Species in Jurong Lake Park (Part B)

Common name: Apple snail

Scientific name: Pomacea Canaliculata

Phylum/ Division: Mollusa 

Class: Gastropoda

Order: Mesogastropoda

Family: Ampullariidae

Apple snails are exceptionally well adapted to tropical regions characterized by periods of drought alternating with periods of high rainfall. This adaptation is reflected in their life style; they are moderately amphibious. They have an operculum which enables the snail to seal the shell entrance to prevent drying out while they are buried in the mud during dry periods.

Common name: Black Carpenter Ant
Scientific name: Camponotus Pennsylvanicus
Phylum division: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Formicidae

CHARACTERISTICS: Black Carpenter Ants are relatively large. Known mostly by this colour, this type of ant also has 1 segment to its waist and a long abdomen containing lightly-coloured dull hairs.
Though their name suggests otherwise, Carpenter Ants do not eat wood and instead feed on plant juices and other insects. Black Carpenter Ants do bite and can spray formic acid, but they do not possess the ability to sting their prey.
Worker ants live to serve the queen of which only one can be present in any mature colony.

Common name: Ixora
Scientific name: Ixora coccinea
Order: gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Although there are around 500 species in the genus ixora, only a handful are commonly cultivated, and the common name, Ixora, is usually used for I. coccinea. I. coccinea is used in warm climate for hedges and screens, foundation plantings, massed in flowering beds, or grown as a specimen shrub or small tree. In cooler climes, it is grown in a greenhouse or as a potted house plant requiring bright light. I. coccinea is also grown in containers, looking very distinguished as a patio or poolside plant. This tight, compact shrub is much branched and tolerates hard pruning, making it ideal for formal hedges, although it is at its best when not sheared. There are numerous named cultivars differing in flower colour (yellow, pink, orange) and plant size. Several popular cultivars are dwarfs, usually staying under 3 feet (1 m) in height. Ixora 'Nora Grant' is a popular dwarf and 'Super King' is a popular hybrid with much larger flower clusters than the species. Many new cultivars and hybrid of I. coccinea have come to market in the last couple of decades, leading to resurgence in popularity for the beautiful flame-of-the-woods.

Common name: White Rubber Vine
Scientific name: Landolphia Owariensis

Family: Apocynaceae
Lianas compete intensely with trees, greatly reducing tree growth and tree reproduction, greatly increasing tree mortality, preventing tree seedlings from establishing, and altering the course of regeneration in forests. Lianas also provide access routes in the forest canopy for many arboreal animals, including ants and many other invertebrates, lizards, rodents, sloths, monkeys, and lemurs. For example, in the Eastern rainforests of Madagascar, many prosimians achieve higher mobility from the web of lianas draped amongst the vertical tree species. Many lemurs prefer trees with lianas for their roost sites. Lianas also provide support for trees when strong winds blow.However, they may be destructive in that when one tree falls, the connections made by the lianas may cause many other trees to fall.
As noted by Charles Darwin, because lianas are supported by other plants, they may conserve resources that other plants must allocate to the development of structure and use them instead for growth and reproduction. In general, lianas are detrimental to the trees that support them: growth rates are lower for trees with lianas, they directly damage hosts by mechanical abrasion and strangulation, render hosts more susceptible to ice and wind damage, and increase the probability that the host tree falls. Lianas also make the canopy of trees more accessible to animals which eat leaves. Because of these negative effects, trees which remain free of lianas are at an advantage; some species have evolved characteristics which help them avoid or shed lianas.

Name : Bird's Nest Fern

Common Name: Nest Fern, Bird's Nest Fern

Scientific Name: Asplenium Nidus

Bird's-Nest Fern is a common name applied to several related species of ferns in the genus Asplenium. They grow in a tight, nest-like clump with a lingulate leaf rosette and are usually epiphytic, growing in trees. Bird's-nest Fern may also be seen growing on rocks and they will grow in the ground, too.

Name : Banyan Tree

A banyan (also banian) is a fig that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree (or on structures like buildings and bridges). "Banyan" often refers specifically to the Indian banyan or Ficus benghalensis, the national tree of India though the term has been generalized to include all figs that share a unique life cycle, and systematically to refer to the subgenus Urostigma. The seeds of banyans are dispersed by fruit-eating birds. The seeds germinate and send down roots towards the ground, and may envelop part of the host tree or building structure with their roots, giving them the casual name of "strangler fig." The "strangling" growth habit is found in a number of tropical forest species, particularly of the genus Ficus, that compete for light. Any Ficus species showing this habit may be termed a strangler fig.

The leaves of the banyan tree are large, leathery, glossy green and elliptical in shape. Like most fig-trees, the leaf bud is covered by two large scales. As the leaf develops the scales fall. Young leaves have an attractive reddish tinge.

Older banyan trees are characterized by their aerial prop roots that grow into thick woody trunks which, with age, can become indistinguishable from the main trunk. Old trees can spread out laterally using these prop roots to cover a wide area. Like other fig species (which includes the common edible fig Ficus carica), banyans have unique fruit structures and are dependent on fig wasps for reproduction.

Name: Palm Tree

Arecaceae or Palmae (also known by the name Palmaceae, which is considered taxonomically invalid or by the common name palm tree), are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. Roughly 202 genera with around 2600 species are currently known, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves arranged at the top of an unbranched stem. However, many palms are exceptions, as palms in fact exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics. As well as being morphologically diverse, palms also inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts.

Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derived from palms, and palms are also widely used in landscaping for their exotic appearance, making them one of the most economically important plants. In many historical cultures, palms were symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, and fertility. Today, palms remain a popular symbol for the tropics and vacations. 

Name: Squirrel

Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots (including woodchucks), flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and have been introduced to Australia.

Name: Myna

The myna or mynah is a bird of the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which occur naturally only in southern and eastern Asia, especially in North India. Several species have been introduced to areas like North America, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, especially the Common Myna which is often regarded as an invasive species.

Mynas are not a natural group (Zuccon et al. 2006); instead, the term myna is used for any starling in India and surrounding areas, regardless of their relationships. This range was colonized twice during the evolution of starlings, first by rather ancestral starlings related to the Coleto and Aplonis lineages, and millions of years later by birds related to the Common Starling and Wattled Starling's ancestors. These two groups of mynas can be distinguished in the more terrestrial adaptations of the latter, which usually also have less glossy plumage except on the heads and longer tails. The Bali Myna which is nearly extinct in the wild is highly distinctive.

Some mynas are considered talking birds, for their ability to reproduce sounds, including human speech, when in captivity.

"Myna" is derived from the Hindi language mainā which itself is derived from Sanskrit madanā.