There are many ways to group the different types of plant and for various reasons. The scientific way is to put them in plant families. The reason that I need to group the plants is quite simple --- so that I can find them easily even within my own pictorial database. Scientific names are not easy to recall. Common names may be easier to remember but not all plants, especially those found in the forest, have a common name. Hence, I have attempted to group the plants further based on some arbitrary characteristics or features to allow me to find them with ease. Hope it will do the same for you when you come by.
Ferns belong to the plant kingdom under the division Pteridophyta. They have leaves (called fronds) that serve the same function of making food from sunlight as do the flowering plants. However, they do not flower and hence do not produce seeds. Instead, ferns have specialized leaves that produce spores. The spores go through a unique life cycle before new plants emerge. There are several classification schemes for ferns and its allies.
Useful links: | About Ferns | About Fern Allies |
A typical representative of this group is the coconut tree. Palm is the common name of the plant family called Arecaceae. They are flowering plants with one seed-leaf (monocotyledon). The leaves of palms are usually large, in the shape of a fan (palmate) or a feather (pinnate). Each leaf consists of a leaf stem (petiole) and leaf blade. Some plants with a 'palm' in their common name do not actually belong to the palm family (e.g. traveller’s palm). In addition, some palm-like plants are not part of palm family too (e.g. cycads, pandans and agaves).
Useful links: | About Palms |
True grasses belong to the plant family called Poaceae. What we often refer to as grass includes sedges that belong to another family (Cyperaceae) although this group of plants looks very similar to the grasses. Also, true grasses include bamboos which seem to be an odd fit when you look at its size comparing to the other members of the family.
Useful links: | About Grasses and Sedges |
It is somewhat difficult to determine who is a climber or creeper. These plants usually cannot stand upright on their own. They either glide along the ground or hold on to something to assist them going upward. To facilitate the climb, they have developed different features such as twining stem, tendril or hooks. Not all of them have weak stem, some can be hard and woody. I have left the rattan out since they are group under palm. Also, climbing ferns are not included here as they are group under ferns.
This is my favourite category. Though there is not much forested area left in Singapore, what remain is still quite fascinating. Hopefully, the remaining forest will be kept as it is for as long as possible. In this section, I have kept to forest plants seen in Singapore although I do have some pictures of forest plants from Malaysia. In the past, Singapore probably have the same forest vegetation seen in Malaysia but over time, many of the species have probably gone extinct here or waiting to be discovered.
Useful links: | Bukit Timah Nature Reserve | Central Catchment Nature Reserve |
For now, I have only included plants seen around the mangrove areas in Singapore. Wetland may refer to both saltwater and freshwater soaked lands. In mangrove area, the plants found are usually tolerant to the high salt level or have efficient ways of excreting the extra salt from the water.
Useful links: | Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve |