Celebrate our natural heritage this 57th national day! Did you know that Singapore has 5 species of endemic plants (native plants that can only be found here)?
Four of them exist only in our nature reserves and several were discovered only in recent years.
1) Splachnobryum temasekensis (moss species discovered in 2004, new to science)
2) Singapore Ginger (Zingiber singapurense) (new to science, discovered in 2012 at Central Catchment Nature Reserve, with a spindle-shaped inflorescence, formed by orange-red, bracts and pale yellow flower.)
3) Hanguana triangulata (new to science, discovered in 2015, flowering herb confined to the understorey of primary forests.)
4) Hanguana rubinea (new to science,
discovered in 2015, critically endangered flowering herb growing to about 1.5m. Name is derived from the ruby-red color of the ripe fruit.)
5) Nervilia singaporensis (critically endangered orchid, newly discovered in 2019 at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. The genus Nervilia was thought to be locally extinct, with the last sighting in 1889. It has a unique oblong flower shape and flowers that never open, which means it must self-pollinate to reproduce!
“The discovery of Nervilia singaporensis shows that there is still unknown biodiversity to find and study, even in heavily urbanised Singapore. As such, continued efforts in documenting and learning about the richness of our habitats is crucial to protect them and their biodiversity.” – Mr David Middleton, Coordinating Director of Research and Conservation at the Singapore Botanic Gardens