FICUS

I cannot remember what is the botanical name of this Ficus with interesting fig fruit that looked like an inflorescence.

AMHERSTIA NOBILIS

The red bracts that encloses the flowers

I saw the tree blooming recently but it wasn't as spectacular as it should be in Myanmar, I guess. It takes a keen eye to spot it. The inflorescences were at best as shown here without mass flowering.

BAY EAST

One of my favourite plants is the Asclepias curassavica (Common Name: Blood Flower; Family: Apocynaceae) because of its beautiful small red flowers but I don't like it a bit that the plant tends to be short-lived, loses its vigour and dies-back over time. The only way to have this shrub growing in the garden permanently is to keep germinating the seeds to get a batch of fresh new plants.

Having said that, I am thrilled that this plant is also one of the host plants of the very beautiful Plain Tiger butterfly found locally. Thankfully, with the knowledge and experience gained since the days of HortPark, I have been able to sustain a population of this butterfly species at Bay East and Bay South now with the planting of the other more reliable host plant Calotropis gigantea (Common Name: Crown Flower). I hope more people would learn to appreciate the beauty of its caterpillars in order to fully appreciate the true beauty of its adult butterfly.

On a separate note, the Calliandra genus has a range of beautiful shrubs or treelets because of its free-flowering nature and showy inflorescences. What is interesting though, is the attractive part of the umbel inflorescence is the collective group of lengthy coloured stamens, as shown in the photos here. The small anthers are visible on the ends of the filaments. The corolla, or the ring of fused petals, right at the base of the stamens can be seen in the last photo.

SENNA ALATA

I cannot really decide whether I like or dislike this plant. Clearly, I love its inflorescences that earn it the common name Seven Golden Candlesticks but I don't appreciate its growth habit.


Anyway, this one looks slightly different from the ones that I often see or planted. Guess what is the difference? In this specimen, the new flowers are yellow compared to the light brown ones that I showed in some earlier posts. Is this a cultivar then?

SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDENS

Today's weather - sunny

I was there again recently and just enjoy walking along this stretch of the timber walkway. I love the contrast between the white-leaved Dieffenbachia and the other dark green plants in the shade. To me, every plant has its place in the landscape.


There is also this interesting Ficus tree right where the taiqi group exercises every day. It has shed its leaves recently and is sprouting new coloured leaves now.


The uncommon palm Welfia regia has also flowered recently and there are numerous whisks of inflorescences and infrutescens of fruits. At the palm base is planted the variegated Pteris ensiformis, which is a fern that I love very much too but always have problems growing them.


Then there is the uncommon but native Kopsia singapurensis with Periwinkle-like white flowers with a red eye.


Along the forest edge can be seen clumps of the Pseuderanthemum andersonii although I have some doubts on its identity. The ones that I grow have broader ovate leaves rather than the narrower elliptical leaves seen here although both have similar purplish flowers. I wonder if one is the species and the other is a cultivar.


Finally as I approached the Botany Centre, there is this trellis planted with Cissus sicyoides (common name: Princess Vine). The ignorant me used to wonder why the dangling roots form a curved-shaped and have reddish tips. Now I know that the reddish ends are a result of pruning and these are the new growth.