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The Singapore Mistletoe Story: An Exposé of a Botanical Marvel
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Commencer à lireLongueur: 204 pages2 heures
- Éditeur:
- We Green Solutions
- Sortie:
- Sep 16, 2015
- ISBN:
- 9789810970253
- Format:
- Livre
Description
The Singapore Mistletoe Story is an account of a personal quest to seek out and document the varieties and lives of a little-known group of plants - the mistletoes. It is a journey of discovery of the many fascinating features of this enduring species - their semi-parasitic nature, where they are found, how they reproduce and the myriad remarkable communities whose lives have become intertwined with it.
The author's numerous mistletoe-spotting adventures present an infectious read, and are sure to inspire the curious gardener that dwells inside each one of us.
Lavishly illustrated with nearly a hundred pictures, this volume is like a botanical novel. Gardeners, field botanists, teachers and students will find it a valuable and fruitful addition to their collection.
Informations sur le livre
The Singapore Mistletoe Story: An Exposé of a Botanical Marvel
Longueur: 204 pages2 heures
Description
The Singapore Mistletoe Story is an account of a personal quest to seek out and document the varieties and lives of a little-known group of plants - the mistletoes. It is a journey of discovery of the many fascinating features of this enduring species - their semi-parasitic nature, where they are found, how they reproduce and the myriad remarkable communities whose lives have become intertwined with it.
The author's numerous mistletoe-spotting adventures present an infectious read, and are sure to inspire the curious gardener that dwells inside each one of us.
Lavishly illustrated with nearly a hundred pictures, this volume is like a botanical novel. Gardeners, field botanists, teachers and students will find it a valuable and fruitful addition to their collection.
- Éditeur:
- We Green Solutions
- Sortie:
- Sep 16, 2015
- ISBN:
- 9789810970253
- Format:
- Livre
À propos de l'auteur
En rapport avec The Singapore Mistletoe Story
Aperçu du livre
The Singapore Mistletoe Story - Francis L K Lim
Bibliography
Foreword
Mistletoes are a group of little known plants. Most people are unaware that they exist in the tropics and can be found right at our doorstep— on wayside trees outside our homes and even in our own gardens. These plants are seldom noticed because they grow on the branches of trees and shrubs. Their green foliage keeps them inconspicuous among the green leaves of their hosts.
Sometimes when a host tree sheds its leaves, the mistletoes may stand out on the bare branches. But then, how many are curious enough to examine these patches of green? Gardeners may be more aware of these plants, especially when they overgrow their ornamental shrubs to eventually stifle their growth.
Those who are aware of mistletoes invariably believe they are parasitic plants, growing at the expense of their hosts. But mistletoes are semi-parasites. They take a ride on the branches of their hosts, obtaining only water and nutrients from them. After all, with their green leaves they indulge in photosynthesis and make their own food. This is unlike the non-green parasitic plants that thrive inside their hosts, emerging only to flower, as in the case of the well-known Rafflesia.
It is always heartening to meet with a non-botanist filled with passion for plants. And Francis Lim is one such a person – with a passion for mistletoes. He is basically a snake person, Singapore’s snake man, if you may.
After more than three decades handling snakes while with the Singapore Zoological Gardens, the former curator of reptiles has developed a curiosity for mistletoes. It would have been phenomenal had he got interested in these plants as a result of a bird depositing a seed on him while he was resting during his lunch break in the wooded zoo. But this was not to be. What actually happened was that he noticed a mistletoe seed germinating on the frond of a fern. And once his curiosity was aroused, there was no turning back. He has since been running all over Singapore looking for the 16 native species. Unfortunately he will not be getting his hands on quite a few as they are listed as locally extinct. But who knows, he may one day find one or more of them growing on an isolated tree in an obscure corner of Singapore.
But Francis does not only look for mistletoes. He collects every species he can lay his hands on and photographs all aspects of the plants. Furthermore, he takes pains to find out how their flowers are pollinated and seeds dispersed. He has now compiled his years of research into a wonderful volume that will prove useful to nature enthusiasts interested to know more about these little-known plants that proliferate around our mostly urban environment.
This book on Singapore’s mistletoes will open the eyes of local nature enthusiasts on the many and varied species and their fascinating biology.
Dr. Wee Yeow Chin
Bird Ecology Study Group
[http://www.besgroup.org]
Nature Society (Singapore)
April 18, 2011
Acknowledgements
A number of people have assisted me in one way or another when I was working on and researching for this book. I would like to put on record that I am very grateful for all the support, interest, encouragement and help they rendered. Many field researchers and enthusiasts have unselfishly shared their observations and findings in dedicated websites; these proved invaluable and I gleaned much additional information and knowledge from their postings. I would like to thank them all.
Of special mention are: Subaraj, considered by many, including myself, to be THE bird expert in Singapore, for his kind assistance in identifying some of the birds featured in this book; my supportive friends, namely, Kelvin Lim, Subash, Alfie, Syn Joo, Said, Rehan, Joseph Lai, Marcus Chua and Leong Tzi Ming, just to name a few. I would also like to acknowledge the kind assistance rendered by Associate Professor Hugh Tan of the Department of Biological Sciences. I also acknowledge with thanks to Angie Ng for the use of her Macrosolen retusus photographs marked AN
.
I am grateful to the Singapore Zoo, where during my period of tenure I was able to study the mistletoes found in a section of its beautiful park. I spent many memorable times during my breaks and off-days observing the mistletoes and birds here. For this opportunity, I am much indebted.
