5988. Dillenia excelsa

 

Dillenia excelsa (Purple Simpoh)
Canon R5, 155mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5, iso 640, tripod

1 May 2026. 8.12am

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Dillenia alata, or red beech, produces vibrant, 5-petaled golden-yellow flowers, 6–9 cm in diameter, commonly known as the Golden Guinea flower. These bright blossoms appear in late spring and summer, lasting only one day, but are replaced daily on the tree. They feature distinctive red styles and stamens, with the plant commonly used as an ornamental in tropical regions. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Key Characteristics of Dillenia alata Flowers:

• Appearance: Large, saucer-shaped, bright yellow flowers, often with a slight reddish-pink center.
• Structure: Five obovate petals with numerous stamens and pink to red carpels at the center.
• Pollination: The flower uses "buzz pollination," with anthers that have tiny pores.
• Blooming Period: The plant often has flowers or fruit throughout the year, but flowering peaks in late spring and summer.
• Habit: While the flowers are individual and short-lived, the plant offers a continuous display. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Other Key Features:

• Fruit: Following the flowers, it produces bright scarlet, star-shaped fruit that splits to show seeds surrounded by white, edible pulp.
• Leaves: Deep green, ovate, with distinctively winged petioles (leaf stalks).
• Habitat: Commonly found in coastal rainforests, swamps, and wetlands in Northern Australia and New Guinea. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

These trees are widely regarded as having high horticultural merit for tropical landscapes. [1]

 

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Simpoh tree flower (Dillenia species). 5 large bright yellow petals surrounding a crimson-red centre. 

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Simpoh Flowers 

The Purple Simpoh (Dillenia excelsa) can be found in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Three varieties are known, of which only variety tomentella, distinguished by its densely hairy leaves, is native to Singapore. Each flower of the Purple Simpoh has purple or maroon stamens (male organs) of two forms. These are visual cues for its pollinators, which are usually bees. The shorter stamens on the outer ring are ‘feeding stamens’ which are handled by the bee as it moves around the flower. While doing so, vibrations from the bee stimulate the release of pollen onto its back from the inner set of longer ‘pollination stamens’. Pollen from the bee’s visit to a previous flower may, in turn, be deposited on the long white stylar branches (female organs). 

Similar flower forms can be found in other Simpoh species such as the Katmon (Dillenia philippinensis). On the other hand, the Simpoh Air (Dillenia suffruticosa) has a different flower structure: white stamens and stylar branches are organised into a central cone which the pollinator grasps and revolves around.