THE CONCRETE CANOPY

Walking around Davidson

2012-02-11T08:11:00.007+08:00

There seems to be a great variety of garden favorites here, many of which are also common back in Singapore. Just like back home, gardens here have got Tradescantia creeping about, flamboyant Hibiscus bushes, leafy Monstera, and feathery Dypsis palms. Some of more fussy plants we have back home seem to be easy-peasy here and these include tree ferns, Hydrangea, ivy and roses. Then there are the plants that we never see growing in gardens back home and I have absolutely no clue what most of them are except for a handful of well-known ones like Pelargonium or Fuchsia.

Most gardens here seem to be comprised of mainly introduced horticultural plants. However there are many Gum Trees and these, with their ghostly white bark and green-blue leaves, are impossible to miss even if hard for me to tell apart from one another. The Grevilleas are also a feature of the Australian garden and I came across several in my short walk this morning:

Grevillea plants are very diverse from what I have noticed. I read that they have been hybridized a lot so I can't imagine how many different types there are. Most of them are quite pretty. I also saw this tree with a kind of orange Grevillea-ish flower that I couldn't decide was a Grevillea or not, pictured below.

This Grevillea was quite common in the wilder bits of the road. Grevillea buxifolia, I believe. It's different from all the other Grevillea I've seen. Instead of being smooth and wiry, these grayish flowers were kind of fuzzy and er... also wiry. The plant was about a metre tall and the flowers were borne in roundish umbels at branch ends. Notice the cobwebs? There are spider everywhere here in Sydney. BIG ones too! Kinda spooky but the Aussies don't seem to mind. I'm glad I haven't walked into any big webs. Yet.

Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney

2012-02-10T15:04:00.002+08:00

I was told it wasn't the best time of year to visit the Sydney botanic garden, but I thought it was wonderful nonetheless. The weather was perfect and the plants were gorgeous. Established in 1816, the garden is 30 hectares of plant paradise right in the heart of the city. I'll let these photos do the talking!

There were some really nice plant combinations. The top photo is a bed of vibrant bromeliads, in the middle photo: a dahlia collection, and the last of the three shows some deep purple basil.

Roses in the rose garden (top), an apricot-coloured dahlia (middle) and lastly some pink hydrangeas.

So many pretty blues here where it's cooler. Agapanthus (top) is everywhere here in Australia but you do see the old blue Plumbago bush around too. At the herb garden, I spotted a beautiful blue Chicory flower(middle). I love blue in flowers.

I like bulbs too and there were lots at the botanic garden. The pink ones below are Naked Lilies, named so for their blooming only when leafless, I reckon.

More bulbs! The middle photo is Clivia, which like Agapanthus is very common here, and grows in shade. The yellow one is a Hurricane Lily.

They had a couple of tropical glass houses, where an entry fee was required. I found these a little disappointing as compared to those I visited in the States but still worth it. They had several impressive Beehive Gingers that were blooming their heads off! Didn't see many orchids which is funny because I imagined Australia to be quite rich in native orchids.

Beautiful Cannas grew in dedicated beds in the garden grounds and the were so floriferous and healthy. Spectacular when compared to the grubby ones we get back home.

And of course, Grevilleas! I can't quite appreciate the wiry and scaly Australian Banksias yet but I'm beginning to appreciate Grevilleas. Some of them are still a bit too weird for me though.

It's pretty awesome that they've got a Begonia garden here! Why don't we have one of these back home? I mean look at that Begonia luxurians (photo right)!!! It's almost twice as tall as I am!

Hello Sydney

2012-02-08T19:20:00.008+08:00

Reporting live from Sydney! Just three random shots from North Head, which is a nature reserve or part of a nature reserve or something like that. More plant pics tomorrow at the Royal Botanic Gardens. Can't wait!

Coffee Tree

2012-02-05T08:32:00.003+08:00

Seedling of Coffea liberica

Would you believe it? I'm two days away from my departure! And just in case you weren't paying attention folks, January 2012 just zipped out the back door. Yeap, it's February. Already.

My fellow plant friends flew off to Brisbane just yesterday and I'd expect they should be settling into their new home by now. The night before Mark dropped by to collect some plants (thanks Mark) and one of them he's safekeeping for me is the little coffee tree.

Who would have thought that that little seed I planted back in 2009, that started off rather feebly, and proceeded to grow very slowly, would suddenly sprout several inches in a matter of weeks! The sapling recently made a pair of impossibly glossy, nearly foot-long leaves too. Middle of last year our friend had turned a nasty shade of yellow but I'm thankful it recovered. The cure and miracle boost seemed to be, believe it for not, hamster bedding, specifically those of the wood shavings type.

An inch or so of wood shavings over the soil with some fertilizer and before I knew it we had luscious organic matter, a few mushrooms and a greener plant. The wood chips broke down and made the soil acidic, the fertilizers helped the decomposition along, and thankfully the coffee tree approved. What a fluke!

Another for Dendrobium faciferum

2012-02-02T19:30:00.000+08:00

I've parted with many of my orchids in the last few months in preparation for my long stay in Australia but I'm glad I decided to hang on to this one. Dendrobium faciferum has been blooming for nearly two weeks now and I'm glad to be able to enjoy its blooms until I bid farewell to home next Tuesday. This orchid is a real charmer and is generous with its blooms. I've written about it before but that was two years ago and this great plant certainly deserves another mention.

With Dendrobium faciferum you get masses of red, well actually more of a deep salmon-orange that is all the more delightful, at the ends of leafless stems. But there is nothing flamboyant about this orchid, and in fact its pretty difficult to get impressive shots of this plant even in a good blooming as the long wiry stems and minuscule flowers do not evoke lushness. However, I enjoy the understated beauty in this plant and I think it has a certain 'wild flower' appeal to it. This one seems to take a bit of sun and will do best well watered but is otherwise accommodating and problem-free.

Dendrobium faciferum isn't an orchid that is going to wow your socks off - there are definitely more garden-worthy red-flowered individuals - but for the sake of fuss-free, frequent, unadulterated beauty, it's a keeper.

Begonia Leaves

2012-01-31T23:20:00.004+08:00

Just some Begonia leaf drawings...

Vivifying Viagra

2012-01-29T14:07:00.003+08:00

No giggling please, this is serious.

News. Scientists in Australia have discovered Viagra's unusual ability to keep plants looking keen. Now it is said that the blue pill can double the vase-life of cut flowers.

Apparently, just a small amount of Viagra can perk up nodding flowers for up to a week. They are now working to tailor a pill for the horticultural trade with similar components. Meanwhile, Viagra will be much appreciated for breathing new life into vases(and bedrooms) all around the world.

You can read more about this in The Telegraph.

JAWS!

2012-01-27T23:43:00.009+08:00

The moist undersides of plant pots seem to be good refuges for little living things and in my few years of gardening and pot-lifting, I have found a whole array of creatures that seem to find real estate in these crevices: millipedes, silverfish, moths, slugs, lizards, woodlice, crickets and of course, bothersome ants.

Is there any escape from ants in a garden? While they are usually not welcomed, ants have proven to be such persistent tenants that most gardeners simply live with and tolerate these colonists. Besides, when compared to leaf-annilating slugs, insatiable grasshoppers, proliferating mealy bugs and leaping lizards(yikes!), ants are but a slight nuisance.

There is one type of ant, however, that I cannot tolerate living among my plants. Seeing one of these critters anywhere near my garden will instantly trigger a cacophony sirens, alarm bells, hooters, buzzers and flashing red lights inside my head. It will make me drop whatever I am doing and promptly transform me into a raging, bug-stomping lunatic. Attached, for your reference, is the cause for the lunacy.

For any one who has been bitten by one of these, you will know why I dread them so. If you haven't, lucky you, but I will put things into perspective for you: this ant makes the Red Ant look like a sissy. I daresay this ant, commonly called a Trap-jaw Ant, delivers the most painful ant bite in all of Singapore. It's not a Fire Ant, we don't have those here thankfully, but it is still pretty bad-ass.

While Trap-jaws naturally inhabit mangrove swamps and moist forests, they can sometimes find their way into gardens. I learned the pain of this bugger's bite twice: first time at the Botanic Gardens when I didn't know what bit me, and a second time in my friend's garden when I saw the insect bite me(a bit slow on the reflexes) and immediately recognized the pain as all too familiar. The burning sensation is extremely localized lasts for about half-an-hour for me. It leaves hardly any mark.

How to Identify a Trap-jaw Ant:

Trap-jaw ants are pretty well-known. They are quite remarkable insects and you can learn more about them online. I think this website has great photos. There are many different species of Trap-jaws and I can't say I know much about insects at all but if you've never seen a Trap-jaw Ant, this rather crude description might help you prevent a nasty bite.

Identify the Trap-jaw Ant by its large size (slightly larger than a Red Ant) and reddish-brown coloration (more brown than a Red Ant). The abdomen, mid-section(thorax) and head are of similar lengths but the head is the widest. The ant has two prominent jaws that extend in front of its face. These are very long and held parallel to each other, like chopsticks, when the ant is calm. When agitated, the ant will open its jaws real wide until they form a straight line and are at right-angles to its head (photo above) until a spring mechanism is locked and loaded.

When triggered, the jaws slam shut, delivering the damage or even, sending the ant flying through the air to evade potential danger. A Trap-jaw's jaws are said to be one of the fastest predatory appendages in the animal kingdom and the insect compliments that force with a burning venom that really makes its bite something special and a truly unforgettable experience.

Remember: Hypanthodium

2012-01-22T12:39:00.012+08:00

My palm-sized Dorstenia foetida with its first inflorescence!

My young Dorstenia foetida is flowering for the first time! I bought this neat looking succulent from a local grower at the World Orchid Conference last year. I currently have two other Dorstenia species but this one is a favorite because of its tubby form and unusual hypanthodium.

Unusual WHAT?!

I can never remember this term too. A hypanthodium is a type of inflorescence(a growth of several flowers). It is a fleshy structure which can be be flat like a dish, shaped like a cup or round with a tiny opening at the top. Individual flowers are embedded on the inside surface of the structure.

A good example would be the common fig. Tiny flowers are borne on the inside of round 'fruits'. The flowers and seeds develop inside the 'fruits' and cannot be seen unless the fig is sliced. When we eat a ripe fig 'fruit', we're really eating the whole hypanthodium with all the tiny true fruits on its inner walls.

Here's the hypanthodium of a fig species. The red bits are the flowers/fruits encased within a fleshy shell.

In the case of Dorstenia, the hypanthodium is not round but flat like a dish. The hypanthodium of Dorstenia foetida has digits all around it and looks like a starburst. Larger ones have more digits and resemble tiny suns. The minuscule flowers are all clustered in the centre and these set seeds readily. I'm very fond of the whole weird look! Large specimens look like mini trees from Star Trek.

Dorstenia foetida has starburst hypanthodiums that grow from thick and succulent stems.

I give my small plant very bright light, without any direct sun and it seems to do okay. I water only occasionally. I hope this botanical curiosity will be bigger with more 'flowers' when I come back to Singapore in 2013. Fingers crossed.

Tagetes lucida

2012-01-18T09:20:00.011+08:00

Last month I blogged about my rather disappointing experience with Marigold Petite Yellow which I started from seeds. Here's a marigold I wish I had considered: Tagetes lucida.

The individual flowers Tagetes lucida look a little coarse but the plant

makes up for this in number and also with its scented foliage.

I saw this plant at the botanic garden Sundial Garden last week and was immediately attracted to its profuse, bright yellow flowers. I think this one is a good one to grow for that 'cottage garden look' that so many gardeners here seem to be crazy about. Most online sources seem to suggest that the plant is tolerant of a wide variety of soil conditions but is best for a sunny and dry spot. The plants I saw were growing in moist soil which appeared to be a mixture of sand and clay that was quite dense, with little organic matter.

Marigolds tend to smell a little funky which makes them disagreeable to most insects (they also have antimicrobial properties in their roots and are well-known for their ability to repel nematodes, which are minuscule soil-dwelling worm-like creatures of plant hell). But when I ran my fingers through the foliage of Tagetes lucida, there was little residual scent on my hand. A bruised leaf however (oops, couldn't resist!) released a strong smell akin to licorice candy. Wikipedia says the plant is a good replacement for tarragon, which is a culinary herb that is difficult in the wet tropics, but I have never smelled fresh tarragon so I wouldn't know.

The plants I saw were growing very well in full exposure. They were not compact and bushy like garden marigold varieties but they were nice for their airy, carefree growth. There were many seed heads full of seeds but I couldn't tell if the plants were self-seeding as the ground was dotted with the deceptively similar weed Hedyotis! If one were determined to differentiated the two, the plants with the tiny white flowers and more pronounced midribs are the ones serenading as juvenile Tagetes.

Leaves of Tagetes lucida (top left) and those of the common weed Oldenlandia corymbosa

(Hedyotis, bottom) are similar. Young plants may be hard to tell apart!

And while we're on the topic of Marigolds, here's an update on the Petite Yellows! As promised, they have made bountiful blooms. I have religiously deadheaded the fading flowers and despite the occasional wilting in the heat, the plants have been tough and flower-size has improved considerably.

Marigold Petite Yellow is a cultivar of Tagetes patula.

Still not really my kind of flower but the bright yellow adds much needed cheer in the dwindling garden, so I will not complain. The plants are still making lots of buds and I'm looking forward to more flowers for the Chinese new year. I think I had better give these guys a nutrient boost for all that hard work!

Peace by the Water Lilies

2012-01-13T16:59:00.007+08:00

I love being alone sometimes. Do you?

I love my friends and family all the time (sure do!) but I also love time alone. For some people, being with people charges them up and gets them going. People-people love people and being around others gives them energy and drive. I love people too and I like being around people but people don't charge me up. I find that being alone charges me up. This, according a friend I met last week over coffee (great coffee, by the way), is the defining quality of an introvert personality.

Just last night as I was lying in bed I, for no apparent reason, thought of water lilies. And the thing about water lilies is that they don't stay open all the time. Among the water lilies are night bloomers and day bloomers and so to see them all at one go one must wander around a water lily pond at dawn or dusk.

When I arrived at the gardens this morning the air was cool and I made a beeline for the Sundial Garden where the water lilies are kept. There were, to my dismay, to few water lilies blooming and just a bit too many people around. But the people were quietly meditating and the few flowers were beautiful. I sat at the edge of one of the ponds. It was very restful and apart from the chirping birds, quiet. It was nice.

The cool dawn slowly unravelled into a glorious morning. The pink tubular flowers of the Rondeletias all around the pond edges began to attract butterflies that greedily slurped on nectar held at their bases. I snapped a shot of this Chocolate Pansy butterfly having breakfast.

This little bee wasn't keen on the nectar that was out of reach. She was busy collecting pollen instead and she gathered her harvest in pollen baskets on her hind legs. This kept me entertained for quite a while.

The weather eventually warmed and I started to walk about. On my way out of the pond boundaries, I snapped a shot of one of my favorite tropical blue flowers. The sky blue Plumbagos and pink Rondeletias flanking the water lily ponds make a winning combination. Really cheerful.

And then this parcel caught my eye:

At first I thought it was some gross disease! Then I thought maybe a moth pupa wrapped in silk. And just as I began to realize what I was looking at, its maker flit right past my line of sight. A Tailorbird! I had just a few seconds to admire its rust-red head before it darted into its nest. That was a brilliant surprise and a great way to end my morning walk!

Red Red Radish

2012-01-11T15:17:00.009+08:00

Have any of you seen the red radishes on sale for the festive season?

They've been doing this for years but I still think a sun-loving vegetable makes a very odd indoor-plant! The imported radishes usually come bursting in teeny weeny plastic pots and typically have just two or three wonky leaves each by the time they make it to the nursery shelves - not exactly an inspiring look.

I can understand that the radishes symbolize good luck and are therefore popular for the new year because in Mandarin they rhyme with luck: 菜头/彩头. I suppose the naturally bright red root is somewhat ornamental (although only half of it can be seen because obviously most of the root has to be in the soil.) That's all fine and good.

But I have to draw the line at painted roots!

Unsatisfied with the natural colour of their radishes, some commercial growers have painted theirs bright red! Why would anyone buy a plant painted bright red, radish or otherwise?! But it doesn't stop there! Some of the poor roots come sprinkled with glitter!

I would like to declare that none of the plants on The Concrete Canopy have ever been painted any colour or adorned with glitter and they look fine plain, thank you very much.

But since we're on the topic of radishes, I think you should check out Ms Green Fingers' blog and her posts on the radishes she grew in containers. They are really cute. And no, they are not painted or glittered, they are 100% natural. See them here: Growing Vegetables with Ms Green Fingers

I'm so inspired I'm going to try and grow some myself when I'm in Brisbane! I heard the little red ones are some of the fastest and easiest vegetables to grow. I like the round ones shaped like big onions but with radishes the pointy end is the root tip and not the bud. I think it would be cool to grow something for the table but I suppose until that happens I can only imagine.

Here's a drawing I did of my imaginary radish-to-be with the Lily Bulbs.

Perfect Pussy Willows How-to

2012-01-10T15:55:00.015+08:00

Pussy willows are my favorite Chinese new year plants because they last for so long! These cut branches don't require much care and are fun to decorate. For as long as they are not dusty, Pussy willows make great displays and they don't wither and wilt like other festive season plants. Of course, plastic cherry blossoms don't wilt either but they usually look terrible. Au natural please!

Most people who have bought pussy willows in previous new years would have figured out how to care for them. As I had never brought these plants home before, I had to do some asking around after I bought them. If you are as clueless as I was and are intending to get some, here's how I prepared mine:

1. Buy pussy willows in bud. Buds have the copper-brown papery shells on them and are typically hard with a pointy tip. Make sure the dealer gives you fresh ones because old ones may not bloom so well.

2. Snip about an inch off the bottom of the branches before you put them in water. A freshly cut end will absorb water better than a dried up one.

