Petai (HT 2025 330)

Reference ID
HT 2025-330

Scientific name: Parkia speciosa
Family name: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Girth: 3.5 m @ 1.6 m height
Height: 25 m

Location
Fort Canning Park,
near Keramat Shelter

The Petai is a tall, evergreen tree with an umbrella-shaped crown, growing up to 15-45 m in height. Classified as ‘Vulnerable’ in Singapore, its natural distribution ranges across Southeast Asia from southern Thailand through Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. The tree has a smooth trunk with reddish-brown bark and large buttresses. Its compound leaves are feather-like with small leaflets (3-12 mm by 1-3 mm), and has brown-yellow flowers, which form round heads on long stalks (20-50 cm).

The flattened pods can reach up to 51 cm long and contain edible seeds, which are commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, either eaten raw, cooked or roasted as a side dish with rice. The seeds have a distinctive garlicky scent and flavour that some find unpleasant, earning the tree its other common English name 'Stink Bean'. The timber serves various purposes including plywood, light construction, interior finishes, carpentry, furniture, crates, clogs, matches and disposable chopsticks.

This tree stands near the Keramat or shrine of Sultan Iskandar Shah, the fifth and last king to rule Singapore in the 14th century. The shelter over the Keramat features twenty wooden pillars supporting the roof, carved with fighting cock motifs of Javanese origin.

For more information on this species, please refer to NParks Flora & Fauna Web profile here.

Gallery

📷: Hazri Boey