EPIPHYTIC FERNS

Today's weather - sunny

There are actually 3 species of young epiphytic ferns growing at the tree fork of this Rain Tree at Scape:

• Asplenium species (common name: Bird Nest Fern)
• Drynaria quercifolia (common name: Oak Leaf Fern)
• Pyrrosia piloselloides (common name: Dragon Scale Fern)

Interestingly, they all are green but have 3 different leaf shapes.


NB on 6 Jun 12: Our very knowledgeable subject expert from Florida, Harry, shared with me that the Drynaria and Pyrrosia exhibit leaf dimorphism, where their sterile and fertile fronds differ in leaf shape, much like those from Platycerium.

GARDENS BY THE BAY & WORLD ORCHID CONFERENCE

Today's weather - sunny

I have been so lazy lately and should have posted this earlier.


On the way to the World Orchid Conference at Marina Bay Sands (MBS), one has to pass by the theme gardens at Gardens by the Bay. These are some beautiful plants at the Chinese Garden of the Heritage Gardens e.g. Radermachera ignea  and Pitcairnia flammea.  


The view of the gardens from the MBS bridge is so amazingly spectacular as one can take in the scenic view of the conservatories, SuperTrees and pond that give character to the magnificent gardens. Visitors were seen snapping aerial photos of the area.


I crossed the skybridge, which I think is at the 4th level, before reaching the MBS Convention Centre itself. By then, the sky was turning dark and was going to rain.


The WOC appeared to be of a smaller scale than the Singapore Garden Festivals (SGF) held previously at Suntec City Convention Centre. At the retail area, I saw this beautiful Stag's Horn Fern (Platycerium) on sale but didn't buy it because I am not really a foliage plant person. Various winning orchids were displayed in glass cases and I am positive that some orchids e.g. Slipper Orchid, can be grown in terrariums with conducive conditions for its growth. I said this because I managed to keep some of these orchids in containers for months although they didn't flower for me. Finally, I took a photo of this superbly beautiful Coelogyne orchid from one of the retail booths. The owner wanted to sell it to me but I decided against buying it because this is a cool growing orchid and I am unable to replicate such conditions at home.

SENTOSA - PART 2

This Swietenia macrophylla is a Heritage Tree. Looking at the size and amount of epiphytes e.g. Epiprenum aureum, Vernonia elliptica, Bulbophyllum vaginatum, Platycerium coronarium, on its trunk, I wonder how long it has lived here. We were told that when the tree sheds its leaves, that is when complaints come pouring in. Why couldn't people just appreciate the tree for what it is truly is - our very own heritage? This is probably one of the last giants in our urban jungle. At this age, only bracing can help to keep it together.

There is also a Schefflera actinophylla growing at the tree fork.

TELOK AYER PARK - PLATYCERIUM CORONARIUM

I had to split this post from the previous because I do not want to negate its beauty by subsuming it under a generic post on the park. It deserves a post of its own. Planted on a Yellow Flame Tree and located just beside the covered linkway, the Stag's Horn Fern has grown so big now since I planted it.

The infertile basal fronds and fertile dichotomous fronds are beautiful and hidden amongst them were 2 fertile kidney-shaped fronds with masses of sporangia, containing the spores. This is what I call beautiful! When I was snapping photos of the epiphyte, an auntie walked past and was staring at what I was doing before she eventually walked off. She must have wondered what a crazy person I was to take photos of plants on a Saturday afternoon.

KENT RIDGE PARK

I have not been to Kent Ridge Park for a while. But I was there recently.

They added a cable car cabin as a decor item near one of the carparks. The Platycerium coronarium (common name: Stag's Horn Fern) was so well-established, much like the one I posted at Ophir Road.

It appeared they have also planted out the Grammatophyllum speciosum (common name: Tiger Orchid) on the tree fork.

The view of the sea from the high vantage point was also amazing. This is probably one of the few hills in Singapore where we can get to see the sea, the houses along the coast, the ships and the wharf.

As I trekked along the footpath down to the pond, I saw this beautiful Passiflora (common name: Passion Flower) climbing on the secondary forest vegetation. I do not know the exact species but could it be P. 'Incense', which is a hybrid crossed between P. incarnata and P. cinnicata? A link on the Passion Flower is shown below for reference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_flower

The silhouette of the crown of the Albizia moluccana (synonym: Falcataria moluccana, Paraserianthes falcataria, Albizia falcataria, Adenanthera falcataria; common name: Batai, Bataiwood) against the blue sky was amazing.

Then there were 2 photos of the young White-breasted Waterhen (scientific name: Amauromis phoenicurus) scurrying around from bush to bush, seeking the safety within the dense groves of marginal plants.

There were also abundant dragonflies found in the aquatic habitat environment and one particular one was parasitized by wasp as evident by the dense mass of black eggs on its lower abdomen. But such is the law of nature and order to maintain ecological balance through its intricate food chains and webs.