Jardinerong Sunog (the Burnt Gardener)

Amorphophallus dactylifer , a rather widespread Philippine species, is now creating quite a display again. And fortunately, this is one of the more ubiquitous species to be found in my home province of Laguna although unlike, A. paeoniifolius , it's not as weedy and not found in cultivated areas. Contrary to what most would think, these aren't flowers, but inflorescences. The real flowers are much simplified in form, tiny, and hidden in two separate zones inside the vase-like spathe. The tallest inflorescence observed was a tad taller than 6 feet. Since all the examples shown here were found in the morning and noon, none were exchanged in the stinkfest that the species is also known for. Rather, the odor within the spathe is actually sweetish.   Many were found in quite dense shade; I frequently see the vegetative versions in dark situations flopping to their sides from yearning for some sun. Now here's an interesting one. The developing inflorescences are t...

With a country as species-rich in begonias as the Philippines, one can expect to see at least one species when hiking in places with at least some good vegetation present. However, sometimes there are cryptic ones lurking underneath bushes that would evade detection- until you see the flowers. This happened to me on two separate hikes in Nueva Vizcaya on central Luzon. In both instances, I only noticed the plants by the inflorescences held clear of the foliage, and when I walked back to scrutinize the low bushes I just passed by, lo and behold- more of the begonias! The capsules of B. brevipes have rounded bases and truncated at the end. Begonia brevipes was originally collected and described from Pamplona, Cagayan on northern Luzon, based on a collection by Maximo Ramos in 1909. Dr. Rosario Rubite, of the Philippine National Herbarium, stated that the species is endemic to Cagayan only. Dr. Rubite obviously hasn't seen yet the central Luzon populations. This taxon b...

November 10, 2007- While admiring a population of Crepidium bancanoides on the forest floor in a national park in eastern Luzon, I heard one of my companions, Ernie Alvaran, summoning me. " Ludisia !" he yelled. When he said the word I knew we're onto something. Merlin Sy, another companion, found more plants. During this time, the genus Ludisia was monotypic, or consisting of only one species, L. discolor . The species is widespread and occurs from India eastwards to Indochina and southwards to Indonesia. There is a record from Palawan but it seems that no one has found the plants since. So if what Ernie found was L. discolor , then that would be the first record of this species occurring on Luzon. While taking photos of some of the plants, which were sterile, Ernie told me that earlier that month he saw and bought a few plants that were said to have come from central Luzon, bearing the same small leaves of the plants before us. At that moment I was thinking of ...

About three weeks ago I noticed a cluster of flowers in the rafters of one of my shading nets. I knew it was a Hoya , but could not identify what it was, until the individual flowers dropped off shortly thereafter. And then today while looking at my tillandsias I noticed the same cluster, this time from a peduncle that grew lower down and hence easier to reach. It was most definitely a Hoya verticillata , and when I traced the stem to the pot, I learned that, from what the tag said, it was from an acquisition in 2011, back when I still would not even attempt to know what it was, because many species of Hoya are notorious for sharing practically the same foliage. I thought it was a Hoya mindorensis  back then. Now, I know that this species is one of the most common in cultivation but two things should be mentioned here. The first is that despite being a species that is widespread in tropical Asia, it wasn't known to occur in the Philippines until botanist Danilo Tandang ...

What you are looking at is a little known epiphytic gesneriad that is almost entirely unknown in cultivation, Agalmyla clarkei . I first saw this species in Oriental Mindoro some years ago, and was given two plants by a friend who used to live there. The plants lasted for only a few months, killed perhaps by the poor quality of the water I was forced to use. More on that here:  https://jardinerongsunog.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-deforestation-decimated-my-plant.html However, I am also aware of this species' ecological preferences, which is situated at elevations around 1000 m.- and I live in the lowlands. Still, I have plants from the higher altitudes that are doing well for me, kept going by some measures that somewhat negate the effects of the higher temperatures. But as for the Agalmyla , I never obtained the opportunity to try again. Until last Wednesday, May 1. I visited a nursery specializing in some begonias, species orchids, Amorphophallus, Aeschynanthus, and other o...