About This Web
Site
by Dan Nickrent and Julie Barcelona
Co’s
Digital Flora of the Philippines
is actually a checklist of vascular
plants native to the Philippine archipelago. Leonard Co worked
his entire life updating the checklist produced by Merrill in the
1920s. As such, it is not an actual flora where one typically
finds keys and descriptions of each species. Many species entries
are also accompanied by other information such as distributions within
and outside of the Philippines, flowering and fruiting times, and
economic uses. We have called this a Digital Flora
because the checklist is supplemented with thousands of photographs of
the plants. These photos often contain sufficient information for
the user to make a positive identification of the plant. Thus, in
lieu of actual keys and descriptions (which could be added later), we
feel this is an expeditious approach to making information on the Flora
available to many users.
The Philippine Flora encompasses a diverse group of plants
including ferns and allies, gymnosperms (cycads,
conifers and gnetums), and flowering plants. Our tabulation shows that
there are ca. 10,000 native plant species in the Philippines,
with high number of novelties expected (in the form of new species and
range extensions to the country) if only the magnitude of botanical
inventory comparable to that of Peninsular Malaysia or Java were to be
attained. Possibly, a quarter more of this remain to be described
as new species if the remnant rainforests were to be further
explored. Of the flowering plants, at least 40% are found nowhere
else in the world (i.e. endemics). The bulk of floristic richness
as we know it today was documented during the so-called “Golden
Age of Philippine Botany” during the US colonial
administration. This renaissance of Philippine botanical
explorations from the early 1900s to the 1920’s was characterized
by vigorous explorations, discoveries, and collections that resulted in
the ultimate establishment of the biggest herbarium in the orient, the
Herbarium of the Bureau of Science (BS). This herbarium housed
more than a million voucher specimens of plants under the direction of
Elmer D. Merrill. Merrill and his associates left the country in
1923. World War II brought havoc to Manila and the Bureau of
Science Herbarium was reduced to ashes. Many indispensable types,
especially of Philippine endemic plants, were lost to oblivion.
Fortunately, Merrill exchanged Philippine plant specimens with many
herbaria around the world. After the war, Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing was
able to repatriate over 70,000 botanical specimens and through crucial
purchases (Beccari, Rehder and Gagnepain) recreate a modest working
library.
There has long been a need for a comprehensive flora of Philippine
vascular plants. The works by Merrill (1912, 1926) are the last
published accounts for this region, although florulas of specific areas
in the Philippines have appeared. Treatments of particular plant
groups such as the Moss Flora of the Philippines (Bartram 1939) and the
three-volume Fern Flora of the Philippines (Copeland 1958-1961) are
available but very outdated. A revised edition of the Flora of
Manila (Merrill 1912) will be published soon
(http://www.blacktreepublications.com) by James V. Lafrankie Jr.,
professor of Biology at the University of the
Philippines-Diliman. He also recently published a book on Trees
of Tropical Asia: an Illustrated Guide to Diversity (La
Frankie 2010). This book, richly illustrated with over 3000
photographs and illustrations, comprehensively covers 887 genera
in 157 families of the trees and shrubs of SE Asia, including the
Philippines.
With the internet and digital cameras came the ability for the masses
to post photos of plants on myriad web sites. Unfortunately, these
photos are spread across many web sites and are often not
scientifically verified nor are the specimens in the photos
vouchered. In addition, a number of private photographic
collections exist but these are not publicly available. One
collection in particular, that of Leonard Co, is large and the
taxonomic identifications extensively researched. Moreover, he had
compiled an annotated list of Philippine plants that remained
unpublished. With his untimely death in November 2010, the
authors of this web site felt the urgent need to use this list, with
links to
representative photographs, to document the Philippine flora.
At present the photos on this site are mainly assembled from
those taken by Leonardo L. Co, as well those from the website
authors. Most of these are of plants in their natural habitats in the
wild. Our goal, however, it to see photographic contributions
from many people. Through this web site we hope to introduce the
complexity and beauty of the Philippines’ indigenous flora to the
general public, most especially to Filipino plant enthusiasts and
students of botany. We further aim to popularize natural history
study and the appreciation of wild plants and their shrinking habitats,
and more importantly, to enjoin fellow plant enthusiasts to become
crusading conservationists in the defense of these priceless but much
imperiled wonders of evolution, the very life-support system that
sustains us, and the material basis of indigenous knowledge and culture
of Filipinos.
Recommended Citation:
Pelser, P.B., J.F. Barcelona & D.L. Nickrent (eds.). 2011 onwards.
Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines. www.philippineplants.org
Copyright © 2012, Co's Digital
Flora of the Philippines
Last updated October 21, 2012
