Heritage trees in Singapore


1. The Rain Train is native to tropical America but is grown throughout the tropics.  Its large umbrella shaped crown, tolerance of a wide range of conditions and easy propagation make it highly suitable as a roadside tree.  In Singapore, Rain Trees have been used to great effect in the creation of the Garden City.
2. This Jelawai has been designated a Heritage Tree.  At about 47 metres, it is one of the tallest trees in Singapore Botanic Gardens.
3. Tembusu is native to Singapore. It can grow to massive size even on very poor soils.
4. The Saga Tree is best known for its brilliant red seeds. From the Middle East to SE Asia, the seeds were traditionally used as standard weights.  The name "Saga" may in fact be derived from the Arabic word for a goldsmith who at one time would have used the seeds to weigh the gold he worked.


1. Saga at a further view;  2. A mysterious blue entity was captured at a close-up of the Saga tree. Click here to view an enlarged version.
3. & 4. A Singapore Botanic Gardens, there are rumors of Pontianaks reside in some of the ancients trees. Would that be these ones?

 

• Botanical features, such as age, girth and height
• Historical and cultural features Some possible Heritage Trees are:
• The angsana at Upper Serangoon Road, between Woodleigh Park and Woodleigh Close, which has a 7.7-m girth and stretches 21-m high
• The bodhi at Pearl's Hill City Park, with a girth of 6.2m and a height of 18m
• The sea beam at the National Library carpark, with its 4.3-m girth and height of 33m
• Features of the Heritage Roads:
• scenic and lined with mature trees
• historical and gives sense of identity Some Heritage Roads are:
• Arcadia Road, Goodwood Hill, Lornie Road, Old Punggol Road, Redhill Close, Yuan Ching Road, Nassim Road, Yishun Avenue 5

Reference:
The Straits Times, Aug 18, 2001.


The mystery of the name Changi?

Just suppose for a moment that the tree that gave Changi its name is not Neobalanocarpus heimii, or chengal (pronounced "chengai")? The link between "Changi" the place and chengal the tree was suggested by the legendary botanist H.N. Ridley; the story is now a standard part of local botanical lore. Although Ridley made an educated guess as to the origins of the place name, there is no direct evidence that the chengal was ever found Changi, or for that matter, anywhere else in Singapore. But if Ridley's guess was not entirely correct, what other tree could have lent its name to Changi?

One obvious way to investigate this possibility is to check the vernacular names of all the native trees recorded in the checklist of the flora of Singapore, to find a name that matches 'Changi' as closely as possible. That is reasonably easy to do, but putting up a convincing proposition to support it is not. Without historical accounts or botanical records that testify beyond a doubt that such a tree did occur once upon a time in Changi, the elusive origins of the name remain anyone's guess.

Given the paucity of historical accounts, where else should one look? The answer just may have presented itself.

One particular old tree, located near Halton Road in Changi, may be the key that unlocks this century-old puzzle. A group of scholars from NUS discovered it recently while conducting a tree survey of the area, and as luck would have it, it was fruiting profusely. It proved to be a kind of dipterocarp (an important group of timber trees), a forest giant that is in all likelihood a remnant of the Changi Forest Reserve that existed in the area 100 years ago. Thanks to assistance provided by biologists Dr Shawn Lum (Natural Sciences Academic Group, NIE) and Dr Jim La Frankie (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute), they had it positively identified as Hopea sangal. A further check with botanical references led us to another exciting discovery - its native name is "Chengal Pasir" or "Chengal mata kuching".

Could this be the tree species that gave its name to Changi?

1. View of a 'pulai' at Upper Changi Road from Simei; 2 & 3. View from Expo MRT station; 4. Hopea Sangal in Changi.

The Singapore Red Data book (Ng and Wee, 1994) lists Hopea sangal as being extinct, but at least this one lone tree still remains in Singapore, having been overlooked all these years. This precious tree relic measures a respectable 330cm girth and has a height of about 35m. By conservative estimates, it could easily be 150 years old or more. What better form of evidence to rely on than a living testimony growing right in the heart of Changi. A tree of time doesn't tell lies!

We believe our discovery is yet another interesting, and perhaps significant, account in the colourful tree-history of Changi. Our tree survey has taught us how valuable the many giant trees in Changi are. As Singaporeans, we ought to cherish, care for and celebrate them as natural and national treasures to behold for generations to come.

Long live the trees!


References:
Written by Joseph Lai, Angie Ng, Chuah Ai Lin, Marilyn Cheng.
PROSEA (Plant Resources of Southeast Asia)
Flora of Malay Peninsula
Wayside Trees of Malaya
Singapore Red Data Book
 

This old tree was tragically felled, without approval, on the morning of 20th November 2002 (above).


Will our precious heritage trees eventually have to give way to our new facility development - glass and steel?