SINGAPORE \u2013 Visitors to the Singapore Botanic Gardens are in for a fleeting botanical treat. Across the Ginger Garden, an array of gingers has bloomed.<\/p>\n
For many species, the flowers last only a single day.<\/p>\n
Beyond the familiar knobby, yellowish, edible ginger as we know it, species in the ginger order, Zingiberales<\/i>, include culinary staples such as turmeric, galangal, and even the bananas we eat.<\/p>\n
Spanning a lush 1ha plot, the Ginger Garden is jointly managed and co-curated by Dr Jana Leong-Skornickova, Keeper of the Herbarium and a principal researcher at the Botanic Gardens, and senior manager Sarah Lim Qing.<\/p>\n
Together, they oversee more than 550 species, varieties and horticultural cultivars of the ginger order, making the Botanic Gardens\u2019 ginger living collection one of the largest of its kind in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes a lot of skill to grow these plants \u2013 each individual wants something slightly different, you have to take the time to understand what they want,\u201d Dr Leong-Skornickova said, highlighting what it takes to manage the Ginger Garden.<\/p>\n Dr Jana Leong-Skornickova (right) and Ms Sarah Lim Qing (left) oversee more than 550 species, varieties and horticultural cultivars of the ginger order.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Here are a few notable species currently stealing the show:<\/p>\n A critically endangered tropical beauty, the Heliconia estherae <\/i>cannot be found anywhere else in Singapore outside the Botanic Gardens.<\/p>\n Endemic to just two municipalities in Colombia and discovered only in 1982, this specimen was acquired by the Botanic Gardens at a 2010 auction. It took nine years to coax it from a flask into a flowering plant.<\/p>\n Growing up to 1.5m tall, Heliconia estherae produces striking tubular flowers speckled with contrasting shades of dark and bright red.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Growing up to 1.5m tall, the plant is striking with its upright inflorescences. Its bracts \u2013 modified leaves often mistaken for petals \u2013 transition from a near-white base to vivid pink tips.<\/p>\n When it blooms, its tubular flowers are speckled with contrasting shades of dark to bright red.<\/p>\n However, the Heliconia estherae<\/i> demands specific tropical conditions to thrive. It may not flower if the lighting is too harsh, and it needs just the right amount of humidity.<\/p>\n Fortunately, horticulturists have found its \u201cGoldilocks zone\u201d in a shaded corner of the Ginger Garden, where it is currently in bloom.<\/p>\n Also known as the Singapore Ginger, this critically endangered plant is one of the few endemic to the island.<\/p>\n Given that it grows nowhere else in the world, it is one of over 80 plant species protected under the National Parks Board\u2019s (NParks) Species Recovery Programme.<\/p>\n Zingiber singapurense tends to bloom just once a year between May and June.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The Singapore Ginger holds a special place in Dr Leong-Skornickova\u2019s heart as one of the many species she has described as new to science.<\/p>\n In 2012, an NParks ranger spotted the plant deep inside the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Without exact GPS coordinates, Dr Leong-Skornickova and her team searched the dense jungle high and low.<\/p>\n They eventually located several patches, but none was in bloom.<\/p>\n It was not until May 2014, on Dr Leong-Skornickova\u2019s birthday, that the plant finally flowered, allowing her to formally describe and name the species after Singapore that November.<\/p>\n Dr Jana Leong-Skornickova (left) and Ms Sarah Lim Qing (right) carrying pots of Zingiber singapurense at a potting yard housing the research collections.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n When in bloom, the plant is characterised by orange-red bracts and pale yellow flowers.<\/p>\n However, it tends to bloom just once a year between May and June, producing a flowering head that lasts a few weeks, though individual blossoms last only a single day.<\/p>\n While it is not currently flowering, visitors can still spot the plant in various parts of the Botanic Gardens, including Saraca Stream and the Ginger Garden.<\/p>\n You will probably smell this plant before you see it.<\/p>\n Belonging to the Lowiaceae <\/i>family, the Orchidantha foetida<\/i> is infamous for its strong, smelly odour.<\/p>\n While closely related varieties mimic the scent of sweaty socks, carnivorous animal droppings, blue cheese or rotten fruit, this particular species uses its foul stench to attract its primary pollinators: ground-crawling dung beetles.<\/p>\n Orchidantha foetida usually appear at ground level among the leaf litter and smell like a pile of dung.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Hailing from Thailand, this small, dark-coloured, orchid-like plant is a forest-floor dweller. To spot it, you might have to get on your knees and search through the leaf litter.<\/p>\n Similar to the Heliconia estherae<\/i>, they are picky where they grow. Horticulturists in the Botanic Gardens found that, ironically, it thrives particularly well in a spot near the park\u2019s toilets.<\/p>\n It is flowering near the main entrance of the National Orchid Garden Plaza.<\/p>\n Commonly known as the Hanoi Torch, the Musa haekkinenii<\/i> is a striking ornamental plant native to Vietnam that belongs to the banana family known as Musaceae<\/i>.<\/p>\n It is prized for its brilliant orange-red bracts that curve downwards as they open.<\/p>\n The inflorescences of Musa haekkinenii, with bright orange-red bracts, are highly ornamental.