Syngonium podophyllum Schott var. podophyllum
Status: Exotic, and Naturalized – encroaching on edges of closed canopy forests. Cultivated.
Recent Synonyms: None relevant. Was mistaken as S. auritum (L.) Schott.
Growth Form or Habit: Juvenile form is a terrestrial herb, but upon climbing, adult form is a hemi-epiphyte.
Punggol End; 2010.
Leaves: Simple; juvenile lamina entire, and saggitate or hastate; adult lamina 5-, 7-, 9-, 11- or even 13-pedatisect.
Stem: Glaucous, lacking any projections or emergences. Adult hemiepiphytic form with aerial roots. Capable of vegetative propagation via stem fragments.
Flowers: Ellipsoid spathe tube; spathe blade about 1.5 times as long as staminate spadix. Spathe blade and tube yellow-green.
Off Kent Ridge Road; 2009.
Pollination may be via scarab beetles, but not confirmed.
Off Springfield road; Secondary forest; 2011.
Fruits: Fleshy, brown syncarp inside red, ovoid spadix, 3-4cm long. fleshy, etc. Rough sizes and special structures are good. Seeds endospermous, grey-black, 3-4mm diameter.
May be too large for bird dispersal. Suggested mammal dispersal instead (e.g. primates).
Habitat: Forest margins, wasteland, abandoned land, waysides.
Occurrence: Throughout Singapore. Also at the edges of Central Catchment, Bukit Timah Nature Reserves, and back mangrove of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.
Distribution: Native range from Mexico to Brazil. Escaped in Florida, Samoa, and naturalized in Tonga, and invasive in Niue.
Reference:
Chong, K.Y., Ang, P.T. and Tan, H.T.W. (2010) Identity and spread of an exotic Syngonium species in Singapore. Nature in Singapore, 3: 1–5. Available online: [PDF]
More pictures can be found at
(1) Urban Forest website
(2) The Plant Observatory website
The Total Vascular Flora of Singapore Online 