The end of the Esplanade Bridge at One Fullerton had its own evening aerial show with numerous bats flying about the trees at the behind the mythical 'merlion' site.
The bats were flying about the fruiting ornamental palm trees which had bright red fruits ripe for the picking. Anyone know what kind of palm trees these are? The bats are probably fruit bats which seem to be rather common around the Fort Canning Hill park area.
From post: "fruiting ornamental palm trees which had bright red fruits ripe for the picking. Anyone know what kind of palm trees these are?"
ReplyDeleteThe solitary palm shown in the video is a mature Livistona rotundifolia (Footstool Palm). Its frond tips are non-drooping. The fruits are globose in shape & ripen to red/ reddish-orange. Photos & info: LINK1, LINK2.
A similar-looking species that's also commonly planted in S'pore is Livistona chinensis (Chinese Fan Palm). In a mature specimen, the frond tips are distinctly drooping. The fruits are ovoid & ripen to greyish-blue. Photos & info: LINK3, LINK4.
Such fan palms are attractive to bats not just for their fruits. Certain types of bats also like to make "tents" of the large fronds by chewing through the frond's midrib & then roosting on the underside of the folded frond.
Hi Pat,
DeleteThank you for the information about the palm trees! Much appreciated!
Vbrgds.