Trip to Botanical Gardens

1. Trip to Botanical Gardens Jeremy Chia & Rohith Srinivas

2. Historical Aspects The Singapore Botanical Gardens was first found in 1822 by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. He was a keen naturalist which prompted him to establish the Singapore Botanical Gardens. After his death, without sufficient funding, the garden languished and was closed in 1829. The Gardens at its present site, which was founded in 1859 by an Agri-Horticultural Society, was planned as a leisure garden and ornamental park. The Gardens' first Director, Henry Nicholas Ridley, came to the Gardens in 1888 and worked tirelessly to produce rubber trees in the plantation for the next 23 years to usher the Gardens into the twentieth century and its most productive period historically. Beginning in 1928, Professor Eric Holttum, Director of the Gardens from 1925 - 1949, set up laboratories and conducted the first experiments in orchid breeding and hybridization.

3. Historical Aspects By the mid 1960s, the Gardens was taking a leading role in the greening of Singapore. To meet the need for urban landscapes and recreational areas, the Gardens' staff became involved in supplying planting material and in plant introduction to increase the variety and colour in road side and park plantings. In 1988, a big leap forward occurred when Dr Tan Wee Kiat became Director of the Gardens. While the Gardens remained committed to its role in making Singapore a Garden City and meeting recreational needs, renewed focus on being a leading international institution for tropical botany was established. Excellence in botanical research, education programmes and preservation of the cultural heritage of the Gardens were emphasized. In June 1990, Singapore Botanic Gardens came under the management of the newly formed National Parks Board to bring it to the forefront of botanical and horticultural activity by the 21st century.

4. Logos Logo of Singapore Botanic Gardens Logo of National parks Board

5. Interesting features There are a few halls named after the previous directors of the Singapore Botanic Gardens such as the Ridley Hall and the Holttum Hall. Furthermore, there are facilities for research and education. One of them is the herbarium which houses a main collection of about 650,000 herbarium specimens, as well as a supporting spirit collection. The Herbarium collections mainly include material from the Malaysian region (Peninsular Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines and New Guinea) and adjacent areas (East Asia, mainland SE Asia, the Southwest Pacific), with the most extensive collections from Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia dating from the 1880s. Out of these, about 6,800 are type specimens. The Herbarium uses the Botanical Research and Herbarium Management System (BRAHMS) to computerize the plant collection data.

6. Interesting features For visitors to learn more about horticulture, there is the Library of Botany and Horticulture. With many interesting titles on topics such as Wildlife, Natural History, Conservation, Gardening, Health and Well Being and many more. The Public Reference Centre houses materials on botany and horticulture for room use and reading within the library premises. Materials available are only for reference and not for loan. Specially prepared sets of herbarium specimens are available for referencing. Books, magazines, and CDs on plants and the local flora, horticulture and landscape architecture, with some attention given to animal life, conservation and the environment are on display. Dried carpological (fruit) exhibits, botanical artifacts, and exhibition of rare books are also available. This library of the Singapore Botanic Gardens existed since 1875 together with the Singapore Herbarium (SING). The Reference Library is one of the oldest in Southeast Asia, with more than 30,000 journals, books (including over 4,000 rare books and botanical illustrations), CDs, slides, audiovisuals and other media in its collections.

7. Heritage Tree Species Adenanthera pavonina Family : Leguminosae Common name : Saga Origin : Southeast China and India Saga is a medium sized tree, which grows to about 20m tall. It has a round uneven preading crown. Hardy and fast growing, it is deciduous but sheds its leaves fully leaving a bare crown. Flowers are small and star shaped, occurring in clusters and are light creamy yellow to orange , with a sweet fragrant smell. The tree flowers twice a year. Seeds are usually bright red, shiny and slightly heart shaped and are uniform in weight.

8. Heritage Tree Species Calophyllum inophyllum Family : Guttiferea Common name : Penaga laut Origin : Coasts of Northern Australia A coastal tree, the calophyllum inophyllum, is a slow growing, long lived evergreen tree. Flowers are, small, white with a yellow center occurring in bunches. They have a sweet fragrance and open in the middle of the night to be pollinated. Its wood is hard and strong and has been used in construction or boatbuilding . Active ingredients in the oil are believed to regenerate tissue, so is sought after by cosmetic manufacturers.

9. Heritage Tree Species Ceiba pentandra ( 80 – 90 years old) Family : Bombaceae Common name : Kapok, White silk cotton tree Origin : West Africa, tropical America, India This gigantic, deciduous large tree has tiered and horizontal branches giving it an open pagoda shaped crown. The inconspicuous Flowers are light yellow , whitish or pink with a milky smell. The fibre is light, very buoyant and resistant to water. It is difficult to spin but is used as an alternative to use as filling in mattresses, pillows, upholstery and stuffed toys . The seeds produce an oil used locally in soap and that can be used as fertilizer.

