Joie des Jardins (I)

Written by Mr William Teng

'To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.' - Audrey Hepburn

Hi, readers. We have been focussing on fauna for a while and so we have decided to feature the flora found in our school compound. We will feature two plants this week and we will introduce more along the way as International Plant Appreciation Day (April 13) draws close.

Osmoxylon lineare (Merr.) Philipson (Green Aralia, Miagos Bush)

Photo credit: Mr William Teng

Does this look familiar to you? This plant is growing in the small feature garden at the corner of the parade square. At first look, it seems that the plant produces two types of fruit - the white/cream-coloured ones and the purplish-black ones. The whitish ones are sterile false fruit berries surrounded by white flowers. The real fruits are the purplish-black ones below.

NParks states that this plant is suitable for urban environments and water gardens. Its fine leaf texture is also suitable for Japanese gardens. (link)

Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) Kuntze 'Brazilian Red Hots' (Brazilian Joyweed, Purple Joyweed)

Photo credit: Mr William Teng

You may have seen this plant with its striking purplish-red leaves in the ornamental garden between blocks G and H. This plant is drought-resistant and is a pretty hardy plant (pun intended). Have you wondered how these plants photosynthesise since we don't seem to see the chlorophyll in their leaves?

We will feature more plants in the next few posts. We will also feature some of the gardening efforts by the staff and students. Stay tuned.

Something to do for the upcoming March holidays

We would like you to help contribute to our blog by taking photos of the plants in the Punggol area and sending them to us with simple captions. Please submit your entry here if you want your photo to be featured.

We would also like to recommend the following virtual learning journeys organised by Science Centre Singapore. One of them features the growing of Venus fly-traps. Please click on the link.