Wondrous paths of Botanic Gardens

By Sharon Siddique
MDS President

About 30 of our “regular” MDSers gathered at the Botany Centre, Green Pavilion for our annual outing on Nov 5. At 10am we were offered a fascinating tour of “Edible and Medicinal Plants, which was conducted by Botanic Garden staff.

They were so well informed, that we all picked up numerous bits of information – rather than walking through “trees and bushes”, we actually were introduced to them, and I don’t think any of us will again walk through the garden ignorant of how dependent we are upon these many “edible and medicinal” plants.

To give just a few examples:

We were introduced to a nutmeg tree – fascinating to see the flowers, the fruits, and to actually see the connection to the tree itself. Now nutmeg has much more meaning than powder in a spice bottle! Or the introduction to a kaffir limebush (limau purut in Malay). The pungent leaf is so familiar to anyone who cooks or indulges in Southeast Asian dishes, but to break off a fresh one for a smell was quite an experience.

Question: And did you know the difference between wild and cultivated bananas?

Answer: wild banana bunches grow down, while cultivated ones grow up.

Multiply these insights by 100, and you have some idea of what knowledge we acquired. Our one and a half hour tour wound around the wondrous paths, ending up at the ginger garden, our next-to-last edible stop. We then retired to the benches outside the Orchid Pavilion for a VERY edible, delicious box lunch, and welcome drinks. (Yes, it was HOT!) We wrapped up at 12pm, with loads of good fellowship, and much food for thought.

For those of you who missed this tour, we would highly recommend it. The tours run every first Saturday of each month, - one at 9am and another at 10am.

They are free of charge, and you can sign up on the spot at the Green Pavilion at the Botany Centre, near the main Holland Road entrance. In addition we found lots of other tours and classes offered on the Botanic Garden website, so those of you who would like to follow-up, you can do so.

We will be holding our next MDS meeting in February 2012, after Chinese New Year, which falls on the Jan 23-24. We wish all MDSers a very happy holiday season, and don’t forget to check the website, blog or facebook for updates and informative entries. Look forward to seeing you all next year!