Banana Grove
The cool shade of the Banana (Musa sp.) greets the visitors at the beginning of the trail. This plant is mistakenly called a “tree”- the trunk is actually made up of compact, overlapping leaf bases. The fruit ranges in size, shape, colour and flavour, depending on the variety. The fruit is a good source of energy and vitamins and provides excellent roughage, and the central portion of the stem is sometimes eaten as a vegetable. The leaves are traditionally used as a wrapper for food and as a disposable plate.

Beautiful stands of Greater Alocasia (Alocasia macrorrhizos) display their prominent leaf veins against the glow of the sunlight. This cultivated herb was used as animal feed in the old days but is now frequently seen in the wild.

A shrub of the open areas and forest edges, the Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) is widespread in Singapore. It grows quickly and may flower when only 10 cm tall. The type commonly seen has purple flowers but the white form is often found in Ubin. The fruit and young leaves are edible, and the plant is supposedly used to treat a whole range of ailments including diarrhoea, fever, wounds, toothaches and is even used as a tonic after child-birth.

Pandan Valley
A slight breeze blows over the Pandan Wangi (Pandanus amaryllifolius) filling the whole valley with its familiar fragrance. More familiar as a short shrub, it can actually grow to over four metres tall. The scented leaves are used in cooking, and to add colour and flavour in desserts and cakes.

Swaying gently with the breeze, the long leafstalks of the Torch Ginger (Etlingera elatior) can grow to 15m tall, while the "torch", which is the flower bud, can reach 2m in height. The bud is used as a flavouring for the local dessert "rojak".

Secret Garden
Commonly mistaken for a tapioca plant, the Castor-oil Plant (Ricinus communis) has palmate leaves that can be green or red. Indigenous to tropical Africa, it is an attractive shrub with fruits that are round and spiny, containing three smooth seeds. The seeds contain the chemical Ricin, making them highly poisonous. Interestingly, the crushed seeds are, however, used to treat abscesses and skin eruptions. It is also reputed to cure deafness, headache, bleeding, constipation and piles and even to induce labour.

Orchard Road
The Guava (Psidium guajava) is a small, sprawling tree, native to tropical America. It is easily recognized by its orange peeling bark and its thick leathery leaves. The fruit is eaten raw or made into juice and has one of the highest levels of Vitamin C among fruits. The leaves exude an aromatic smell when crushed and together with the roots and bark are known to treat diarrhoea, dysentery and diabetes in many Asian countries.

The Midnight Horror (Oroxylum indicum) flowers open only late at night, releasing a harsh, pungent odour. By midnight, the stench of the wet, gaping flower can be detected from afar, attracting insects and especially bats, which are its key pollinators. The mature fruit pods are not only very heavy, but are the longest known pods in the region. Upon ripening the pods split open and the seeds are breezed away by the wind. It has enormous leaves that look like branches. Each leaf if segmented and when it withers, the segments break off gradually from the tip to base. The segments and the main stalk collect at the base of the trunk like a collection of bones - hence it is also known as the Broken Bone Plant. Despite its horrific reputation, the Midnight Horror is extremely useful - black dyes are made form the pods and bark to colour rattan baskets. The young shoots, leaves, flowers and bark are cooked and eaten as vegetables in Indonesia. The bark, roots, seeds and leaves are also used in local medicine to treat diarrhoea, dysentery and rheumatism.

From Ubin Tides, an NParks Publication