Steel trunks up to 50 metres tall carry a vertical garden of more than 162,900 plants. Begin at the surface — one leaf against one steel member — and pull back only when you understand what holds it up.
Step back and the planting wall resolves into structure. Each Supertree is a reinforced-concrete core wrapped in a steel frame; planting panels are bolted to that frame, and a canopy flares at the crown.
The panels host epiphytes and lithophytes — species that evolved to live on cliffs, branches and bare rock, drinking from rain and humid air. Choose one and inspect the adaptation that makes it possible.
Select a plant to inspect an adaptation up close.
Four principal parts — concrete core, steel trunk, planting panels, canopy. Separate them, isolate a layer, and put it back: the view is always reversible. Internal ducts and separation are schematic, not as-built.
Eleven of the eighteen Supertrees carry environmental functions. Seven harvest solar energy through photovoltaic cells; others act as exhaust towers for the cooled conservatories next door. Two different jobs — shown one at a time, on a representative tree.
Particles and overlays are explanatory schematics — not measured airflow, power output or as-built ducting.
Slide the height and the grove answers with what you are level with — from shaded lower panels to the OCBC Skyway at 22 metres, a 128-metre walkway suspended between two Supertrees.
You are at eye level with the lowest panels. Ferns and shade climbers live here, sheltered from the equatorial sun.
The tallest tree rises about 50 metres — roughly a sixteen-storey building — crowned by the Observatory. Daylight here is honest; the night look is an authored interpretation that follows the published schedule: decorative lights off at 23:30.