This was the first book that had my plant photos included. As I understood, the profits from the sales of this book were to be used strictly for funding research and educational activities initiated by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research [Note: The name "Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research" was changed to Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum from 1 April 2014]. The authors did not collect any royalties. As for me, besides receiving a complimentary copy of the book, I did not get anything else and I had no other obligation to this book. However, I was happy to share the news of its birth.
The book was funded by Exxon Mobil. It was launched on 2 August 2010 at the National University of Singapore.
The two plant photos used were from a plant known commonly as Common Susum (botanical name: Hanguana malayana). They were placed in page 53 of the book. [Update on 1 January 2015: Based on an article published in December 2014, the name of the plant found in the forest is now known as Hanguana neglecta. The one with red berries is considered as an unknown Hanguana species for now.]
Before I read the section of this book on this plant, I was not aware that it had a close aquatic relative. Coincidently, I did have the photos of its aquatic form as well, taken in May 2009. Though I did suspect it was related to Hanguana malayana, I could not find another species in the genus Hanguana from the local plant checklist published in 2009. I was now able to add the aquatic form (shown below) to the photo deck.
Enjoy reading!!
| First published: 30 August 2010 | Last updated: 1 January 2015 |