Flora of the Philippines

Last updated
Lush vegetation in a forest in Palawan Palawan, Philippines, Forest.jpg
Lush vegetation in a forest in Palawan

The flora of the Philippines boasts a diverse array of plant species given its location in the great Malaysian flora. The Malaysian Phytogeographic zone is considered to be one of the most important centers for plant diversity because of the multitude and variance of species occupying that zone. [1] The archipelago is isolated by a continental and deep ocean. [2]

Contents

At the very least, one-third of the more than 9,250 vascular plant species native to the country are endemic. [3] There are, however, no plant families endemic to the country. [4] The families of gingers, begonias, gesneriads, orchids, pandans, palms, and dipterocarps are particularly high in endemic species. For example, two-thirds of the 150 species of palms present in the country are found nowhere else in the world. There are over 137 genera and about 998 species of orchids so far recorded in the Philippines as of 2007. [5]

The broad lowland and hill rain forests of the Philippines, which are mostly gone today, [6] were dominated by at least 45 species of dipterocarps. These massive trees were abundant to up to 1,000 meters above sea level. Considering the dipterocarps originated in India and Malaysia, the existence of the trees in the archipelago demonstrates a connection between the Philippines and western Malaysia. [7] Other important tree species here include giant figs, which provide food for fruit bats, parrots, and monkeys, and Pterocarpus indicus , which like the dipterocarps, is valued for its timber.

Due to environmental changes, finding new species has become more urgent so the island can have an accurate reading of flora and fauna record. [8]

A few species of Rafflesia are found in the Philippines, [9] one of them being Rafflesia philippensis. [10]

List

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Islands rain forests</span>

The Solomon Islands rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion covering the Solomon Islands archipelago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malabar Coast moist forests</span> Ecoregion in India

The Malabar Coast moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thung Salaeng Luang National Park</span> National park of Thailand

Thung Salaeng Luang National Park is a 1,262 square kilometres (487 sq mi) national park in Phitsanulok and Phetchabun Provinces of Thailand. It encompasses substantial portions of Wang Thong and Lom Sak Districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borneo lowland rain forests</span> Ecoregion in Borneo

The Borneo lowland rain forests is an ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the large island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It supports approximately 15,000 plant species, 380 bird species and several mammal species. The Borneo lowland rain forests is diminishing due to logging, hunting and conversion to commercial land use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artocarpeae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Artocarpeae is a tribe within the plant family Moraceae. It includes 7 to 12 genera and 70 to 87 species including Artocarpus altilis, the breadfruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balete tree</span> Several species of Filipino Ficus trees

The balete tree are several species of trees in the Philippines from the genus Ficus, which are generally referred to as balete in Filipino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzon rain forests</span> Ecoregion in Luzon, the Philippines

The Luzon rain forest is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the island of Luzon. Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines, and the Luzon rain forest is the most extensive rainforest ecoregion of the country. The ecoregion includes the lowlands of Luzon and neighboring islands below 1000 meters elevation. Very little of the original rainforest remains, and the status of this area is critical/endangered.

<i>Terminalia microcarpa</i> Species of tree

Terminalia microcarpa is a tree species in the family Combretaceae. It occurs throughout the Philippines, in parts of Malaysia and Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, possibly the Bismarck Archipelago, and northern Australia. It is cultivated on a small scale in the Philippines, where the edible sweet and tart plum-like fruits are eaten as is or are traditionally made into jams, jellies, and wines.

Julie F. Barcelona is a Filipina botanist and taxonomist working as Research Associate at University of Canterbury. She is mostly known for her research on the Philippine members of the genus Rafflesia.

The Talaytay Protected Landscape is a protected area in northern Aurora, Philippines that preserves the Talaytay River watershed in the Sierra Madre mountain range of Central Luzon. It encompasses an area of 3,526.29 hectares stretching from the rugged interior containing the headwaters of the Talaytay River to its mouth at the lowland area of Dinalungan municipality. The park is known to harbor several important flora of the dipterocarp variety, including Dipterocarpus grandiflorus (apitong), Shorea polysperma (tanguile), Shorea squamata (mayapis), Shorea contorta, Shorea negrosensis, Parashorea malaanonan (bagtikan), and Shorea philippinensis (mangasinoro). It is home to a number of wildlife such as the Philippine deer, Philippine long-tailed macaque and some avifauna species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vogelkop–Aru lowland rain forests</span> Ecoregion in Indonesia

The Vogelkop–Aru lowland rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Indonesia. The ecoregion covers the peninsular lowlands of western New Guinea, along with the Aru Islands and other nearby islands.

<i>Coccotrypes cyperi</i> Species of beetle

Coccotrypes cyperi, commonly known as seed borer, is a species of weevil with a cosmopolitan distribution.

Euwallacea similis, is a species of weevil native in the Oriental region through to Australia but shows a cosmopolitan distribution due to introduction to many parts of the world.

References

  1. ↑ Stuessy, Tod F.; Sohmer, S. H. (1996). Sampling the Green World: Innovative Concepts of Collection, Preservation, and Storage of Plant Diversity. Columbia University Press. ISBN   978-0-231-10136-3.
  2. ↑ Jones, Andrew W.; Kennedy, Robert S. (2008-10-30). "Evolution in a tropical archipelago: comparative phylogeography of Philippine fauna and flora reveals complex patterns of colonization and diversification: PHILIPPINE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 95 (3): 620–639. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2008.01073.x . S2CID   83860043.
  3. ↑ Das, Indraneil; Tuen, Andrew Alek, eds. (2016). Naturalists, Explorers and Field Scientists in South-East Asia and Australasia. Springer. p. 243. ISBN   978-3-319-26161-4.
  4. ↑ "Philippines - Species | CEPF". www.cepf.net. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  5. ↑ Agoo, Esperanza Maribel G. (2007). "Status of Orchid Taxonomy Research in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  6. ↑ Langenberger, Gerhard; Martin, Konrad; Sauerborn, Joachim (April 2006). "Vascular Plant Species Inventory of a Philippine Lowland Rain Forest and its Conservation Value". Biodiversity and Conservation. 15 (4): 1271–1301. doi:10.1007/s10531-005-2576-4. ISSN   0960-3115. S2CID   24311228.
  7. ↑ Charles C, Adams (1925). Significance of the Flora of the Philippines. American Geographical Society, Wiley. pp. 163–165.
  8. ↑ Yeo, Darren; Cumberlidge, Neil; Klaus, Sebastian, eds. (2014-01-01), "A new species of Isolapotamon Bott, 1968 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Potamidae) from Mindanao, with notes on the Philippine Isolapotamon species", Advances in Freshwater Decapod Systematics and Biology, BRILL, pp. 135–159, doi:10.1163/9789004207615_009, ISBN   978-90-04-20761-5 , retrieved 2021-12-06
  9. ↑ Wikramanayake, Eric D.; et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: A Conservation Assessment. Washington: Island Press. p. 146. ISBN   1-55963-923-7.
  10. ↑ Barcelona, J. F.; Pelser, P. B.; Balete, D. S.; Co, L. L. (2009). "Taxonomy, Ecology, and Conservation Status of Philippine Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae)" (PDF). Blumea. 54 (1): 77–93. doi: 10.3767/000651909X474122 .


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.