KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 25 November) – A new orchid species with bell-shaped, white flowers has been discovered in the forests of South Cotabato province.
Biologists Kier Mitchel Pitogo, Aljohn Jay Saavedra and Ronny Boos discovered Pinalia campanulata in the Mount Busa Key Biodiversity Area (KBA 196), which straddles the provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato in Region 12 (Soccsksargen).
“The new species was discovered growing on moss-covered tree trunks in the upper montane forest,” they wrote in a paper published on Wednesday, 22 November, in Phytotaxa, the world’s largest journal in botanical taxonomy.
Pitogo, the paper’s corresponding author, said they found the new orchid species in KBA 196’s Allah Valley Protected Landscape (AVPL) in South Cotabato.
“It is the first orchid species to be described from the Mt. Busa Key Biodiversity Area,” he told MindaNews by email on Friday.
Pitogo, who is currently pursuing his doctorate at the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology in Kansas University, USA, noted that as far as they know, it is the only orchid species of the genus Pinalia discovered in southern Mindanao.
The discovery of the new orchid species brings the total number of Pinalia in the Philippines to 39, the authors wrote.
The new orchid species is distinguished among the genus Pinalia by “its very short inflorescence that bears a few, closely spaced and relatively large campanulate flowers with trilobed, weakly keeled labellum and a dentate callus on disc,” their paper stated.
The breakthrough occurred in the mossy forest, situated at an elevation above 1500 meters within the Mt. Busa Key Biodiversity Area.
Standing at 50 cm, the 𝘗. 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢 stands out with its distinctively bell-shaped or campanulate, crystal white flowers.
The initial sighting took place during the Biodiversity Monitoring System (BMS) conducted in the AVPL back in 2021.
This new species was first observed flowering in August 2021 on the northern slope of the Busa Mountain Range in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato and in April 2022 on the southern slope near Kiamba, Sarangani, the authors stated.
It is the first orchid species described from the Mt Busa Key Biodiversity Area, highlighting the importance of continued field biodiversity surveys in the biologically underexplored forests of southern Mindanao, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Region 12 (DENR-12) said in a statement.
Preliminary classification by the authors designates the new species as “Near Threatened,” aligning with the criteria established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), given the limited empirical field data available.
According to the BMS report, the AVPL hosts a rich tapestry of approximately 185 orchid species, with 𝘗. 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢 adding to the diverse flora.
This discovery bolsters the ongoing process to include the AVPL as a full component of the National Integrated Protected Areas System pursuant to Republic Act No. 11038, the DENR-12 statement said.
Last August 9, House Bill No. 5291 or the Allah Valley Protected Landscape Act of 2021 passed the first reading in the House of Representatives.
The authors said their discovery of 𝘗. 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢 underpins the importance of continuously doing field-based research in southern Mindanao.
“It is among the least biologically explored regions in the Philippines, owing to logistical difficulty, security issues and bureaucracy that impede field work in the area,” they wrote.
They recommended more extensive surveys in the mountains or mountain ranges of Busa, Malibato, Daguma, Kidapong, Matutum, Tampakan highlands, and Latian to address the knowledge shortfalls that limit their understanding of southern Mindanao’s biodiversity.
The Daguma Mountain Range hosts a coal mining project being developed by Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
