CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—After three years of botanical exploration, a team of researchers from the Angeles University Foundation (AUF) in Angeles City and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila discovered a new plant species—the Pyrostria arayatensis.
The new species of plant was discovered in the 3,715-hectare Mount Arayat National Park (MANP) in this province.
Researchers Dr. Marlon Suba, Dr. Axel Arriola, Dr. Grecebio Jonathan Alejandro, Nicolas Raphael Arcangel, Jomari Jalipa, Joaquim Gerardo Jurilla and Jose Manuel Villaseñor discovered the new species in the lowland forest of the MANP while conducting a botanical study.
According to Suba, the discovered species belongs to the family Rubiaceae and is endemic to the Philippines.
He said the study was part of his dissertation in the UST and was published in the international scientific journal Annales Botanici Fennici on August 10.
In the Philippines, Pyrostria is currently represented by P. elmeri, P. obovatifolia, P. oligophlebia, P. ramosii, P. subsessilifolia and P. trifloral, while the conservation status of P. arayatensis is still unknown, the study said.
Paquito Moreno Jr., executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Central Luzon, said the discovery of the new plant species is an indicator that MANP has sustained its healthy biological diversity, as rare native plants continuously grow in the area.
“Even at the very start when this group of researchers applied for a gratuitous permit to do their research in the area, we were positive that something good and noble would come out of this,” Moreno said.
He added that preserving the ecological value of MANP is among the priorities of the DENR in the region since diverse flora and fauna flourishes on the mountain while serving as a natural habitat to rare and threatened species of plants and animals.
He reminded the public that not all could do bioprospecting, exploration and scientific research on wildlife in a protected area. They have to secure a gratuitous permit or clearance from the Protected Area Management Board, the governing body in charge of the management and operations of the protected area.
The DENR urged the public to protect and conserve MANP as an important ecosystem in the Central Luzon. It said that any disturbances that threaten its biodiversity is strictly prohibited under Republic Act 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (Enipas) Act of 2018.
Poaching any wildlife, cutting and transporting of timber and forest products and illegal occupation of lands within the protected area are just some of the activities not tolerated by the Enipas law, and any person found violating its provisions may be penalized or imprisoned, Moreno said.
Statistics show that MANP is home to 49 species of trees and plants, 86 species of birds, 14 species of mammals, and 11 species of reptiles.
Of these, two species of plants are endemic to the area: the flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius) and the Chamberlain’s pitogo (Cycas chamberlaini).
In 1933, then-President Manuel L. Quezon signed Presidential Proclamation 594 establishing the Mount Arayat National Park.
Today, MANP became the initial components of the National Integrated Protected Area System Act of 1992, or Republic Act 7586.
It has been endorsed already for legislation through House Bill 4420, establishing MANP as a protected landscape, sponsored by Pampanga Third District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr.
The bill is expected to further strengthen conservation efforts in the area and will tap local communities as partners in the protection of MANP.
Image credits: Dr. Marlon Suba, AUF and UST researchers