3. Arrange your pussy willows however you like. You may want to remove the buds that are below the rim of your vase as these get in the way of your arranging and are obscured anyway. Leave the branches to grow for a few days to a week.

4. Drain away the water! This final step very important! Once your pussy willows have split their buds and their fuzzy catkins have expanded to your preferred size, pour away ALL the water in the vase. Keeping the branches dry will stop the catkins from growing further and they will stay in their nice fuzziness for a long long time.

While both these willow branches were bought at the same time, the catkins on the branch left in water for weeks matured and developed visible yellow anthers (left). Allow the catkins to dry at their best and they will stay nice and furry for ever more (right).

Falls like Confetti

2012-01-06T23:12:00.012+08:00

The deciduous Yellow Flames are all shedding their leaves! This is probably due to the bout of dryer weather we've been having. These familiar roadside trees have beautiful form, foliage and flowers and look great in landscapes but are a terrible choice for carparks - the tiny leaflets and papery flowers are a menace because they fall in huge quantities all over the place! Couple that with rain and you can be assured of soggy clods in the hardest-to-reach corners of your windscreen...

But thankfully no sign of rain lately and so the leaves fall like confetti when the wind blows.

It's actually quite nice.

Ghosts of Gardens Past

2012-01-05T17:06:00.004+08:00

As the garden is shrinking, it seems the cold concrete is growing and my corridor hasn't looked so spacious for a long time. Left behind are the ghostly stains of pots that used to sit along the wall and I couldn't help but try my hand at a little pot(pop?) art...

Might as well make the best of it. What do you think?

Old School: Kalanchoe daigremontiana

2012-01-04T08:13:00.003+08:00

Kalanchoe daigremontiana with abundant plantlets (bulbils). Leave the plantlets

undisturbed for long enough and you get plantlets ON your plantlets! (right)

Introducing Kalanchoe daigremontiana!!!

Wow, that was a mouthful. The common name 'Mother-of-Thousands' is much easier to remember although it still can be awkward to say. Personally, I don't really like the common name. Besides, there are numerous plants that go by that name so it can be confusing.

This species of Kalanchoe (say: Ka-land-koh-ee OR Ker-lan-koh) is a familiar one. It is one of those plants that never quits. Besides being adaptable to a variety of growing conditions, the presence of toxins throughout the plant keeps it safe from most pests. Good thing too, for without chemical protection I would imagine that this juicy plant would make a delectable meal for a herbivore.

Wherever you find this Kalanchoe, you are likely to find dozens. As anyone growing this plant will tell you, it is unusual because it has the amazing ability to produce abundant little plantlets that shed easily and grow into new plants. These plantlets are known as bulbils and plants that bear bulbils are termed as 'bulbiferous'.

The bulbils of Kalanchoe daigremontiana form along the edges of plant's 'leaves'. These are not true leaves, for Botany 101 tells us that true leaves do not usually have new growing points. What appears to be the plant's leaves are really modified stems called cladodes. Cladodes resemble and perform the function of regular plant leaves, and in the case of Kalanchoe daigremontiana, have the additional ability to reproduce. The cladodes have circular nodes along their edges from which the bulbils grow.

The ability to produce bulbils makes Kalanchoe daigremontiana easy for growers to share among each other and this when paired with a tenacity to survive has allowed them to make a foothold in gardens across the island. I got my first few bulbils from an old family friend years ago and I have started plants over and over since that time.

It's fun experimenting with the bulbils because they seem to be able to grow anywhere! Besides invading neighboring pots, the bulbils will also find a way to grow on sphagnum moss and in pavement cracks. Try them in empty egg shells with a spot of soil or fill an old whiskey bottle with the little buggers.

It's been over a year since I drew the Lily Bulb cartoons so I did one by special request :)

Here's what the Bulbs think of Kalanchoe and other 'bulbiferous plants'.

Facelift

2011-12-29T09:33:00.005+08:00

Hello Friends and Readers!

Noticed anything different? I've made some changes around here!

The first and most obvious change is the lack of a sidebar with links >

Everything will now be in neat tabs on top ^

Secondly, the Archives has now been condensed into a drop-list instead of a long scramble of text. It is located along with the tags and keywords in the 'Archives' tab.

And lastly, I have opened another journal within this blog where I can post things outside of gardening i.e. school, food, bills, bad neighbours and my life outside of the garden (yes, it exists). It will be in the 'Journal' tab, which redirects to concretecanopyjournal.blogspot.com.

I reckon I will have less gardening stuff to blog about after I leave for Aussie but I am sure there will still be stuff I would love to share. Such posts will be located in the 'Notebook' tab, which redirects to the homepage, concretecanopy.blogspot.com. Hopefully I will still have time to write about other things while I am studying. Hopefully I will have time to grow some new subtropical plants too!

Thank you for your support!

Cheers :)

Singa-bunga

2011-12-26T22:12:00.004+08:00

The flower of Den. leonis has a nice fragrance that many sources claim to be vanilla.

My nose is a cynic: only vaguely similar, it tells me.

I have a soft spot for unusual Singapore-native flora that I cannot explain. My penchant for orchids however, is more comprehendable. A plant that fits into both categories - a native orchid - will surely spark my interest. That might explain why I recently succumbed to a particular Dendrobium leonis during the recent World Orchid Conference. The species, although nationally extinct, is thankfully widely dispersed in South East Asia's lowland forests and is not rare.

Dendrobium leonis has an unusual form for an orchid: small, succulent leaves grow alternately in a zig-zag fashion, overlapping to completely obscure the flattened stems. The stiff structures are seemingly uniform throughout their length, sometimes becoming pendulous with time and finally flowering at the terminal tips. At approximately the size of a small peanut, the flower is not spectacular. However with close inspection and a little imagination one might find that the flowers are delightfully whimsical in appearance, their pointy lateral petals and relatively long labellum lending them the appearance of some kind of animal with similarly pointy ears and a gaping mouth: apparently a Leo or Lion, thus the specific epithet of 'leonis'. I believe it would be fitting to call Dendrobium leonis the Lion Dendrobium.

Roar.

Season's Greetings!

2011-12-25T01:49:00.002+08:00

Merry, Merry Christmas Everyone! :D

So I drew Etlingera

2011-12-23T01:17:00.003+08:00

So I drew Etlingera.

Cool House

2011-12-22T09:10:00.001+08:00

The air-conditioned Cool House@National Orchid Gardens, Singapore Botanic Gardens.

A Coelogyne orchid, maybe massangeana.

Dendrobium kingianum

Some Paphiopedilum...

Totally no clue what this is but it is very pretty. Nice foliage too.

Lycaste xytriophora? Maybe.

Perhaps this is an Epidendrum of some kind. It's interesting because the flowers are pendulous and the color is very intense. It must be hummingbird pollinated!

Oncidium cheirophorum, one of the parents of Oncidium Twinkle.

Phalaenopsis lindenii with showing striped lips. The foliage is attractively mottled. This species comes from the Philippines.

I believe this is Paphiopedilum haynaldianum, also from the Philippines.

A quick search churns out: 'Dendrobium goldschmidtianum'?

No clue at all what this shrub is but it is interesting.

I like Brassia. Don't know which one this is though.

Have not the faintest idea what orchid this is, but it's beautiful in an understated kind of way.

So white it glows, Masdevallia tovarensis.

A Pinguicula, or Butterwort, but I don't know enough about these carnivorous plants to tell the species. These guys use their sticky leaves to trap insect prey.

All that in one enclosure! Many Singaporeans don't know about the National Orchid Gardens, which is a pity because it is supposed to be the main attraction of the Botanic Gardens and a must see for many tourists. The guys there put in a hell lot of effort into maintaining the whole thing too but locals don't go to see their work :(

3 Things Pygmy Pandans Keep Hush

2011-12-21T17:12:00.001+08:00

Here are 3 things that variegated Pandanus pygmaeus keeps quiet about.

Boring, non-variegated siblings that sprout out of nowhere. What will the neighbors think?!

2. Amongst the deceptively soft, grassy foliage: SPINES!

3. And occasionally: flowers!

Male flowers of Pandanus pygmaeus. Male and female flowers are borne on different plants, kind of like the Papaya.

Tillandsia 'Hairy One'

2011-12-20T00:12:00.007+08:00

I've never been good at air-plants. Dad can testify, having witnessed almost ALL my store-bought specimens turn into crisp. Not only am I bad at growing them, I'm also really bad at identifying them. My exposure to these exotic plants is embarrassingly shallow considering the big hoo-haa they have become among local growers in the recent decade. Famed for being truly soil-less (pot-less too), these seemingly miraculous tufts of green and silver seem to be the answer for any fastidious Singaporean keen on a miniscule 'window-grille garden'.

Some years back, many growers jumped into the Tillandsia Craze although some jumped right back out, finding the plants too fussy to grow. Au contraire, some people find these plants very manageable and there are many growers out there with collections dedicated to the genus. As for me, most attempts at cultivating Tillandsias have ended in tears. Only this year, with the introduction of a garden hose (wonderful invention there), have I managed to keep some alive. All my current air-plants were sold to me by other growers. Most of them haven't grown significantly, in fact some might have shriveled a tad, but with regular and generous hose irrigation they have stayed long enough to be passed on to the next grower.

One particular Tillandsia, however, seems to be performing exceptionally well compared to its peers.

Tillandsia magnusiana

Tillandsia magnusiana has almost doubled in size since I got it almost a year ago and is thus my favorite air-plant. I was recently enlightened by a kind and knowledgeable grower (not sure if naming is convenient) of this plant's identity. I previously referred to it as the closely related Tillandsia plumosa. Prior to that name, my Dad and I referred to the plant as the 'Hairy One' (my Tillandsia identification skills or lack thereof are very apparent here.)

According to said kind and knowledgeable grower, Tillandsia magnusiana is supposed to be a cool-growing, difficult to grow species in SG! But my plant looks happy! No credit to me of course, I don't know what I'm doing to keep it growing so that hardly counts as skill. Pure 100% dumb luck. I was fond of it because it was growing so well but I'm even more fond of it now! Maybe my plant is a pedigree resistant to heat!

I have the plant sitting in a ring of wire with its limbs dangling in the air. I hose it down twice a day with the rest of the other epiphytes but once only on rainy days. I heard this is a recipe for crown-rot, which Tillandsia magnusiana is supposed to be prone to. I've been advised to hang it up-side-down. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Gee, what should I do...

Petite

2011-12-19T12:41:00.006+08:00

In early October I purchased some marigold seeds to plant, partly because I was bored but also because I figured that annuals were the only good plant investment for me since I would be flying off in a few months. Even then, it's funny that I should have picked up Yates' Marigold Petite Yellow, because I don't really fancy the common garden marigold. I can't explain myself sometimes.

So anyway I planted some seeds (these resemble tiny Chinese ink brushes) and transplanted the seedlings and fed them and watered them, all this in the sunniest spot that I could afford. I must say these guys are really easy to grow and definitely pest-free (although I would not have expected any less of Tagetes patula.)

The plants were super lush and the first flower bloomed on the tenth week, two weeks earlier than stated on the packet. Although the seeds took only three days to germinate, as opposed to the expected fourteen days. Balance that out and it is a pretty accurate estimation, I think. Sad to say, the flower was most disappointing!

HUH?!

While I was pleased that the plants stayed dwarf and compact, I was certainly hoping the flowers wouldn't be so! What am I supposed to do with THAT little thing?! It's puny! It's mousey! The flowers on the packet look twice the size of mine! There must have been something I missed. Perhaps there simply wasn't enough sunshine for better blooms. Mum agrees that my previous attempt with Dahlias from seeds was far more gratifying!

Yates promises a profusion of blooms, though. Perhaps my dwarf marigolds will make up for their little flowers with quantity. Oh well.

PLANTS FOR SALE Phase 2 (final)

2011-12-17T01:32:00.009+08:00

Hey guys!

As part of the dismantling of the Concrete Canopy, I've got a few plants that I would like to sell before I fly off to Australia to study next year (Bachelor of Science, Maj Plant Science, whoopee!). I'm giving most of my plants away to friends and relatives but I've got a few I thought I'd try to sell to make some pocket money. Please text me/PM me/fb message me if you are keen!

Cheers!

Yours Truly,

Unemployed Student

Snapple bottle on left for size reference :)

(Foreground) Schefflera 'Nova', 'Nova' meaning new. Introduced to cultivation in the recent decade, previously believed to be a variety of S. actinophylla. Seems there hasn't been a proper species name prescribed. 25

(Rear) Anthurium Jungle Bush, short of a metre tall. 30

Xanthoxylum beechyanum, Szechuan Pepper, very aromatic leaves 20

RESERVED

Coffea liberica, Liberican Coffee sapling. Small tree, white fragrant flowers, home-grown from seed 20

Amorphophallus atroviridis, red petiole, with pot :) 30

Chrysothemis pulchella 8

Pilea depressa (I think) 8

Elatostema sp. I haven't seen this one around so I guess its pretty uncommon. I think it has good potential to be a specimen plant. Seems to love high humidity and shade. Leaves shown here about 3 inches but they have grown to 5 inches before in ideal conditions. 15

Hoya chinghungensis. Rooted this cutting on a piece of bamboo for fun :) Established with small shoot at the side. Will probably need transplanting eventually. Out to the keen, contact me for price. RESERVED

As well as the following plants.

Buddleja asiatica (white flowers, very fragrant, plant now less than 15cm tall)
Eucharis formosa (flowering bulb, started from seed, now has three bulbs, flower photo here)
Aglaonema nitidum (species, plain green)

And that should be it! :D

the Striped Albatross

2011-12-08T00:06:00.014+08:00

A female Striped Albatross, reared from a single rugby-ball-shaped egg to winged adulthood.

A common garden butterfly, the Striped Albatross is an established migrant that can be seen flying even along busy roads. Males are white with black wing veins whereas females have some yellow on their undersides that is somewhat like a dusting of sulphur. The butterflies are fairly quick on the wing and are often seen where their caterpillar food plant, the Wild Cleome, is abundant. The Striped Albatrosses owe their success in Singapore to the wide distribution of the weedy Wild Cleomes but unless they also feed on the fancy garden Cleome varieties, these pretty insects should be welcomed in any garden.

Pretty but tiny, the flower of Wild Cleome - Cleome ciliata.

Another weed-eater is the Tawny Coaster (although it can be a pest too)!

Pressing Plants

2011-12-04T03:56:00.010+08:00

Dried foliage (from left): Hemigraphis colorata, Maidenhair Fern, Coleus.

Dried tepals of Den. Andree Millar.

Some people like to collect botanical curiosities. Seeds, such as the familiar ones of the Saga Tree, are often collected in glass bottles to be admired for their everlasting bright red and are a favorite among children and grown-ups alike. The ardent horticulturist or amateur botanist will almost always have the odd dried fruit or other plant part somewhere on his or her desk. I am guilty of that habit, having collected quite a number of dried capsules and seeds myself. (I now wish to obtain an acorn as I have never seen one, dried or not, in real life.)

However while dry seeds are usually fuss-free to store, flowers and foliage pose the problem of wilting after cut. Pressing is a good way to preserve plant parts that would otherwise crinkle or turn into mush. I press my plants the old-fashioned way, between the pages of books, but if one were really serious about pressing plants, special clamps can be bought for the purpose. If one were any more serious about pressing plants, he or she could consider working in a herbarium full-time but let's not go there today. Today I want to make some notes about pressing plants for fun.

Coelogyne mayeriana, a green-flowered orchid with striking black markings on its lip. The patterns are well preserved in this pressed flower which is about a year old.

I have tried pressing the leaves of the following plants to good effect:

Adiantum (Maidenhair Fern) - stays a light green for months
Davalia (Rabbit's Foot Fern)
Nephrolepis (Yet another fern)
Hemigraphis colorata - unusual colour: dark blue, fading to grayish blue
Fittonia
Coleus - depending on cultivar, variegation visible for months
Jacaranda - will fall apart if roughly handled
Papaya - beautiful form
Cleome
Oak (but sadly no acorns)
Maple - red ones stay maroon for quite long

I have pressed the following flowers and they look fine:

Coelogyne mayeriana - fades brown, black markings stay clear
Dendrobium Andree Millar - if done properly, beautiful. Fades yellow, lip with purple veins.
Dendrobium crumenatum (Pigeon Orchid) - difficult to handle, fades pale brown
Episcia (Flame Violet) - red flowers fade to dull red
Impatiens balsamina (Balsam) - must be dismantled for pressing, red flowers fade to pink
Limonium (Statice) - purple, pink, yellow. almost everlasting colour.
Torenia (Blue Wigs) - difficult to handle, blue lasts for a few months
Strawberry flowers

While many flowers are a disaster to press (wet pages and mould, yuck!), others actually lend themselves to pressing quite well. Dendrobium Andree Millar has to be my favourite for pressing as it keeps its colour for so long - the ones shown below are 7 months old. The plant is also very generous with its blossoms. I use the flowers to make stickers. Here's how:

Millar Stickers How-to

Preparing flowers for pressing. Pick only unblemished, fresh flowers that are dry. Remove the lip from the flower carefully. Using a sharp blade, slice away the fleshy column in the centre of the flower, as well as the keels on the lip.
Pressing the flower. Set the lipless flower between paper to protect your book. Gradually flatten the flower with the book starting from one side working your way to the other. Ensure the flower petals are spread flat when you press. If you make a mistake, you can always make adjustments. In another book, press the lip in the same way.
Sealing the flower. After one month, the flower should be ready. Gently remove the flower and its lip from the papers (they might stick a little). Arrange the flower and its corresponding lip on a sheet of clean wax paper (baking paper is perfect). Paste clear masking tape over the flower and ensure there is about half a centimeter of tape all around the flower. Your flower should now be 'plastered' onto the wax paper and sealed all around.
Your sticker is done! On a cutting pad or over layers of old newspaper, cut around your flower with a sharp blade. Leave a margin of tape about half a centimeter all around your flower.

