"The fate of this rare plant in Singapore is somewhat dire, with the only male and only female plants in the Republic being separated by a large distance."
Say the authors of a recent paper on this intriguing plant found on our shores.
One of the locations of this plant is Pulau Semakau. I saw it
several years ago and didn't know at that time that it was so rare. I was just annoyed by its prickles! It turned out to be a precious female plant.
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| Are the tufts developing flower clusters? |
It was only after reading the recent paper by Alvin Lok and colleagues, that I learnt just how special this plant is. The paper has lots of photos of this rare plant, and shares more about its precarious status.
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| The fruit pod has stiff spines! |
Read more about it on Lok, A. F. S. L., W. F. Ang, K. Y. Chong, P. X. Ng, S. Teo, T. K. Yee, C. K. Yeo & H. T. W. Tan, 2011. The status of
Caesalpinia bonduc (L.) Roxb. in Singapore.
Nature in Singapore,
4: 43–48. [
PDF, 1.29 MB]
