Flora Singapore List B

Woody climbers or scandent shrubs, branches up to 15(-20) m, rarely small trees; branchlets usually markedly softly rufous tomentose or fulvous pubescent except for glabrous older branches, petals, ovary, and drupes. Stipules ovate-triangular, 3-9 × 2-4 mm, apex long acuminate, usually caducous; petiole 6-13 mm; leaf blade elliptic, obovate, or rotund, 4-17 × 2-11 cm, subleathery, base obtuse to rounded, apex acute or obtuse, rarely retuse; lateral veins 10-14 pairs. Inflorescences axillary, usually 2-6-flowered, sometimes grouped into many-flowered spikes or on terminal small-leaved branches. Male flowers 0.6-1 cm in diam.; pedicels very short, up to 1 mm; receptacle cup-shaped; sepals ovate-triangular, ca. 4 × 2.5 mm; petals spatulate, ca. 2 mm, 3-5-dentate; disk shallowly cup-shaped, 5-6 mm in diam.; staminal column ca. 2 mm; free filaments ca. 1.5 mm; anthers ovoid, ca. 1 × 0.5 mm; rudimentary ovary terete, apex bipartite. Female flowers up to 12 mm in diam.; pedicels short and stout; receptacle nearly funnel-shaped; sepals ovate-triangular, ca. 4 × 2-3 mm; petals rhombic-spatulate, entire or shallowly bifid at apex; disk urceolate to lacerate when ovary expands, ca. 1.5 mm, hairy inside; ovary ovoid, 2-3 mm; styles 2, apex bifid, lobes linear. Drupes ovoid, 0.7-1.3 × 0.6-1.1 cm, bilocular. Seeds semiovoid, 6-8 × 3-6 mm, yellow to brown, smooth, adaxial surface flattened or slightly concave, abaxial surface slightly convex. Fl. and fr. almost throughout year. less ↑

Evergreen trees; branchlets minutely yellowish pubescent to subglabrous. Petiole 2-2.5 cm; leaf blade obovate-oblong to obovate-elliptic, 8-18 × 4-6 cm, leathery, glabrous, base cuneate, margin entire, apex rounded, lateral veins 10-15 pairs, prominent on both sides. Panicle terminal or axillary, 8-10 cm, minutely ferruginous pubescent. Flowers white. Calyx glabrous, lobes suborbicular, ca. 1 mm with ciliate margins. Petals elliptic to suborbicular, 3-4 mm, fleshy. Stamens equal to petals in length; filaments linear to subulate, longer than anthers; anthers sagittate. Disk large and thick. Carpels 5, minutely pubescent. Drupe lens-shaped, ca. 8 mm, glabrous. Fl. Mar, fr. Jul. less ↑

Bulbophyllum singaporeanum is a species of orchid in the genus Bulbophyllum. This species has leaves that are about 30cm long and 4cm wide, glossy green on top and slightly purple below. The inflorescence bears a cluster of small plowers. They are a pale purplish-green, with dark purple spotsand a magenta coloured lip. They emit an unpleasant odour of rotting fish which leads to believe that they are pollinated by flies. They are native to Borneo and Malaysia. less ↑

Baphia nitida (camwood), also known as African sandalwood, is a shrubby, hard-wooded African tree. Its wood is commonly used to make a red dye. The earliest dye wood (Camwood) was from West Africa. The source of the dye, which is soluble in alkali, is the bark and heart of the tree.Camwood is a red dye-wood imported from tropical West Africa, and obtained from Baphia nifida, a leguminous tree, of the suborder Caesalpinieae. This wood is of... less ↑

Bauhinia acuminata is a species of flowering shrub native to tropical southeastern Asia. Common names include: Dwarf White Bauhinia, White Orchid-tree and Snowy Orchid-tree and শ্বেত কাঞ্চন(Bengali). The exact native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation, but probably from Malaysia, Indonesia (Java, Borneo, Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Islands), and the Philippines. less ↑

