http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/08 Oct 2013
Written by Jonathan L. Mayuga
A GOVERNMENT staff reported sighting a Rafflesia manillana, the world’s largest flower, in the forests of a northern Philippine mountain range.
I was speechless when I saw its beauty, said Forester Max Millan Jr., a field personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 3 (Central Luzon) office.
Millan was with a team of biologists from the National Museum of the Philippines in the Sierra Madre mountain range, Aurora province, when he spotted the rafflesia.
Led by mycologist Edwin Tadiosa, the national museum team was conducting a routine biological survey, according to Millan.
The team was surveying reptiles and amphibians inside the 5,000-hectare Aurora Memorial National Park.
“The flower is in full bloom, with a diameter of 17 centimeters,†Millan said.
Found only in the Philippines, the parasitic plant Rafflesia manillana is already in the DENR’s list of threatened species, according to Millan’s boss Maximo Dichoso.
“The presence of this flower only proves the rich biodiversity in Aurora’s forests,†Dichoso, executive director of the DENR Region 3 office, said.
Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau Director Theresa Mundita Lim added that the discovery affirms the recognition given to the Philippines as a “mega-diverse country†not just for animals but for plant species, as well.
“We are now the country with most number of rafflesia species more than other Asian countries,†she said.
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