Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore Botanic Gardens, botanical garden and research center founded in 1859 in the central Tanglin district, Singapore. It is one of the world’s finest in terms of both its aesthetic appeal and the quality of its botanical collection, which notably includes a variety of orchids, gingers, and heritage trees. It was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2015.

History

During its early years the garden served primarily as an experimental station for plants—both native and imported—with potential commercial value. In the 1870s the British colonial government assumed responsibility for the garden. Under the direction of Henry N. Ridley, who took over as superintendent in 1888, the garden became a center for research on Hevea brasiliensis, the Brazilian rubber tree. Ridley developed an improved method for tapping rubber trees that resulted in a better yield of latex. His innovation revolutionized the region’s economy. In the late 1920s efforts began to propagate and hybridize orchids. The garden was integrated into the Singapore government’s Parks and Trees Unit, forming the Parks and Recreation Department in the 1970s. Since 1996 the garden has been supervised by the National Parks Board, a statutory body under the Ministry of National Development.

Plant collections and notable sites

The garden houses more than 1,500 orchid species and 3,000 hybrid varieties in its National Orchid Garden. Blooms in the orchid garden include boat orchids, moth orchids (also known as moon orchids), chain orchids, lady’s slipper hybrids, and diverse bromeliads. The Ethnobotany Garden features flora traditionally used or venerated by Indigenous communities, including medicinal plants, mangroves, rattan palms, and banyan trees.

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A section of the botanical garden is home to tropical flora, with some specimens dating to the early 19th century. A large variety of ginger species—more than 250—are showcased in the Ginger Garden. Also notable is the Fragrant Garden, which displays an assortment of aromatic flora. There are also more than 55 heritage trees of diverse species in the botanic garden.

The garden’s herbarium has about 800,000 preserved specimens, chiefly native to Southeast Asia. There is also a seed bank on the premises dedicated to preserving at-risk Southeast Asian flora. The garden publishes two educational periodicals, Gardenwise and The Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore.