Sloetia (Moraceae): a new generic record for the Philippines

Sloetia is reported as a new generic record for the Philippines. Individuals of Sloetia elongata were discovered near the Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, growing in lowland disturbed areas outside the protected area. A subsequent search of online images and herbarium specimens revealed two previously overlooked records of S. elongata from Dinagat, indicating that the species occurs at both the northern and southern extremes of eastern Mindanao. Sloetia can be distinguished from other Moraceae by its spicate staminate to bisexual inflorescences with a prominent sterile groove and its free stipules that are nearly fully amplexicaul

Ex Situ Propagation of Philippine Rafflesia in the United States: Challenges and Prospects

The large-flowered parasitic genus Rafflesia R.Br. (Rafflesiaceae) has long fascinated naturalists and scientists and is an iconic symbol for plant conservation. Techniques to effectively propagate members of the genus outside of their natural habitat are sparse, and grafting infected Tetrastigma K.Schum.(Vitaceae) host plants has previously been reported as a successful strategy for ex situ conservation of Rafflesia. Here we report our attempts in the United States to propagate host cuttings infected with Rafflesia speciosa Barcelona & Fernando and R. lagascae Blanco collectedfrom the Philippines, as well as uninfected host material. We also describe efforts to germinate R. speciosa seeds in vitro using various plant growth regulators (PGRs). After rooting, infected host cuttings survived for a maximum of 11 months, but did not produce shoots. However, an uninfected cutting of T. cf. magnum grafted onto an established Malaysian species of Tetrastigma in June 2017 has succeeded in the commencement of new growth. Three propagules of a second potential host, T. harmandii Planch., have also been vigorously growing at the United States Botanic Garden since June 2017. However, Rafflesia seeds did not germinate with the application of PGRs, even though the seeds were viable according to tetrazolium (TZ) testing.These ex situ propagation attempts have revealed challenges in propagating these species outside of their native ranges, but our incremental success in rooting infected Tetrastigma, as well as grafting interspecific Tetrastigma species, bodes well for further advances. With Philippine host species, T. harmandii and T. cf. magnum in cultivation, we can begin using these specimens for future experimentation involving grafting of infected material and Rafflesia seed inoculation trials.Furthermore, we describe new avenues of propagation techniques for Rafflesia as practised by Marius Gabin, one of the owners of the Vivian Rafflesia garden, which contains a natural Rafflesia forest habitat at Poring Springs, Sabah, Malaysia. Gabin openly shared his successes in artificially inoculating Rafflesia seeds into a mature Tetrastigma vine. Gabin’s willingness to share his experience highlights the importance of collaborating with practitioners who have developed local knowledge of Rafflesia horticulture and conservation

The mangal flora diversity of Del Carmen Forest on Siargao Island, Philippines

The municipality of Del Carmen, Siargao Island, hosts one of the Philippines’ most important contiguous mangrove stands. However, there is limited knowledge about the area’s floral assemblages and communities. Hence, we provide a comprehensive species list through exhaustive botanical explorations within its 11 barangays. We report 166 species in 145 genera and 73 families, of which 20 are true mangrove species. Twenty species are Philippine endemics, and seven are threatened based on the IUCN listing. The most dominant families in the area in terms of density are Rhizophoraceae and Rubiaceae, and the dominating species include Rhizophora mucronata Lam. and R. apiculata Blume. Our results exhibit a very high diversity for the entire municipality, with barangays Del Carmen and Katipunan demonstrating the highest diversity among the 11 barangays. We emphasize the value of floristic surveys as essential baseline information in formulating effective conservation and management strategies for these vital wetland ecosystems

Nepenthes barcelonae (Nepenthaceae), a new species from Luzon, Philippines.

Nepenthes barcelonae is described as a new species in sect. Insignes, where it is unique in the inset mouth and the dichromic upper pitchers (first-produced pitchers red, later-produced pitchers green) which are also dimorphic. This is a newly recorded phenomenon in the genus: the first produced (primary upper pitchers) are red, larger, stouter, and have an uncoiled long tendril, while those later produced (secondary upper pitchers) are green, smaller, more slender, and have a coiled tendril. The only population of this species that is currently known grows in an area less than 10km² on a single mountain. Individual plants are at risk from collecting for the horticultural trade. Following the IUCN criteria, N. barcelonae is assessed as Critically Endangered

DNA barcoding and molecular phylogeny of the Philippine Mycetia reinw. (Rubiaceae) including an account of a new species from Agusan del Norte, Mycetia dagohoyi

The Philippines has four species of Myctia Reinw. (Rubiaceae), M. cauliflora, M. javanica, M. mindanaensis and M. apoensis with the later two recognized as endemics and new combinations from Adenosacme Wall. Currently, the taxonomy and phylogeny of the Myctia are imperfectly known. Several specimens were collected from Negros Oriental, Camarines Sur, Batanes, Agusan del Norte, Surigao, Camiguin and Davao. These were subjected to morphological and molecular assessments using six DNA markers: rps16, trnL-F, ITS, matK, rbcL and trnH-psbA. Bayesian analyses showed that M. cauliflora and M. apoensis are sister-taxa while M. mindanaensis belongs to a separate clade from M. javanica. Morphological data showed that they are distinct from each other. Interestingly, a species from Agusan del Norte differs in morphology and showed divergence with a high support and is hereby proposed as a new species, Myctia dagohoyi. In addition, the performance of the markers was assessed in terms of universality and discriminatory power through a DNA barcoding analyses. Based from the results, the combined rps16, trnL-F and trnH-psbA is the best barcode set to study the genus Mycetia

Mycetia dagohoyana: A new endemic species of Argostemmateae (Rubiaceae) from Agusan del Norte, Philippines

A new species of Argostemmateae, Mycetia dagohoyana, thriving in the moist humus soils in open areas of Agusan del Norte, Philippines, is described and illustrated. This new species resembles M. javanica but is distinct by its densely strigose leaf blades, 9−11 mm stipules that are attenuate at apex and glabrous adaxially, subsessile inflorescences in congested thyrse, 2−3 mm calyces that are cupuliform and puberulous, shorter (1–2 mm) and puberulous corolla lobes, and smaller (5−6 mm in diam.) and sparsely hirsute fruits

Mycetia suedixieana (Rubiaceae), a new species of Argostemmateae endemic to the Philippines

A new species, Mycetia suedixieana, from Samar, Philippines, is described and illustrated. It is an unusual, heavily-branched shrub thriving on moist limestone that is easily distinguishable from other Mycetia species in multiple aspects of its morphology. A key to the known species of Philippine Mycetia is also provided in this study. © 2019 by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists

Begonia noraaunorae (section Petermannia, Begoniaceae) a new species endemic to Surigao del Sur, Mindanao Island, Philippines

Blasco, Freddie A., Tandang, Danilo N., Alejandro, Grecebio Jonathan D., Bucay, Mark Angelo C., Cortes, Junelito C., Rubite, Rosario R. (2023): Begonia noraaunorae (section Petermannia, Begoniaceae) a new species endemic to Surigao del Sur, Mindanao Island, Philippines. Phytotaxa 620 (2): 193-197, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.620.2.8, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.620.2.

<i>Artocarpus treculianus</i> Elmer.

(A) Tree. (B) Staminate inflorescences. (C) Staminate flowers, top view. (D) Staminate flowers, side view. (E). Pistillate inflorescences and stipules. (E) Pistillate flowers, top view. (G) Pistillate flowers, side view. (H) Syncarps and leaves. (I) Syncarp surface. (J) Cross-section of syncarp. (K) Syncarps and leaves of a tree from Batan Island. (L). A branch from a mature tree (left) and a seedling (right). (M) Variation of leaf shapes. Except for (K), all other photographs were taken in Taiwan. A, B, E, H, & L taken by K.-F. Chung, C, D, F, G, I, J, & M by C.-L. Hsieh, and K by D. N. Tandang.</p

List of literature of the Taiwanese ‘breadfruit’ and the misused scientific names.

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