To use the sticker, simply peel away the wax paper and paste your flower right where you want it. I have tried this with Coelogyne mayeriana as well as strawberry flowers. The tape doubles as a protection for the flower from moisture and mould. This trick is great with any flower smaller than the width of the store-bought clear masking tape and is a cheap and relatively easy-to-make decoration for envelopes, books, cards, collages and scrapbooks :)

This handmade card costs close to nothing and it doesn't look too bad!

CONCRETE CANOPY BREAKDOWN

2011-12-02T21:09:00.006+08:00

I will be leaving Singapore for Australia in about two months and I won't be back for a long time. I'm going to have to dismantle my garden (NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!). I now have plants for sale, plants to give away, plants to keep, plants to chuck (gulp)... I created an excel spreadsheet of every single specimen I have in my collection and came up with some interesting data. While we have shrunk a lot since the last move from the condo, I'm glad I still managed to squeeze so many plants into the flat. Without further ado, here's the Concrete Canopy Breakdown!

120 species, hybrids and cultivars.

78 genera.

38 families.

Plant species and/or hybrids per Family:

Orchidaceae (The Orchid Family)

Bromeliaceae (The Pineapple & Airplant Family)

Araceae (The Anthurium, Dumbcane and Calla Lily Family)

Gesneriacaeae (The African Violet Family)

Asparagaceae (The Agave and Asparagus Family)

Acanthaceae, Araliaceae, Moraceae (The Fig Family), Nepenthaceae (The Tropical Pitcher Plant Family), Rubiaceae (The Coffee Family)

3 in each

Amaryllidaceae (The Amaryllis Family), Apocynaceae (The Milkweed Family), Arecaceae (The Palm Family), Aspleniaceae, Begoniaceae (The Begonia Family), Cactaceae (The Cactus Family), Euphorbiaceae, Polypodiaceae

2 in each

Asteraceae (The Sunflower Family), Caprifoliaceae (The Honeysuckle Family), Commelinaceae, Crassulaceae (The Kalanchoe Family), Davalliaceae (The Davalia Family), Dioscoreaceae, Hamamelidaceae (The Witch-hazel Family), Lamiaceae (The Mint Family), Lomariopsidaceae, Oxalidaceae (The Oxalis Family), Pandanaceae (The Pandan Family), Portulacaceae, Pteridaceae, Rutaceae (The Citrus Family), Salviniaceae, Sapindaceae (The Rambutan Family), Scrophulariaceae, Tecophilaceae, Zingiberaceae (The Ginger Family)

1 in each

The Canopy Awakens

2011-11-29T09:21:00.004+08:00

As the sun peeks over the next block and floods the corridor with its glorious glow, Bee 1 (or Bee 2) is to be found up and about, zooming around. He perches upon the highest post and surveys his little garden kingdom. Everything seems to be in order. Our friend proceeds with what must be his routine grooming procedure and I watch closely the camera screen as he cleans his little feet with his mandibles. It seems to be a delicate procedure and for all I know he could have in fact been 'brushing his teeth'.

The sun's heat warms the flowers of Cattleya Candy Tuft and immediately their perfume factories begin to lace the air with their sweet pleasure. The scent of the nocturnally fragrant Hoya obscura is noticeably absent.

I get to work with watering and removing the undesirables from amongst the greens. I pinch away the drab inflorescences of my Aglaonemas so they can spend their energy on their beautiful foliage instead. These are flowers I can do without but bring on the foliage please!

Further down the corridor, yet to be exposed to the full morning sun, is the ever-blooming Abelia. It will wait its turn to catch the late morning sunshine which it needs to make a profusions of its white blossoms.

Bee 1 and 2 have already exploited these blossoms for their sugary reward. Too big to crawl through the corolla tube, they have learned to steal nectar by nibbling near the bases of the flowers instead. Sneaky! But the flowers are abundant and the damage hardly noticeable.

Portulaca opens in the morning and withers by the afternoon. Look at those pollen grains on the anthers!

There is no better sunshine than morning sunshine!

20th World Orchid Conference

2011-11-28T14:54:00.007+08:00

The 20th World Orchid Conference held at the Marina Bay Sands came to a close last Sunday. The feedback has been great and it is heartening to know that all the effort paid off! A week prior to the show we were down at the site helping with the set up of the display for OSSEA (Orchid Society of South East Asia). We had also signed up to help with the Judging Secretariat which was why we were to be found all week running to and fro from the office to the floor like crazy people.

Chong-Yee and Irene were most appreciative of our help with the judging work but I think given the invaluable experience and exposure we got in return, I was grateful to them for the opportunity. It was, here I quote from the standard phrases of 'O' Level English in Singapore, 'an enjoyable and enriching experience' indeed. I also learned so much from the talks at the Conference. Now I feel all geared up for degree in Plant Science.

The Grand Champion display from Thailand.

The Eric Young Orchid Foundation put up this beautiful display dominated by gorgeous Calanthe orchids and quite literally, bagged plenty of ribbons and awards including the Reserve Grand Champion plant, a deep red Du Motier Victoria Village.

The OSSEA display did good too and was awarded a Gold medal.

Tolumnia Red Barry(left) & Tolumnia Genting Angel from the OSSEA display were in colors almost too rich to be true...

...as were these little ones in a display from Japan.

Taking home the Grand Champion plant, Cycnodes Taiwan Gold by China.

Another great plant from the same exhibitor, a Brassavola nodosa.

Best Speciment Plant of the show, Vanda lamellata by the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

The hawkmoth-pollinated Aerangis biloba (left). I was told by one of the judges from Ecuador that Epidendrum fimbriatum(middle) is tiny but tough, growing terrestrially on high elevations sometimes on the edges of sulphur pools. A leafless Vanilla orchid species native to the region, Vanilla aphylla (right).

At the marketplace... Paph. helenae, a beautiful miniature slipper orchid that is endemic to the cool highlands of Vietnam. Such tiny leaves for such big flowers. Sadly, they won't grow well here.

Also at the marketplace, the crazy looking flowers of the Bucket Orchid, Coryanthes sp.

Last photo, a pitcher plant! Borneo Exotics brought a whole range of crazy looking pitcher plants including the 'shrew-loo', Nepenthes lowii. This one above really caught my eye - Nepenthes hamata. I have never seen a more wicked looking Nepenthes! (I haven't seen that many.)

What a show, what a show... I do hope I can attend the 19th Australian Orchid Conference while I'm there!

November Canopy Update!

2011-11-28T02:45:00.008+08:00

I've been struggling with my G12 camera. It is a 'compact-pro' I'm told (taxonomy by Jonathan Moey) and although I am clearly not 'pro' enough for it, I think I should at least respect the machine by making an attempt at exploring the possibilities of some of its manual capabilities instead of exploiting the AI for every shot. So while I'm practicing on my plant subjects, I might as well update on what's 'growing on' while I'm at it. Here goes...

Floating ferns: Salvinia sp.

The floating ferns that I pinched from Mark are growing nicely. I love the genus name: Salvinia. These notorious water weeds would probably like a lot more light but I'm really growing them just as a fun curiosity. It's nice to see them from this angle too! I'm beginning to find a strange beauty in those dangling roots. Looks like a cosy place to sleep in if I were a fish or something...

Hoya obscura flowers sporadically throughout the year.

I must sing praises of Hoya obscura here once again. This plant was bought from a nursery in the Cameron Highlands years ago but one need not cross the international border to find this plant as it is available here in SG if not readily then at least occasionally. The foliage of a happy Hoya obscura is thick and firm and blushes when grown in full sunshine. The plant's little flowers form a flat umbel and are subtly colored. Up close, they are fuzzy and bring to mind chicks... okay, maybe that's just me! Other than that, the flowers are quite unspectacular but well make up for this with their heady perfume that seems to get stronger as the night goes by. A single umbel can perfume a two metre radius on a still night. The plant is quite free flowering even in part shade. Hoya obscura is a real gem when it greets me with its delicious fragrance when I come home after a long day.

Buddleja asiatica, the Asian Butterfly Bush

Also nose-friendly is the the Asian Butterfly Bush that has a familiar smell, one that reminds me of baby powder or soap. I have trouble with leaf shedding with this plant but it is supposed to be an easy one for tropical gardens. I have never seen butterflies on my plant and perhaps the white flowers of this species of Butterfly Bush are more appealing to moths instead. A cheap and good plant to have if you don't mind its messy habit. The plant's leaves are very rough and are oval rather than lanceolate as typically associated with other more colorful Buddleja species.

Schefflera elegantissima as delicate palmate leaves with very slender leaflets.

This one grows on you. My plant started off less than a metre tall and two years later, it is catching up with me and I seems to be getting fonder of it by the day. If you aren't entranced by the 'elegantissima' (very elegant) foliage of this plant at first glance, you will be intrigued by its almost black stems, deep green leaves with contrasting white mid-ribs and coppery leaf tips. The airy, lacey look is a refreshing twist to the usual lush of other more common Scheffleras. I will be sad to leave this plant in another's care when I leave home for Uni Queensland.

Non-stop Hits: Dendrobium Andree Millar!

Also on my 'miss list' would be Den. Andree Millar. I have never grown a more floriferous orchid: non-stop, year round flowers in apple green and that gorgeously striped lip stays striped when the flowers are pressed. Needless to say I have loads of pressed flowers of Den. Andree Millar! Lucky is the person that gets this diligent plant when I'm gone!

Tough luck for my resident bamboo-dwelling bees though! They will have to seek shelter elsewhere once I give up my Szechuan Pepper for my folk's will be moving again while I'm Down Under. I doubt the new owners of our current home will be as keen to have them around!

Bee 1 and Bee 2, nice and cosy, chilling out on a wet afternoon.

Section 'Platycaulon' and a found identity

2011-11-21T03:05:00.006+08:00

We have an identification: Den. platycaulon!

In March this year, I wrote about this orchid with no ID that flowered beautifully for me. Guess what? It's a no ID no more! I have recently discovered that my plant has long been christened Dendrobium platycaulon (platy meaning 'wide' and caulon, 'stem') describing its distinctively broad and flat canes. Well... distinctive for a Dendrobium but, as I previously found out and explained in my previous post about this then unidentified plant, there are orchid pictures online that show plants with similar looking stems but a variety of flower forms. This was a taxonomic adventure awaiting discovery!

I wanted to know three things:

What was my plant?
What was Den. ypsilon? (what my plant was labelled.)
What was Den. lamellatum? (what people said my plant was.)

Sparked by my desire to label my then unidentified orchid plant, my quest to unravel the mystery of the flattened caned orchids began. The 20th World Orchid Conference in Singapore, which I shall of course post photos of soon, gave me access to not only plant material but also BOOKS. Oooh, books... Books are indeed many splendor things.

The first thing I learned about my flattened caned orchids was that they had been identified as an individual section within the Dendrobium genus called Platycaulon (more well-known Den. sections are Spatulata, Latouria and Phalaenanthe). The section Platycaulon is described clearly in Vol. 6 of the Malesian Orchid Journal, in the chapter 'Dendrobium section Platycaulon in Borneo'. (I bought it to read that chapter at SGD45 which is quite a bit for the average unemployed student but it's full of other fascinating reads.) Authors J.J. Wood and A. Lamb write, "Platycaulon is distinguished by having strongly flattened, compressed clavate pseudobulbous stems bearing few to several apical leaves..." Which basically sums up my plant when not in flower.

In his book "The Dendrobiums" (2006), H.P. Wood writes about members of section Platycaulon. He describes the flower of Den. platycaulon (a member of the section Platycaulon) as having a '...tubular lip with gradually sloping side lobes, so that it resembles a sugar scoop.' That perfectly describes my plant that was incorrectly labelled Den. ypsilon and then later claimed to be Den. lamellatum. He makes reference to the work on Dendrobium lamellatum by Danish botanist G. Seidenfaden, whose analysis on the orchids also appears in the article by J.J. Wood and A. Lamb published in the Malesian Orchid Journal Vol. 6.

Based on the descriptions of Seidenfaden, as well as the details provided by the article by J.J. Wood and A. Lamb, I went online as well as around the marketplace at the World Orchid Conference to compare all the plants labelled Den. lamellatum. It was then that I stumbled across Den. pesudolamellatum, much to my dismay. I made doodles of the plants based on the descriptions by Seidenfaden and quickly started to see the MESS of plants labelled Den. lamellatum falling into his four suggested species divisions.

A rough drawing I did based on what I understood of the descriptions of the many 'versions' of Den. lamellatum.

In my doodle above, the left most flower belongs to Den. platycaulon (my plant) and has the sugar scoop lip. This plant is endemic to the Philippines. The rest of the plants are found scattered across the other South East Asian lowlands. The pink one beside belongs to Den. pesudolamellatum, which has stems with two(sometimes slightly more) very long leaves (longer than the length of the stem) that often have purple-tinged undersides, making it quite distinct from the crowd.

The remaining four plants divided from the Den. lamellatum mishmash and have been named by Seidenfaden as shown above. Right at the bottom is Den. compressum which has white/yellow flowers with fan-shaped lips that lack side lobes. J.J. Wood and A. Lamb recognize this one too, as Den. compressum, and they describe the plants from Borneo in detail.

The remaining three plants I have drawn to the best of my ability. They are: Den. praetermissimum, Den. ypsilon and the 'true' Den. lamellatum itself. I am not sure if they are recognized species or currently still lumped under Den. lamellatum but Seidenfaden identifies them as distinct from one another. I found a plant for sale that fits the description of Den. ypsilon that was labelled Den. lamellatum. It did not have side-lobes.

I suppose we will have to wait for more work to be done on the Den. lamellatum complex before we will know which is what and which belongs to which geographical region. At least I am very sure what Den. compressum, Den. pseudolamellatum and Den. platycaulon are and where they occur naturally and that is kind of satisfying in a strange way. There is a joy in being able to perceive an order in the natural world and to be able to pick out patterns and groups. Even if they aren't yet named, that doesn't really matter. Names are made up by people anyway.

There is something bigger here, I think...

I found a Sunberry!

2011-11-08T16:28:00.007+08:00

I spotted it as we were getting into the car. The plant had sprouted out from a gap between two bricks on the driveway, much like all the weedy things that frequently do, and had grown taller than the curb such that its leafy head poked precariously over the walkway for all to squish, trample and pulverize.

It was definitely not the everyday weed and therefore of great interest to me. I decided to bring it home and plant it. I hoped it wouldn't feel too violated, being removed from its birth spot, seeing that it would get more soil, water and nutrients than its little crack of a home could provide. I also removed some of its older and whitefly infested leaves. It came out of the crevice without much resistance.

The little weed, now growing in one of my community pots.

At first glance, I thought it was a Datura (I can dream, can't I?) from the irregularly toothed leaves of pale green. But brinjal (eggplant) also has that sort of foliage. I guessed that it was more likely to be the vegetable, for brinjals, being yummy, are a lot more likely to be found in Tampines than poisonous Daturas.

Then I saw a flower! A pretty one too! That's when I got REALLY interested.

A flower that was only a centimeter across and pale yellow with five distinct brownish markings.

Sensing a taxonomic challenge, I wasted no time in rummaging through my books and raping the internet for photos and descriptions of my new plant. At first I thought that the flower reminded me of those belonging to Lady's Fingers (Okra) but that was just a color resemblance and therefore not a very important trait. However the Datura-like foliage was interesting, and it incidentally looks like those of brinjal plants.

Then I had a moment. The similar foliage morphology was not simply incidental - both Datura and brinjal both belong to the same Family! I was holding something from Solanaceae or the Potato, Tomato and Chilli Family.

Sunberry plant with developing fruit on the left.

Knowing the Family narrows the search down a hell lot. According to the book, Solanaceae typically have flowers of 4-5 fused petals, alternate leaf arrangement and a superior ovary. Check, check, check. I wasn't going to slice open the raw fruit to check on the seeds because I wanted to collect them for propagation, although doing that might have helped a lot. Still, the undeveloped fruit did help to point me to the right direction.

The plant turned out to be a type of Gooseberry. More specifically, a Sunberry - Physalis minima. You can differentiate the herb from other similar looking Physalis by its diminutive size (hence 'minima'), its purple-tinged stems and of course, the little flowers that have five distinct, brownish markings.

Gooseberries are often used as garnishes on cakes and desserts. They are bright orange berries that have papery brown bracts around them. The sunberry is also edible, but does not taste as good being allegedly more sour than the gooseberry. However, sunberries have medicinal properties and according to Wikipedia (if you trust it), can be used to relieve pain. I'll post photos of the fruit when it develops! The photos of them online look pretty cool.

A quick check with the local forum tells us that the plant is common, and used to be found 'everywhere in Singapore'. I have never seen any thing like this 'anywhere in Singapore' so it can't be 'everywhere' now. This one's a keeper!

There's a mole among us...

2011-11-06T22:09:00.003+08:00

I saw a huge insect flying around in the room making the most disturbingly loud buzz.

At first I thought it was a COCKROACH.

Then I saw two tails behind it and I thought it was a GIANT EARWIG.

But it was neither (Whew!). The uninvited guest turned out to be a mole cricket.

A mole cricket.

A MOLE CRICKET! I quickly caught the bugger for some photos.

Check out those big-ass front feet! Mole crickets have these short, thick and powerful front legs for digging tunnels in the soil. At the first sign of danger, the insect can simply dive beneath the sand as easily as a frog would leap into the water. With a trick like that, there's no need for hopping around so these crickets do not hop as well as true crickets. However, they do fly (I can testify) and like other crickets, sing. In fact it supposedly digs a subterrarian funnel that amplifies sounds like the bell of a gramophone!

