This Singapore native species was named after a former Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It was classified as nationally extinct in the Total Vascular Plant Flora of Singapore (2009) until it was rediscovered in the forests by NParks staff and reclassified in 2014 as critically endangered in Singapore.
The tree can grow up to a trunk girth of at least 2m.
This Heritage Tree in the Singapore Botanic Gardens is likely to be the type tree or part of the original type population used in the Herbarium sheets.
This is based on the supporting information from Ridley's type specimen and Ridley's notes in 'Flora of Malay Peninsula, King's description'.
Reprinted here from the Flora of Malay Peninsula, Vol 1, 1922, page 893:
"Habitat: lowland woods, apparently rare; I have seen only one tree. Singapore, rockery in Gardens (Ridley). Native name: Lidah Kerbau"