Just a quick listing of the other things I saw at MacRitchie on top of the fruiting dipterocarps and fauna. Being not much of a plant person, I don't know most of the IDs, so will really appreciate it if anyone can help with the ID.
These are the fruits of the Cheng Tng Tree (Scaphium macropodum). Blend in rather nicely with the leaf litter though. Haha. The fruit has a little "boat-like" wing which allows it to be dispersed by wind like a parachute. The main fruit is the black thing looking like a date stuck to one end in the middle of the photo, and that is used to make the brown jelly-like thing you find in the dessert chng tng. To make the jelly, my mum will place the seeds in hot water, and usually after about 2 hours, the seed will exude a brown spongy jelly that swells to fill the cup.
The Singapore Durian (Durio singaporensis) can be found along Petaling Trail. The seeds do not have much flesh surrounding them like the commercial durian species.
It was nice to find a few Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) at the primary forest patch, among the tall dipterocarps.
Have no idea what fruits are these. Update: These are the fruits of Koompassia malaccensis. Thanks SY for the info.
These look like the Kokoona reflexa fruits SY featured in his blog.
Some unknown fruits, likely to be Kokoona reflexa though.
These pretty water plants with little purple flowers can be found at the edge of the reservoir. Update: These are probably Mayaca sp., a popular aquarium plant. Thanks to Marcus for the info. This is, unfortunately, a non-native plant which has found its way to our waterways.
And sometimes, you can find the Slender Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes gracilis) too.
Look like some kind of nutmeg... Can't say for sure...
Again, no idea what fruits are these...
...
Somehow these remind me of chocolate with nuts inside...
Found 2 of these trees near Golf Link...
More unknown fruits.
And lastly, this cute little mushroom that looks like it has 2 layers.
These are the fruits of the Cheng Tng Tree (Scaphium macropodum). Blend in rather nicely with the leaf litter though. Haha. The fruit has a little "boat-like" wing which allows it to be dispersed by wind like a parachute. The main fruit is the black thing looking like a date stuck to one end in the middle of the photo, and that is used to make the brown jelly-like thing you find in the dessert chng tng. To make the jelly, my mum will place the seeds in hot water, and usually after about 2 hours, the seed will exude a brown spongy jelly that swells to fill the cup.
The Singapore Durian (Durio singaporensis) can be found along Petaling Trail. The seeds do not have much flesh surrounding them like the commercial durian species.
It was nice to find a few Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) at the primary forest patch, among the tall dipterocarps.
Have no idea what fruits are these. Update: These are the fruits of Koompassia malaccensis. Thanks SY for the info.
These look like the Kokoona reflexa fruits SY featured in his blog.
Some unknown fruits, likely to be Kokoona reflexa though.
These pretty water plants with little purple flowers can be found at the edge of the reservoir. Update: These are probably Mayaca sp., a popular aquarium plant. Thanks to Marcus for the info. This is, unfortunately, a non-native plant which has found its way to our waterways.
And sometimes, you can find the Slender Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes gracilis) too.
Look like some kind of nutmeg... Can't say for sure...
Again, no idea what fruits are these...
...
Somehow these remind me of chocolate with nuts inside...
Found 2 of these trees near Golf Link...
More unknown fruits.
And lastly, this cute little mushroom that looks like it has 2 layers.
the aquatic plant with small purple blooms looks like Mayaca sp., a popular aquarium plant. They grow very fast and seem to 'clog' up some of the little streams that feed the reservoir by the boardwalk. Periodically there are piles of them by the boardwalk, probably collected by Nparks maintenance staff.
ReplyDeleteKoompassia malaccensis for the 2nd picture.
ReplyDeleteThanks both :)
ReplyDeleteHi the seeds you have posted as kokoona reflexa are actually Mahogany seeds (Swietenia Macrophylla). An invasive introduced species from South America. I also tried to leave a comment on Sy's page but there was no space for it.
ReplyDeleteHi Ross, thanks for the comment. Swietenia macrophylla seeds and Kokoona reflexa seeds are very similar, but can be differentiated by the shape of the wing and how the seed is enclosed. I am quite sure the seeds are Kokoona reflexa from the shape. Not sure if you are aware, SY is actually a botanist with the NUS Plant Systematics Lab, and for that particular blog post, he was on a trip with botanists from the Center for Tropical Forest Science in the primary forest area in Bukit Timah, where there are no alien tree species.
ReplyDelete