Dr Ivan Polunin lives in Hillview, off Upper Bukit Timah Road. Fronting his house is an old and very tall durian tree (Durio zibethinus) (left). For the years he has been living in his current house, he claims that he … Continued
Heliconias (Heliconia spp.) are native to Central and South America and some islands of the South Pacific. Because they bear large, colorful and conspicuous flowering branches in various sizes, shapes and designs, they are favourite garden plants throughout the tropics … Continued
Cannas are popular border plants with large, showy flowers of red, yellow or yellow spotted with red. These plants are native to tropical America and have been cultivated in Singapore for decades. All these garden cannas are hybrids (below). The … Continued
More than a year ago, KC Tsang sent in images of a male Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) eating the fruits of Indian cherry (Muntingia calabura) in his father-in-law’s garden (left). I did not pay much attention to them then as … Continued
The Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri) has been documented by Mark Chua eating the seeds of the African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata) (above). This is another example of an exotic bird eating fruits/seeds of an exotic plant. The earlier example is … Continued
Dendrophthoe pentandra is a common mistletoe plant that is semi-parasitic on wayside trees (above left). The mistletoe is spread by flowerpeckers and sunbirds that eat the fruits and excrete the sticky seeds when perching on the branches of shrubs and … Continued
Early one morning I found a fresh sprig of tembusu (Fagraea fragrans) with ripe berries still attached, on the top of my car’s boot (left). The car was parked under the porch with the rear end jutting out near to … Continued
In January 2006 I had an exciting encounter with a family of Scaly-breasted Munias (Lonchura punctulata) visiting my neighbour’s well-maintained garden. They came quietly and by chance I noticed them foraging among the grassy weeds. Then again, in September 2007 … Continued
The mistletoe Macrosolen cochinchinensis has flowers that only open when visited by birds. When a bird grasps the flower bud, the petals suddenly unfold to expose the stamens and style. At the same time pollen is probably discharged from the … Continued
Yes, how does an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonestigma) tackles the fruits of the Indian cherry tree (Muntingia calabura)? In an earlier post, KC Tsang gave an account of how this flowerpecker ate the fruits of the Indian cherry tree. The … Continued
