A very rare parasitic flowering plant,
Rafflesia speciosa, which is a member of the family of the
world's largest flower, has been discovered in the 169-has.
Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park buffer zone, a Philippine National
Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. commissioned study released
yesterday showed.
The species is the first record of this unique genus is
the island (of Negros ),” the PNOC-EDC commissioned
Maunsell Philippines Inc. Biodiversity Study furnished the
DAILY STAR said.
“The genus Rafflesia is very rare and can only be
seen in the forests of Panay, Palawan , Makiling and Banahaw,”
the study said.
Among the seven recorded Rafflesia species in the Philippines
, Rafflesia Speciosa has the largest flower that can attain
a maximum diameter of two feet, the PNOC-EDC study said.
The one found in the MKNP buffer zone was about 30 centimeters.
The Rafflesia, unlike other flowers that are just parts
of plants, is the plant itself, a Haribon Foundation report
said.
It has no stem, no branch, not even leaves. But its real
strangeness lies in its size, these blooms range in diameter
from a cabbage head to a car tire. Finally, instead of the
pleasant scents we've come to normally identify with flowers,
most of these giant blooms emit a foul rotting odor,”
the report written by Art Fuentes and posted on the Haribon
website (www.haribon.org.ph) added.
The flower is named after its European discoverer Thomas
Stamford Raffles. First discovered in Sumatra in 1818, more
than twenty Rafflesia species have been found so far in
different parts of Southeast Asia . Many of the species
are extremely rare, and have been recorded from only a handful
of localities, the Haribon report stated.
“The flower is actually a parasite. It grows within
its host, the tetrastigma vine, and in its early stages
appears as but a tangle of fibers. It only starts manifesting
itself during its reproductive cycle. Outgrowths appear
on the root vine, then cabbage-like buds develop, then a
fully open flower blooms and bears fruit. The flowers themselves
take a long time to develop,” Fuentes wrote.
PNOC-EDC senior vice president Agnes de Jesus yesterday
assured that the firm will avoid all important species,
including the Rafflesias when it enters the Mt. Kanlaon
Natural Park buffer zone to tap geothermal energy.
We will mark all important species and physically avoid
cutting them. This rule applies to the Rafflesias,”
she told the DAILY STAR.
In fact the biodiversity study said the specimen was found
outside the PNOC-EDC development area in the buffer zone.
The PNOC-ENC Northern Negros Georthermal Power plant is
located in Mailum, Bago, and the firm plans on entering
29 hectares of the buffer zone to tap more geothermal power.
In order to enter the area with minimal environmental damage
it was required to conduct a biodiversity study.
Eight other species, which are probably new island records,
have also been listed but still need verification, the study
said.
Results of the study also revealed that the Mt. Kanlaon
buffer zone, including the PNOC-EDC proposed development
area has a high biodiversity value.
The number of new island records, island or near endemics,
Philippine endemics and threatened species in the area are
found to be significant, the study said.
The PNOC-EDC entry into the buffer zone, however, will not
have a considerable effect on the overall biodiversity of
the area considering the modest size of its development
area, the study said.
It is 17 percent of the 160-hectare buffer zone and only
.1 percent of MKNP, the study added.
Measures will be adopted to minimize the effects of the
PNOC-EDC entry into the buffer zone and to enhance its ecological
status, de Jesus said.*CPG
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