Two new plant species native to Singapore discovered

The Singapore National Parks Board (NParks) said on Thursday that they have discovered two new species of plants here, which can only found in the city-state.

The two species are called Hanguana rubinea and Hanguana triangulata. Hanguana is the only genus in the small plant family Hanguanaceae, and its species are flowering herbs which are often confined to the understorey of primary forests. The two new species are not only native to Singapore, but can only be found here, NParks said, adding that the Hanguana species were been studied extensively previously.

"The discovery of the Hanguana rubinea and Hanguana triangulata is unique in that there were at least 25 existing herbarium records of Hanguana at the Singapore Botanic Gardens Herbarium, some of them dating more than 100 years old. However, all previous herbarium records of this group of plants collected from Singapore were mistakenly identified as Hanguana malayana, a common misconception due to the lack of study of the genus Hanguana," it said.

NParks also said that there are at least six species from the Hanguanaceae family in Singapore.

"The discovery of these new Hanguana species shows that tropical floras, including that of Singapore, are richer and more complex than we generally presumed." Endi