Last but not the least, I am indebted to Dr Wee Yeow Chin for patiently reading through each subsequent draft of the manuscript, emailed over a period of months. Apart from contributing two photographs of mistletoe birds marked WYC
, his suggestions and input have been invaluable; he also graciously consented to write the foreword to this book. Dr Wee is a former Professor of Botany at the National University of Singapore, and is himself an accomplished writer and publisher of numerous books and scientific papers.
All other photographs and line drawings are by the author.
Francis Lim
May 2011
The Mistletoe Poem
What plant can my attention grab
And my fascination to behold?
Or festive love its mention follow
Sure none other than the Mistletoe!
Strange is the manner its life begins
Covered in bird poo, upon a branch deposited
Yet in myths and legends it is celebrated
Friendship and loyalty in man is toasted
Its way of life and struggles such
I have from the mistletoe learned much
Its magical touch and romantic charm
Beneath it, the girl I kiss — let her be the ONE!
Francis Lim
5th Oct 2010
Introduction:
The Singapore Mistletoe Story
When I first began my study of local mistletoe back in 2008, people I knew reacted quizzically to my newfound interest. We have the Christmas mistletoe here in Singapore?
or You mean the mistletoe underneath where you get to kiss someone?
Some even retorted incredulously, Mistletoes in Singapore—is it for real or not?
I was just as clueless as my inquirers, since we all had the perception that mistletoes are only to be found in temperate-zone countries like North America, England or Europe. Mistletoe is typically associated with Christmastime, and its romantic connection is revived once a year, thanks in no small measure to singer Cliff Richard’s famous song, Christmastime, Mistletoe and Wine
. I must admit that, at that time, I too had little if any inkling about mistletoe and its long mystical history of festivities, medicine, folklore and romance.
It all began when I spied a little seed putting out a root-like growth with a disc-like sucker pad on the broad leaf of the Bird’s nest fern (Asplenium nidus). I remember wondering what it was, and if it could survive in such a situation. I soon learned that it was the germinating seed of the Chinese mistletoe (Macrosolen cochinchinensis), and began to probe deeper into its biology. One thing led to another and before long I was hooked by the desire to find out everything I could about these fascinating semi-parasitic plants. I had previously done some studies on the parasitic leech, and it seemed logical for my fascination to extend to the semi-parasitic mistletoe.
The following then is one man’s story about his fascination with this family of semi-parasitic plants. I have been asked if I am a botanist more than once by people I encountered during the course of my quest. I am not a plant scientist in that sense, but this book is a chronicle of my botanical quest and my investigations into, encounters with, discoveries about and admiration for the lives and mysteries of the native mistletoes of Singapore. It is a novel way of showcasing a botanical subject in a way that I hope is not dry and academic.
Horticulturalists and gardeners will learn of alternative ways to deal with mistletoe infection; botany enthusiasts will read about where, how to observe and collect and preserve plant specimens based on the author’s experiences. Landscape planners will discover the unique interrelationships between these little-understood and appreciated plants with animals and people, given the in-depth treatment of this family by the author.
Chapter 1
Mistletoe and its Legends,
Folklore and Medicinal Uses
Botanists tell us that there are approximately 3,000 parasitic plants belonging to 15 plant families in the world. Of these are four families of mistletoe; only two, the Loranthaceae and the Santalaceae, are of any widespread significance in terms of associated myths, legends and medicinal folklore, and are dealt with in this book. The mistletoe ranges from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia and all the way to Australia, where the largest mistletoe can be found—the famed Christmas Tree. The families are recognized by their separate and distinct anatomical and morphological features. The Loranthaceae is the largest mistletoe family, with 73 genera and over 900 species and have extensive ranges in Europe, North America, and Asia. The family is known for their large or medium, bisexual and often colourful flowers that are generally pollinated by birds. The dwarf mistletoes of the family Santalaceae are less diverse than the preceding family and are characterized by having small, unisexual and modestly coloured flowers pollinated largely by insects. There are also differences in the structure of the seeds, their dispersal strategy and ways of germination.
How did the mistletoe get its name? In pre-scientific Europe, people long observed that some plants would frequently sprout on the branch where birds had left their droppings. In fact the name is derived from mistiltan, which is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning dung (mistil) and twig (tan). So, mistletoe literally means dung on a twig
. It was not until the sixteenth century that botanists came to realize that the mistletoe plant was spread by seeds that had passed through the digestive tracts of birds, particularly the European Mistle Thrush. In other parts of the mistletoe range, other species of birds perform this role of dispersal agents. However, not all mistletoe seeds are dispersed by this means. In some dwarf mistletoe species, the ripening berries build up pressure from within and soon burst with force to propel the seeds in all directions. The cannon-like force can launch the seeds over several metres into the air (up to a maximum distance of 15 metres in one species), subsequently landing on trunks, branches or the ground below.
Mistletoes and their relatives are well known for their special adaptations in parasitizing their hosts—usually other trees and plants. Observations in the field also show that the plants parasitize each other or other species of mistletoes. In Europe and America, mistletoes are typically to be found in birch, pine, fir, juniper, apple, willow, almond, cherry, poplar and, less commonly, oak trees. In fact, one mistletoe species, the European mistletoe (Viscum album), has been known to infect more than 200 species of trees and shrubs. In the tropics, the host plant list is probably endless, as the mistletoe thrives in orchards,
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