10. Heritage Tree Species Fagraea fragrans ( Over 100 years old) Family : Loganiaceae Common name : Tembusu Origin : Singapore A tall and impressive tree. It is hardy but slow growing. The evergreen tembusu can grow up to 25m. The large crown of light green leaves provides excellent shade. When mature, its crown assumes an irregular shape with several large branches. The light green leaves are oval shaped with a leaf tip. Flowers are very fragrant especially in the evening. The trunk of this tree can produce hardwood, and this wood can be used to make chopping boards.

11. Heritage Tree Species Millettia atropurpurea Family : Leguminosae Common name : Tulang Daing, Purple milletia Origin : Malaysia A beautiful tall evergreen tree with a dense, dome-like crown. Leaves are a simple, pinnate compound, with narrowly oblong pointed leaflets. The young leaves are edible with flowers that are inconspicuous. Mounted with dark red petals and purple sepals, it has a rather unpleasant smell.

12. Heritage Tree Species Terminalia subspathulata Family : Compositae Common Name : Jelawai, Malayan terminalia Origin : West Malaysia A gigantic tree which grows up to 50m in height. It possesses spreading buttresses with a wide conical, narrowly flat topped crown. The leaves are small, bluish green underneath and set spirally in rosettes. Fruits are flat and winged. Flowers are small and inconspicuous.

13. Heritage Tree Species Samanea saman Family : Leguminosae Common Name : Rain tree, pukul lima Origin : Tropical America introduced to Singapore 1876 A lofty tree with spreading umbrella shaped crown. The rain tree is fast growing and can reach a height of 25m with a crown spreading just as wide. The leaves are twice pinnate compound with oval shaped leaflets which have the habit of folding at night or during rainy periods. The pink flowers, with white stamens grow in clusters.

14. Tanglin Core Among the many attractions, one of them is the Swan Lake Gazebo. This gazebo is a Victorian cast iron garden shelter. It stands proudly, overlooking the Swan Lake. The Swan Lake was added as a feature of the Botanic Gardens in 1866. Its landmark island with the big clump of elegant nibong palms has become a timeless facet of the landscape of the Gardens. The pair of mute swans was imported from Amsterdam. As well as providing scenic vistas, the lake is an important water supply for the Garden. Another attraction is the Swiss Ball Fountain. The granite ball, which took Swiss sculptor Mr. Ueli Fausch three months to hand sculpt, measures 80 cm in diameter and weighs 700 kg. It fits perfectly into a 3-tonne basal block. Away from the Swiss ball Fountain, there are 6 sculptures depicting different moments and emotions. The last attraction is The Sun Garden and the other tree species. The Sun Garden displays succulents and other plants of arid regions. The Passing of Knowledge sculpture (2003) by local sculptor Victor Tan Wee Tar was presented by the Rotary Club of Singapore. There is also a Vanda Miss Joaquim garden there. The Vanda Miss Joaquim is our national Flower.

15. Central Core The Central core houses some of the most popular attractions. One of them is the VIP orchid garden State Visitors and other VIPs named selected orchid hybrids after themselves. Next, there is a orchidarium where almost 400 species in 100 genera are housed. The Orchidarium is landscaped to simulate a rainforest to provide comfort for the orchids. Adjacent to the Orchid Garden is the Ginger Garden. It contains more than 200 species of gingers. The Ginger Garden has been divided into special zones where one may find gingers organized by themes such as beauty or usefulness, or regions of their origin. There is also a 6-hectare primary rainforest. It is the only piece of original jungle left in Singapore! Not only rich in species, the Rainforest includes a wealth of species with economic importance. It is multi layered with herbs and ferns, shrubs, climbers and small, medium and large trees. The Evolution Garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 1.5-hectare area dedicated to telling the amazing story of how plants gave us life, and how, long before we humans arrived, they started to evolve into the myriad complex life forms that we see today.

16. Bukit Timah Core The Eco-Lake, with its irregularly sinuous shores, has a soft and natural atmosphere. Fish swim in its clear waters, and water hen, heron and migrant ducks call this home. It is delightful to see the colourful bee-eaters swooping and turning as they catch insects above the lake surface. Of course, no visit would be complete without a sight of the black swans . Jacob Ballas Children's Garden is Asia's first children's garden. Dedicated to all children of Singapore, it is designed to provide unique discovery and learning experiences in a garden setting. Then there is a rich variety of herbs, spices and medicinal plants at the Herbs and Spices Garden and the Medicinal Plants Garden. Adjacent to these gardens, is the fruit tree plantation. On display are several species of fruit-bearing plants such as the mango, rambutan, chempadak, banana, and butter fruit. There is also a beverage nuts garden which houses many types of coffee beans used to make coffee.

17. Acknowledgments