Crickets are omnivorous. They eat their veggies, they eat some bugs and yes, they eat each other. Apparently, mole crickets are pretty much the same although they typically dine underground, eating worms and such, as well as plant roots - this makes them a real problem in farms and golf courses. Almost everything online about mole crickets pertains to annihilating these pests, except for in the UK where they are endangered. Go figure.

I'm keeping my mole cricket for a night. Hopefully it will sing. Hopefully it is male, because only male crickets sing. The one I got has these two tails behind it and it lacks the sharp pointy stinger thing that regular female crickets have so I think it should be a boy. (The sharp pointy stinger thing in regular female crickets is called the ovipositor and it is used in egg-laying.)

I lined its plastic home with soil and it disappeared to the bottom immediately. I can now see its tunnels through the clear plastic. Super cool.

Lone Tree

2011-10-29T17:30:00.002+08:00

Hang in there, buddy.

So pink, it hurts.

2011-10-28T12:53:00.005+08:00

I seem to be having some kind of affinity with pink plants lately.

A single flower nestled amongst bright pink bracts. This is a ginger I got from Thailand, a Curcurma.

Buds of the Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus.

Flowers of the Coral Vine are popular with some bees and butterflies. Here's a honey bee.

Pink Torch Ginger, Etlingera elatior. The undeveloped bud of this plant is used in making Rojak. I much prefer the white or the red coloured varieties but those are not usually used in cooking for reasons unknown.

Xanthostemon is commonly seen in yellow or red. Pink, anyone?

And I love this Acanth, Ruspolia seticalyx.

So pink, it hurts.

Season Reasons

2011-10-20T13:51:00.005+08:00

Peacock Iris - Dietes bicolor, Singapore Botanic Gardens.

"The rains have been quite... wet, haven't they?"

And indeed they have. Thankfully it seems this year we have been getting mostly short thunderstorms that are often ensued by glorious sunshine. I recall that just yesterday, during one of those rides down our country's older roads, seeing the snow-white pigeon orchids in full bloom - a show one can expect with the onset of sudden cool showers amidst our predominantly sultry weather. While we will not be getting a white Christmas or a sakura spring this year or ever, many tropical plants can sense and do respond to, the subtle temperature fluctuations we easily miss. Our pigeon orchid friend, is a good example, flowering within 2 weeks after a fall in ambient temperature of 5.5 - 8.0ºC (depending on who's measuring.)

Photo from last year: blooming Pink Tabebuia Tree a.k.a. Pink Poui at East Coast.

Another sensitive individual, though decidedly more prominent on the landscape, is the Tabebuia or Trumpet Tree. The Trumpet Tree is a large and shady tree that blooms gregariously. Whole trees can be covered with tissue-like blossoms in pale pink or white and when several trees bloom in synchrony, the result can be spectacular. What triggers sudden coordinated blooming in the trees? I don't know. But it's a sight that I do miss, which is why I was to be found on a wet and gloomy Friday morning, texting the guys first thing at 8:30,

How come we didn't see Tabebuia mass flowering this year?

HOW COME?!!

Cardiospermum

2011-10-18T13:59:00.010+08:00

Let me make clear that it was broad daylight and there were people around the red brick path and so it was not a sneaky business. Besides, there were plenty of plants and abundant fruit. I only took one fruit! It was just one. The plants were sprawling on the fence (within easy reach) and nobody really seemed to care much for them as there were seedlings sprouting everywhere in the crevices of the brick path, free for all to stomp and squash. I was just... helping to salvage... or propagate... for myself... for fun, you know.

Okay, fine - I was snooping around the community garden and I STOLE a fruit! So sue me!

But in my defense, when I returned to the scene of the crime weeks later (I heard that is the SOP of a criminal), the community gardeners had cleared all the weedy things that were sprouting along the fence and in the crevices of the brick path - they had spared only a single specimen of the plant in question. I am pretty certain that not a tear was shed when a fruit went missing that fateful day I took a stroll down the red brick path.

While the temptress that had enticed me to commit my crime was probably turned into compost in the fence massacre, one of her offspring continues to grow here in the Concrete Canopy. Naturally, she has her mother's charm.

Call it what you will: Balloon Vine, Heartseed Vine, Cardiospermum halicacabum

The little balloons hanging from this Heartseed Vine are what I find so intriguing. The plant sends out wire-thin stems (or perhaps modified leaves) that are three-pronged. The side appendages curl around supports like tendrils and help the plant climb while the middle appendage develops into the tiny white flowers that eventually form fruits. It is fun to watch the fruits slowly expand day by day into squishy, three-lobed balloons. Inside each lobe is a single seed, hard and round, that has the most interesting shape on its point of contact with the centre of the fruit.

The seeds of the Balloon Vine or Heartseed Vine.

It's a heart-shape. It is thus easy to remember the technical-speak for this plant's genus, Cardiospermum. 'Cardio' as in 'heart' and 'spermum' we can associate with 'seed'. Thus, Heartseed Vine!

The plant belongs to the family Sapindaceae, which is the Soapberry Family.

'HUH?!', you say?

The Lychee, Longan & Rambutan Family, better? But these seeds are not covered by yummy flesh. They are covered by, well, air... but they MIGHT have medicinal uses for the tricky problem that is eczema. One can compare the little black seeds of the Heartseed Vine to the round black seeds of Longans and Lychees that too, have a white spot on one end albeit not heart-shaped. I reckon that is where the embryo develops from, where the first growth exits the seed coat.

While quite a messy plant when old, the Balloon Vine seems very easy to start from seeds and is worth planting as an annual just as a curiosity. You can also grow the plant to collect a whole lot of Heartseeds just for the kick of it. I grow mine on a short bamboo frame, less than half a metre tall. It can grow much taller in time but I think I will replant it from seed again before it becomes a tangled mess. Part sun could be sufficient although I give mine quite a fair bit of light and it seems to enjoy it. So far no pests whatsoever.

And Den?

2011-10-15T22:53:00.007+08:00

If you should wish to find the name of that beautiful mini Dendrobium that you recently purchased from your friendly neighborhood supermarket, I suggest that you embark on an easier pursuit, such as trying to peel a potato with a toothbrush.

It is by no means impossible, naming an unlabeled hybrid orchid - we are after all in the 21st century, an age when information is literally at one's fingertips - but the variety of orchid hybrids is quite large (like the Sun is quite large) and one could spend forever lost in cyberspace without the faintest clue of the identity of the orchid at hand, which would have undoubtedly withered to death by the time 'forever' is done.

The lucky few who do succeed in naming their Unidentified-Growing-Objects often do so by seeking the expertise of more learned growers. Now that's a good place to start whatever plant you might wish to identify. I can only assume that learned growers had learned to identify the UGOs from other learned growers before them, and those learned growers had consulted their forefathers and so on. To trace the origins of such information would take us unnecessarily far back in time, and as such we shall not discuss the issue today.

Back to the mini Dendrobiums, then. Being naturally inquisitive, I sought to find the registered hybrid name for a particular one I so fancied, and thus I posted a photo of it on an online forum in hopes of attracting the attention of some learned grower (I reckon I only needed one). Within days, a grower (probably learned, or at least more so than I was) managed to identify my plant.

Dendrobium Sriracha Snowfire. You may have seen this plant before, for it is a generous bloomer and appears frequently in my posts as well as in plant nurseries. Here's yet another photo:

Dendrobium Sriracha Snowfire

But my natural inquisitiveness got the better of me and I began wondering what was behind the name. While I figured the 'Snowfire' bit was probably simply a fancy froufrou thing, I must confess that I was rather disappointed to learn that 'Sriracha' was, of all things, a brand of Thai chilli sauce. What on earth? Never mind that I am not a chilli sauce fan but to name an orchid after a condiment? Seriously?!

And so as not to taint my love for the plant, I generally avoid thinking about the fact that it is named after spicy goop and instead focus my mind on its froufrou but more flower-worthy last name, 'Snowfire'.

While most mini Dendrobium hybrids are unscented, try your luck with a yellow one and you might get a specimen with Dendrobium canaliculatum in it. I have no idea what this hybrid of mine is called but I think it could have 'canaliculatum' in its parentage as it is sweetly scented.

My unidentified mini Dendrobium is a regular bloomer that likes getting baked in the sun and getting bone-dry.

There are other mini Dendrobiums on the shelves that are well-known - Den. Cherry Song, Den. Enobi Purple (including the stunning cultivar 'Splash'), Den. Milo (not after the drink, thankfully), Den. Minnie to name a few. The many mini Dendrobium hybrids, some perhaps unregistered, are a melting pot of orchid species across various sections, though none are more noteworthy than the little Dendrobium biggibum and the famous Cooktown Orchid Dendrobium phalaenopsis, both natives of Australia.

More unique floral forms appear when the so-called 'Antelope Dendrobiums' are thrown into the picture, giving rise to longer and narrower petals that are twisted like the horns on an antelope. Thankfully with all this criss-crossing of genes, the horticulturist can safely and accurately refer to the myriad of mini Dendrobium plants as 'Dendrobium hybrids'. Anyway, antelope or not, they still share the same genus and so interbreeding them isn't any intergeneric, right?

"Vappodes was separated from Dendrobium in 2002... Vappodes bigibba is accepted as the correct name for Dendrobium bigibbum in the Australian Plant Census and by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts."

Uh-oh.

Old School Oysters

2011-10-12T00:41:00.007+08:00

Tradescantia spathacea, or 'Oyster Plant' if you prefer, is a rather old-school groundcover plant that is easy to please. The bright purple undersides of the leaves of the Oyster Plant are visible owing to the way the plant carries it's foliage in a spiky rosette and this is probably its main aesthetic feature.

The purple undersides of the leaves of the Oyster Plant can be seen in this picture. The leaves of the plant, when boiled in water, make a tea that is said to have medicinal properties.

But even with it's flashy undies(hehe...) the plant is hardly a show-stopper. The tiny white flowers of the Oyster Plant are protected within a pair of leafy bracts and to the imaginative, they look like pearls nestled between the shells of an oyster, thus the common name. This little package of oyster and pearl however, is wedged between the leaf blades at the leaf bases, hidden from plain sight. Perhaps owing to its 'unspectacular-ness' and ubiquity, the Oyster Plant is slowly losing popularity with local landscapers. It's just not 'in' anymore. The cultivar 'compacta' is a dwarf and denser version of the regular form, and was once growing in every condominium and park, but it has since been out-shined by newer additions to the trade.

In recent years, a variegated form of the dwarfed Oyster Plant has appeared in the local scene. Instead of a uniform dark green surface, this variegated form has leaves that are predominantly white, with pale green streaks running along its length. The underside remains colored, though it seems to be more of a pink than purple in this unique twist. It looks very different from the original Tradescantia spathacea 'compacta' and seems a little slow growing unlike its greener counterpart. One might attribute that to the lower chlorophyll(chloroplast) count in the bleached leaves. Nevertheless, it seems to have stayed around on the shelves and appears in some gardens.

In my humble opinion, it is ugly. No offense to the tenders of said gardens of course! Just saying.

The dwarf Oyster Plant can also be found in dark green striped with yellow, with purple undersides just like the original. In my humble opinion (as though you asked), it is quite nice.

But my favorite cultivar of the Oyster Plant (again, as though you asked) is this one:

Love at first sight!

The lovely yellow variety of the dwarfed Oyster Plant. This shot was taken at a friend's place, where I fell in love with my plant. It looks nice here with the purple plants at the back, which are also Tradescantia by the way, but a different species altogether. Excuse my thumb for being in the photo.

The same plant in the previous photo, growing steadily now.

When I first saw this plant I was immediately drawn to the orange new leaves that faded into a golden-yellow, and the shocking pink on the undersides that is just totally funky. It had all the colors of a sunset! Well, except red. And the colors between red and orange... and the lavender that appears just before dusk and also the purple color at dusk... but you get my drift - I liked that it was a parade by itself. Sad to say, the dirt and dotty things that I assume are fungus show up very clearly on the yellow leaves but I think the effect overall is still quite nice (not of the fungus but of the plant).

Here's a close-up of my precious, looking like candy. Check out the crazy pink undersides!

I must have strange taste, because while everyone seems to be excited about the anaemic Oyster Plant cultivar, this golden beauty cannot be found commonly, if at all, in nurseries here. Why don't people here like Tradescantia spathacea 'Sitara Gold'?

Heartland Haven

2011-10-09T16:03:00.016+08:00

A mere ten minutes walk from the busy bus interchange, this unassuming path into nothingness turned out to be quite a treat for me.

While hardly a hike through the Bornean jungle or an expedition to the Congo basin, considering the fact that it was just a sissy step away from the sterile heartlands, my venture along the Tampines mountain-biking trail was a good peek into a small but lively ecosystem.

Abundant mosquitos, rocky roads and soggy soils were a good indicator that it was not a walk in the neighborhood park but the unkempt vegetation was welcomed relief from concrete facades of my urban town. Within minutes of my walk, the busy road was completely obscured and smell of damp wood was refreshing. Signature plants of the Singaporean wilderness began to appear and it was not long before the jarring noises of traffic were replaced by the thrilling notes of the cicadas.

A signature of Singaporean wilderness: the pretty flower of Melastoma. The name is taxonomic-speak for 'black mouth' which refers to the plant's fruit that stains the tongue and lips when eaten. I have never experimented on this myself because I find that the mushy black berries look just as unappealing as their reputed effects.

What I love about taking walks though our local natural enclaves is that I don't know the names of so many plants that I recognize. Yes, you read that right. You see, I like that while I can't name them, I know them and I have seen them and they are so familiar to me that it doesn't really matter that I do not know what they are called. I just know that they are there and they reflect in mind like friendly and familiar faces in a jungle of strangers, so to speak.

The ferns flanking the path in this shot, for instance, are ubiquitous in many tropical habitats.

These ferns simply love growing in soils that have bad drainage and terribly low nutrient content. They also adore the sun, unlike many epiphytic ferns. According to the book they should be referred to as Dicranopteris linearis, but somehow in my head I refer to them as the the 'ferns that branch in twos'. I instinctively identify them as so because that is EXACTLY how these ferns seem to me.

I have learned that where you can find the Fern-that-branches-in-twos, you are likely to also find other plants that are suited to similarly poorly-drained and nutrient-challenged habitats. Pitcher plants seem to occur frequently with my friendly neighbourhood two-branching fern, though the same does not always apply the other way.

Amongst the 'ferns that branch in twos' are the sinister pitchers of Nepenthese gracilis that appear deceivingly benign, hanging like lanterns from the sturdier stems of other plants. Nepenthes gracilis, as they are known in latin, are not rare in Singapore and I have seen them in nature reserves but I was certainly not expecting to find these so close to home! Whilst horticulturally not something to shout about, these insect-consuming appendages never fail to catch my eye.

Lycopodiums reaching for the sun.

Also found with the 'ferns that branch in twos', and shown growing amongst them above, were the terrestrial Lycopodiums. With their needle-like leaves, these ancient plants look like miniature conifers. They often grow alongside the pitcher plants but are more common and seem to tolerate more shade as well. They are not aggressive and are quickly dominated by larger or more fast growing plants...

...such as grass.

Big expanses of grass, such as this, are commonly known as 'fields' ;)

And there were mini wetlands! These were nice. Water attracts life and so life was abundant here.

A blue dragonfly with a sexy orange booty to match.

A little jade-green dragonfly.

A member of the sunflower family, Asteraceae, I believe. Everything about it looks Asteraceae-ish so I think it should be.

Aquatic Mimosa, showing leaves and dehiscent seed pods that are raised clear above the water's surface.

Laid out of the water, the bubbly pink eggs of the amphibious apple snail are safe from hungry fish.

A butterfly, one of the many species of Bush Browns found in Singapore.

This legume looks like the famous Blue Butterfly Pea used to dye Nonya Kueh, but it really isn't a Clitoria species at all. I recently learned this one: Centrosema pubescens. It is used as fodder for cattle in some countries. I have seen Sunbirds feeding from the lavender purple flowers.

The flowers of Burmannia coelestis are three-winged tubes.

Also in lavender are the flowers of Burmannia coelestis. This one is a Singaporean native and is found in moist soils (the lacy leaves of 'fern that branch in twos' seen in the photo give an affirmative nod to the poor drainage beneath them). This is the first time I'm seeing this plant in real life but I have come across it in books and apparently it has some kind of medicinal properties. It is from the family Burmanniaceae.

A yellow unidentified flower.

Also thriving in the wet soil albeit without soggy-footed fern neighbours, were these peculiar yellow-flowered weeds. They have grass-like foliage but judging by the flowers, I believe they are not true grasses. They are tripetalous, with feathery stamens that remind me of the flowers of plants in Commelinaceae. But the grassy foliage is most unlike the members of Commelianceae I know and so I'm stumped. Help. I might go back again to take another look at this one if it continues to keep me awake at night.

The yellow, feathery appendages make the flowers of this plant appear very rewarding to pollen gatherers but alas, the stamens are three and the anthers small. This is could be a pollinator trick often employed by members of Commelinaceae. The flowers appear fragile and ephemeral, another trait of plants in the Spiderwort family. But the plant on the whole looks like a sedge or grass. Hm...

Then all of a sudden, a gem! I spotted this beautiful bamboo orchid flower hiding amongst the grasses (real grasses, this time). I'm glad I didn't miss this one out!

Arundina graminifolia, the Bamboo Orchid. Native to the region, it is quite a jewel in the predominantly green landscape.

There were a lot of interesting birds along the trail as well. Unfortunately, I am a terrible bird watcher and photographer. I scared away most of the birds I came across, and freaked-out several mourning doves. I also failed to capture a photo of a large woodpecker that I stumbled across. It had a bright red cap on it's head and was quite stunning. I did, however, managed to photograph these two below.

I believe the one on the right is a raptor of some kind? Perhaps it's a sparrowhawk? The tawny bird on the left had a relatively large head and I recall that it made a rather comical noise when I approached it. It was very shy.