Piliostigma racemosum, commonly known as the Bidi Leaf Tree (Hindi: कठमूली / झिंझेरी, Marathi: अपटा / सोना / श्वेत-कांचन, Tamil: ஆத்தி atti / தாதகி tataki, Malayalam: അരംപാലി arampaali / കുടബുളി kutabuli / മലയത്തി malayaththi, Telugu: తెల్ల ఆరెచెట్టు tella arecettu, Kannada: ಅಪ್ತಾ / ಅರಳುಕದುಮನ್ದರ, Bengali: banraji, banraj, Konkani: आप्टो apto, Urdu: Gul-e-anehnal‎ and Sanskrit: यमलपत्रक / युग्मपत्र), is a rare medicinal species of flowering shrub with religious significance. It is a small crooked tree with drooping branches... less ↑

The rose of Venezuela is a small, slow growing tree with stout branches eventually reaching about 6 metres (20 ft). The trunk has greyish-brown, lightly furrowed bark. The shoots and leaf stalks are downy. The leaves are opposite, elongated and pinnate with twelve to eighteen pairs of oblong or lanceolate leaflets ending in a bristle-like point. When they first unfold, the drooping leaves are pale green with tiny pink and cream dots, but as they mature they become brownish-pink and eventually a uniform shade of green. The globular inflorescences contain numerous crimson, red, deep pink or purple tubular flowers, each with projecting stamens and style. The flower heads can be up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in diameter and usually dangle below the foliage. The seeds are contained in bunches of long, brown, furry pods. less ↑

Ramie (Boehmeria nivea) is a flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern Asia. It is a herbaceous perennial growing to 1–2.5 m tall; the leaves are heart-shaped, 7–15 cm long and 6–12 cm broad, and white on the underside with dense small hairs—this gives it a silvery appearance; unlike stinging nettles, the hairs do not sting. The true ramie or China grass, also called Chinese plant or white ramie, is the Chinese cultivated plant. A... less ↑

Kalanchoe pinnata (syn. Bryophyllum calycinum, Bryophyllum pinnatum, also known as the Air Plant, Life Plant, Miracle Leaf, Patharkuchi Pata, Goethe Plant and the Katakataka (Filipino)) is a succulent plant native to Madagascar. It is distinctive for the profusion of miniature plantlets that form on the margins of its leaves, a trait it has in common with the other members of the Bryophyllum section of the Kalanchoe genus. less ↑

Barringtonia asiatica (Fish Poison Tree,Putat or Sea Poison Tree) is a species of Barringtonia native to mangrove habitats on the tropical coasts and islands of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean from Zanzibar east to Taiwan, the Philippines, Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, the Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia. It is grown along streets for decorative and shade purposes in some parts of India, for instance in some towns on southeastern shore.... less ↑

Barringtonia racemosa (Powder-puff tree, Afrikaans: Poeierkwasboom, Zulu: Iboqo,Malay: Putat) is a tree in the family Lecythidaceae. It is found in coastal swamp forests and on the edges of estuaries in the Indian Ocean, starting at the east coast of Mozambique and KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) to Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, southern China, northern Australia, the Ryukyu Islands and many Polynesian islands. less ↑

"Woody climbers; branchlets pale brownish, terete, 3-10 mm thick, glabrous. Leaves opposite, 12-25 x 3.5-12 cm, narrowly oblong, oblong-elliptic to obovate, obtuse to rounded at base, entire, abruptly caudate at apex (cauda 5-10 mm long), thinly coriaceous, glabrous, dark brown above when dry, paler beneath; lateral nerves 8-14 pairs, faint above, prominent beneath, lax, arcuate; nervules faint above, prominent beneath, scalariform, mostly branched; petioles 1-4 cm long. Inflorescence terminal, few- flowered subumbellate cymes, often once branched towards apex, rusty-pubescent, up to 15 x 15 cm; peduncles 1-4 cm long; bracts foliaceous, up to 15 mm long. Flowers white; pedicels 2.5-3.5 cm long, densely adpressed tawny- pubescent. Calyx lobes 5, foliaceous, almost free, elliptic-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 10-15 x 4-5 mm, acute, densely tawny pubescent. Corolla campanulate; tube ca 15 mm long, hairy at throat inside, lobes 5, spathulate-obovate, 6-7 x 3-3.5 cm, evanescently puberulous outside, glabrous inside. Stamens 5, inserted on the corolla tube; filaments intertwisted; anthers sagittate, adhering with the stigma. Ovary 1, 2-locular; style filiform, puberulous; stigma oblong-fusiform. Fruits splitting into 2 follicles at full maturity, ca 25 cm long, thick and woody." less ↑

