Tanglin Lifestyle
Rubber Soul
On the land outside Gate C stands a historic Pará rubber, one of only two in Singapore to qualify as a Heritage Tree. Head of Outdoor Education Martin Foakes explains why its recent endorsement is cause for celebration 48
Stand under the expansive branches of the beautiful Hevea brasiliensis, or Pará rubber, just off Portsdown Road and you will hear two distinct sounds: the collective buzzing and clicking of cicadas, and the revving engines of nearby trucks.
significance. The Portsdown Pará meets both and is only one of two rubber trees in the Garden City to qualify at all; the other is located in Woodlands.
The contrast is mirrored by the surrounds; the magnificent tree is positioned somewhat precariously between Portsdown Road and the new development at Gate C, on the edge of a small, swamp-like area that’s encircled by construction work. Thankfully, despite the encroaching machinery, the Pará rubber is protected: recently, it was officially endorsed as a Heritage Tree by Singapore’s NParks.
Pará rubbers are not native to Singapore, but to South America. Martin believes the tree is a descendant of the 22 Pará rubber seedlings that were brought from Kew, UK, in 1877, 11 of which were planted in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
There are two criteria for a Heritage Tree: it must have a trunk circumference of at least five metres, and/or have botanical, social, historical, cultural or aesthetic
“It’s very special,” explains Head of Outdoor Education Martin Foakes, standing in its shadow. “If not the oldest, it is one of the oldest rubber trees in Singapore. It’s big, and it’s also historic.”
While these plants were not intended for industrial use, the Gardens’ first director, Henry Nicholas Ridley, later used them to research new ways of tapping that might allow this. His “herring-bone method” – among other discoveries – was instrumental in persuading local coffee growers, whose crops had been impacted by disease, to grow rubber commercially.
