A Visit to Singapore Botanic Gardens

Khabar baik kawanku!

I am back once again with an updated post about a visit to Singapore Botanic Gardens two weeks ago during HDE's Local Trip event. I had begin writing this post immediately after the visit but couldn't quite finish it until now. I have heard about Singapore Botanic Gardens from my history studies back in high school and this is my first visit to the garden since I came to Singapore for tertiary education.

On the day of the visit, the participants arrived at the Tanglin Gate and were divided into groups of two. We were to be guided by docent from the garden and a man called Hassan was the docent for my group.

Background information
Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 156-year-old tropical garden that was set up initially by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1822 at Fort Canning, mainly to introduce cultivation economics crops. This first garden was closed in 1829. It was only in 1859 that the current garden was developed at its present Tanglin site by an Agri-Horticultural Society and later handed over to the government in 1874. The Singapore Botanic Gardens has come a long way in evolving into a leading equatorial botanic garden, which houses major world crops and plants. In 2015, the Singapore Botanic Gardens is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the only tropical garden in the world to receive such honor.

Landmarks in the Singapore Botanic Gardens
1) Ridley Hall

The Ridley Hall is one of the oldest buildings and the earliest surviving administrative building in Singapore Botanic Garden. This building was named in honour of Henry Nicholas Ridley, the first Director of the Gardens, and was first built to house the Gardens' Herbarium and Library collections. It was later became Ridley's office when he had a separate building constructed for these collections. For those that are unfamiliar with Henry Ridley, he was an eminent botanist and is most well-known for orchestrating the birth of the rubber industry which transformed the economic and social landscape of Malaya. One note of interest is that although this hall was built as an administrative building, Ridley's Hall's architecture is characteristic of the Early Bungalow and was gazetted in 2008 as a Conservation Building.

2) Holttum Hall 
The Holttum Hall was once served as the office of and laboratory of Eric Holttum, Director of the Gardens from 19525 to 1949. It was in this hall that the first sterile culture of orchid seeds was successfully carried out in Asia by Eric Holttum. This laid the foundation for the orchid breeding industry in Singapore and ultimately led to the establishment of the National Orchid Garden as an tourist and recreation landmark in the region.

3) Prisoner-of-War (PoW) Brick Steps

In the garden, there exist several brick steps that were made by PoWs as a sign of defiance during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. On the bricks, there exists arrows imprinted to indicate that they were "detained by the authorities". In August 1995, at the 50th anniversary of the release of the POWs, 8 former Australian PoWs visited to the Singapore Botanic Gardens to observe their wartime workmanship and gleefully recounted that memory. 

The brick steps

Sign of arrow on the brick

4) Swan Lake

Formerly known as the Main Lake or First Lake, the Swan Lake is a major attraction in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It is considered to be the oldest ornamental water-feature in Singapore. 

Swan Lake

Swan Lake is named for the pair of beautiful Mute Swans  (Cygnus olor) from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, that glide gracefully across the lake. It is considered to be the oldest ornamental water-feature in Singapore.

Mute swan

One interesting fact about Swan Lake is that in the Gardens' annual report dated 1892, it was mentioned that a crocodile which escaped about 2 years earlier had taken up residence in the lake. It became dangerous, having seized one of the coolies while he was drawing water. Following this incident, the lake's water was drained off in order to capture the crocodile. 

List of plants or floras introduced:
1) Calophyllum inophyllum (Ironwood of the Sea or Penaga Laut)
The Penaga Laut is one of the many heritage trees found in the garden. These majestic mature trees take decades or sometimes hundred of years to mature gracefully and hence are considered the natural heritage of Singapore. The Penaga Laut is a seaside tree that produces hard timber which provide the basis for its common name. One interesting story about the tree (picture below) shared by Hassan is that older staffs of Singapore Botanic Garden have shared anecdotes that during WWII, the Japanese carried out executions below the tree.

Calophyllum inophyllum

2) VIP Orchids
We were shown one of the bio-culture laboratory (picture below) in the garden. Here, Hassan talked about plant tissues experiment being carried out here and when new hybrids of orchids are discovered, they are kept in the laboratory and remain unnamed. These plants will be named after celebrities, dignitaries and visiting head of states in Singapore's orchid diplomacy program when they visit Singapore. These VIP orchids can be found in the VIP Orchid Garden and notable VIP orchids include Dendrobium Memoria Princes Diana, Dendrobium Margaret Thatcher, Renantanda Akihito and Dendrobium Elizabeth.

3) Fagraea fragrans (Tembusu tree)

The Tembusu is an evergree tree that is native to Southeast Asia. Hassan told us that the oldest Tembusu tree found in Singapore Botanic Gardens is about 200 years-old. The trunk of this tree is used to make chopping boards and floors of homes. One interesting fact about the Tembusu tree is that it is pictured on the rear side of Singaporean five-dollar note.

Tembusu tree

Tembusu tree on the reverse side of the Singaporean five-dollar note

4) Vanda 'Miss Joaquim'
Also known as Singapore Orchid, this hybird orchid cultivar is Singapore's national flower. It was selected in 1981 as National Flower of Singapore for its resilience and year-round blooming quality. H.N Ridley named this orchid after Agnes Joaquim in whose garden the hybrid originated.

 

Vanda 'Miss Joaquim'

5) Monkey Pot/ Sapucaia-nut Tree (Lecythis pisonis)

The Monkey Pot gets its name from its unique fruit which looks like a pot with a lid. Monkeys in South America are known to put their hands into the pot to get to its rich seeds. The seeds are rich in oils which is used in Brazil for making white soap and burnt as a source of light. Its timber is hard and durable, making it valuable for house-frames, wharves and sluices. 

Monkey Pot

p.s. There are a lot more plants introduced during the visit but it's pointless to describe all of them unless you're a passionate botanist. 

Do pay a visit to the first and only (as of now) UNESCO World Heritage Site in Singapore when you visit kiasuland. =)

That's all for this post I guess. Hopefully I will be able to write something about the upcoming Chinese New Year in the next update. Jumpa lagi!!! =D

Signing off,

TC