The papaya (Carica papaya) is widely distributed in most tropical countries and islands, where it thrives in the warm climate. Papaya plants are extremely common in Singapore and are often cultivated in private gardens. In 1993, special stamps featuring the papaya, ...
Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) is a tropical fruit belonging to the family Sapindaceae. The word rambutan is derived from the Malay word rambut which means “hair”, a reference to the numerous hairy protuberances of the fruit. The fruit is often red but sometimes ...
Ciku (Manilkara zapota), a tropical fruit tree also known as sapodilla, belongs to the family Sapotaceae. Various species are grown and used worldwide for different purposes. Due to its fruit’s resemblance to a pear, it was also called Manilkara achras, Achras ...
Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola), or Carambola, is a tropical fruit native to the Malayan archipelago and belongs to the family Oxalidaceae. With its sweet-sour taste, the starfruit is a popular fruit in Singapore, most often eaten raw. The starfruit displays a star ...
The belimbing (Averrhoa bilimbi), which belongs to the Oxalidaceae family, is a tropical fruit native to Malaysia and Indonesia. The fruit is important locally for its medicinal uses and as an ingredient in Malay cooking.
Flamingo lily (Anthurium andraeanum) is a tropical flower popular for its beauty. It belongs to the family Araceae. The flower has a spadix called the rat's tail that tapers off from the flower, giving it its characteristic appearance.
Watermelon (Citrullus sp.), a tropical fruit, belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. The flesh is in shades of either red or yellow, and even white. Popular for its sweet and juicy flesh, the fruit is thought to have been first cultivated in Egypt more than 5,000 ...
The dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) is a tropical fruit that belongs to the climbing cacti (Cactaceae) family. Widely cultivated in Vietnam, the fruit is popular in Southeast Asia. Apart from being refreshing and tasty, it has been noted that the dragon fruit ...
Dengue or dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection characterised by the sudden onset of fever for three to five days and symptoms such as intense headaches, muscle and joint pain, rashes, and bleeding from the nose, gums and under the skin. Dengue is primarily ...
The name “durian” was derived from the Malay word for thorns, duri. The world-renowned naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, said this about the fruit: “It is like a buttery custard flavoured with almonds, intermingled with wafts of flavour that call to mind cream ...
The People’s Park Complex is a high-rise mixed-use building in Chinatown, Singapore. Completed in 1973, it is a landmark project in terms of architectural design and boasts a number of superlatives, including being the largest shopping complex in Singapore and ...
Said to be the largest fruit in the world, the jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is an indigenous fruit tree of South India which is popular in the Southeast Asian region. The jackfruit’s appearance is similar to that of the cempedak, a fruit that also belongs ...
The cultivated mango (Mangifera indica Linn.) originated in the Indo-Burma region, and it has been grown in India for the last 6,000 years. It is an important commercial crop not only in India, but also in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, ...
The mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia. It is grown widely in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. The crop is also found in certain parts of India and Sri Lanka where conditions are favourable. The dark ...
The lychee tree (Litchi chinensis) is popular for the sweet fruit it produces. Although the lychee tree is not easy to grow in Singapore, this evergreen tree can still be found in different parts of Singapore including the Singapore Botanic Gardens. A particular ...
The pomelo (Citrus maxima or Citrus grandis) is the largest citrus fruit from the Rutaceae family. It is also known as shaddock, so-named after a Captain Shaddock who was said to have brought seeds of the fruit from the Malay Archipelago to the West Indies on an ...
Ananas comosus is a fruit whose common name, pineapple, is derived from the Spanish word piña, which means “pine cone”. The pineapple’s scaly exterior was said by early travellers to bear a vague resemblance to pine cones. Its scientific name came from the Gaurani-Tupi ...
The tembusu (Cyrtophyllum fragrans) is a hardwood tree native to Singapore, Southeast Asia and many parts of tropical Asia.
Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea sp.) is a popular tropical and sub-tropical ornamental flower tha belongs to the family Nyctaginaceae. The Nyctaginaceae plant family consists of 28 genera and 250 species. Spectacular bougainvillea of different varieties have been ...
The Mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) is a tropical and sub-tropical tree belonging to the family Rutaceae. Associated with good fortune by the Chinese, it is a features prominently in local Chinese New Year celebrations. The fruit is high in Vitamin C and its ...