The ground was littered with rambutans!
Its been almost a year since I last stepped onto the island, and it sure feels good to be back! My family used to frequent Ubin when my cousin had a prawn farm there. This time round, it was a leisure walk, instead of the usual cycling. While its more time consuming, its a effective way to force myself to slow down my pace, and simply... ... enjoy nature.
No prizes on how The Elephant Ear Fig (Ficus auriculata) tree got its name. With the largest leaves, figs from this tree is actually edible. The actual flowers of the fig are unseen unless the fig is cut open, and the fig tree has a unique pollination system with the help of tiny wasps, known as fig wasps. These wasps enters the fig to both pollinate the flowers and lay their own eggs. The flowers are in turn, nourishment and home for the next generation of wasps (so watch out for extra ingredients if you ever eat one =P).
These 2 really adorable kittens were mewing away, hiding amongst the tall grasses. They couldnt decide whether we were friends or foes, and were prancing back and forth in their hiding place. As I was taking this photo, someone behind me said... "snake food".... so sad!!!!
The Akar Mempelas (Tetracera indica) is a climber with rough leaves and stem. Also called the sandy leaf/ sandpaper vine, it's leaves which have a rough surface are used by villagers as a substitute for sandpaper. Another good use is its pounded leaves and roots which supposedly is effective in relieving skin itches.
At some random spot, it seems like a durian tree has decided to take roots there. We were joking (actually I think LK sounded quite serious about it) that we should start planting fruit trees, so that theres continuity for the next generation to enjoy the tropical fruits - 前人种树, 后人乘凉! In addition, this can also be our retirement plan, to take care of a durian plantation in Ubin when we are old! Although, I would pretty much prefer relaxing under the sun,with the company of the sand and sea, vis-a-vis harvesting and/or selling durians!
Babies coming your way, and worried about the escalating costs of living (in particular the costs of diapers) amidst the recession? Fret no more! Nappy tree comes to the rescue! The leave of this tree is so soft that people used it as nappies for babies in the past. For all we know, it might be even more comfy than Pampers!
It was also my pleasure to be introduced to the elegant White Lady (Thunbergia fragrans). While these lovely, fragrant blooms may look angelic, its fruits certainly look the opposite. Bearing resemblance to a bullet, its really painful when a certain someone pokes you with the fruit (no joke!). With its sharp tip, I'm sure it can be used (perhaps, was used) as a deadly weapon, of course only if displaced at a high speed!
The praying mantis was motionless for a period of time, long enough for us to take turns to capture its portrait.
Thanks to my skeptism, I refused to touch this bug despite strong recommendation from a fellow GV (yah, some good friends of mine?!?). Otherwise, I'm sure I'll end up being an outcast throughout the walk because the Stink Bug (family Pentatomoidea) is known to emit a foul odour (called stink bug for a reason!), which most people find repulsive (although I think it can be washed away with soap and water). In any case, if you happen to see a bug with a triangular shaped plate on their back, leave it alone and don't take any chances! Actually, we should'nt be disturbing them even if they do not have i triangular shape plate on their back.
This Mata Ayam (Ardisia elliptica) tree was a pretty sight with the display of colours of its fruits. The tree is named after its fruits because they look like and are about the size of the chicken's eyeball (mata = eyes in malay, ayam = chicken in malay).
The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao - literally translates as "drink of the gods") is a plant that brings back fond memories for my brother. I was told that because of the family financials (or rather, the lack of), chocolate was a luxury when my brother was young. To satisfy the crave, my brother used to "steal" the cocoa fruit from our neighbour's garden. Once, he was seen plucking the fruit and in his panic (naturally, he tried to scoot off), he fell into a hole laid with burning charcoal! Although that must have been really painful, I can imagine it to be such a hilarious sight!
The trip was also a good recap of my mangrove knowledge (which was limited, to begin with..*sheepish*..). Managed to identify the Api-api bulu (Avicennia rumphiana) which has furry leaves that looks like soup spoons. Many of these tress were fruiting!
Thankfully, I also remembered the Bruguiera Cynlindrica (although strangely, I couldnt remembered its common name, Bakau Putih), and spared myself from being knocked on the head. One of this species' distinctive feature is its light green sepals that sticks out at right angles to the fruit.
Fancy a symphony in the mangroves? Be sure to recruit the Mangrove Trumpet (Dolichandrone spathacea) tree as part of your orchestra (although I won't trust it to make any sound..hee..). Found in the back mangroves, this tree is probably named after its white flowers thats trumpet-shaped (actually, I think a cluster of its pods looks like a trumpet too!). I read that the wood is light and thus was used in floats for fishing nets and wooden shoes, and even for making traditional 'wayang kulit'.
We spent a really long period of time observing the Spider Wasp (Family Pompilidae). This brightly coloured wasp seemed to have caught a spider and was darting around (it was so tough to get a good photo..). We were told that the wasp will typically dig a hole to keep its prize, together with its eggs - which it will lay on the spider soon enough. We were lucky enough to catch this wasp in action (I even caught a video of it burrowing, with splendid commentary to boot!)
It would be almost impossible not to spot spiders on such walks - some cute, and some not so. Heres a pretty one, though not sure of its species.
I got a rude shock, when a pair of itchy inquisitive hands very lightly touched some folded leaves. Out jumped this big furry spider, which I thought was quite menacing looking. Hmm.. I don't really fancy big spiders, especially furry ones! It quickly hid behind the leaves, out of our sight. Guess it must be more fearful of us, than we are of it.
Lots of cute little spiderlings came scurrying after their mother!
While waiting for our transport, we saw (and even had more than enough time to observe) the Changeable Hawk Eagle and 2 hornbills. Unfortunately, my point-and-shoot was not capable of capturing any sharp shots.
Its amazing how much more I can appreciate this island, now that I have a little bit more knowledge of its fauna and flora. Can't wait to be back on 19th!
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