Conservation and re-introduction of the tiger orchid and other native orchids of Singapore

Summary

Singapore's native orchid flora, once numbering 221 recorded species, has been devastated by mangrove and forest clearance for development, leaving about 170 species presumed extinct and only four still common; the National Parks Board's Botanic Gardens launched a program to propagate rare survivors and reintroduce them to reserves, parks and roadside trees. The tiger orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum), last recorded wild in Toas and Pulau Ubin in 1900 and since extinct there, was regrown from a self-pollinated Gardens specimen whose seeds were germinated in vitro and raised a year before the first seedlings, then 26 months old, were reintroduced to Pulau Ubin in July 1999, secured to durian, rambutan, mango and rain trees; further plantings followed at Bukit Batok Nature Park, Orchard Boulevard, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Holland Road and Upper Pierce Reservoir through 2002, using progressively larger, more mature seedlings after early trials showed better establishment. After six to seven years, survival reached 90-95% at Pulau Ubin, Orchard Boulevard, Holland Road and Upper Pierce Reservoir, though Botanic Gardens and Bukit Timah plantings suffered heavy losses from squirrel and monkey damage. Two more native orchids, Bulbophyllum vaginatum and Bulbophyllum membranaceum, were separately propagated from wild-collected seed, grown on fern bark, and reintroduced in shaded conditions; roughly 500 seedlings were placed, with over 90% establishing new growth. Major difficulties included animal damage, changed microclimate after nearby tree removal, and host-tree loss to disease or development. The project rates itself Highly Successful, citing strong long-term survival across multiple sites for all three species.