3 



feet elevation, when brought down to the plains produces once a 

 number of flowers, but never any more. Camellias are brought from 

 Japan, with the buds more or less developed. They flower once 

 perhaps twice, and though they do not die flower no more. 

 Hydrangeas, Azaleas (though these have flowered more than once) 

 do the same, none ever produce fruit, Japanese conifers thrive for 

 a time under shelter but fail to stand the heavy rains. Pinus 

 longifolia is the only pine which has been kept planted out for 

 any length of time, but after many years it had not attained a height 

 of more than four feet, and was a weedy sickly plant. Biota 

 orientalis and Cupressus pendula have lasted many years, some of 

 the latter for over thirty years, but have never produced fruit, 

 nor ever looked healthy. 



Few Chinese plants seem to do well, except those of the warmer 

 parts. Aglaia odorata, Chloranthus inconspicuns grow to good 

 size and flower regularly but do not fruit. The Litchi tree has 

 grown to a very large size in Tanglin, but has never been known 

 to flower. The Loquat grows well and flowers, but has never given 

 a fruit. Japanese Lilies, in fact all Liliums will flower once, but 

 never any more. The bulbilliferous species usually produce bulbils 

 in place of flowers and these will grow for a time but never develop 

 into bulbs. No off-shoots are produced from the Lilybulbs. The 

 Lilies have a tendency to flower on very short stems, making a 

 vegetative growth of perhaps only four or six inches tall. Frequently 

 an imported lot simply grow a tall leafy stem and then die without 

 flowering. 



The Japanese and Chinese palms Rhapis and Chamaerops rarely 

 if ever fruit. The only plant of Rhapis which has ever flowered 

 in the Gardens was a wretched single-stemmed plant. The great 

 clumps of Rhapis which grow with great ease and become very 

 large have never fruited. Chamaerops hystrix can be grown for a 

 short time in a pot but perishes when planted out. 



In fact one may say that the outlying palms of the palm region 

 the European Chamoerops, the Japanese and Chinese palms, the 

 Californian and Floridan species, and the Chilian palms such as 

 Juboea are almost the only palms which will not grow here. The 

 desert palms of Egypt and the dry parts of Africa, such as Hyphoene 

 and Borassus are not easy to grow inland, and Hyphaene seems 

 impossible. Borassus grows very poorly except in sandy places 

 near the sea. 



Tropical Asiatic exotics do well with the exception of the plants 

 from peninsular India, and the Himalayas, and many have 

 thoroughly established themselves, such are A sy stasia coromandeliana 

 now a regular weed all over Singapore. 



Plants from the Malay Archipelago do well except the hill plants 

 of Java, and the plants of Christmas Island, which though in some 

 cases they have made good growth (*the Abutilons) they either 



* Note. — Since writing this the Abutilons have flowered and fruited well. 