This familiar bird, on the other hand, was far from shy, at least not in the camera sense. It was easy to recognize as the Yellow-vented Bulbul because of its yellow erm... 'vent'. It sings beautifully and is a well-liked song bird. This one was cheekily hopping about on a branch, whilst peering curiously at the human with the black, hard thing in his hand that had only one eye, that occasionally flashed and made beeping and whirring noises.

I often see this bright orange bracket fungus growing on rotting wood. I wonder what it's called. It is definitely going to join the 'Fern that branches in twos' in my encyclopedia of familiar unknowns.

After about two hours of wandering, my little adventure came to an end. Surprising how, although we mercilessly pave paradise and strive to keep our surroundings as free of all other species of life as possible, the living world tenaciously persists around us and takes full advantage of even the smallest pockets of opportunity. By being just a little kinder to the world around us, and preserving what is rightfully wild, we can save so much.

But you will not want to preserve something you cannot appreciate. You will not appreciate something that you have not taken the time to see, feel, smell and love. Get off your chair and go and enjoy the world out there right now! Before it's too late!

Bringing Sexy Back

2011-10-02T14:46:00.006+08:00

It was one of those miserable wet mornings, the kind that involves grey skies, damp socks and even greyer and damper moods. As I stood in the train to work that was, if possible, more packed than usual, a familiar but rather untimely and out-of-place song was playing.

I don't know how long it had been playing and given the repetitive nature of the lyrics, as with many night club songs (hence the untimeliness and out-of-placeness of said song), it was impossible to tell at which part of the song that i realized it was playing. No matter, for I was not keen on finding a point to sing along. It did however, trigger a thought, a thought which struck me somewhere between Kallang station and Lavender: who was Sexy?

I don't mean which person is/was the hottest in town. I mean, WHO is Sexy, and why did Justin Timberlake want him back so badly? I wasn't even sure if Sexy was a 'him', undoubtedly Sexy could very well be female. It would be likely that Sexy was both because, as I am sure you will agree, both men and women can be Sexy. Though if Sexy were both male and female at the same time, that wouldn't be very sexy at all!

While it would be most ideal that Sexy was sexy by nature as well as by name, I can see that it certainly need not be so. There is no longer anything very 'new' about New York, nothing purple about the ginger, Alpinia purpurata and certainly nothing very selamat (i.e. safe) about Mas Selamat bin Kastari (i.e. terrorist).

So I asked around for opinions on where I might find Sexy, should I, like Justin Timberlake once did, aspire to bring him/her/it back. Not surprisingly, no one seemed to be able to pinpoint exactly where one might chance across Sexy. I then realized that in no part of the song 'Sexy Back' did JT actually claim to have found Sexy. Perhaps he never did. Perhaps I never will.

Bummer.

A Mynah Problem

2011-09-28T18:18:00.005+08:00

I've been wanting to get away from my urban settings for a while. Since I started my temporary stint at the bank, I've been so busy during the weekdays and my precious weekends always seem to end up being spent on more 'urgent' things such as lazing around in cafes, wandering through air-conditioned malls and sleeping-in, recovering from hangovers. Hey, I might be a nature-lover but that doesn't make me any less a 22 year old.

Still, I have been showing the classic tell-tale signs of one who is 'green-deficient' i.e. restlessness, bad-temper, insomnia, weight-gain, loss-of-vigour and sudden fascination with vermin.

This brings me to the inspiration of this post. Earlier today I decided to spend some time observing an amusing but ubiquitous creature - the common mynah. Why, you might wonder, would a tree-hugger be interested in this urban creature?

Well, firstly I am interested in most living things great and small (though some certainly more so than others) and a city bird is no less an important member of its city ecosystem than a forest bird is to its forest home. It also just struck me as unusual how little I know about these birds which I share my city home with. It's kind of like not knowing your neighbor that lives right next door. (I can understand that this statement may not resonate with most Singaporeans who are quite apathetic to even their human neighbors much less to bother about animal ones).

So, what exactly did I learn observing my little feathered friends? Truth be told - not much. What I did discover however, excited me to the point that it made me whip out my nifty iPhone and start typing away. It was not what I SAW that intrigued me, as the birds were either hidden in the branches or doing rather mundane things like scratching at the ground, but what I HEARD.

The mynahs, unlike the cooing pigeons or the chirping sparrows, made a plethora of complex noises that I had previously taken for granted. My subjects whistled, clicked, croaked, squawked and sang in complex patterns. It was for me like discovering an alien intelligence right at my doorstep! The more I listened, the more details I picked up and slowly but unwittingly, I began to classify the birds' songs. After an hour of just sitting on the grass and listening intently, I identified several different noises the mynahs made.

Note: I have no idea how bird-watchers or ornithologists name the noises birds make and I have simply made up the following terms.

I classified the mynah sounds into four broad categories:

clicks & creaks
whistles & gurgles
words
squawks

The softest vocalizations made by the mynahs that I listened to were the 'clicks'. 'Clicks' sound just like the clicking noises you make with your tongue against the roof of your mouth. 'Clicks' are often accompanied by 'creaks' which is why I have put them together. 'Creaks' sound like old wooden doors being opened. Both 'clicks' and 'creaks' have no distinct pitch and are usually quite soft, sometimes seemingly spoken to the bird's self. A typical rhythm made using clicks & creaks would be, "Creek creek, klik-klik-klik-klik" with the kliks in rapid succession. Other common rhythms made as if spoken to self were 'ak-ak-ak-ak' and 'kakakak' or 'chuck-chuck-chuck'.

'Whistles' were the most melodious sounds made by the mynahs. They can be of moderate volume to loud and are always high pitched. The mynahs 'whistled' two notes while taking off (wee-weet!) or whistled more complex songs (tuwee-teewu-twoo!). I have observed that a quick 'wee-weuu' is made to synchronize take-off, often to escape a perceived danger. A repeated melody I heard was a series of clearly defined 'teewu-teewu-teewu' which is quite pleasant to the ear. The 'gurgles' are also nice and sound like how you would if you sang a high note whilst gargling Listerine at the back or your throat. 'Gurgles' seem very complex and difficult to produce (considering the birds do not have Listerine to aid them.)

The most common and loudest noises made by the mynahs that I saw were what I term as 'words'. These noises were harsher than 'whistles' and were about mid-range. With their chests puffed up and their beaks wide open, single birds would be seen singing loudly,

'Chuweet-cheewut, chuweet-cheewut, chuweet-cheewut!!!'

Conversations would go on and on with combinations of 'chuweet' or 'cheewut'. While 'chueewut' was sometimes repeated several times in succession, 'chuweet' seemed less versatile a word and was used only singly or in pairs.

Lastly, there were the 'squawks'. Those are horrible sounds that were always loud. In confrontations, a smattering of 'squawks' would be added to a bunch of 'words'. 'Squawks' are also used to announce arrival or when one exits, presumably in disagreement with the current crowd.

If I haven't lost you yet, the complexity of mynah-speak doesn't end there. Often, a single bird would make a series of clicks, whistles, words or gurgles to make what I assume must be akin to a sentence. Lost in the translation are many other complicated sounds that I cannot possibly put down accurately in words.

Surely the songs must mean something to the birds or else why would they sing them? It must be a huge waste of resources to evolve to make such complex vocalizations just for fun - it's much easier to coo all your life (or moo, or baa) or even keep quiet - singing seems like a really good way to attract would-be predators! I suppose if one watched a flock of mynas really closely for extended periods of time, one might begin to understand why they do what they do. Perhaps there lies the appeal of bird-watching.

While plants are more of my thing, I think my little mynah venture was quite fruitful. There are infinite surprises and mysteries in the wild wild world to keep us all occupied for many many lifetimes if we would only take the time to look, or in this case listen, a little closer :)

A Little Orchid Show in Bangkok

2011-09-05T22:26:00.004+08:00

Hello.

It's kind of awkward writing after my two-month break. The Concrete Canopy has seen changes of course; a dramatic fall in plant numbers now that I'm beginning to clear my collection for my leaving to Australia. Oh yes! I'm leaving for Australia! I've been accepted to the University of Queensland and I will be doing a Bachelor of Science, with a major in Plant Science. Pretty neat stuff! More about that another time.

I thought I'd end my long blog-break with a post about my trip to Bangkok sometime middle this year. (Wow, is it September already?) Just a series of photos from an orchid show I happened to be there to see.

Siam Paragon is the name of the mall that the show is hosted by. I didn't really take many display shots as the displays really weren't that amazing in my opinion. But the growers are really good, of course, and there were very impressive specimens to see.

This Foxtail Orchid is quite dramatic. Rhynchostylis retusa, I think? I'm not terribly excited about the colour but the sheer number of flowers makes it commendable. I believe the Thais are very good with these because they get the seasonal variation that we don't. Oh well...

Another Thai classic: the Blue Vanda, Vanda coerulea. Blue is a colour nearly impossible in the orchid palette but the famous Blue Vanda definitely pushes that boundary. I'm a sucker for blue plants and this one is a dream. Sadly, the plants are not common in their native Thai/Himalayan home where overcollecting is a problem. These huge blossoms probably came from well bred cultivated plants. If I lived on the ground floor, I would definitely be getting one of these if I can find a responsible dealer. It's simply marvelous.

Moving along now, a leafless orchid in full bloom. Looks to me like a Chiloschista sp. Parishii? I didn't stop to check the label.

A nice variegated freak of nature with nice flowers. Kindly excuse the ugly PVC tubes.

The teeny weeny Schoenorchis fragrans...

Dendrobium unicum for sale! 150 baht! That's like, 6SGD! There were stalls selling all sorts of horticulture and orchid paraphernalia but the prices weren't as low as those at Chatuchak, of course. Still, much cheaper than back home.

A random orchid hybrid. Following this are a few nice Slipper Orchids. I like the second one.

This one is nice too. The dark lines on the dorsal sepal are almost gothic chic. They had lots of unifoliate Cattleyas too. Here's a particularly gaudy one:

And here's a bench of beautiful Paphs to end off my post!

Cheers!
_

Top Ten Smellers

2011-06-08T21:03:00.008+08:00

Scent is beyond the immediately apparent beauty of a garden. It's that additional dimension. It's the fruity note in a cup of African coffee or the harmony in a good song. A garden in full colour can be a sight to behold but a richer experience awaits those who stop to smell the roses. Here are a bunch of wonderfully scented plants that I think are keepers:

Mini sweet basil, like regular sweet basil, goes by the latin name Ocimum basilicum.

Basil is one of my favourite smells (I'm a sucker for tomato-basil pastas), and this mini basil cultivar is the easiest thing to grow. The plant is much too small for the table but it releases its savoury fragrance whenever busy hands brush pass it.

Another plant that is liberal with aromatic oils is Plectranthus amboinicus. We've got two cultivars growing here. The common 'Indian Borage' smells somewhat like mint whereas the 'Cuban Oregano' smells just like real oregano, only it is twenty times easier to grow here than real oregano (Oreganum vulgare)which is really more suited to a drier, cooler climate. Cuban Oregano is a real gem in the Concrete Canopy because multiplies fast and smells just heavenly!

Sichuan Pepper looks like a little tree!

There are a few species of Sichuan pepper but the one I have is Zanthoxylum beecheyanum. This plant makes pepper corms but is also popular in bonsai. I won't bother waiting for a pepper harvest but this plant is worth growing for it's fine glossy foliage that smells great when crushed. It smells medicinal, in a refreshing kind of way, like some kind of ointment or balm. It reminds me of nutmeg but for someone who loves fragrant plants so much my sense of smell is pretty inadequate.

Two umbels on the climber Hoya obscura.

Hoya flowers are often scented and this one smells strongest in the evening. Four or five umbels are sufficient to turn heads three metres around and this plant is very free flowering if happy. Another good one to grow is the white flowered Buddleja paniculata (read: Bud-lee-ah) which is often mistaken for Buddleja asiatica. This one smells like lilac and many soaps and lotions seem to smell like this.

The rose-like flower of Gardenia jasminoides.

Gardenia jasminoides packs a punch when it comes to fragrance. The rose-like blooms are richly fragrant and smell more similar to Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium) than Arabian jasmine. Gardenia is still one of my favourite plants despite many failed attempts at cultivation. They dislike heat but need sunshine to flower. They adore acidic soils which I have many times failed to provide, resulting in yellow-veined leaves that shed. A video I saw online suggested dunking acid-loving plants in cool black tea in order to lower soil Ph. I will try this; fingers crossed.

Jasminum sambac, the Arabian jasmine

Lastly but mostly, what must be the Queen of tropical scented flowers. Jasmine is reknown for its sweet perfume and pure-white blooms. What a blessing it is, that we can grow such a beautiful plant in the tropics! Walking pass a plant laden with blooms is pure pleasure. However, Jasmine is prone to insect damage so regular inspection important to maintain healthy foliage. Plants require morning sun and seem to prefer being kept shaded for the hottest part of the day. Most jasmines will thus do well in sunny flats provided that the air isn't too dry. The Arabian Jasmine (ironically not from Arabia) is the national flower of the Philippines and is the flower used to scent 'jasmine green tea'. It smells good enough to drink.

I doubt there is any group of things, animal or mineral, man-made or natural, that can rival the array of pleasing scents and flavours plants have to offer. Surely a garden experience, created so that man can appreciate nature, would be made richer by such a unique gift of the plant kingdom.

Paph concolor

2011-06-07T21:57:00.008+08:00

Paphiopedilum concolor blooms!

Three cheers! My Paphiopedilum concolor has flowered! I have never been successful with slipper orchids so I am truly excited about these two spikes. Truth be told, I've only ever owned three slipper orchids in my life. Slipper orchids can be tricky to grow as they prefer conditions found in the cooler highlands and thus I've always been hesitant with these beauties.

Flower of 2009 on left, flower of 2011 on right

Paph. concolor is said to be a good beginner's slipper because it grows well in the lowlands and is thus suited to our warm climate. Looking through the photos of the plant I bought then, I am surprised that I picked a flower with such terrible form. I guess I didn't know any better two years ago. However from these 'Then & Now' shots you can tell the flower form has improved a little. The flower is now flatter and the petals are wider. By official standards it's still crappy but I really don't care too much for the 'show standard'. I get sentimentally attached to my plants whether or not they are accepted by the professional eye.

True Love.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this is true. I just bought my fourth slipper, a Paphiopedilum niveum that I brought back from Chatuchak, Thailand. I was persuaded by the plant vendor to bring home a plant with large and wide petals that overlap at the edges to form a round, full looking flower. This is a desirable trait for a lot of orchid flowers and it is certainly so for the lowland slipper orchids. I bought the plant that was recommended but I now I kinda regret that I left behind the specimen that I first set my eyes on, a plant that had well-spaced tepals.

I visited an alcohol store at the airport after I touched down from Bangkok last night. There was a wine advertisement that said, "To our most important connoisseur: You." I'm thinking about it and I guess it makes my point. It's all a matter of personal taste. You don't have to have a professional eye, ear, tongue or nose to know what YOU like. As for me, I share the opinion of the 'ideal standard' that a flatter Paph. concolor flower is more attractive but in contrary with popular opinion, I find that a clear division between petals makes a more elegant flower.

But I suppose that that is just this gardener's opinion :)

Invite your Neighbours

2011-05-24T14:30:00.010+08:00

The Florida Butterfly Orchid, Encyclia tampensis

I'm really glad to find that my small corridor garden, despite being ten floors up and surrounded by concrete jungle, is a frequent stopover for native wildlife. It just goes to show that a little bit of green can make a difference for the little critters we share our city with, and I'm not talking about vermin, mind you.

Take for instance my currently blooming Florida Butterfly Orchid. The species is abundant in its native American range and I'm sure it's it a hit with insects there because mine seems to be a magnet for a pair of Blue Mud Dauber wasps.

Blue Mud Dauber wasp on an orchid spike.

Everyday, the pair of wasps visits the Florida Butterfly Orchid and they seem to be addicted to the sweet (I suppose) secretions on the flowering stems and buds. Thankfully, ants don't seem to care for the secretions but the metallic blue pair return for a treat several times a day. Perhaps there are many pairs, I don't know. In any case, my plant has been a frequent haunt for the insects since two months ago. Judging by the slow rate of growth and the numerous new flower stems, I think I'll be having the Mud Dauber wasps way into August. Although Mud Daubers will sting if they are handled, they are not aggressive. Compared the more notorious wasps or hornets, the dainty Mud Dauber is quite harmless.

Grass Blue butterfly visiting an open flower.

Being an advocate of eco-friendlier gardening, I disdain toxic pesticides. I avoid them as far as possible. The drawback is that aphids, mealy bugs and scales find a place among the nooks and crannies of my plants. If I do spot them I remove them by hand, with a dab of surgical spirit or zap them with summer oil.

Ants are a nightmare to control but I tolerate small populations of these bandits. I can't decide if the millipedes are friends or foes but my plants get along well enough with them around so I figure even if they do cause a little damage, I'll live and let live. Spiders hop in out out from the leaves and are fascinating to watch. They help to eat pests so I let them be. Beneficial bugs, you know? In any case, the spiders are in turn eaten by the wasps and the sunbirds. Oh yes, I've got new sunbird visitors. Whoopee! They are not frequent though. Maybe the sunbirds in this neighbourhood don't like red Pentas.

Leaf-rolling bee crawling into its 'bunker'.

I even went ahead and tried to make a home for leaf-rolling bees. A bundle of chopped bamboo is an excellent way to provide shelter for the non-swarming types of bees. My resident bee goes about his business in the morning and by noon, he will return to his little bunker. He seems to be mostly just chilling in there although sometimes he takes out the trash - bits of dried leaves and stuff which he pushes out the end of the bamboo. It's most intriguing to watch him insert new nesting material into hollow bamboos whilst skillfully hovering at the opening. I don't know exactly what a leaf-rolling bee eats though but it's like I have free-ranging pet bee!

