Pink-necked Green Pigeon eating seeds of yellow simpoh

The above image shows a male Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans) eating a seed of the yellow simpoh (Dillenia suffruticosa). Not only does this pigeon eats the seeds, many others birds also seek them out.

The flowers are yellow and large (below left). Once pollinated, the petals are shed and the persistent green sepals fold inwards to enclose the developing fruit. At this stage these fruiting “buds” are often mistaken for flower buds. The image of the fruit (below right) shows two such buds below the ripening fruit.

Once the fruit is fully developed, the persistent green sepals unfold and the fruit splits into many segments to display the many red seeds (above right). This happens during the early morning and attracts the attention of many birds. The birds swallow the seeds whole, to eject the seeds once the red pulp is scraped off in the gizzard. These birds thus help in the dispersal of the plant.

Yellow simpoh is a bushy plant of disturbed areas. The leaves are large and used as wrappers in wet markets before plastic bags became popular. The leaves are still used to wrap tempeh, the popular fermented soy bean cakes that are eaten in many Southeast Asian countries.

The yellow simpoh is an excellent bird plant. The large leaves are popular with nesting tailorbirds.

The young fruiting buds are a popular food with the Long-tailed Parakeets (Psittacula longicauda).

Johnny Wee
Singapore
October 2008