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Well-adapted to Singapore\u2019s tropical environment, the Musa haekkinenii <\/i>is in bloom and can be admired in several locations throughout the Ginger Garden.<\/p>\n If you are wondering how to identify a spiral ginger, the clue is in its name: The leaves of such plants are arranged in a distinct spiral pattern.<\/p>\n Hailing from Africa, this species is unlike the vast majority of spiral gingers that grow in soil; it grows epiphytically. That means it lives on another plant or relies on an object for physical support without harming it or extracting its nutrients.<\/p>\n Costus lateriflorus is a rare, epiphytic tropical African plant.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n It blooms delicate yellow flowers with soft pink bases.<\/p>\n It flowers readily across the Ginger Garden.<\/p>\n As another captivating African spiral ginger, the Costus phyllocephalus<\/i> is renowned for its stunning floral display.<\/p>\n When in bloom, it produces large, pink and white flowers with a yellow patch.<\/p>\n Carpenter bees act as natural pollinators for various ginger plants, including this Costus phyllocephalus.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n This species also thrives in Singapore\u2019s climate, and visitors can often spot it along the main pathway winding through the Ginger Garden.<\/p>\n The Costus fenestralis<\/i> flowered for the first time in over 25 years<\/span><\/a> in the Botanic Gardens\u2019 living collections in July \u2013 marking the first known instance of the species ever blooming in Singapore.<\/p>\n Cultivating this spiral ginger is tricky; while it can survive in the island\u2019s climate, it \u201cdoes not flower readily and thrive in very sunny conditions\u201d, the Botanic Gardens said.<\/p>\n It took horticulturists experimenting with different locations, water, and fertiliser regimes to finally coax the lone plant to bloom in climate-controlled conditions.<\/p>\n It features large, tubular pink flowers and a bright yellow patch on the labellum. The yellow stamen ends in a delicate pink crest, shaped almost like a tiny crown.<\/p>\n Non-flowering specimens of Costus fenestralis (left) can be found in shadier parts of the Ginger Garden, as the plant only flowered in climate-controlled facilities in July (right).<\/p>\n PHOTOS: LIM YAOHUI, SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDENS\/FACEBOOK<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Formally described only recently in 2016 from the Doudou Mountains of south-western Gabon, much of the plant\u2019s live physical characteristics and colours were previously unknown, as descriptions at the time relied largely on pressed and preserved specimens<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom being 3D to 2D, the colours of flowers \u2013 which are flimsy \u2013 do not preserve well in dry materials,\u201d Dr Leong-Skornickova explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThe moment you press them, they disappear,\u201d she added, stressing the importance of studying gingers from living material.<\/p>\n Because the Costus fenestralis<\/i> bloomed inside climate-controlled facilities, its flowers are not on public display here.<\/p>\n However, visitors can still admire non-flowering specimens in the shadier parts of the Ginger Garden.<\/p>\n Dr Leong-Skornickova, who has been studying the Ginger order for more than 20 years, has found and researched numerous new species, \u201cbut still, there are many left undescribed\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n The ginger order currently encompasses around 3,000 known species.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s too much to dissect and research and too little time,\u201d she said. \u201cMeanwhile, forests are disappearing across the world, so it really is a race against time.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ginger Garden offers free entry and is open daily from 5am to midnight.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cGingers are not only beautiful, they are used in many ways in different cultures \u2013 as spices, food, dyes, religious objects and ornamental plants,\u201d Dr Leong-Skornickova said.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cTeh halia relies on true gingers known as Zingiber<\/i>, Chinese rojak depends on torch ginger, Boesenbergia <\/i>is commonly used in Thai cooking.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLife in South-east Asia would be sad without it… your food would be bland.\u201d<\/p>\n For those hoping to catch the fleeting beauty of these ginger flowers, morning or early afternoon is the best time to visit.<\/p>\n The period between June and August is also when most gingers will flower.<\/p>\n The Ginger Garden, officially launched in 2003, offers free entry and is open daily from 5am to midnight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Visitors to the Singapore Botanic Gardens are in for a fleeting botanical treat. Across the Ginger Garden, an array of gingers has bloomed….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=75925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
Heliconia estherae<\/h3>\n
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Zingiber singapurense<\/h3>\n
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Orchidantha foetida<\/h3>\n
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Musa haekkinenii<\/h3>\n
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Costus lateriflorus<\/h3>\n
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Costus phyllocephalus<\/h3>\n
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Costus fenestralis<\/h3>\n
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\u2018Race against time\u2019<\/h2>\n
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