Flora & Fauna

Singapore Chronicles

by Wilson Wong

Singapore’s primeval vegetation has changed vastly over the past 200 years due to a range of human activities. Yet, Singapore is rich in plant and animal life. This book introduces some of the interesting and notable native plants and animals, in addition to highlighting the physical characteristics of each ecosystem and revealing the challenges that plants and animals need to overcome in order to survive. Readers will also get to know what Singapore has done to conserve its unique and precious natural heritage.

116 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2017

Reviews

[jw · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Singapore Chronicles series is meant to serve as a primer to different aspects of Singapore - from different policy areas, to key aspects of the life and landscape here. Flora and Fauna not only provides a basic intro to the local biodiversity (e.g. type of primary and secondary vegetation), but also how the management of that biodiversity evolved. Most Singaporeans will be familiar with efforts to make Singapore a "clean and green" city - not only to improve the daily lived experience of residents, but also to serve as a competitive advantage. But Flora and Fauna offers such nuggets as:

"The greening effort that took place after Independence, spearheaded by founding PM LKY...was carried out largely with exotic plants introduced from overseas, which produced flamboyant and colourful blossoms and foliage. Our local landscapes have now evolved to take on a more naturalistic and biodiversity-centric, mixed-planting style, featuring native and wildlife-attracting plants. Current efforts have gone beyond the planting of greenery along roads and in parks, gardens and reserves, to include creating habitats, enhancing existing ones and providing linkages between fragmented natural habitats via the building of nature ways...Buildings and various concrete structures and waterways are now all potential sites for landscaping, through the use of innovative and sustainable methodologies."

I learned various fascinating facts about various species of flora and fauna in Singapore. Like the malva nut or cheng tng tree, whose seeds "exude a brown gum that can fill a small cup after being immersed in water overnight" which is then used in the making of cheng tng. Or that cauliflorous species produce their flowers and fruits on the tree trunk (like the wild rumbai). My minor complaint is that without photos, it's hard to picture the flora and fauna described in the book - species with such fascinating names as the leaf litter plant, the monitor lizard fern, the bat lily whose "strange-looking, upright inflorescence resemble[es] a bat in flight".

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are quite a number of books on Singapore nature written by the authorities out there, most of them quite lengthy and detailed, sometimes overly so as to risk losing the casual reader's interest midway. This one is very short and brief, but covers sufficient breadth to encourage one to finish the book. I would recommend it as a quick and basic introduction to Singapore's natural environment though for such a short volume naturally there could have been more photos, especially of the many plants described. The bias is on botany as that seems to be the author's expertise, but a good variety of animals are also covered in all the main habitats and ecosystems found on the island.

[N Dorville · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fast run through all the array of flora and fauna, and the natural history of Singapore. Blink and you'll miss it