The dominant plant on the Ridge (Sim et al, 1992; Holttum, 1954a) is Adinandra dumosa, the Tiup Tiup, which is a small tree with reddish young leaves and small creamy white flowers. Other common plants include Melastoma malabathricum, the Singapore Rhododendron, that has pretty purple flowers and an edible dark purple fruit; Ficus grossularioides, a fig with leaves that show great variation in form, ranging from deeply lobed to ellipsoid; Myrica esculenta, a small shrubby plant which has leaves that are spirally arranged; Dillenia suffruticosa, Simpoh Air (Ayer), a prominent plant that has large thick leaves, bright yellow flowers, and bright red star-shaped fruits; and Rhodamnia cinerea, the Silverback, so called because the underside of its leaves are a glossy whitish colour. A commonly seen tree that is not native but introduced is Acacia auriculiformis, a tree with a messy looking crown and sickle-shaped 'leaves' (actually modified stems or phylloclades) as well as abundant sprays of yellow flowers. It is a native of northern Australia, the Torres Straits, and southern Papua New Guinea (Boland et al, 1990). Furthermore, there are several types of herbaceous plants in the belukar. The most prominent would be the species of Nepenthes, or the pitcher plants. They are insectivorous, and trap insects and other small creatures in their jug-like pitchers, which contain a liquid that has digestive enzymes, acting almost like a stomach in digesting what it traps for additional nutrients, which it needs due to the poor nutrient content of the soil. The terrestrial orchid Bromheadia finlaysoniana is also present, which has pinkish flowers.
Very commonly seen is the Resam, Dicranopteris linearis, a sun loving fern that blankets large areas of bare land and prevents other plants from establishing themselves there. Resam is considered a harmful weed to agriculture, and it needs to be cut flush to the ground and sprayed with lime to be stopped (O'Hara, 1926). Notable in their absence are the epiphytes, plants that grow on other plants without harming them (hence not parasites). Before humans came to disturb and clear the forest, causing the development of secondary forests, these belukar plants were usually confined to limestone cliff forests and other similar environments which have conditions similar to those found in belukar land. (Corlett, 1991)