A 3km-long Tree Trail to be launched in the Civic District will feature the ubiquitous Rain Tree that is part of our city’s natural landscape. But did you know that the tree provides a habitat to a vast array of local flora and fauna? The New Paper identifies some of the living things the tree is home to:
The Straits Times, NParks, Berita Harian, Nature Society (Singapore), Wikimedia Commons, David Tan, Lee Tiah Kee, Lip Kee Yap
The tree trail
Some of the trees in the Civic District will get greater recognition as they are part of a 3km-long Tree Trail to be launched by the National Parks Board on May 1. There will be monthly guided walks and markers at all 20 stops along the route. One highlight of the trail is an avenue of 22 heritage rain trees along Connaught Drive
Rain Tree Facts
Pukul Lima
Malay for five o’clock. This is the time the leaves close. Sunset in S’pore was at about 5pm before changes were made to standard time.
Umbrella Shape
The tree can grow up to 30m tall and has an umbrella-shaped crown that spreads up to 30m across.
Flaky
In mature trees, the bark is dark brown, rough and flaky.
Origin
It is not native to Asia. Rain trees originally came from South America.
Cattle Shade
Planted generally as an ornamental tree, it has been adapted in many countries as shade for cattle.
Most Common
It is the most commonly planted tree in Singapore due to its superior shade, with about 80,000 in existence.
This article was first published on April 25, 2016.
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