Daisy Chain

2011-05-11T19:30:00.007+08:00

Cirrhopetalum Daisy Chain blooms!

Not all orchid flowers are made 'orchid-like'. The idea that an orchid should be a sweet, pretty thing is not one that is always adopted by Mother Nature. The Bulbophyllum are a genus of orchids that are well-known for their bizarre blooms and putrid odours that help attract their pollinators - carrion-loving flies. I have encountered Bulbophyllum flowers that remind me of sea monsters, aliens, insects, birds and oddly enough, old slippers. To attract their fly pollinators, Bulbophyllum flowers often come adorned with vein-like stripes, ghastly mottles, wiry hairs and bumpy warts. Although these orchids may be an acquired taste, they are not short on fanatics. Some orchid enthusiasts dedicate entire collections to these rebels of the orchid world.

Closely related to the Bulbophyllum, as to be once considered part thereof, are the Cirrhopetalum. To the untrained eye, these orchids defer from the Bulbophyllum in having a characteristic inflorescence - flowers are clustered at the tips of flowering stems, usually in an attractive umbel. The inflorescenceses that bear flowers with trailings sepals often resemble tassels or in the case of the common native Cirrhopetalum vaginatum, mop heads! Other Cirrhopetalum flowers are arranged on their flowering stems in a star-burst that sometimes resembles the radial floret arrangements seen in plants of the Daisy family.

Cirrhopetalum Daisy Chain with daisy-like infloresences.

This hybrid Cirrhopetalum that recently bloomed here is named precisely for that daisy-like trait. The flowers are extremely attractive but are short-lived. I guess Cirrhopetalum and Bulbophyllum are still very exotic in horticulture and breeding is not quite as extensive as with the more popular orchid genera. I do hope that one day hybrids of these amazing plants may too find a place in ornamental horticulture.

Close-up of individual flowers.

While Bulbophyllum and Cirrhopetalum are not in vogue in the horticultural scene, they are by no means lagging in the trail of evolution. Check out the bright yellow lip nestled at the heart of each Cirrhopetalum flower shown above. The lips of Bulbophyllum and Cirrhopetalum are held losely upon a pivot, allowing them mobility. The lip rocks back and forth in the gentlest breeze and serves to swing pollinators, see-saw style, towards the stigma. That's pretty high tech for a flower!

Culture-wise, I water the fern bark mount twice daily as these plants need lots of water and humidity. Keep away from breezy areas. Bright indirect light seems sufficient but morning sun probably wouldn't hurt. This plant is almost pest-free.

Garden Updates from Tampines

2011-04-22T14:16:00.004+08:00

I love my new place! It's cosy and it's nicely decorated plus it's close to the heartland which means everything is nearby. Have I mentioned that Tampines has just about everything?! Two pools, a stadium, a library, all the fast food joints in SG, three malls with two cinemas, a bus interchange, a train station, pet stores, food joints, all sorts of places of worship and two old folks homes (thought I'd throw those two in for your info.)!

What this place lacks though, is a good nursery - none here whatsoever! Sheesh! Would you believe I have to take an hour ride down to Kovan just to pick up some perlite? And by the way, they were out of stock.

Still, my estate seems to be quite a garden-loving one. From my corridor I can spy quite a few homes with lush displays. There are bougainvilleas and hibiscus spilling over the top floor ledge. Although my plants were initially shocked by the heat brought about by abundant sunshine, everyone seems to be settling in nicely. The Pentas are loving it and even the Abelia is studded with buds. Yes, Miss Abelia is still with us and going strong! Many of my orchids too, are blooming their heads off: Dendrobiums, Phalaenopsis, the Liparis and even, get this, Paph concolor! Three cheers!

My first ever successful Paph flowering:
the allegedly easy Paphiopedilum concolor.

I'm mighty pleased with the lighting in this apartment but the best part about gardening here is that our place is protected from the worst of the wind because we are shielded by neighbouring blocks. Finally I no longer have to worry about dried, tattered leaf edges and failed buds. I've got a garden hose here that I use twice a day to drench my plants and keep them moist. Light breezes ensure good air circulation and that's great for dangling orchid roots.

So despite my Dad's rants about the poor ventilation of this home, I have not much complaint. I'm already experimenting with plants in this new microclimate such as 'edibles'.

Dwarf Snap beans or French beans, and cabbage, both apparently heat tolerant varieties.

The cabbage hasn't germinated but the beans are growing fast. I can't wait for the flowers to come! I will keep record here of their progress.

Baby beans!

I do love beans :)

Dendrobium farmeri

2011-03-30T22:42:00.012+08:00

Look what I discovered hanging over the balcony edge!

My Dendrobium farmeri was a Christmas gift from Avin in 2009. The nursery boss told him this plant was guaranteed to bloom. Finally, after more than a year, the promised flowers of this allegedly heat-acclimatized plant have made their debut in the Canopy. According to Botanica's Pocket Orchids 2007, this species ranges from the lower elevations of the Himalayas to Peninsula Malaysia and is popular among growers. It's easy to see why. On a mature plant, several inflorescences may be produced and these dangle from the tips of the stems like elegant floral chains. The blossoms are lightly scented and also are available in white but always have a yellow lip.

Pendulous inflorescence with twenty pale pink flowers.

The plant is quite easy to grow and it asks for little more than a daily watering and part shade. My plant seems to enjoy an extra splash in the early evening (I grow it in a basket) and erring on the side of higher light might coax it bloom. Might. I'm just describing the changes I made in terms of culture in the recent weeks. I guess the weather was right and the planets aligned and so our friend decided to bloom.

Up close, the edges of the petals look slightly fringed.

See the plants comes from a seasonally cool and dry climate. For most of the year Dendrobium farmeri is a mass of leaves. Still, if you get a plant that has bloomed in the uniformly-wet lowlands before or has lived here long enough to be 'acclimatized', it would be easier to bloom than the other similar looking Dendrobiums such as Den. aggregatum, Den. densiflorum or Den. thyrsiflorum.

So here's what I suggest: get an acclimatized plant (or pray a good friend buys one for you :)), chuck it in a partly sunny corner and water it along with all your other plants. Don't put too high hopes on it and wait. No, sorry, don't even bother waiting. Just ignore it! It seems pest-resistant but do check on it from time to time just in case scale insects or flowers appear, the latter being more desirable.

Random observation: I noticed that the flowers close partially at night only to open again in the morning. What's that all about? Hm...

- We have MOVED -

2011-03-20T17:07:00.003+08:00

They say container gardens are gardens 'on-the-go' because you can pack them up and move them without having to lift a spade. All you need is a lot of waterproof boxes and tubs, a rusty trolley, old newspaper for cushioning delicate individuals and lots of string for tying up the unruly ones, straitjacket-style. Whew! It wasn't easy but we managed to bring everything over to the new place, except for the Tabernaemontana bush that we donated to the condo management. I believe it will enjoy living in the ground more than in a pot.

I know I'M enjoying my new home! Fortunately there's a balcony here so most of the big plants went in there. It's pretty lush now because the space is smaller than the old patio. I get evening sun here and morning sun along the corridor by the front door. I love the freedom of choice and I'm sure my plants are glad that I do! Here are some photos of the growing area in my current home. Enjoy!

Dendrobium 'Flattened Canes'

2011-03-11T20:36:00.005+08:00

First blooming of unidentified Dendrobium...

A couple of posts ago I wrote about my Dendrobium orchids going into bud, one of which was this small species that hasn't flowered for me before. Well there you go: flowers! Originally labelled as Den. ypsilon, the orchid resembled Den. lamellatum from photos I found online. However on second thought, it looks like neither. It's identification remains a mystery.

The plant has been making dramatically larger new canes since I obtained it more than a year ago and I repotted it July last year because it got too top-heavy for its previous pot. Eight months later today, its tipping to the side again with two canes reaching a foot long.

So for all that growth I think you'll agree that it is a little disappointing that our friend, after shedding half its leaves, churned out a 'Grand Total' of seven flowers that lasted barely a week. I tried to justify this humble reward; good things take time and perhaps this little orchid was just getting warmed up.

No ID is in bloom today!

And so it was! A week after the first flowers faded, many tiny buds appeared on a younger, larger cane. This looks more like it! Ladies and gentlemen we have a 400% improvement amounting to 35 blooms on several leafless canes, thank you very much. Pity, though, that these off-white blooms had no discernible scent. I suppose they try to make up for this with their interestingly flattened canes. One hopes subsequent bloomings will be this profuse.

So the overall verdict? I think this one is charming in an understated kind of way. It's one of those plants that you can tuck away in a corner knowing that while it will never blow you away, it's never going to give you any major problems. This little orchid asks only for a splash of water and a home, and it gets along just fine.

Fit for Shade: The Prima Donna!

2011-02-23T21:11:00.012+08:00

Achimenes flowers also come in red, yellow, orange, purple, white and everything in between!

Don't let her name deter you; she's not a hard one to please. Achimenes Prima Donna has proven to be a cheerful one for part shade. Like their relatives the Flame Violets, Achimenes are also native to the New World Tropics but unlike their rosette-forming cousins they have longer stems that are erect or trailing.

Flowers of Achimenes Prima Donna are pink with orange throats.

My Achimenes has dark, olive-green leaves that are red underneath. The foliage tends to wither with inconsistent watering so I keep the soil moist. The plant has done very well in part shade and I protect it from the worst of the midday heat for fear of it burning to a crisp. Achimenes doesn't appreciate low humidity and windy conditions so I keep my plant partially shielded behind glass.

Gee, maybe I AM treating it like a Prima Donna!

But I assure you, my hot and windy space is less than ideal for most Gesneriads so if this plant can grow nicely here, it should be an easy plant for most people. What's more, it's easy to propagate! Achimenes grows readily from cuttings. New plants can also be obtained by planting the plant's scaley rhizomes - curious, underground storage organs that look like tiny, densely-scaled pine cones.

To be honest I'm not so crazy about the flower colour. I'm hoping to get my hands on a scarlet one... that would go nicely with the purple Torenias or maybe a light purple to match the blue-green Ecboliums...

Budding Out

2011-02-07T14:20:00.003+08:00

Like I said before, I don't particularly favour Dendrobium over other orchids. That I have more Dendrobium plants than any other plant genus is probably just coincidental. It could be due to their ease of care in the tropics or to their availibilty. It could also be due to the fact that Dendrobium is arguably the biggest genus in the Orchid Family (which is in itself arguably the biggest plant family) and that my plant ratio is but a very abstract reflection of the larger order of things.

Or... I could simply be obsessed with them but living in denial, for I secretly aspire to be obsessed with something more fashionable such as Paphiopedilum, Cycnoches or Dolce&Gabbana.

Nah, I'm just kidding; I love these guys. I'm glad a few of my plants are spiking, especially this species that I have yet to identify. This one is a first for me.

Dendrobium lamellatum?

This one has canes that are laterally compressed, almost like they had been flattened. These buds are growing from one of the old leafless canes. The new growths are proportionately huge. I don't know if this plant is Dendrobium lamellatum or ypsilon. I'll have to ask for help when the flowers open. Looking forward to bloom-day!

Developing buds of Dendrobium parishii.

After some tough love, Dendrobium parishii is budding better this year. Will post pics and details when it blooms.

Flower buds of Dendrobium faciferum.

And last but not least, a second wave of buds from Dendrobium faciferum! After all the love and effort, don't we all appreciate a plant that earns its keep?

Ong Lai

2011-02-06T11:13:00.006+08:00

Vriesea splendens is finally spiking :D

Just in time for the Chinese new year, my Vriesea is beginning to flower. Technically an inflorescence, this red 'flower' has earned this plant the common name Flaming Sword. Rather apt, don't you think? The total length of the red bit is just over 40cm and counting. From the base of the stalk, the 'sword' is over two feet (60cm) long!

The overlapping floral bracts of the Flaming Sword.

The 'sword' is really a series of overlapping bracts. From between each bract, (as though being flaming red isn't enough to steal the show) the plant will bear a bright yellow flower. While each yellow bloom is short lived, this red sword will last for weeks and weeks.

Incidentally, this plant is from the family Bromeliaceae, also known as the Pineapple Family. In much of South East Asia, pineapples are as much a symbol of the new year as mandarins. Given that I am South East Asian AND Chinese in decent (in case there was any doubt), I am most ashamed to admit that I never knew the explanation for the connection until ten minutes ago when I rang Dad to ask. So, for all you westernized-easteners out there...

Pineapple is considered lucky to the Chinese of South East Asia because in the commonly spoken dialect, Hokkien, pineapple is known as 'Ong Lai' 黄梨. The dialect name Ong Lai 黄梨 has the same pronunciation as the words '旺来' which welcome the arrival of fortune.

So although it's not exactly a pineapple, I'm hoping the timely blooming of our pineapple 'cousin' will spell good fortune for us in the coming year! Fingers crossed*

Happy New Year everybody! :D

Ear of the Rabbit

2011-01-13T15:28:00.007+08:00

The Chinese new year is in coming people! In less than three weeks we will be ushering in the lunar new year but here and there linger the glittery decorations from Yuletide. Another clue that we're still hanging on to last year? You have dated your recent documents 'January 2010'. But the Chinese new year is THE MOST important and significant festival for my family (excluding Mum's birthday) and we've long since started on spring cleaning, new year shopping, decorating and such.

I will be moving out of my current place after the Chinese new year and so I haven't done much plant shopping. In fact I might be selling/giving away plants before the big move but we'll see how it goes. I'll bet the nurseries have already stocked up on truckloads of ephemeral ching-chong plants. Count me out! But I might get a small orchid or two. It's the new year after all!

If you'd like to plant Arrowhead corms this year, you're a little late. But if you go ahead and plant some right away you could get the plants looking presentable before the 'rabbit year' arrives. This is how I plant my Arrowhead corms.

Now here's something that I cannot fathom: my downstairs neighbour recently displaying these three unusual artifacts on his roof, which, are in plain view as we enter from our front door that overlooks said roof. Mum was, and remains, appalled by this daily visual invasion.

I think some of us didn't get the memo that the Year of the Tiger is the one that we are ushering AWAY. Never mind that the tigers are in a rather suggestive pose, the cub seems to have been deprived of air.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Lek last night. "What are those things outside your door?!"

"They're the neighbours tigers." I replied casually.

"I thought they were women in headscarves lor!!!"

In any case, tigers on the roof can't possibly be good feng shui right?

Dendrobium Frosty Dawn

2011-01-08T15:26:00.010+08:00

Dendrobium Frosty Dawn

I'll be turning 22 tomorrow! Unbelievable. And it brings me much pleasure to present to you this orchid that will be looking very good on my birthday. I've had Dendrobium Frosty Dawn for about three years but the plant currently in bloom was fostered by Avin for more than a year. We currently have 19 flowers, 2 buds and counting...

Tadah!!! Click on photo for a better view.

This Hawaiian hybrid is popular due to it's ease of care, fast growth and abundant flowers. The orchid sports predominantly white flowers with striking orange centres, typical of orchids within the Section Formosae. The Formosae orchids also tend to have young stems that are covered with tiny black hairs.

I'm currently quite proud of this plant as this is the first time it has flowered so generously for me. In the past, this plant made only three or four blooms at a time. We're looking at a 633.33% improvement!

Whoopee!

Freaky Fact: When this plant was barely adolescent, it took a jump from the eleventh floor. Thankfully Avin found it intact albeit a little shaken and it has made it to my 22nd birthday ;)

Cellular

2011-01-06T21:06:00.003+08:00

Given time, even the best gadgets succumb to age. My trusty laptop had a cyber-cramp last week and was momentarily paralyzed halfway between displaying two files. It then decided that perhaps the day started on bad footing and rebooted itself. Of course nothing serious happened but it made me fear the worse: that one day old Acer might decide to retire, taking along with it all my old school notes, documents and six year's worth of photos.

So I decided to back everything up on a hard disk. That's when I chanced upon these photos that I took, through the lens of a microscope, during my last year at polytechnic. I do not remember the magnifications of these plant cells or their origins as I took these shots for fun, really, and then I didn't think I would need to record any specifications. Oh well. I hope you'll find them interesting nonetheless...

It will be very apparent that I am quite lousy at preparing microscope slides but in my defense, it was my first time working with a microcope, okay?! I don't remember what this plant was, but basically what you're looking at are leaf cells that have been exposed to salt water. The rectangular blocks are rigid cell walls and the green globs within them are the contents of the cells encased in their cell membranes. The reason the cell membranes appear shrunken, instead of fully occupying the space within their cell walls, is that water within the cells has 'leaked' into the surrounding salt water. This, as some of us may well know, is osmosis, which is basically the movement of water from less concentrated solutions (the cell contents) to more concentrated solutions (the salt water). Get it?

Okay, basically it's a leaf getting pickled okay? Moving on...

These cells have been stained red artifically. They probably don't look like much to you (my bad) but the dark spots are the stone cells that are found in pears. The tiny gritty bits you feel in the last few chews on a mouthful of pear are sclereids, which are dead cells that have super thick cell walls.

No, they're not alien eyes. They are stomata! Stomata are openings on the 'skin' of a plant that allow it to 'breathe' both oxygen and carbon dioxide. These cells are naturally purple. They come from Tradescantia spathacea, a common herb that has leaves that are dark green on top and purple underneath. The plant is cooked to make a purple tea that is said to have 'cooling' properties.

Here's a cross section of a stem. I don't know what plant this is though. I think it was a hydrilla. Hm...

And this is a ready-made slide that was prepared by a professional and preserved. You're looking at cells that are found in a root tip. Cells here are actively dividing as the root tip is an actively growing part of the plant, just like the shoot tips that are above ground. Here you can see that the chromosomes (DNA material, which are the black wormy things) in some of the cells has replicated. These cells will then divide into halves, each carrying one set of chromosomes. This process is known as mitosis and that's roughly how one cell can become two identical cells. It's quite fantastic.

