Origin: Africa.
African Tulip tree was planted previously as a wayside tree, probably due to its attractive showy reddish-orange flowers. Overtime, it was noticed that the trunk of the mature tree was weak and broke easily due to strong wind. Although it has not been cultivated for quite a while, its winged seeds have greatly facilitated its dispersion all over the island.
Origin: Mexico to Brazil.
This climber is found climbing up on trees at parks or around the border of forests. The leaves of the young plant differ a lot from that of the mature climber. It appears to be doing very well around Singapore.
Reference:
Chong KY, Ang PT, Tan HTW. Identity and spread of an exotic Syngonium species in Singapore. Nature in Singapore 2010;3:1-5. | Read article |