Singapore Gardens by the Bay - May 2025

[tim_brissy_13]

Hi all,

Thought I’d share some photos I took of the amazing collection at SBG recently. Some very rare species not really seen elsewhere and all grown to perfection. My photos really don’t do the palms justice when you see them in person. 
 

Saribus tothur

 

Licuala cordata

Licuala fordiana

 

Maxburretia gracilis

 

Maxburretia furtadoana

 

Areca mandacanii

 

Hydriastele flabellata Silver form

 

Hydriastele splendida

 

Licuala malajana var malajana

 

Lanonia sp. not dasyantha. Larger and more mottled

 

Licuala mattanensis Mapu

 

Mauritiella macroclada!

 

Calamus ciliaris

 

Chambeyronia piersoniorum

 

Burretiokentia hapala

 

Caryota mitis variegata

 

Arenga hookeriana interesting split leaf form

 

Syagrus amara

 

Another interesting form of Arenga hookeriana with paddle entire leaves

 

Bactris militaris

 

Arenga undulatifolia dwarf form

 

Iriartea deltoidea

 

Syagrus kellyana

 

Veitchia filifera

 

Sabinaria magnifica grown in sun.  Nice compact form

 

Caryota kiriwongensis 

 

Syagrus santosii

 

Syagrus inajai

 

Orania trispatha

 

Orania longisquama

 

Pinanga sclerophylla

 

Pinanga tashiroi

Dransfieldia micrantha

 

Adonidia zibabaoa!

 

Areca macrocalyx Marie

 

Areca novohibernica

 

Areca rheophytica

 

Chrysalidocarpus titan

 

Johannesteijmannia perakensis. A 50yo monster

 

Borassus madagascariensis 

 

Borassodendron borneensis

 

Borassus heineanus

Hyphaene coriacea

 

Itaya amicorum

 

Medemia argun

Livistona jenkinsoniana

 

Heterospathe cayaganensis

 

Heterospathe califrons

 

Balaka seemannii

 

Carpoxylon macrospermum

 

Manjekia maturbongsii

 

Wallaceodoxa raja-ampat

 

Hydriastele ramsayi

 

 

 

 

[tim_brissy_13]

A few more special ones to sign off. I only had a couple of free hours but I’d recommend making a day of it if you have the time in Singapore. 
 

Licuala maculata. Even more stunning in person than I could capture. 

 

Pinanga speciosa

 

Pinanga simplicifrons

 

Variegated Carpentaria hybrids. Probably x Veitchia

[tim_brissy_13]

Oh and Livistona endauensis deserves some attention. Amazing bright orange petioles. Endangered but now being planted in numbers by SBG, Gardens by the Bay and Singapore Zoo which is great to see. 

[tim_brissy_13]

Not sure how I missed posting photos of these either. Highlights everywhere. The gardens now have multiple Tahina and Lodoicea. 
 

Tahina spectabilis

 

Lodoicea maldivica

Last photo is of the mature male and the gardens also now have a just mature female which is exciting!

[tim_brissy_13]

A few photos from my brief visit to Gardens by the Bay. Only had a very short time here so quickly went around the domes which are cooled to simulate temperate and cloudforest environments and the Supertree Grove. 
 

Itaya amicorum

 

Chelyocarpus chuco

 

Corypha umbraculifera

 

Tahina spectabilis

 

Borassodendron machadonis

 

Livistona endauensis 

 

Cloudforest dome tower

 

Trithrinax campetris in the temperate flower dome. Love this species. 

[happypalms]

Hey Tim how many seeds did you get, nothing better than a full body search by customs, I will keep an eye out on border security television show to see how you went 😂but on a good note lucky bloke all those top grade palms in such a tropical climate so many to see not enough time. I like how they have joey  palms as street trees in Singapore. I bet you didn’t jay walk across street or placed your chewing gum on a park bench remember Singapore is a Fine country. 

[tim_brissy_13]

No seeds taken Richard. Not worth the risk to get on the wrong side of customs and honestly there’s not much that was fruiting that is worth me trying to grow down in Melbourne. 
 

Weirdly it looks like 2 posts have merged into one. I definitely initially set up a topic just for Singapore Botanic Gardens first which are my first few posts here. The Gardens by the Bay topic was second and those photos are in my last post here now.

[SeanK]

A.hookeriana has many interesting forms.

[bubba]

Amazing Garden with so many varieties that I have never encountered. Thank you!

[happypalms]

Holy cow it makes you wonder how many palm species there are. Some beautiful specimens there. As I phone would say you need more storage space before you can update iOS now that your phone is chock a block full of palm pics. Top pics and palm identification.

[happypalms]

On 5/6/2025 at 2:37 AM, tim_brissy_13 said:

No seeds taken Richard. Not worth the risk to get on the wrong side of customs and honestly there’s not much that was fruiting that is worth me trying to grow down in Melbourne. 
 

Weirdly it looks like 2 posts have merged into one. I definitely initially set up a topic just for Singapore Botanic Gardens first which are my first few posts here. The Gardens by the Bay topic was second and those photos are in my last post here now.

Totally understandable. But a full body search by a hot customs lady, who wouldn’t pass that one up! I didn’t think customs had a bad side only evil intentions instead 🤣

[Jonathan]

Tim,  absolutely fabulous! How cool is Calamus ciliaris? Initially I was wondering where the palm was in that picture...did a quick search and now I want one for my greenhouse.

Hilarious that they have a cooled temperate house and cloud forest, like reverse zone pushing. 

This thread should be in the main forum...so many species I've never heard of.

[SubTropicRay]

I visited both gardens in 2023.  GBTB is huge and sensory overload takes over!  Blink and you'll miss something.  That said, I prefer the more classic botanical garden look of SBG.

[tim_brissy_13]

On 5/15/2025 at 6:23 PM, Jonathan said:

Tim,  absolutely fabulous! How cool is Calamus ciliaris? Initially I was wondering where the palm was in that picture...did a quick search and now I want one for my greenhouse.

Hilarious that they have a cooled temperate house and cloud forest, like reverse zone pushing. 

This thread should be in the main forum...so many species I've never heard of.

Calamus ciliaris was a highlight. It is one of Zaki’s favourites and he did suggest for me to have a feel of the fronds and spikes and I really should’ve taken him up on the offer but I was a bit short on time; apparently they are really soft unlike other Calamus. Zaki’s responsible for the explosion in the number of palm species planted at SBG and very kindly showed me around. 
 

@PALM MOD Jonathan is probably right. There’s more pure palm content here than a typical travel log so may get more appreciation in the main forum. Any way to shift it over or link it?

 

Edit: title should be changed to simply ‘Singapore May 2025’. Somehow two threads got merged into one. 

[gyuseppe]

Tim thanks for the photos, beautiful plants

[donpachino1983]

Thank you very much for this eye candy 🤩🤩🤩

[Kim]

Really nice that you were able to visit both gardens! Thanks for sharing your photos.

I went through Singapore on my way home from Indonesia a few days ago, but it was late in the day and raining, so I contented myself with a visit to the gardens in the Jewel at the airport. Not bad, but nothing like the real deal at SBG or Gardens by the Bay.