Back in the nursery, I love to look at the lush vegetation covering the Kent Ridge hill whenever I pass by the area. When the Tembusu trees flower, when the Ketapang trees' leaves take on an autumn red colour, and when the silvery-underside of the leaves of the Mallotus paniculatus (common name: Panicled Mallotus, Turn in the Wind; Family: Euphorbiaceae) gets lifted by the wind, I feel the hills come alive and I get a sense of excitement.A few links on the latter tree are attached here:
I was also pointed to the unusual black berries, which reminded me of yummy blueberries, of the Livistona decipiens (synonym: L. decorum; common name: Fountain Palm, Ribbon Fan Palm, Weeping Cabbage Palm; Family: Arecaceae / Palmae) hanging up on the crown of the numerous palms. It is their flowering and fruiting season now as another cluster of flowers were blooming at HortPark's Flora Stitches. What amazed us was the fact that the fruits change from yellow to black without transitioning to the usual red colour typical of palm berries. 2 links on this less known or used palm are shown below:
