Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Arielle Koh and Amanda KohP5 Excellent

History of SBWR 1986: Avid birdwatchers from the then Malayan

Nature Society (Singapore Branch) stumbled upon SB. They wrote a proposal to the government for its conservation.

1989: The wetland site was designated as a nature park

1993: The then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong officially opened the nature park.

1994: SBWR welcomed its 10,000 visitor

Bracket Fungus

Bracket Fungus Scientific name: There are hundreds of scientific names

for each species of bracket fungi, but bracket fungi are from the phylum basidiomycota in the class basidiomycetes

Habitat: Mainly on trees, logs (living or dead) and coarse woody debris

Special qualities: They are hardy, resilient and can live for a long time

Uses: Some grown for human consumption and some for medicinal use

Plants in Sungei Buloh

History of SBWRAfrican Tulip Tree

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African Tulip Tree Scientific name: Spathodea campanulata

Habitat: Wastelands

Special qualities: The ripe pods split open into a woody, boat-shaped form. Children use them in boat races, by placing the opened pods in a fast flowing drain

Uses: The bark, flowers and leaves are used in traditional medicine in Western Africa

History of SBWRApi Api Bulu

Api Api Bulu Scientific name: Avicennia rumphiana

Habitat: Grows on upper half of foreshow preferring sand or firm mud in South East Asia to New Guinea

Special qualities: The fur on the leaves conserve water by trapping a layer of insulating air and thus reducing water lass through evaporation

Uses: The wood is suitable as firewood for smoking fish, can be used as a rudder of a boat or ship and as a rice mortar, the ash can be made into soap and the fruits can be eaten roasted, boiled or sundried

Bird’s Nest Fern

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Bird’s Nest Fern Scientific name: Asplenium nidus

Habitat: Grows on trees and rocks, even on the ground after falling from trees

Special qualities: The leaves can grow up to 1.4 metres long and are shaped to collect rainwater and nutrient-rich debris

Uses: Eaten by tribes in Malaysia and some are used as house plants

History of SBWRBlind Your Eye

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Blind Your Eyes Scientific name: Exoecaria agallocha

Habitat: Further inland, usually at the high water mark

Special qualities: The sap can cause temporary blindness (thus the name) if it enters the eyes or skin irritation and blisters

Uses: The sap is used by natives in New Guinea as arrow poison. It may have anti-HIV, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties

History of SBWRCrinum Lily

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Crinum Lily Scientific name: Crinum asiatium

Habitat: Sandy seashores

Special qualities: The flower is nice-smelling but the plant is poisonous

Uses: Used to treat aches, sores and chaps. Crushed leaves are used to treat piles, mixed with honey and applied to wounds and abscesses.

Jamaican Cherry Tree

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Jamaican Cherry Tree Scientific name: Muntingia calabura

Habitat: Anywhere with sun and water but without salt

Special qualities: It has sweet and sticky fruits. Birds, bats and even children in some areas help to disperse the seeds

Uses: Fruits are made into jam and tarts, flowers are used to treat spasms, headaches and colds and its timber is used to make small carpentry

History of SBWRNipah Palm

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Nipah Palm Scientific name: Nypa fruticans

Habitat: Brackish mangrove forest strips situated further inland where there are calm conditions and high freshwater input

Special qualities: It is the mangrove plant with the oldest known fossil, with pollen dated 70 million years old

Uses: Tapped to collect a sweet sap, the young shoots can be eaten, the petals of the flower can be brewed and immature fruits are a common ingredient in desserts. Dried fronds can be used to make mats, baskets and other household items.

Sea Hibiscus

Sea Hibiscus Scientific name: Hibiscus tiliaceus

Habitat: Along the seashore and back mangroves

Special qualities: The yellow flowers open in the morning and turn darker over the day. It turns brownish before falling on the same day or the following day

Uses: Leaves are used to cool fevers, sooth coughs and remove phlegm, fresh bark soaked in water is used to treat dysentery and many other uses

History of SBWRSea Holly

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Sea Holly Scientific name: Acanthus ebracteatus

Habitat: Grows in the undergrowth of mangroves in South-East Asia

Special qualities: Leaves growing in the deep shade can be totally spineless

Uses: There are many, but these are two: Mangrove dwellers believe that chewing the leaves can cure snake bites and is also used to treat kidney stones

History of SBWRWater Lily

Water Lily Scientific name: Nymphaea sp.

Habitat: Surface of water

Special qualities: Although the flowers are beautiful and fragrant, they only last a few days

Uses: The American Indians made flour out of dried roots by pounding them, which was then baked into pancakes. The young leaves and flower buds were eaten as vegtables, and seeds were eaten fried

Animals in Sungei Buloh

Archer Fish

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Archer Fish Scientific name: Toxotes jaculatrix

Habitat: Commonly seen in mangrove swamps

Diet: Feed mainly on crustaceans, insects, red-clawed clab (sesarma bidens) and ants from the formicidae family

Special qualities: They are known for their ability to shoot down insects and small creatures resting on foliage or mangrove roots (see picture!)

Atlas Moth

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Atlas Moth Scientific name: Attucas atlas

Habitat: Primarily found in tropical forests and surrounding lowlands in the vicinity of their host plants

Diet: Adults do not feed

Special qualities: They do not have functioning mouth parts as an adult so they do not feed. Instead, they live off fat reserves built up when it was a caterpillar, when it ate a variety of foodplants.

History of SBWRBlack-Crowned Night Heron

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Black-Crowned Night Heron Scientific name: Nycticorax nycticorax

Habitat: They nest in mangroves

Diet: Fish, aquatic and land invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, plants, carrion and food from garbage dumps

Special qualities: They steal eggs and young from other herons, which attack them on sight because of this

History of SBWRGiant Mudskipper

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Giant Mudskipper Scientific name: Periophthalmodon schlosseri

Habitat: Along the intertidal zone at the margin between land and sea

Diet: Carnivorous; aggressively hunting arthropods (like insects), crustaceans, and even smaller mudskippers

Special qualities: They rotate their eyes to swill the water in the gill chambers around and keep the gills fluffed up and oxygenated

History of SBWRGolden Orb Web Spider

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Golden Orb Web Spider Scientific name: Nephila maculata

Habitat: Usually above ground, they spin their webs between plants and other objects

Diet: Large flying insects

Special qualities: Its silk is used by tribes to catch fish, which will get entangled in the ball of silk wound around a stick. It makes the largest and strongest web even though it is not the largest spider

History of SBWRMalayan Water Monitor

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Malayan Water Monitor Scientific name: Varanus salvator

Habitat: Burrows built in river banks, both fresh and salt water

Diet: They are carnivorous and eat a wide range of animals, such as fish, frogs, rodents, birds, crabs, snakes, turtles, young crocodiles and crocodile eggs, and carrion.

Special qualities: Highly mobile, they can swim far out to sea, remain underwater for up to half an hour and run faster than most humans (because of their leg muscles)

History of SBWRMud Lobster

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Mud Lobster Scientific name: Thalassina anomala

Habitat: Never most out of its burrow (volcano shaped mounds found in the back mangroves)

Diet: Believed to eat tiny organic titbits in mud

Special qualities: Their burrows are U-shaped and can be as deep as 2 metres below the waterline

History of SBWRPlantain Squirrel

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Plantain Squirrel Scientific name: Callosciurus notatus

(In fact, “callosciurus” means “beautiful squirrels”)

Habitat: Rest in hollow trees; gardens, forest habitats and mangroves; rarely comes to the ground

Diet: Fruit pulp and seeds, flowers or leafy shoots, arthropods (invertebrate animals)

Special qualities: They are agile animals and can jump a few metres between trees.

History of SBWRSmooth Otter

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Smooth Otter Scientific name: Lutrogale perspicillata

Habitat: Occur throughout much of southern Asia; found where water is plentiful

Diet: Eat whatever is plentiful and easy to catch, prey includes crustaceans, frogs, water rats, large birds, turtles, and fish.

Special qualities: Largest otters in Southeast Asia, and they have shorter and smoother coats

History of SBWRWeaver Ants

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Weaver Ants Scientific name: Oecophylla smaragdina

Habitat: Leaves of plants

Diet: Nectar

Special qualities: They have complex ants’ nests; they use living leaves to build nests

The End