Bougainvillea /ˌbuːɡɨnˈvɪliə/ (also known as Bugambilia (Mexico), Napoleón (Honduras), veranera (Colombia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama), trinitaria (Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic & Venezuela), Santa Rita (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) or papelillo (northern Peru)) is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Perú and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. less ↑

Boerhavia coccinea is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family which is known by many common names, including scarlet spiderling, red boerhavia, hogweed, and in Spanish, hierba del cancer and hierba de la hormiga. It is a widespread plant whose native range is not certain but probably includes the southwestern United States and parts Mexico. It is present across the southeastern United States, where it may be naturalized. It is present in Africa,... less ↑

Boerhavia diffusa is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family which is commonly known as punarnava (meaning that which rejuvenates or renews the body),red spiderling,spreading hogweed, or tarvine. It is taken in herbal medicine for pain relief and other uses. The leaves of B. diffusa are often used as a green vegetable in many parts of India. less ↑

Basella alba is an edible perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is found in tropical Asia and Africa where it is widely used as a leaf vegetable. It is known under various common names, including Pui, vine spinach, red vine spinach, climbing spinach, creeping spinach, buffalo spinach, Malabar spinach and Ceylon spinach among others. less ↑

Bidens alba, which belongs to the family Asteraceae, is most commonly known as shepherd's needles, beggarticks, Spanish needles or butterfly needles.Bidens means two- toothed, describing the two projections found at the top of the seeds, and alba refers to the white ray florets. This plant is found in tropical and subtropical regions of North America, Asia, South America, and Africa, situated in gardens, road sides, farm fields and disturbed sites.B. alba is an annual or short-lived perennial,... less ↑

Buddleja asiatica is a tender deciduous shrub endemic to a vast area of the East Indies, and first described by Loureiro in 1790. The shrub can be found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, New Guinea, and the Philippines, growing in open woodland at elevations B. asiatica was introduced to the UK in 1874, and accorded the RHS Award of Garden Merit (record 675) in 1993. less ↑

Buddleja davidii (spelling variant Buddleia davidii), also called summer lilac, butterfly-bush, or orange eye, is a species of flowering plant in the family Scrophulariaceae, native to Sichuan and Hubei provinces in central China, and also Japan. It is widely used as an ornamental plant, and many named varieties are in cultivation. B. davidii, named for the Basque missionary and explorer in China, Father Armand David, who first noticed the shrub, was found near Ichang by Dr... less ↑

Brachychiton acerifolius, commonly known as the Illawarra Flame Tree, is a large tree of the family Malvaceae native to subtropical regions on the east coast of Australia. It is famous for the bright red bell-shaped flowers that often cover the whole tree when it is leafless. Along with other members of the genus Brachychiton, it is commonly referred to as a Kurrajong. less ↑

Major Threats

Achiote (Bixa orellana) is a shrub or small tree originating from the tropical region of the Americas. The name derives from the Nahuatl word for the shrub, āchiotl . It is also known as Aploppas, and its original Tupi name uruku. It is cultivated there and in Southeast Asia, where it was introduced by the Spanish in the 17th century. It is best known as the source of the natural pigment annatto, produced from the fruit.... less ↑

