PLUMERIA RUBRA

The Plumeria cultivars (Common Name: Frangipani; Family: Apocyanceae) really relished the recent weather and most of them started to produce profuse clusters of flowers. This one with deep red-vermilion flowers stole my heart away.

NYCTANTHES ARBOR-TRISTIS (VARIEGATED)

The variegated Nyctanthes was flowering recently and I couldn't help it but took one of the flowers and inverted it to show the orange corolla tube against the white petals. The arrangement of the petals remind me of the Pinwheel Flower (Scientific Name: Tabernaemontana species; Family: Apocynaceae).

DYERA COSTULATA

This is the well-known Jelutong Tree (Family: Apocynaceae), which is over-harvested for its hard wood for timber. This grove has been planted for a decade now, I think, and they have indeed grown very fast. The height, well-spaced tiered branches and the dense crown give the tree a majestic appearance.

It was even flowering recently but not many people would notice the inconspicuous flowers.

FLOWER DOME - SUCCULENTS AND CACTI

These are an entire range of succulents, including cacti, on the way to and at the Baobab Village. They are growing amazingly well, thanks to the controlled microclimate within the Flower Dome.

I do not know all the names of the plants and I will not attempt to explain everything but here are some of the interesting stuff that I saw:

• Kalanchoe tomentosa (Common Name: Panda Plant, Pussy Ears; Family: Crassulaceae)
• Echeveria (Family: Crassulaceae)
• quartz
• sparrows on Adenium obesum (Common Name: Desert Rose; Family: Apocynaceae)
• flowerfield
• eagle carving from tree trunk and roots
• Euphorbia punicea (Common Name: Jamaican Poinsettia; Family: Euphorbiaceae)
• Pelargonium (Family: Gerianaceae)

There are a few photos of a few species of cacti, after the quartz photo, which look like underwater sea anemones. The interesting thing is one can see from these photos how the cacti divide itself in multiples of 2 i.e. 4, 6 and 8.

FLOWER DOME - ENTRANCE PATHWAYS

Visitors are greeted with an array of flowers from the entire colour palette on the screens upon entering the Flower Dome. 

Upon turning right towards the Baobab Village, there are lots of beautiful flowering plants at eye level because of the raised planters. That is one of the best ways of displaying plants for visitors to be able to see the plants and flowers up close instead of having to bend or squat down if they are planted at ground level.

The numerous Gazania cutlivars, Adenium (Family: Apocynaceae) and yellow flower Senecio macroglossus (Family: Asteraceae / Compositae) are what caught my eye.