Nature Walk Series
Mandai Area
26 October 2013

Highlight:

This area was part of a park connector popular for more adventurous cyclists due to the challenging terrain and track. Judging from the number and variety of fruit trees around the area and the remnant of building materials around, it should be human inhabited area many years back. One spot seemed to be the remains of a Cocao Tree (Theobroma cacao) plantation where a few trees still stand.

The last time I came by here was more than a year back in June 2012. During that outing, I hardly find any exciting stuff, probably because my focus was different then. This time round was very fruitful, being able to see different kind of fruiting trees.

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There were several tall matured durian trees with plenty of spiny fruits on its branches, and some on the ground. The banana plants were of a different breed, not the usual ones found in supermarket. Instead, the ones here had prominent black seeds embdeded in the flesh. The seeds probably account for its spread in the surrounding area by animals that feed on the fruit. The leave of the young banana plant were littered with maroon colour patches which were absence on the mature plant. Another common inhabitant was the wild longan trees, with a mix of matured and juvenile trees. The Jackfruit and Chempedak were also fruiting. Both fruits and leaves of the looked very similar. The main distinction was that the leaves and the fruit stalk of the Chempedak were full of tiny hairs while that of Jackfruit much less hairy.

photo photo photo photo One of the reasons that I returned to this area was to look for pitcher plant. I had seen the Slender Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes gracilis) on several occasions at different locations including this area previously. However, what really interest me was the larger version, the Raffles' Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes rafflesiana). Judging from the type of vegetation at one spot, I suspected that it might be available there. It was also the location where I saw some Slender Pitcher Plant the last time. True enough, I finally found a magnificent pitcher hidden in the bush of Resam Fern (Dicranopteris linearis). While passing by the same spot on my return leg of the trip, I found another Raffles' Pitcher Plant which I had missed when I went by the first time. In all, there were at least 2 plants in the same location.

photo photo photo When I saw these tentacle-liked ferns hanging from a bush, it got me quite excited. They were fertile fern fronds (leaves) from the Red Finger Fern (Lygodium circinnatum). This was the first time that I spotted this fern with spores. I went to look for the fertile fronds back in January 2012 after receiving a lead from someone but failed to find a fertile sample. [Correction: The name of the fern should be Lygodium longifolium.]

A fruit that looked like a green apple found on the ground by the track was actually from a Garcinia griffithii tree, which was under the same family as the Mangosteen.

photo photoTwo insects that stood out in the set of pictures taken during this trip were a butterfly and an Assassin Bug. The butterfly was a White Tipped Baron (Euthalia merta merta) that inhabit forested area. This was my first picture of this butterfly and it turned out very well as the butterfly was quite corporative during the photo session. As for the Assassin Bug, I had yet to find its specific identity. It was my number seven Assassin Bug picture in my pictorial collection.

Surprisingly, I took quite a lot of pictures in an area where I thought was not as attractive when compare to another location nearby. The place turned out to be much more interesting than I had thought. I did collected a few new plants' photos from this trip. It will be several months or over a year before I come back again.

Photo Gallery:

Below are selected photos from this trip arranged according to the sequence that they were taken. There is a text link under the photo that will direct you to more photos of the same species if they are available in my website.

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Mushroom
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Spider
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Therates sp.
(Tiger Beetle)
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Ficus sp.
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Liostenogaster sp.
Hover Wasp
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Ficus globosa
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Sterculia sp.
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Unknown climber

Statistics:

First shot: 7:41 am
Last shot: 12:59 pm
Total number of shots: 673

To use any of the image(s), please read the conditions carefully. To correct any error, please contact me.