Nature is fantastic.

TIFE 2010 Part Two

2011-01-04T17:42:00.010+08:00

I had only one free day in Taipei and regrettably, only time for one pavilion. After much deliberation, we decided on the Future Pavilion. The weather was nice and cool and that made the one hour queue more bearable.

Once inside, we were greeted with a forest of tropical and subtropical plants. These included some native flora of Taiwan such as the conifer Taiwania and the cinnamon Cinnomomum osmophloeum, apprently one of the ingredients of Coke.

There were benches dedicated to potted specimens of exotic bromeliad species and hybrids.

Here's a rather lost looking pot of Touch-Me-Not, Mimosa pudica. I suppose these tropicals are understandably fascinating in countries where they are not viewed as ubiquitous, prickly, weedy things.

Check out this pillar of Staghorns!

Mounted on this face of the pillar were Platycerium willinkii(top) and Platycerium wallichi.

Big and fat ridleyi.

On the right of this photo are the deciduous Koelreuteria henryi trees that are endemic to Taiwan. The trees flower gregariously with yellow blossoms that turn into reddish fruit. The guide spoke highly of the tree and said it was one of the 'prides of Taiwan' because it was so beautiful.

This is certainly stunning. Each of those Chrysanthemum domes is, believe or not, one plant! The yellow one had an amazing 350 blooms.

Here's where the dome grows from the soil. The plant was supported by a steel frame and carefully trained for an all-rounded display.

There was a bench displaying rare native ferns of the family Marattiaceae. The little one on the left named Angiopteris somai occurs only in Taiwan and is on the brink of extinction. The big fellow in the middle is Angiopteris itoi and there are only 40 plants left in the wild so this one is in trouble too. The one on the right is very pretty and is called Marattia pellucida. It is both rare and endangered, with a very limited geographical distribution.

A clearer look at the leaves of Marattia pellucida.

Furthur into the pavilion were displays of flowering plants including Irises, Lupins, Fox Gloves, Calla lilies and Begonias like the ones above.

There was also a succulent display...

...with a giant prickly sea turtle made of cacti.

More unusual cacti and succulents were put in the limelight.

This is nifty: flowers made of spray painted disposable spoons! The spoons were attached to disposable chopsticks and then inserted into a moss ball.

High tech farming...

Miniature orchids under glass...

Paphiopedilums on display...

Who would have thought? The young and tender fronds of the Bird's Nest fern, Asplenium nidus, are eaten as a vegetable in Taiwan! A few days before we arrived in Taipei, we had lunch at a tiny restaurant in Taichung that served 'natural foods' grown in the mountains. One of the dishes served was a vegetable stir-fry that was most unusual. The greens were succulent, crunchy and looked very much like fern fiddle heads. I remember telling Mum as I helped myself to more, that the vegetable looked much like those of Bird's Nest Ferns. They probably were! A quick Wikipedia search will tell you that the immature fern fronds are a popular vegetable in Taiwan.

I suppose it's a good thing that Singaporean's don't have a taste for Bird's Nest Fern unlike the Taiwanese for otherwise Nparks might have a hard time catching fern thieves. The veracious Singaporean appetite and penchant for free deals would leave every rain tree raped of it's ferns in no time!

TIFE 2010 Part One

2011-01-04T17:35:00.008+08:00

As promised, here are some of the things we saw at the Taipei International Flora Exposition.

We were pretty lost at first because I didn't do my homework prior to the trip. If you are visiting Taipei and would like to drop by TIFE 2010, do take some time to read up on how to get there and decide which pavilions you would like to visit. Click here to get to the official website. The Expo will end 25th April this year 2011. If you intend to visit, note that it will take you about three days to view the whole exposition.

For entry to some pavilions, special tickets must be purchased whereas the other pavilions only require that you have the entry ticket. Some pavilions have a max entry number per day (i.e. say only 3000 people can visit each day,) so you'll have to join the queue to purchase tickets to these pavilions as early as 7am.

I queued an hour to visit the Future Pavilion, which was one of the less exclusive pavilions. It was well worth the wait so I would recommend that you visit at least one pavilion while at the Expo. If you hate queuing, go later in the afternoon to enjoy the grounds which are open to all with the standard entry ticket. You won't miss the global gardens which showcase displays by Malaysia, Hungary and Hawaii to name a few places. The Philippines did an impressive job with bromeliads (above) and this display was my favourite.

I thought the display was well planned and the plant selection was varied. It featured a little boardwalk, showcasing maps and cultural paraphernalia of the different regions of the Philippines. Bear in mind that this was entirely outdoor.

They had this interesting trailing Gesneriad that caught my eye. I like it! Wish I knew what it was.

The display by Hong Kong was very colourful and had plant 'dolphins' leaping out of a sea of flowers.

Singapore's display was most disappointing! Mum's face says it all. There was nothing Singaporean about the plant selection. I thought the round timber decks, rustic metal and manicured lawn were stiff and sterile, and did nothing to portray the exciting, cosmopolitan garden city image. And what's with the three red chinese lanterns?!

The Expo grounds are HUGE and about as crowded as East Coast Park on a June Saturday. This maze is seriously confusing for anyone less than 1.6m tall and there is no way this could be done in Singapore given the space constraints. Everyone was having a go at it!

Here's something we could never do due to climate and space constraints. You're looking at a field of Poinsettia cultivars.

More Poinsettias!

The Expo grounds were also full of intriguing hardscape features. Shown here is some neat wooden paving. Also of interest was a bridge that glows with solar-powered LEDs come nightfall and a futuristic floral tunnel. There was also a circular Starbucks cafe with a huge lotus lantern on it's roof that lit up beautifully at dusk.

The grounds look magical as the sun sets and its worth staying for the light-up. Alternatively, go in the afternoon if you're not keen on the pavilions (though really, take a look!). Note that entry tickets at different times of the day are priced differently so be sure to check out the prices first!

Stay tuned for my next post on the Future Pavilion!

Formosan Findings!

2011-01-03T22:20:00.009+08:00

First things first: Happy 2011! I regret that I haven't had the time to write since my return from Taiwan last week. It was an AMAZING trip. I managed to drop by the Taiwan Flora Expo but more details on that in my next post! Today I would like to share a few photos of every day Singapore plants doing their stuff further up North.

Schefflera arboricola bushes were fruiting madly in Taiwan, something they almost never do here in Singapore. The effect of the orange berries on the variegated yellow foliage is quite interesting...

I've always imagined that a Gerbera seedhead would look like a Dandelion one but now I've seen one for real! The Gerbera seedhead is much bigger than I thought it would be. Again here's something you don't get to see much of in Singapore. These plants grow in beautiful big clumps in Taiwan, with blooms on long elegant stems just like the ones you get at the florist.

And here's a Dracaena fragrans in flower. Some folks in SG call this plant 铁树 or Iron Tree, and it's flowering is deemed auspicious. People in Taiwan must be very lucky then because most of the plants that I encountered while I was visiting were blooming. Considering how abundant this Dracaena is in Singapore, blooming here is rare. I guess we have an unlucky climate :(

I now know that Dracaena fragrans has tiny six-petaled flowers that are borne in tight clusters along soft flowering stems. Each flower petal is white with a reddish stripe running down its back surface. There are six anthers with fleshy filaments and a single pistil that extends above the stamens. I would assume that the pistil is made up of three carpels, much like that of a lily. Now how about that fragrance that gives this plant it's species name, fragrans? I would liken this scent to that of sweet-smelling jasmine with the aroma of dried chrysanthemum or perhaps honeysuckle. The scent is hard to describe and it is probably not every one's cup of (chrysanthemum) tea. Bees flock to the flowers as they seem to produce copious nectar.

And that's all the time I have for today. I will write about the Expo real soon! :)

Begonia brevirimosa

2010-12-20T12:53:00.005+08:00

Begonia brevirimosa is great colour in the shade!

It's most remarkable and slightly amusing how plants sometimes bounce back from near death. Looking at this nice bushy begonia, would you believe it was totally defoliated this year after a disastrous week of neglect? I had forgotten to tell my Dad to water it while I was at camp and when I got back, there was nothing left in the pot but one green stem that was dessicated six inches from the tip!

A week later, that little bit of hope seemed to melt away as the remaining stem succumbed to wet rot due to over-zealous compensation with regards to watering. Things looked quite hopeless and I was beginning to consider starting new cuttings from one of Mark's plants. Dad was getting depressed about it too. Let's just say a six inch pot of soil with a tiny dry stump leaves much to be desired. Still, I watered the barren pot occasionally in hopes of a miracle.

Then it sprouted.

In a month, the Begonia was as good as before. The plant recently upgraded to a larger pot and seems to be loving it - lots of new shoots! Clearly the repotting was a little overdue. I do believe we may be needing another up-size real soon!

Deadheading

2010-12-12T20:25:00.011+08:00

Deadheading Pentas will encourage bigger flower clusters and neater, healthier growth.

It takes a few minutes but if done correctly on the right type of plant, the results are very rewarding. I'm talking about deadheading. While to some it may seem like a crude word involving a guillotine, 'deadheading' is a common horticultural practice that involves the removal of withered blooms on flowering plants. Many plants respond positively to deadheading by flowering abundantly and displaying improved vigour. In contrast, plants that haven't been deadheaded may look tired, old and bloom poorly.

I'll try to explain this from what I know.

A flower is a plant's attempt at reproduction. Flowers turn to fruit (ideally...) and set seeds (ideally...) which result in offspring (ideally...). As a flower fades, phytohormones (chemicals which regulate plant growth) 'tell' the plant to channel energy into fruit and seed production which is an immensely energy consuming process. Some plants will then reduce flower production so as to focus available resources on developing healthy seeds.

When you deadhead, you remove wilting flowers or developing seed heads. By doing so, your plant doesn't get the memo to go into seed production. The result? Continuous and enthusiastic blooming. Non-stop hits! Deadheading can also result in neater and more compact growth.

To deadhead, simply pinch away an old flower stalk with the tip of your finger and thumb. Don't worry about removing a few leaves to get to an actively sprouting node, but leave the buds alone! Old flower stalks sometimes attract and hide pests - that's another reason to get rid of them. Do not deadhead your plant if you desire fruits or seeds for whatever reason.

Remove the 'green eyes' on the left! Bugs like to hide in between those. Those on the right are the young flower buds. When deadheading Pentas, I also remove the two accompanying leaves just below the 'green eye' clusters. Note that the right cluster has but a few buds as this red Pentas has not been deadheaded for a while :)

While there are probably many commonly grown plants that respond well to deadheading, I am only confident of mentioning of these:

Petunias
Cosmos, Marigolds and other annuals
Abutilon and Hibiscus species
Pentas
Roses

*Some plants grown primarily for foliage shouldn't be allowed to flower at all, as this jeopardises foliage quality eg. coleus, basil (herb)

Wet Wet Wet

2010-12-10T13:37:00.010+08:00

Face it folks, the year is coming to an end whether or not you've achieved your past year's resolutions. If you're thinking of spreading some cheer, now is the time! I hope everyone has got their Christmas all decked out because I know I have. And like I say every year, it's never a white Christmas around here but at least 'the tree tops glisten' even if not with snow.

We're well into the monsoon season which was on time this year in November. If past years are anything to go by, things should start to get drier in late January and then be normal again in late February. Meanwhile, whether you're wrestling with your wet umbrella or kicking off those soggy socks, cursing in the traffic jams or moaning at the muddy puddles in your garden (should you have one), remember tis' the season to be jolly (Ha!). Some of us will have fuller pockets today but the rest of us can be assured of fuller bellies come Christmas time.

Things are slowing down in the Concrete Canopy but a gardener's work is never done. Here's a list of things I like to do during the wet season that you may find helpful.

I do...

Water my plants. I don't count on the rain to water my containers as this is seldom sufficient. Bear in mind though, that cooler weather may reduce a plant's need for water so reduce watering frequency accordingly.

Clean up on the dry days. Wind and rain mean more leaf litter which will turn into mush that can stain floors and breed pests. A dry day is a good day to sweep up. Remember to unclog drains too!

Move plants. Part-sun plants get to sit in the sunniest spots this time of year when the sky is mostly overcast. Just be careful of those that will not tolerate ANY full sun at all in case of the occasional burst of sunshine. Plants such as Achimenes and Abutilon megapotamicum appreciate the stronger light minus the sweltering heat and can be moved to get maximum light. My plants are blooming in gratitude. Be sure to move them in again as the weather gets drier and hotter next year.

Until the first signs of sunnier days, I don't...

Prune. Unless a plant is growing out of hand, I avoid this - it's a personal thing. Cloudy days make indoor conditions even darker. Unless my plant is actively growing, I prefer not to prune as I don't want to encourage etiolated growth that is long and lanky. I still deadhead though.

Fertilize. In the ground, nutrients are washed away in the wet weather. Lower lights mean lesser growth so I don't bother with feeding.

Over water plants. With all that sky juice, plants in the ground may not need watering at all. I reduce watering on my orchids that are shedding and going into dormancy. I mist once a week and keep them in good light, away from the worst of the rain. Watch out for those succulent plants too and move them away from rain if neccessary. I'd rather my plants starve a little in the shade than succumb to wet rot!

The Tawny Coaster

2010-12-08T22:25:00.008+08:00

The Tawny Coaster, Acraea terpsicore syn. Acraea violae

As if to herald the festive season and it's accompanying monsoons, the Tawny Coaster has made it's presence felt around my neighborhood. These delicate beauties are worth celebration too as they have traveled from a land far far away - Thailand. (And that's really far for a creature small enough to sit so comfortably on my fingertip!) Spotted in Malaysia in the early 90s, these guys have recently touchdown and settled in Singapore.

The small flowers of the common weed, Passiflora suberosa.

Foreign introductions to ecosystems have been known to spell disaster but I doubt that this will be the case for the Tawny Coaster. Although it is unpalatable to most predators, the caterpillars have specific host plants, which is commonly the case for butterflies and moths, and this must have prevented an population explosion as it was spreading Southward. The favoured baby food appears to be the non-native and pesky weed, Passiflora suberosa. The plant is more annoying than a real menace but in any case this unruly wild passionfruit has met it's match!

Be warned!
Baby butterflies can be scary to the faint of heart and prepubescent Tawny Coasters do not look friendly at all...Stages of metamorphosis. Pupation started: 30th Nov. Adult emerged: 8th Dec. Total 8 days :)

I have found that adult Tawny Coasters, like many butterflies of the open fields, are partial to the nectar of the tridax daisy. The insect sports a fluttery, weak flight that is characteristic of butterflies that are poisonous to eat. As they possess chemical defenses inherited from their caterpillar food plants, the butterflies are not easily startled even on close inspection (confident little buggers!) and are easy to photograph.

So if you chance across one of these fancy fliers on a sunny field, do stop to appreciate their ephemeral beauty. They are 'foreign talent', you know!

Green & Gothic

2010-11-23T21:52:00.009+08:00

Coelogyne mayeriana has finally bloomed with two spikes and 13 buds!

The name 'Coelogyne' comes from the Greek word koilos which means hollow and gyne which refers to the female part of the flower - the orchid has a sunken groove running from the stigma to the base of the column. The most common pronounciation I've heard is 'see-lo-jin-nee'. Based on the Greek root words, the pronounciation 'koh-el-law-jin-ee' is also accepted. The general consensus is that gyne isn't pronounced as in 'gynecology'.

Close-up on the lip of Coelogyne mayeriana.

Are those exotic flowers or what? They smell lemony too! Coelogyne mayeriana and Coelogyne pandurata are famed for having beautiful green flowers that have warty lips laced with black. Coel. pandurata differs in being more robust with larger and more numerous blooms.

When I decided to get a Coelogyne, I chose mayeriana for its more manageable size and also because it is a Singapore native. I got a lush plant from Song Orchids early this year and it has since grown to be quite a monster, concealling it's 6-inch pot completely with it's pleated leaves. Perhaps due its unruly habit, this native orchid hasn't been super popular with local growers. I personally like the orchid's glossy leaves and it's bushy, substantial look.

I think getting a big one is a good idea as you would be getting more bloom for your buck and for much of the year when the plant is out of flower, it makes for nice foliage. It appreciates a little direct morning sun but bright light all year seems adequate. Don't let it sit in water but water regularly. It doesn't need a dormant drying out.

Just something unusual that I think is good to grow :)

The Monkey Bush

2010-11-19T16:57:00.005+08:00

Abutilon indicum on Penang Hill.

I photographed this lovely yellow flower at 84 on Penang Hill. I chanced upon the name, Abutilon indicum, whilst searching for culture tips on the species 'megapotamicum' of the same genus. The plant is a common tropical and subtropical weed and is sometimes refered to as the Indian Mallow or, I much prefer, the Monkey Bush.

The Monkey bush has been introduced to Singapore and I happened to spot one, short of a metre tall, growing wild along the Tampines Expressway while I was zipping by in a taxi. The plant belongs to the Hibiscus family (Malvaceae) and it's ephemeral flowers are replaced by curious button-like seed capsules that have stiff awns and tiny bristly hairs. Ripe capsules are brown, dry and dehiscent.

Developing fruits and a flower of the Monkey Bush, Abutilon indicum.

While the plant's inch-wide flowers and peculiar fruit give it some ornamental value, it is cultivated in India mainly for medicinal purposes. The plant is a tonic and has been reported to poses antibacterial and antifungal properties. It is also 'helpful in the treatment of gout and tuberculosis'. When used externally, the plant is said to have the ability to 'alleviate pain and swelling'. I won't recommend that you try it at home but the guys at herbalcureindia.com seem to know what they're talking about! There are no reports on toxicity for Abutilon indicum but the Concrete Canopy holds no responsibility should you decide to break this record :)

Pitcher Pictures

2010-11-16T21:36:00.002+08:00

Neppy No. 1 (Probably a Nepenthes 'Red Dragon')

Calling Mark Choo for ID's please! These pitchers Mark gave me in August have settled in and gotten down to business. They are gorgeous - many thanks. I think the first one, Neppy No. 1, is the 'Red Dragon' which (and I'm pretty smoked here) is a hybrid between N. truncata and N. thorelii, the latter being a 'species' of complicated ancestry and that Wikipedia claims is probably extinct.

