Orchids Galore Flowering in the National Orchid Garden's Cool House
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e Magazine of the Singapore Botanic Gardens · Volume 47 · August 2016 · ISSN 0129-1688 14 Orchids galore owering in the National Orchid Garden’s Cool House 4 e Double Coconut: 18 Celebrating Singapore’s 32 A small piece of Singapore reatened wonder horticultural heritage in Miyazaki Prefecture... of the botanical world Volume 47 · August 2016 1 Group Direction Nigel P. Taylor 12 38 Articles Regular Features 2 Mysterious identity of a more than 21 From the Taxonomy Corner 32 A small piece of Singapore 90-year-old Silk Tree illuminated Changing ideas of plant families in Miyazaki Prefecture… Ho Boon Chuan, David J. Middleton Nura Abdul Karim Gwee Aik Teck 24 Research Fellows 34 Around the Gardens 4 e Double Coconut: reatened Botanical Research Fellows Partnering Methodist Girls’ wonder of the botanical world in the Gardens 2015–2016 School in the conservation Felix Merklinger Bazilah Ibrahim of native plants Koh Teng Seah, 9 A rare nutmeg nally reveals itself 26 From Education Outreach Nura Abdul Karim, in the Gardens’ Rain Forest ‘Singapore Botanic Gardens — Lam Mei Kien Paul Leong, Koh Sin Lan, Our Heritage’: Roadshow and Ali Ibrahim, Paul Athen, assembly talks for primary 37 Learning and sharing… Edmund Chia, Logan Tan, and secondary schools Nura Abdul Karim Gwee Aik Teck Janice Yau, Tan Hui Min, Goh Mei Yi 38 What’s Blooming 12 An early photograph of the Not the usual Dendrobiums… Gardens 28 On-the-Spot Poetry and Nura Abdul Karim, Nigel P. Taylor Photography Competition David Lim for primary school children 14 Orchids galore owering Janice Yau, with poems by 40 Book Review in the National Orchid Garden’s Christie Chong, Lam Le En, A Guide to Hoyas of Borneo Cool House Owena Eng Khoon Meng Wong David Lim, Gillian Khew, 30 Beyond the Gardens 41 VIPs in the Gardens Hubert Kurzweil e Asia Paci c Orchid January–June 2016 Conference 2016 18 Celebrating Singapore's Chin Li Li, Mark Choo Back From the Archives horticultural heritage Cover Topiary of the Gardens Wilson Wong, Christina Soh Jason Wright Cover Editors Singapore Botanic Gardens e attractive owers Ada Davis, Nigel P. Taylor 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569 of Bulbophyllum National Parks Board dearei, an orchid that Production Managers recently owered in Ada Davis, Christina Soh [email protected] the National Orchid www.sbg.org.sg Garden's Cool House. Design www.nparks.gov.sg (Photo credit: David Lim) Newmen LLC www.newmen.info Opposite page " e Treasure Box" by Inch Lim, one of the Best of Show winners at the 2016 Singapore Garden Festival. (Photo credit: NParks) Gardenwise · Volume 47 · August 2016 Group Direction ear Readers, the content in this poetry that our young visitors created at This was the largest event we have ever D issue of Gardenwise gives us a the Gardens as part of the 2016 National attempted and it attracted a staggering very good summary of the kinds Poetry Festival (pages 28–29). And the 470,000+ visitors over the nine days of the of activity that characterise the day-to-day Gardens’ influence overseas apparently show, staged once again at Gardens by the work of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. knows no limits, as reported on pages Bay, where it covered nearly 10 hectares! We learn about botanical research that 32–33, but with an interesting twist Upwards of 80 different horticultural and has revealed the true identity of one of that I can mention here. That visit to floral installations made up the show, our largest Heritage Trees (pages 2–3), a Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan in March this including the Orchid Society of South East hitherto unidentified rare nutmeg in our year revealed a surprising fact, just as Asia’s competitive exhibits in the Flower Rain Forest (pages 9–11) and news about our ‘plane was coming in to land at the Dome, where the Singapore Botanic the ways plants have been classified into international airport serving Miyazaki. Gardens won many of the prizes, up families (pages 21–23); how we cultivate As the aircraft descended I opened the against international as well as strong local rare, endangered and iconic species, in-flight magazine and discovered that competition. I would like to thank the such as the Seychelles’ Double Coconut, the approaching airport was named Botanic Gardens’ show director, Dennis often in partnership with others (pages “Bougainvillea” and after collecting our Lim, plus everyone else in the NParks and 4–8 & 34–36); the Gardens’ horticultural luggage we saw the mass plantings of Gardens by the Bay teams, and our many and other heritage interest, including this colourful genus outside the terminal volunteers, who made the 2016 Festival the greening of Singapore (pages 