang Wee Foong and Patricia Yap, NParks Flora&Fauna Web)

Text by Ada Davis