Some of the leaves were still green, but many were turning bright yellow-orange.
Here's a closer look at the leaves.
The tree bark has light fissures, no well-developed buttress roots and I didn't see any pneumatophores.
Niyreh batu (Xylocarpus moluccensis) is quite common on Pulau Ubin, and Corners does say the leaves 'become leathery' and 'wither a vivid yellow'.When we arrived late this morning, the Perepat (Sonneratia alba) at Ubin Jetty was still in bloom.
Here's a closer look at the pretty pom-pom shaped flower with lots of flower buds ready to bloom later this evening perhaps.
On the Chek Jawa mangrove boardwalk, the Tumu berau (Bruguiera sexangula) trees are growing rapidly. The old stately Lenggadai (Bruguiera parviflora) was also blooming.
During our little excursion to the shore I also noticed this stand of Nipah palm (Nypa fruticans) showing the 'stem' of this palm that grows horizontally.
Here's a closer look. I imagine this humungous palm grows somewhat like ginger, from underground stems, sprouting clumps of huge leaves here and there.
The network of stems probably help to stabilise the river banks and shores where these palms grow.There's always something new and interesting to observe on our shores!
