Samar is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran, are part of the Eastern Visayas region.
Martin Roy Cheek is a botanist and taxonomist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Nepenthes graciliflora is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines. Long considered a synonym of N. alata, it was restored as a separate species in 2013 by Martin Cheek and Matthew Jebb. It has been recorded from the islands of Bohol, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Panay, Samar, and Sibuyan, and following the redelimitation of N. alata is the most widespread Nepenthes species of the Philippines. It is known from mossy, submontane forest, generally at 800–1,280 metres (3,000–4,000 ft) altitude, though the type specimen from Sibuyan was collected at only 300 m (1,000 ft).
Alocasia sanderiana, commonly known as the kris plant or Sander's alocasia, is a plant in the family Araceae. It is endemic to Northern Mindanao in the Philippines, but is commonly grown as an ornamental plant worldwide. It is classified as critically endangered in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Philippine warty pig is one of four known species in the pig genus (Sus) endemic to the Philippines. The other three endemic species are the Visayan warty pig, Mindoro warty pig and the Palawan bearded pig, also being rare members of the family Suidae. Philippine warty pigs have two pairs of warts, with a tuft of hair extending outwards from the warts closest to the jaw. It has multiple native common names, but it is most widely known as baboy damo in Tagalog.
The rufous hornbill, also known as the Philippine hornbill and locally as kalaw, is a large species of hornbill endemic to the Philippines. They are referred by locals as the "clock-of-the-mountains" due to its large booming call which typically occur of every hour. It occurs in moist tropical lowland forest. They are now considered to be a threatened species and its reasons for decline being habitat destruction, hunting and poaching for the illegal pet trade.
The Philippine dwarf kingfisher is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae that is endemic to the Philippines found in the islands of Luzon, Polillo Islands, Catanduanes, Basilan, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. But it is threatened by habitat loss.
Guijo is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is a tree found in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and the Philippines. The name guijo is a Philippine Spanish word derived from the Tagalog gihò. This is also sometimes known as red balan or red balau sharing its name with Shorea balangeran. Other local names include yamban-yamban in Zambales and taralai in Tarlac.
Schismatoglottis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. Members of the genus are similar in appearance and growth habit to those of the genus Homalomena, but the two genera are not closely related. The primary difference is that the leaves of Schismatoglottis are not aromatic. Schismatoglottis are found primarily in tropical parts of Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Melanesia. The majority of the species are native to the Island of Borneo.
The Philippine long-tailed macaque is a subspecies of the crab-eating macaque, known in various Philippine languages as matching/matsing or the more general term unggoy ("monkey"). It is endemic to the Philippine forests and woodlands, but especially in the mangrove forests of western central Philippines— particularly in Palawan, the Visayas, and Mindanao. The names M. f. philippinensis and M. f. philippinenesis have also been used, but arise from orthographical error.
Petersianthus quadrialatus is an emergent tropical rainforest tree species in the Lecythidaceae family. In the Visayas region called kapullan, in the Samar and Leyte areas - magtalisai. It is an indigenous tree species in the southeastern Philippines and one of the largest tree species in the Philippines islands.
Eastern Visayas is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, Leyte and Biliran. The region has six provinces, one independent city and one highly urbanized city namely, Biliran, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Ormoc and Tacloban. The highly urbanized city of Tacloban is the sole regional center. These provinces and cities occupy the easternmost islands of the Visayas group of islands.
Alocasia sinuata, commonly known as Alocasia quilted dreams or Alocasia 'Bullata', is a flowering plant in the family Araceae. It is endemic to the limestone forests of Samar, Leyte, and parts of Mindanao in the Philippines. It is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Alocasia nycteris, commonly known as the bat alocasia or the batwing alocasia, is a plant in the family Araceae. It is endemic to island of Panay in the Philippines. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant.
Alocasia micholitziana, commonly known as the green velvet taro or green velvet alocasia, is a plant in the family Araceae. It is endemic to the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant worldwide.
Alocasia heterophylla is a plant in the family Araceae. It is endemic to the islands of Luzon, Mindanao, and Polillo in the Philippines.
Homalomena philippinensis is a species of flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is native to the Philippines and Orchid Island in Taiwan. The plant has large heart-shaped leaves that grow up to around 1 m (3.3 ft) tall from an underground corm. It grows at low elevations usually in forests and along bodies of water. It is commonly known as payau or payaw, alupayi or alopayi, salet, or tahig, among other names.
Alocasia portei is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to Luzon in the Philippines. With Alocasia odora it is the pollen parent of the large landscaping plant Alocasia × portora.
Alocasia brancifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to the Moluccas and New Guinea. With its heavily dissected leaves it is sometimes kept as a houseplant. There appears to be a cultivar, 'Pink Passion', in which the markings on the petioles are pink instead of the usual brown.
Alocasia scalprum, the Samar lance, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to Samar island, the Philippines. Well known from cultivation as a houseplant in the Philippines, and introduced to aroid enthusiasts as Alocasia cv. Samar Lance in 1984, it was not formally described as a species until 1999. Its glossy, lance-shaped leaves with embossed veins take on a blue sheen when mature. It is similar in appearance to Alocasia heterophylla.
