The S$5.8 million (US$4.25 million) garden was opened on Saturday (June 30) after a year and a half of construction.
A new ethnobotany garden, the first of its kind in Singapore, has opened at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which explores how plants are used by indigenous people in South-east Asia.
The S$5.8 million (US$4.25 million) garden was opened on Saturday (June 30) after a year and a half of construction.
Housed in a 1ha space historically known as the economic garden, the garden features more than 300 species of plants native to South-east Asia that are traditionally used for medicinal, cultural, craft purposes and in daily living – the largest such collection in the region.
Visitors can also learn more about the garden and plant species at the two-storey Centre for Ethnobotany, which houses interactive displays, information panels and more than 120 artefacts.
The centre explores the history of plants that have shaped the region's economic development, such as rubber, nutmeg and cotton.
The opening of the Ethnobotany Garden also marks the start of the Botanic Gardens’ annual heritage festival, now in its third year. The festival includes activities over the next two weekends, such as a carnival, free concerts and movie screenings and educational tours.