Rare coastal forest trees of Chek Jawa

These trees of Chek Jawa's coastal forest are considered rare simply because most of Singapore's coastal forest habitats have already been cleared.

Nyatoh tree (Pouteria linggensis)

Pong pong tree (Cerbera odollam)
The Pong pong trees we see on growing our streets are from Malaysia. Our native Pong pong trees are very rare as most were wiped out as our coasts were developed. There are still a few native Pong pong trees on the shores of Chek Jawa, clinging onto the rocky cliffs.
Fruits are poisonous and often used as rat poison and for stupefying fish in small streams. Oil from seeds is rubbed on the body to treat cold, rheumatism and scabies. The latex is applied to sores and also as a remedy for stingray poison.

Delek air tree (Memecylon edule)
There are several of these rare and beautiful trees on the coastal hillside of Chek Jawa. The bluish purple flowers turn into red be


Sea shore nutmeg (Knema globularia)
There are several of these trees in Chek Jawa's coastal forest. Hornbills love to eat the fruits.

Trees on the shores

Sea almond (Terminalia catappa)

Called 'Ketapang' in Malay, young small trees may be seen on the coast. The broad leaves may all turn red at the same time, giving the feeling of autumn on the shore.

The tiny white flowers turn into almond shaped fruits that are green when young and become brown and woody as they mature.

It is a common wayside tree in Singapore can be seen along Jalan Eunos/PIE going towards Changi and East Coast Park.

The leaves shed twice a year, usually from yellow to orange and to maroon colour and it finally drops off the tree but sometimes drop when it turned yellow. After the crown is bare, new leaves develop, after which the tree flowers. Fruits are also disperse by fruit bats and floats on the sea for days before reaching the shore and germinating.

Fruit has a thick husk and its kernel can be eaten taste which taste like almond. The timber can be used for building houses and boats. Fish hobbyist and some aquarium shops will usually soak these dried leaves into fish tank, especially for fighting fish because it produce tannin which believed to be good for their scales.

Alexandra laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum)

Called 'Penaga Laut' in Malay, this tall tree has beautiful white flowers that turn into round hard fruits. The broad shiny leaves have fine parallel veins.

Bushes on the shores

Sea hibisicus (Hibiscus tiliaceus)

Can grow quite tall and bushy, identified by the heart-shaped leaves that have tiny slits on the veins on the underside. These slits produce a substance that attracts ants.
The flower is yellow when it first blooms, turning orange as it ages. This develops into a pod that splits open when ripe to reveal little seeds. Small Cotton stainer bugs feed on the seeds and during a fruiting period, there can be lots of these colourful bugs.

Sea lettuce (Scaveola sericea)

The shrub can be quite tall and bushy. Leaves large and waxy. The little white flowers have a unique structure developing into a round fruit.
Chengam (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea)

A rather small shrub, with small flowers in clusters, developing into oval fruits.

More about some of these plants
on the Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore
Chengam (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea)
Sea Hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliceus)

Bushes in the mangroves

Ximenia americana

This shrub can grow quite tall, with fluffy white flowers that turn into oval fruits that ripen to yellow.
Sea holly (Acanthus sp.)

Common low shrubs often growing on mudlobster mounds. Some leaves may not be so spiky, an a single plant may have spiky and non-spiky leaves.
The flowers may be white with blue or purple tinges, developing into cylindrical fruits.

Getting to the root of mangroves

Three NAKED facts

naked fact #1: Mangrove trees have weird roots!
Question: Can you describe the different kinds of weird roots that you see?
Stilt roots (Rhizophora)
Pencil-like roots (Avicennia)
Knee roots (Bruguiera)

Thoughtful question: Can you think of reasons why mangrove trees have such strange roots?
Imagine you had to stay all your life on the soft squishy mud without moving. And the tide comes in and covers you up. And waves wash against you. What do you think you need to have?

• To grow upright and not fall over? Stilt roots!
  
• To breathe when the tide is high? Pencil-like roots! (Stilt roots are breathing roots too!)

Mangrove trees have shallow roots. Those with pencil-like breathing roots form a kind of raft, with thick roots growing horizontally and the pencil-like parts growing upright from these thick roots.
naked fact #2: You can tell what kind of mangrove tree it is by the kind of roots it has!

After explaining, you can remind them along the way and perhaps get them to guess. If they get it right a lot of time you can congratulate them and say they are now very good with mangrove trees!

Stilt roots (Rhizophora)
Straight pencil-like roots (Avicennia)
Conical pencil-like roots (Sonneratia)
Knee roots (Bruguiera)

naked fact #3: Mangrove trees are the root of life, and source of your seafood!

The tangle of roots in the mangroves results in a rich variety of marine life in the mangroves.

• Animals to settle on the roots (clams, snails, barnacles), as well as seaweeds.
• These provide food for other animals.
• Small animals hide among the roots where bigger animals can't get at them.
  
• Roots protect the mud and sand from being washed away by waves. Here burrowing animals can settle down.
  

Many of our favourite seafood come from mangroves and the seagrass areas near mangroves

Question: What is YOUR favourite seafood?
Stay in mangroves all their lives: Mud crab, mussels, clams
Stay in mangroves when they are young: big prawns, baby fishes of grouper and other fishes. These go into deeper waters when they grow up.
Found in seagrass areas: flower crab, sting ray, baby fishes

Mangrove climbers

Ant-house plant (Dischidia sp.)

This strange climber often found on mangrove trees, has two kinds of leaves. Smaller, 'normal' looking ones that are still somewhat fat. And clumps of large hollow leaves.
Ants eventually take up residence in these inflated leaves. Here the ants find safety. Meanwhile, the plant benefits by absorbing the leftover food and rubbish that the ants accumulate inside their 'house'. The plant grows roots into these inflated leaves to absorb these nutrients that are rather scarce in a mangrove.

Hoya climber (Hoya sp.)

Another climber with fat leaves, a water-conserving adaptation to the mangrove habitat where freshwater is scarce.
The climber produces a ball of waxy flowers that develop into long narrow pods full of seeds.

Derris (Derris trifloliata)

A climber commonly seen in our mangroves, it often twists around a young tree so the tree trunk becomes deformed as it grows bigger. Eventually, the tree's growth breaks the climber, but the twisted scars remain.
This climber has pretty pink flowers that develop into flat pods.

Links to more about some of these climbers
on the Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore
Common Derris (Derris trifoliata)

Nipah (Nypa fruticans)

This is a palm, like a coconut palm. But instead of a vertical stem, it has horizontal underground stems with tall leaves sprouting from the stem. The long palm leaves are used as roofing or 'attap' in traditional kampung houses.This palm is the source of 'attap-chee' which is the young seed. The part we eat is the source of food for the seedling (on the right is a photo of a sprouting seed).
This is the long stalk of tiny male flowers that produce pollen. Tiny stingless bees often gather at blossoming male flowers and pack the pollen baskets on their legs full of yellow pollen.
The female flowers are in the form of a ball. The yellow one is ready to attract pollinators through the little slits. This ball then turns into a ball of fruits.
The sap in a branch of blooms is full of sugars. Traditionally, the sap is collected and may be processed into 'gula melaka' or sweet brown sugar, also used in many of our deserts. Or fermented to produce the alcoholic 'toddy'.

Links to more about Nipah
on the Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore
Nipah (Nypa fruticans)