Passiflora foetida

During my many field trips especially to areas which were formerly inhabited by villagers, I would often be on a look-out for the ‘lost’ plants of Singapore. These plants are ‘lost’ in the sense that they were either once common either as a native or cultivated plant but for some reason or other such as rapid development and urbanisation gone missing, extinct or have become endangered. Many of these plants cannot be found in our nursery trade, but most of which can be identified through various resources. Some of these plants have been mentioned and included in previous posts and I will continue to post updates every time I come across something ‘new’.

On Saturday, I was rewarded with another ‘new’ find. The ‘lost’ plant I had found was the Passiflora foetida (common names include Love-in-a-Mist, Stinking Passionflower or wild water lemon). This species was sighted before on the mainland by several people but the one I found was on Lazarus Island. The flowers of this species is very atypically Passiflora-like”, with the exception that they are much smaller (size of a 50 cent coin and somewhat waxy). However the main distinguishing factor is the fruit which is no more than 2 to 3cm in diameter is encased with leafy sepals. When ripe, the fruit turns yellow and the seeds are small and black and embedded in a juicy pulp.

The plant is allegedly protocarnivorous as the leafy sepals which encase the fruit are known to produce sticky, dew-like secretions containing digestive enzymes which help to trap insects. Whether it gains nourishment from its prey is uncertain.

It is called a Stinking Passionflower because the leaves produce an unpleasant odour when crushed. When ripe, the fruit is eaten as it is while the young leaves and plant tips are often used in tea or as medicine to relieve sleeping problems.

This species which is indigenous to the Amazon probably found its way to Singapore through cultivation as the fruit and leaves are edible. Whilst its status today is that of a weed, it is reportedly a useful weed as it is sometimes used as a ground cover at plantations. It also has an important ecological role as the young leaves and shoots are an important food source for Leopard Lacewings (Cethosa cyane) and Tawny Coaster (Acrarea terpiscore).

guest appearance out of nowhere

One of the things I enjoy most is driving around and stumbling upon unusual or 'lost' species of plants. By unusual or 'lost', I mean seldom seen in the wild or at the nurseries, or plants which used to flourish but are now 'lost' due to rapid development and urbanisation.

I stumbled upon this whilst driving along old Thomson Road, just around the fringes of Upper Pierce Reservoir. It was creeping wildly on the green wire fence which was erected by the government to prevent people from entering into the forested area. What caught my attention were these extremely showy flowers. Upon closer inspection of the flowers and leaves, I realised that this could be some sort of Bauhinia, but what exactly, I didn't know. After searching the web, i've concluded that this is probably the Bauhinia semibifida which has its origins in Malaysia. The question is, how did it get here? One plausible explanation is the fact that this was grown by former inhabitants of the area. The area which has been fenced off used to be a kampong because I do see remnants of former structures, old steps, wells and the abundance of fruit trees.

As i've not seen this growing anywhere or being sold commercially in any nursery, I took the liberty of taking some stem cuttings to cultivate but none have taken root so far. I guess i'll have to continue trying until I succeed. After all, I did manage to cultivate the Zingiber spectabile and Fiddlewood (Citharexylum spinosum) from stem cuttings.

Another specimen I stumbled upon was this wonderful flowering shrub called Uraria crinita or Asian Foxtail. I was walking around Dairy Farm reserve taking macro photos of plants when I saw this single lavender inflorescence sticking out of a bed of green leaves. I was extremely excited because it was something I had not recognised, it looked very out of place but it was so darn beautiful. From the various searches on the web, I gathered that this shrub was probably planted by the former inhabitants of Dairy Farm, probably farmers, as this plant is usually grown for its medicinal qualities. I was not able to obtain a specimen, but as luck would have it, Lyndi had an extra plant lying around in her garden. It's now sitting proudly in my nursery. I guess that makes me a lucky guy! [Post-update 4 July 2011: Lyndi's plant died. But I managed to find one on sale at Hort Park] Neither of the above are native, but they were definitely planted by former inhabitants a long time ago.

Gloriosa superba (Flame Lily)

I grew these lantern-shaped climbing lilies from tubers that I bought from Chatuchak market last November. Normally, it takes anywhere up to 4 months for the seeds to germinate. The tubers took about half that time before shoots started to emerge. Still, it is a relatively fast grower and flowers quite readily given the right conditions. The flowering process lasts a few days, beginning first with the unfolding of its crinkly tepals. The colours of the tepals and stamens progresses from a dull yellowish green to brilliant hues of crimson and yellow before finally settling into a deep orange tone.

These lilies used to be rather common in Singapore, especially in the more rural areas. However, like many of the plants from our parents' and grand-parents' generation, they have become victims of Singapore's robust re-development program and are now considered rare. There must be some truth in this, for i've yet to see these plants in any gardens, parks or nurseries. It's little wonder I got all excited when I saw the tubers on sale at CTC.