12–13, building. So where did these plants, such a resounding success, not forgetting 18–20, 26–27 & back cover); and our giving the airport its name, originally either the many readers of this magazine ever-growing networks of international come from? Answer: the Singapore that visited the show. collaboration, both on- and off-site Botanic Gardens, from the late 1960s! (pages 24–25, 30–31, 37 & 41). On the horticultural side we feature two articles But the biggest area of international on choice and sometimes little-known networking is none of the things already orchids, from the plant family that will mentioned. The image above shows always be associated with the Gardens the Best of Show Landscape Garden (pages 14–17 & 38–39). Plants and designed by Malaysian Inch Lim for the Nigel P. Taylor gardens are also important stimuli for international Singapore Garden Festival, Group Director cultural activity, such as the imagery and 2016, which ran between 23 and 31 July. Singapore Botanic Gardens 1 Article Mysterious identity of a more than 90-year-old Silk Tree illuminated all started when a tourist the tree’s last fruiting, clearly point it It from faraway wrote in to us, to the genus Albizia, a group of trees wondering about the identity known generally as silk trees. However, of an elegant and majestic tree he after carefully checking through various encountered on Lawn E during a visit taxonomic treatments by the late Danish to the Gardens. The tree in question is botanist Ivan C. Nielsen (1946–2007), a Heritage Tree then labelled as Albizia who specialised in mimosoid legumes, lebbekoides, a species that naturally especially of Asia, it struck us that occurs in lowland monsoon forests in this tree did not match any of the Southeast Asia. The visitor’s enquiry descriptions of Albizia native to our prompted us to take a closer look at the region. We recognised that we would name that had been recorded for the have to expand our search to consider tree, which had likely been attached to it species from outside of Asia. when it arrived here as a seed from India more than 90 years ago. We compared Consulting literature on the Albizia of the characteristics of the leaves with the Africa and tropical America, we found available descriptions of A. lebbekoides a good match with a tree bearing the from literature and immediately realised name Albizia niopoides. Published that its identity was dubious. While we illustrations of this species also matched were aware that the tree definitely could very well with our specimen. However, not be this species, we also knew that we since the SING Herbarium has only a would have to wait for flowering material small collection of Albizia specimens to ascertain its true identity. from outside of Asia, and these have been little curated by specialists, The tree flowered a few months later, we needed some external help. and specimens were collected by Consequently, we sent a specimen of our our arboriculture team. Our careful tree to Dr Gwilym P. Lewis, an expert examination of the flowers revealed in legumes from the Royal Botanic numerous cream-coloured stamens Gardens, Kew, who confirmed that our The Albizia Heritage Tree standing at united at the base, forming a tube. This Heritage Tree is Albizia niopoides var. Lawn E is a Caribbean Silk Tree (Albizia characteristic, together with the straight niopoides, commonly known as the niopoides var. niopoides) towering more flat seed pods found on the ground from Caribbean Silk Tree. than 40 m tall. (Photo credit: Ho Boon Chuan) Selected features The Gardens’ Heritage Tree Albizia lebbekoides Albizia niopoides var. niopoides Tree height / more than 40 m / 170 cm to 32 m / 58 cm to 25–40 m / 35–120(–150) cm diameter at breast height Number of pinnae per leaf (5–)6–7 pairs (2–)3–4(–7) pairs (4–)6–8(–9)pairs Number of leaflets per pinna (25–)35–51 pairs (5–)10–25 pairs 28–57(–63) pairs Presence of rachis glands (0–)1–2 between distal pinna pairs 2–3 between distal pinna pairs sometimes 1–2 between distal between pinna pairs pinna pairs Shape of leaflets linear or linear-lanceolate from asymmetrically (elliptic-) oblong, linear or linear-lanceolate a bluntly auriculate base lanceolate or subfalcate from a bluntly auriculate base Length and width of leaflets 7 mm by 1 mm 7–20(–27) mm by 2.5–6(–14) mm 5–8.5 mm by 0.9–1.3 mm Presence of rachilla glands occasionally 1 between terminal 1 each between 6–7 distal occasionally 1 between terminal on pinna-rachises pairs of leaflets pairs of leaflets pairs of leaflets Table comparing selected features of the Gardens’ Albizia with those of Albizia lebbekoides and Albizia niopoides var. niopoides. It is clear that many characteristics of the Heritage Tree are in conflict with those of Albizia lebbekoides, but fall within the variation range of Albizia niopoides var.