Erect shrubs or treelets, usually 2-5(-12) m tall, monoecious or dioecious; branches slender and elongate, "whip-like," often overhanging, pubescent when young, glabrescent, older branches with some spines. Stipules ovate to linear-lanceolate, 2-7 mm, usually caducous, pubescent; petiole 3-5.5 mm, pubescent; leaf blade elliptic, lanceolate-elliptic, or obovate-elliptic, 3-9(-14) × 1.5-5(-6) cm, (thinly) papery, abaxially light greenish and usually pubescent, adaxially scabrous, base obtuse, rarely broadly cuneate or rounded, apex acute to obtuse; lateral veins 7-12(-15) pairs. Flowers axillary, yellow-green, up to 10(-20)-fascicled, sessile. Male flowers: sepals triangular, 0.8-1.2 × 0.5-1 mm; petals spatulate or obovate, entire or 3-5-toothed, ca. 1 × 0.8 mm; disk shallowly cup-shaped, 1-1.2 mm in diam.; staminal column ca. 0.7 mm; free filaments ca. 0.5 mm; rudimentary ovary conical. Female flowers usually 3-5-fascicled, subsessile; sepals triangular, 1-1.5 × 0.8-1.2 mm, glabrous to pubescent outside; petals as in male, shorter than sepals; disk pulvinate and urceolate, enclosing ovary for ca. 0.6 mm; ovary globose to ovoid, ca. 1 mm in diam.; styles 2, bipartite, lobes linear. Drupes subglobose, 4-7 × ca. 5 mm, 2-celled. Seeds semiovoid, 3-4 × 2-3 mm, brown-red, rugulate, adaxial surface compressed with longitudinal groove, abaxial surface slightly elevated with longitudinal stripes. Fl. and fr. almost throughout year. less ↑

Breynia oblongifolia, commonly known as coffee bush, grows naturally in Australia and New Guinea as shrubs up to 3 m (10 ft) in height. The species produces alternate, ovate leaves 20–30 mm (0.8–1.2 in) long. Small, green flowers are produced in spring and summer, and these are followed by orange or pink berries about 6 mm (0.24 in) diameter that turn black when fully ripe. less ↑

Baccaurea macrocarpa, also called Tampoi, is a small, tropical rainforest substorey fruit trees native to Southeast Asia, especially Borneo. It is dioecious, and the female trees bear fruit directly on the trunk and large branches. The fruit is large, orange-skinned, white-fleshed, with a delicious tangy flavour somewhat like mandarin (tangerine). Depending on conditions, the fruit may closely clothe the trunk beautifully, like the fruit of many Ficus species. less ↑

Baccaurea motleyana is a species of fruit tree which grows wild in parts of Southeast Asia and is cultivated for its fruit in Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. Its common names include rambai and rambi, and in Thai language mafai-farang. This is a tree generally growing to 9 to 12 meters in height with a short trunk and a broad crown. The evergreen leaves are shiny green on the upper surface and greenish-brown and hairy underneath. Each... less ↑

Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (black mangrove, Afrikaans: Swart-wortelboom, Xhosa: Isikhangati, Zulu: Isihlobane) is a small tree up to 10 m high that belongs to the family Rhizophoraceae. It is found on the seaward side of mangrove swamps, often in the company of Rhizophora. Its bark is rough and reddish-brown. The tree develops short prop-roots rather than long stilt-roots. Flowers are creamy-white soon turning brown. The sepals are persistent, narrow and slightly tapered. When mature, the spindle-shaped fruits drop... less ↑

Major Threats

Bunchosia argentea, commonly known as Peanut Butter Fruit, is a species of flowering plant in the acerola family, Malpighiaceae, that is native to Venezuela and Colombia in South America. It produces a small red-orange fruits with sticky, dense pulp and a flavour resembling that of dried figs or peanut butter, hence the name. Additionally, the scent is unmistakably of peanut butter. Mostly eaten fresh, also used for jellies, jams, or preserves. It is cultivated in South... less ↑

Byrsonima crassifolia is a species of flowering plant in the acerola family, Malpighiaceae, that is native to tropical America. It is valued for its small, sweet, yellow fruit, which are strongly scented. Common names include nanche, nance, chacunga, changunga, craboo, kraabu, savanna serrette (or savanna serret) and golden spoon. less ↑