UVARIA GRANDIFLORA AND CONGEA TOMENTOSA

fruit of the Uvaria grandiflora

This native hemiphytic plant Uvaria grandiflora at the Malay Garden fruited numerous times in recent months. I have not tasted the ripe orange-coloured fruit before but I was told it is an edible fruit sold in the markets in East Malaysia and Indonesia. The fruit is supposed to be slightly sweet.

Somewhere nearby at the Colonial Garden, the Congea tomentosa (Common Name: Orchid Flower) flowered so profusely. I seldom see this climber flower so intensely until recent years.

flowering Congea tomentosa

UVARIA GRANDIFLORA

The carpark at the Singapore Botanic Gardens HQ was planted with this scrambling vine Uvaria grandiflora (synonym: U. pupurea, U. rufa; common name: Salamander's Son, Large-flowered Uvaria; Family: Annonaceae) for many years now. The span of its coverage is so extensive but the flowers are far and few in between.

It is definitely not a climber I would plant at home because of its few flowers. A link is attached below for reference:

http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/uvaria_rufa.htm

By the way, there is a bird's nest in the top photo too.