I reproduced here with humble gratitude the generous recounting by Dr Wong Khoon Meng of my field contribution of collecting Singapore's newest species! Thank you so much, Dr. Wong.
Pulau Ubin is
well-loved by Singaporeans as a favourite get-away island to relax and have
fun. For those keen on learning its native flora, its eastern end called Chek
Jawa is literally a ‘wonderland of delight’. Joseph Lai, in particular, has
taken to its coastal forest like his own home. Every visit to him is like a
shake of the kaleidoscope; new insight learned in a new light.
As early as
1997, Joseph collected a plant specimen of a species that was subsequently
diagnosed as a new species of Utania (Gentianaceae) by Dr Wong Khoon
Meng of the Singapore Botanic Gardens and a former doctoral student working on
the phylogenetics of Fagraea, a complex grouping that then included
several species that are now better recognised as Utania. This new
species called Utania nervosa has now been published in the journal Plant
Ecology and Evolution, in effect becoming Singapore's newest species!
However,
before this research unravelled the novelty of the Ubin plant, it had been
called "Fagraea racemosa", having been confused with a much
commoner tree species that is native from Indo-China (Cambodia, South Vietnam)
to Thailand, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. From its wide general
distribution, it ought to also occur in Singapore but there were simply no
scientific collections known! So that common species, now called Utania
racemosa, seemed to be found in many places around but not in Singapore
itself, whereas the much rarer Utania nervosa of Pulau Ubin is known
only from a restricted area including south Johor and the Singapore islands of
Tekong and Tekong Kechil.
Now Joseph
has gone on to investigate this further, scouring the woods on Ubin island, and
has brought in—for the very first time—scientific specimens of the real Utania
racemosa, which he found to be uncommon but occurred side by side with
another Utania nervosa tree in Chek Jawa! So Ubin (and Singapore) now
has its rightful Utania racemosa as well as a new one! So uncanny...
See photos of the Utanias showing some distinct differences
between the two species below!
 |
| Inflorescence
of Utania nervosa with very short
peduncle; secondary veins 10 to 16 pairs. |
 |
| Flowers
of Utania nervosa |
 |
| Inflorescence
of Utania racemosa with very long
peduncle; secondary veins 5 to 7 pairs. |
 |
| Inflorescence of Utania racemosa |
 |
| Flowers
of Utania racemosa |
Read scientific paper here:
M. Sugumaran & K.M. Wong, Studies in Malesian Gentianaceae, VI. A revision of Utania in the Malay Peninsula with two new species, Plant Ecology & Evolution 2014.
