News Listing Page

Singapore saw the discovery of a new orchid species, the Claderia leontocampus! Researchers from the National Parks Board first encountered this species in 2020 during a routine survey and have since named it after the Merlion (“leontocampus” is Greek for Merlion). Previously, the only known species in Singapore from the same genus is C. viridiflora, which has bright green flowers that open one after the other on an inflorescence. However, C. leontocampus has unique pendulous, cream-yellow flowers with a narrow lip, its flowers open simultaneously on the inflorescence.

An astonishing find during a botanical survey in Singapore marked the rediscovery of Engelhardia serrata and the revival of the walnut family (Juglandaceae) in Singapore! A researcher made the astonishing find of a fruit with distinctive 3-lobed wing, nestled among fallen leaves. The fruit belongs to Engelhardia serrata, also known as Brown Malay Beam. This tall emergent tree was presumed to be extinct in Singapore as it had not been sighted for more than a century. The last known specimen of this tree were collected in 1889, making this rediscovery a momentous occasion for Singapore’s botanical history.

A specimen collected from Nee Soon Swamp Forest in 2005 was identified as Pycnarrhena fasciculata, a woody, dioecious climber. This genus was previously unrecorded in the Singapore flora. This Nee Soon specimen is important as the voucher for an unrecorded genus in Singapore's native flora, but also as the only available flowering specimen of Pycnarrhena fasciculata as the Type specimen does not have flowers.

Studies in Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia have countered the deduction that most Palaquium species are insect-pollinated when they recorded visitations by various species of birds and bats. A preliminary study conducted in Singapore Botanic Gardens have further supported this assertion with the discovery of another pollinator of Palaquium obovatum, commonly known as lesser dog-faced fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis). This bat species has been a well-known seed disperser of Palaquium obovatum and the prospects of an additional role as a pollinator has indicated a double mutualism between partner species. Further studies are required to study its feeding habits, and their role in wild populations of Palaquium species in Singapore.

Singapore saw a new record through research done on herbarium material collected. Using five herbarium specimens collected from one or two trees from the Singapore Botanic Gardens and Chestnut Nature Park, it was determined that Memecylon acuminatissimum is an accepted species and not as previously thought, a synonym of M. oleifolium. This showed that vouchering living specimens is still vital for the recording of biodiversity in Singapore. This new record is also testament to the important conservation value of small patches of primary forests within urban environments, like Singapore.