Areca catechu
Amongst the flora in the gardens, most conspicuous are the cannon ball tree ("Couroupita guianensis") and the large buttress roots of the sengkuang tree ("Dracontomelon dao"). There is also the pinang palm ("Areca catechu") that lent its name to the island of Penang, and the black lily ("Tacca integrifolia") with its unique purplish-black coloured flowers. The candle tree ("Parmentiera cereifera"), the endemic slipper orchid ("Paphiopedilum barbatum") and the ginger, "Geoctachys penangensis", can also be found in the gardens.