NorthSelembat2020

Selembat (HT 2020-314)

This Heritage Tree can be found in Night Safari, along Tasmanian Devil Trail.

View of green tree canopy with sunlight filtering through leaves, seen from below.

📷: Heritage Tree Secretariat

Heritage Tree Information

Reference ID HT 2020-314	Scientific name: Syzygium conglomeratum Family name: Myrtaceae Girth: 2.7 m @ 1.3 m height Height: 27 m	Location Night Safari, along Tasmanian Devil Trail (View Map) (opens in new tab)
⚠️ This Heritage Tree is only accessible to Night Safari visitors and thus, can only be visited at night.

An uncommon tree from the lowland forest, the Selembat can grow to 27 m tall. The flowers are white. The fruit is dark purplish, 1.2 cm across and depressed globose in shape.

Previously recorded as extinct in Singapore, this species was recently re-discovered in Singapore in 2006 when keen-eyed botanists at the Singapore Zoo and National Parks Board encountered this tree.

The species is naturally distributed in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. The genus Syzygium is well represented in the Singapore forest and trees of the genus have similar leaf morphology. Therefore, it may take further investigation into the reproductive structures, like flowers and fruits, when available in order to uncover the tree species.

This rare Selembat had a large girth of 2.65 m when it was endorsed as a Heritage Tree in 2020.

For more information on this species, please refer to NParks' Flora & Fauna Web profile. (opens in new tab)