Let's take a moment to digest that...

And here's a bigger pitcher from the same plant, with my hand for proportion. The mother plant's making a basal now which is good.

Neppy No. 1 showing nice 'wings'.

Neppy No. 2

Neppy No. 2 has thus far made only one pitcher. The trap is sizable though, and slightly disproportionate to the thin and narrow 'leaves' (I use this term loosely).

The No. 2 pitcher is a duller red than the No. 1 and it has a greenish peristome that is more teardrop-shaped than circular. I suppose pitcher plant hybrids are much like orchid hybrids in that there are too many similar variations for most of us to be able to identify accurately. But if any one can make a good guess, it's you, Mark! Any idea what this one could be?

BIG NEWS: Big Flower!

2010-11-14T13:23:00.005+08:00

The Amorphophallus titanum bud should get taller and bloom by next weekend!

Have YOU seen it yet? If not, then you should! Even if you're not a plant geek, a man-sized flower is not an every day affair and possibly once in a lifetime. Amorphophallus titanum is the plant that bears this obscenely large organ and this is a most apt description as Amorphophallus titanum literally means 'giant malformed penis'. Yes, it's rather crass.

What appears to be a single enormous flower is really a collection of tiny flowers forming a towering spadix with female flowers forming closer to the base. The spadix is wrapped by a single 'petal' known as a spathe. The spathe functions somewhat like a chimney, releasing the inflorescence's foul odours that attract the plant's pollinators. In the photo above, the flower spathe is not yet opened.

The 'flower' grows from an underground tuber. A single huge leaf several metres tall (now absent) makes food that is stored underground. After the growing season, plants go dormant during which the leaf dies and no part of the plant remains visible. Mature plants may flower after this or may produce a new leaf. Since our plant is still quite young, with a leaf only about two metres wide (wow), our giant 'flower' is rather humble compared to the 3 metre tall specimens that have been recorded in other botanic gardens.

Still, it's a great achievement and a claim to fame for the Singapore Botanic Gardens! Kudos to Marc Frank for coaxing the tuber into flower!

While I was visiting the gardens, I spotted another giant in flower. A monster for its kind, though alas, not the biggest it can be... A giant water lily, some kind of Victoria sp.

Victoria sp.?

The 700 beams of Vanda Miss Joaquim that I helped to plant during my stint at the gardens over a year ago have started to flower at last. These orchids flower freely once they have surpassed the height of their supports.

Black swans with their cygnets at the Ecolake. I'm presuming the left one is Mum as she was very protective of the little ones.

Another surprise! Baby swans! Although only four of the seven eggs hatched, this is the first successful brood of swan eggs for the gardens and I think a cause for celebration. Eggs previously laid kept getting eaten by pesky monitor lizards. I think the cygnets will have a better chance of surviving the hungry monitor lizards now as they can swim away from danger. Well, better than the eggs can anyway!

I hope that they swim faster than the lizards!

S.O.S.

2010-11-06T23:16:00.005+08:00

Ecbolium viride is still blooming its head off in the face of catastrophe.

The whiteflies are on a rampage! The Azalea's been badly hit and I've quarantined it. It's a little too late though as the little bastards have already moved in on the Tabernaemontana AND my precious Ecbolium! ARGH! And the Ecbolium had been looking so fine for the last few months...

Oh no!

Penang Hill

2010-10-31T11:26:00.012+08:00

I had never hiked up a sizable hill before. I mean, Singapore's Mount Faber at a 'staggering' 106m is quite literally, a stroll in the park. So being the noob that I was (and being alone), I decided to stick to the safe and mosquito-free, 5km jeep road all the way up the 830m hill.

Interesting plants that I saw along the way... (click for larger image)

Globba sp.

For the first 1km or so, the side of the road was covered with Globba, which are little gingers that often have fascinating flowers that resemble dancing ladies. I think this one looks like some kind of Pokemon. This is common species but I don't know what it's called.

'Orkidaea idunnoea'

Then there were these orchids that were pretty common along the way and grew in dry, exposed soil. Wish I knew what these were... Orkidaea idunnoea, I'm calling them...

Pentaphragma begoniaefolium? (click for larger image)

Very common in the shadier spots was this peculiar plant. Initially I thought they were begonias because of those characteristic asymmetrical leaves, but upon closer inspection of the flowers (bottom left) I changed my mind. Something about that odd looking bunch made me think 'Scorpion's Tail' and with some help from MJ, I got the binomial name for that particular plant, Pentaphragma ellipticum. I'm guessing this begonia-like plant could be Pentaphragma begoniaefolium.

The shelter near the halfway mark is more affectionately known by locals as '84'. An old man boils drinking water here for passersby and sometimes serves coffee or tea. Biscuits are also available for the hungry traveler. The shelter was a welcomed break from the walk and I left a heartfelt token of appreciation at the donation box before leaving.

Dipteris conjugata

Pass the halfway mark, explosions of Dipteris conjugata were an impressive sight. These ancient ferns are found in lowland Singapore but are critically endangered due to rapid development. These plants however are typically cool growing and are easy to find in Malaysia's highlands. Each of those palmate leaves was half a metre across! Spectacular!

Nepenthes albomarginata (click for larger image)

Scattered over the vertical earth were a myriad of small tough plants and mosses but none were as eye-catching as the pitcher plants! These carnivorous plants were abundant on steep slopes in sunny, exposed conditions where the strong light brought out their intense colours. Basal pitchers (top left) had prominent wings running along their sides, whereas the upper pitchers (bottom left), some of which were borne high in the treetops, had greatly reduced wings. Each pitcher had a pure white band running along the rim of the peristome, a feature unique to the species albomarginata.

Native to both Singapore and Malaysia, the orchid, Bromheadia finlaysoniana.

A Fivebar Swordtail butterfly rests on a leaf.

Wierd blue-headed centipede scurrying along.

Too cute to be true, these tiny, bright yellow fungi are only about 2cm tall!

Nearing the top of the hill, I felt a noticeable drop in temperature (5 degrees, I'm told) and stronger winds. HUGE treeferns arched dramatically over the roads but vegetation thinned as I approached the village. Pretty Impatiens walleriana, with their cheerful red, muave and pink flowers, blanketed the hillsides and ornamental favourites such as cordyline and hibiscus started to appear. A mini nursery had beautiful potted Dahlias out on benches.

Dhalias sat on benches that overlooked the steep slope.

These Amorphophallus plants fight for space with what looks like an Aristolochia vine.

Wildlife still finds it's place in this small settlement. Aristolochia are vital food sources for the giant Birdwing butterfly caterpillars. One Common Birdwing was weaving through the canopy as I took this next photo...

Georgetown

... of beautiful Georgetown from the summit of Penang Hill! The climb took me 2 hours. While it was hazy, the view was still breathtaking. In the distance, the Penang Bridge runs 13.5km across the sea and ranks among the longest bridges in the world. I can only imagine how pretty nightfall at Georgetown would look from this elevation.

Over a lunch of nasi lemak, I learned from a drink vendor that the funicular train down the hill was no longer in service! Oh well, there was plenty of time to recharge and head down. I wasn't in a hurry anyway...

the more We get Together

2010-10-27T10:44:00.003+08:00

This party has (clockwise from left) pink Cryptanthus, Kalanchoe, Euphorbia milii, Dwarf Epiphyllum oxypetalum and in the centre, Euphorbia antiquorum.

Lately, I've been busying myself with containers. Other than being a joy to arrange, container gardens put together dozens of little pots that make things look a little neater around here. I've been contemplating putting all my succulents together in a container, since my humble collection consists of common and easy plants that I wouldn't want to turn into stand-alone specimens. I used an old IKEA frame to draw attention to a tea light holder 'house' that I used as a whimsical focal. I think it's okay. What do you think?

I've also been planning another sunbird sanctuary for my little feathered friends! The old Pentas container garden is looking tired and I'm making cuttings for a second container. Also been looking for new plants, such as the Russelia sarmentosa that I mentioned in my previous post, to add to the menu. Meanwhile, the sunbirds will just have to make do with one entrée.

And with persistent persuasion on my Mum's part, I did up a little Fittonia collection for the coffee table. She went gaga over the wide selection and I must admit I had never paid much attention to these popular indoor plants. There are ALOT of different varieties available these days and although some can be a little finicky, I believe that they are generally not too hard in SG. While I was looking for pink foliage at the nursery several months ago, I hunted high and low for a Syngonium. It never occurred to me then that pink Fittonia could have been a more interesting choice... not to mention that they're readily available!

Go figure.

House Visit!

2010-10-24T22:15:00.012+08:00

I dropped by Marc's place yesterday to pass him four Ecbolium viride plants to add to his expanding Acanth collection. I had estimated that it would have been a two hour visit but turns out we had sooooo much to catch up on and sooooo much plant talk to talk that I spent five hours at his place! The last time I went to his place, I was playing house-sitter/plant-sitter while he went home to Florida for a couple of weeks. His collection has grown substantially since my last visit with some cool additions, such as this Achimenes longiflora hybrid which he let me have plantlets of. This Gesneriad makes scaley rhizomes that flake into individual scales which sprout into young plants. It thrives in part shade - another perfect 'fit-for-shade' addition for me!

Achimenes longiflora hybrid and my fingers. The plant has red abaxial leaf surfaces and stems.

His Aglaonemas are spectacular. He has a dozen different hybrids that are thriving and I especially love the pale-stemmed ones in his bedroom, which have spotless, algae-free petioles. Stunning. I don't know how he does it! I always found that pink Aglaonemas are somewhat fussy. Must be his special 'Ang Moh' soil mix...

It was good to see that the plants that we had collected from nursery ventures during my stint at the botanic gardens have since turned into nice specimens. A Hoya imperialis that we got at World Farm two years back is now a monster and I spotted nice flower umbels (that he himself hadn't noticed somehow) that we ooh-ed and ah-ed at.

Lovely burgundy Elatostema.

Some Caladium hybrid...

Some bromeliad. Got to love that colour and vigour. I like that this one is spineless!

His Schefflera Nova looks twice the size of mine even though we got our plants at the same time. The Oxalis hedysaroides I gave him is getting by but his Gloriosa Lily is truly glorious now that he's learned to keep their roots in the shade ("Remember: hot heads, cool feet!"). I helped him with clearing two ailing Avocado saplings while I was there and he made an unusual but delicious smoothie of pineapple, grape and ginger which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's really good combination, you'll be surprised.

The pink trifoliate Syngonium.

Before I left, Marc gave me cuttings of Sze Chuan Pepper that has amazingly aromatic leaves and this beautiful trifoliate Syngonium. Looking forward to visiting him in the gardens as he's truly a font of knowledge and there's just so much to learn from him. Now I've got to hunt for Russelia sarmentosa that he recommended I grow for the visiting sunbirds... from the photos on Google images, I think it's a plant well worth growing!

Going Solo

2010-10-23T01:41:00.006+08:00

Whoopee! I'll be making my first solo trip overseas next week and I'm terribly excited although I'm kinda nervous too. I suppose you would call me a follower - I'm pretty reliant on groups and my 'street smarter' buddies - but there's a first for everything and it's high time I learned to be more self-sufficient so here goes nothing!

My destination? It's pretty random but I've heard good reviews. I'm going to Penang!

I went there once when I was a toddler and so this is effectively my first time there since I can hardly remember the previous trip. I'll be staying at Batu Ferringhi and visiting the Botanic Gardens, which comes highly recommended by Lonely Planet's Kuala Lumpur, Melaka & Penang travel guide. From the gardens, I hope to be taking a short hike up Penang Hill which should be interesting. Can't wait to check out the night market and the northern beaches, the latter being the choicest in Penang. But most of all I'm hoping to spend some quiet time alone chillaxing. It's perfect, then, that I found a Peranakan guest house to stay at that's dekat pantai (near the beach)!

While flipping through travel guides a couple of days back, I was telling my brother Kai about my find.

"It's says here in Lonely Planet that the beach is only five steps away from the Baba Guest House!"

"Really?" he said in genuine interest.

"Yup. Not four, not six but FIVE!" I emphasized.

My brother thought about this for a while, no doubt contemplating the precise distance from tiled veranda to white sandy beach.

"So, wait. Would that be five little Nyonya steps or...?"

Erm... I suppose Baba steps. Five of those is slightly further than five dainty Nyonya steps but I think I can manage...

Sweet Little Thing

2010-10-18T21:09:00.005+08:00

A mini basil cutting stuck through the spout rooted in a few days. I've fashioned this one into a little tree in about a month :)

I'm a great lover of tangy tomato-based pasta sauce and sweet basil is one herb that is indispensable in the classic Italian combination. Sweet basil has a lighter flavour than purple-stemmed Thai basil but both plants are cultivars of the same species, Ocimum basilicum. While Thai Basil is commonly used in South East Asian dishes and easily grown in this region, sweet basil tends to be slightly fussier. I have found that the mini version of the sweet basil, sometimes called the Windowbox Basil, is much easier to care for than its larger cousin.

The mini basil makes fragrant leaves about 2 -4 cm in length that do not curl. Cuttings root very quickly in a moist, well-draining medium. The plant is very compact (about 20cm tall) and with regular harvesting of the growing tips, can form nice mounds or even make a mini standard. Removing developing flowers keeps the plant vigorous and helps it to retain its scent. I gave my plant part shade with a few hours of sunshine and it maintained a very dense crown. It likes to be kept moist and I find that stress causes it to be susceptable to scale insects but overall, the plant is very forgiving.

This one is a nice one to grow because of its clean, simple and compact look. The plant's diminuitive size and ease of care are also plus points. The fragrance is lovely and is released even with the slightly movement, making this plant a sensual treat to repot, prune and handle. I've yet to try and make pesto with this fella (I currently have plenty of these plants) but adding it to scrambled eggs towards the end of cooking is a nice touch.

Delizioso! ;)

Dendrobium faciferum

2010-10-17T17:45:00.004+08:00

This one is a little pick-me-up. Dendrobium faciferum sports cheery little vermilion flowers that are fairly lasting for a member of the Section Rhopalanthe - about 10 days for me. A familiar orchid in Section Rhopalanthe would be the locally abundant Pigeon Orchid, Den. crumenatum, which has fragrant, white, one-day flowers. Pity then, that Den. faciferum doesn't have the faintest scent but it sure seems almost as floriferous as the 'Pigeon'. Vegetatively, both plants are quite similar. Here are a few photos I took of the little blossoms:

I bought this plant several months ago at the OSSEA meeting because I love the way the little green ovary sections contrast with the orangey-red tepals. I think these guys look rather like little paws! I can't figure out what the species name means though, which is a little disappointing. I know ferum means 'bearing' or 'to bear' but I can't work out the faci bit. Ideas?

Tropical Daffodil

2010-09-07T09:57:00.004+08:00

The nodding habit of Eucharis formosa. Formosa refers to the old name for Taiwan.

I'm finally reaping the reward of a single seed I planted in September 2008. The pure white flowers of Eucharis formosa have a distinct cup in their centers and I personally think they resemble daffodils. They are sometimes called Amazon Lilies but that name is usually reserved for Eucharis grandiflora, which is a stunning plant with flowers twice the size of Eucharis formosa.

Here's a look at the little cup within the flower.

Growing on this week!

2010-08-25T18:25:00.007+08:00

Although I made plans to visit a nursery soon after National Day, somehow that hasn't happened. We've grown in numbers though, thanks to Mark giving me new pitcher plants. After the hectic National Day period, I managed to get down to some repotting, pruning and bug-busting and two weeks after the Canopy is looking much happier.

I'm glad to say the Dwarf Tree Fern (Blechnum gibbum, top left) actually has a crown now. After the disastrous wilt that occurred due to my negligence the poor fern had but ONE miserable frond. Moral: don't forget to water your tree fern. Thankfully it didn't die on me and several months after, it seems to have slowly (painfully slowly) recovered. Three cheers there.

Dendrobium 'Sriracha Snowfire' never stops flowering so much so sometimes it's hardly fun anymore. Still, for good effort and reliability we think it deserves a place on the Blog-of-Fame once again.

The Green Ice Crossandra has been looking very lush and the cuttings I took a month back have started to flower. I took down the Cardinal Climber on the left because it was getting too big for the pot and was wilting too frequently. While I was pulling apart the stems, I discovered that opportunistic mealybugs had begun their assault on the ailing plant. Damn those rascals! I've since replaced the whole plant with Thunbergia alata that I raised from seeds. Looking forward to the first blooms...

The Peacock Ginger (Kaempfaeria pulchra) is nice in a container but can be a menace in the garden as it spreads uncontrollably with its underground rhizomes. This small ginger is mainly grown for its patterned foliage but also makes delicate four-petaled blooms. Somehow I haven't been able to get clear variegation on this plant even on newly its emerging leaves leaves but blooms are frequent. Too much light, perhaps?

On the left is a variegated Schefflera arboricola. These plants are super easy but will shed their leaves in excessive shade. The pitchers hanging from the fence belong to my very old Nepenthes ventrata which was only about 15cm tall when I first got it - the insect-killer also had a much smaller criminal record then. The orange Crossandras flower well in part-shade and they bend gently over the Vriesea which I don't hold high hopes on to flower. The striking foliage makes it a nice bromeliad to grow nonetheless.

Finally, here's a shot of my newly transplanted coffee seedling! This photo was taken several weeks ago though and is pretty outdated. The plant has since made two leaves twice the size of the preceding ones. Looks like that flavour-lock bag isn't going to be big enough for it soon!