It all started when Lena Chow sent in an image of a male Pink-necked Green-pigeon (Treron vernans) feeding on a fig, which has been identified by Yap Von Bing as either a Waringin Fig (Ficus benjamina) or a Ficus nuda which he says looks similar (above).
The image was taken at Pasir Ris Park. Lena was sent to photograph the tree (above) as Ficus nuda is relatively unfamiliar and there is no record of its presence in Singapore. With the above image of the tree, it was sent to Ali Ibrahim of the National Parks Board to help confirm the identification.
Back came the reply from Ali: “It is possibly a F. benjamina. I compared it with F. benjamina var. nuda from Philippines and it matches, but in the Flora Malesiana (Vol. 17/Part 2 – 2005) this has been lumped into F. benjamina.
So it is confirmed that the tree is Waringin after all.
This shows the role of BESG in coordinating information from nature enthusiasts to get organisms identified.
Lena Chow, Yap Von Bing & Ali Ibrahim
Singapore
May 2014