Bellevue’s Ginger Garden & Panorama Terraces
The Plant Collections include native and exotic Trees, Palms, and the eight families of Zingiberales: Cannaceae, Costaceae, Heliconiaceae, Lowiaceae, Marantaceae, Musaceae, Strelitziaceae & Zingiberaceae …and also other flora, including Orchids and Pitcher Plants.
Open from 9am to 7pm, or by appointment
Specialist guides available at reasonable fees
Contact Hotel Bellevue, +604-8299500
The Bellevue’s Ginger Garden is an eco-tourist destination on Penang Hill, evolving from the Bellevue Aviary Gardens which was established in 1980. It will feature a large collection of Old and New World plants from all the eight families of the botanical order of Zingiberales, namely Cannaceae (the Canna family), Costaceae (the Costus family), Heliconiaceae (the Heliconia family), Lowiaceae (the Orchidantha family), Marantaceae (the Prayer plant family), Musaceae (the Banana family), Strelitziaceae (the Bird of Paradise family), and Zingiberaceae (the Ginger family).
Apart from its horticultural interest to visitors, the Gardens are a part of an important educational and conservation endeavour by the Folia malaysiana Botanical Research project, which is based at Suriana Gardens in Balik Pulau, which also supports and contributes to an orang asli development programme for the Temiar, called AdanA. In reality the plant collections of the gardens, although small in area, includes many other botanical orders and families such as Arecaceae (palms), Orchidaceae (orchids) and many others, and includes rare and endangered species from Malaysia. Also featured are many endemic species of Malaysia and the hyper-endemic palms and gingers of Penang Hill, also trees such as Dacrydium elatum, Maingaya malayana, Pangium edule and Dillenia philippinensis.
The entry charges help to defray the botanical research project and also AdanA. A guidebook (being compiled) for the Zingiberales Gardens will illustrate the wide range of plants to be seen at Bellevue, and it is hoped to arrange for guided tours of the significant collections, such as the Malaysian native gingers, costus, orchidanthas and marantas – and also the native orchids species, and palms such as the Areca tunku, Iguanura wallichiana and Pinanga malaiana.
Within the geodesic dome shade house of the main garden, there are collections of relatively rare plants – including several new species, some only named recently (as featured and published in the journal Folia malaysiana). Because of the extensive field research by the Folia malaysiana project, it is believed that the ex situ plant collections include more rare native species than are to be found in many a botanical garden within Malaysia or elsewhere. There are more gardens of decorative plants such the Heliconias and Calatheas within the hotel grounds, especially on the east terraces which enjoy superb panoramic views of the city, open to hotel and restaurant guests.
Approaching the hotel entrance way, above the signboard about Bellevue’s historic origin as Halyburton’s Hill is an old African Tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata) which was introduced and commonly found on Penang Hill. Further in can be seen the Perah (Elateriospermum tapos), and Dillenia philippinensis which were planted by the Governor of Penang in /2005, Maingaya malayana, Agathis borneensis and Dacrydium elatum, all native to Penang Hill. Visitors are encouraged to locate the trees and learn the botanical names and to distinguish between native and exotic (introduced) species. The discovery collection in the grounds of Bellevue include: Garcinia hombroniana (Beruas), Garcinia atroviridis (Asam Gelugor), Aleurites moluccana (Buah Keras), Pangium edule (Buah Keluak), Myristica fragrans (Nutmeg), Coffea canephora (Coffee), Syzygium aromaticum (Clove), Gnetum gnemon (Meninjau), Morus alba (Mulberry), Casuarina equisetifolia (Rhu), Pachira aquatica, Magnolia figo, Wrightia religiosa, Ficus variegata, Clusia rosea and other jungle species Schima wallichii.As for Palms, there are probably more native and some exotic species grown at Bellevue (and its parent Suriana Botanic Conservation Gardens) than in many Botanic Gardens. From the entrance look out for: Rhapis excelsa (from China).
Trees and shrubs
Palms (Palmae/Arecaceae): Actinorhytis calapparia, Archontophoenix alexandrae, Areca catechu, A. catechu var alba, A. triandra, A. tunku, Arenga hookeriana, Arenga pinnata, Borassodendron machadonis, Caryota mitis, C. maxima, Iguanura bicornis, Iguanura geonomiformis, Iguanura piahensis; Iguanura polymorpha, Iguanura wallichiana, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Kerriodoxa elegans, Licuala spinosa, Licuala acutifida, Licuala grandis; Livistona chinensis, L. endauensis, L. saribus, Oncosperma horridum, Pinanga adangensis, Pinanga cleistantha, Pinanga disticha, Pinanga densiflora, Pinanga glaucescens, Pinanga kuhlii, Pinanga malaiana, Pinanga pectinata, Pinanga perakensis, Pinanga polymorpha, Pinanga scortechinii, Pinanga simplicifrons, Pinanga subintegra var intermedia, Pinanga subruminata, Pinanga riparia, Pinanga watanaiana; Ptychosperma macarthurii, Rhopaloblaste singaporensis, Salacca multiflora, Saribus rotundifolius,*Socratea exorrhiza.
Zingiberales: Cannaceae, Costaceae, Heliconiaceae, Lowiaceae, Marantaceae, Musaceae, Strelitziaceae Zingiberaceae: Alpinia mutica, Alpinia latilabris, Alpinia vitellina, Amomum biflorum, Amomum aculeatum, Boesenbergia rotunda, Boesenbergia minor, Boesenbergia flava, Elettariopsis elan, E. slahmong, E. smithiae, Etlingera apus-hang, E. crispata, E. elatior, E. fulgens, E. littoralis, E. maingayi, E. sphaerocephala, Etlingera terengganuensis, Haniffia cyanescens var penangiana, Hedychium coronarium, H. chrysoleucum, H. flavescens, H. longicornutum, Plagiostachys odorata, Scaphochlamys kunstleri (vars), Zingiber gracile, Z. malaysianum, Z. spectabile, Zingiber zerumbet.
Orchids: Papilionanthe hookeriana, Agrostophyllum, Coelogyne, Aerides, Arundina, Spathoglottis, Calanthe, Neuwiedia, Trichotosia, Bulbophyllum, Grammatophyllum speciosum, G. kinabaluensis, Eria, Appendicula, Corymborkis, Dendrobium Nepenthes albomarginata
Araucaria heterophylla, Juniperus chinensis, Eriobotrya japonica, Citrus aurantiifoliaFerns: Cyathea contaminans, Angiopteris erecta, Dipteris conjugata, Dicranopteris linearisFlowering plants: Medinilla spp., Camelia spp. Rhododendron spp., Hibiscus spp. Poinsettia pulcherrima, Nerium oleander, Senna alata, Codiaeum variegatum, Cordyline spp, Acalypha spp., Bromeliads, Lilies, Peliosanthes teta, Eryngium foetidum, Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Kamunting), Melastoma malabathricum (Sendudok), Tibouchina urvilleana, Chonemorpha penangensis/fragrans, Vallaris glabra, Gardenia, Murraya paniculata*, Dillenia suffruticosa, Persea Americana, Lansium domesticum, Macadamia integrifolia, Bauhinia spp, Odontadenia macrantha, Mansoa alliacea (Garlic vine), Vitex spp, Passiflora spp, Grapes, Piper betel, Thunbergia mysorensis, Strogylodon macrobotrys, Bignonia spp., Begonia pavonina, Bougainvillea spp. Hoyas, Gesneriads, Aeschynanthus spp.