Alvin Francis

Ficus delosyce Corner, a hemiepiphytic strangler fig, was presumed nationally extinct in Singapore. It was recently encountered and rediscovered in Nee Soon Swamp Forest and at MacRitchie Reservoir, and assigned the national conservation status of critically endangered.

The conservation statuses of the five native species of Ampelocissus (Vitaceae) are reviewed here in light of recently collected plant specimens and sightings. Two species, Ampelocissus ascendiflora and Ampelocissus thyrsiflora, were thought to be extinct until recently when collections of these species were made again. Conservation measures are su...

The conservation statuses of the four native and one commonly cultivated Cissus L. species (Vitaceae) are reviewed here in the light of recently collected plant specimens and sightings. All four native species are still extant. Cissus repens Lam.is noted to include two recognisable forms with one that corresponds to the now no longer recognised Cis...

Callostylis pulchella (Lindl.) S.C.Chen & Z.H.Tsi, previously thought to be extinct in Singapore, was recently rediscovered in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest. As such, it has recently been assigned the new national conservation status of critically endangered as it is currently only known from one locality in the Republic.

The conservation statuses of three native Singapore species of Pterisanthes (Vitaceae) are reviewed here in light of recently collected plant specimens and sightings. All three species are still extant in Singapore and one of the species had been previously thought to be nationally extinct. The present-day restricted distribution of the species sug...

The national conservation statuses of the four native species of Cayratia Juss. (Vitaceae) are reviewed in light of recently collected plant specimens and sightings. All four species are still extant, and all the currently assigned conservation statuses of Chong et al. (2009) are accepted except for Cayratia japonica (Thunb.) Gagnep. which was omit...

The conservation statuses in Singapore of the four native species of Tetrastigma (Vitaceae) are reviewed here in light of recently collected plant specimens and sightings. All four species are still extant, but under-collected probably owing to the rarity of sighting reproducing specimens. Tetrastigma dichotomum had previously been thought to be ex...

Trichotosia velutina (Lodd. ex Lindl.) Kraenzl. was presumed nationally extinct in Singapore, having no recent sightings or collections since 1892. It was most recently encountered and rediscovered in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest, and assigned the national conservation status of ―Critically Endangered‖.

The conservation status of Nothocissus spicifera (Miq.) Latiff (Vitaceae) in Singapore is reviewed in the light of recently collected plant specimens and sightings. We are of the opinion that it merits a nationally endangered status owing to its occurrence being restricted to forests, and has suffered some shrinkage of range owing to deforestation....

Freycinetia javanica Blume, previously thought to be extinct in Singapore, was rediscovered in Nee Soon Swamp Forest. It is newly assigned the national conservation status of ―Critically Endangered‖ as it is currently only known from a single locality in the Republic.

1. Identifying the ecological and life-history correlates of local extinction may elucidate mechanisms by which species traits and the environment interact to result in extinctions, and will help to predict and target extinction-prone species for inclusion in conservation programmes. Freshwater habitats are known to be highly threatened in Southeas...

Bidens pilosa is less widespread than the other composites commonly found in Singapore as it is animal-dispersed, as opposed to wind-dispersed like most of the Asteraceae. However, this species has been observed to spread over a large area within a year in suitable habitats of sandy or rocky moist substrate with adequate sunlight, such as Jalan Chi...

Leucaena leucaena ssp. leucocephala has become the fourth-most-rampant tree weed in Singapore, after Acacia auriculiformis, Falcataria mollucana, and Spathodea campanulata. The spread of the species around the island in recent times is believed to have been established from seed-contaminated soil, brought in from Malaysia or Indonesia for land recl...