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Chestnut musings

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Whilst driving along a road in the province of Laguna, fellow field botanists and I spotted a lone fruiting  Castanopsis . Only one  Castanopsis  is known from Luzon,  C. philipensis , and what we had before us wasn't that species. My suspicion was that it belonged to  C. psilophylla , a species of Bornean origin but listed for the Philippines, apparently in error.* In 2016, it was found on Mindanao, and on August 4, 2023, we found the first tree from the island of Luzon. The identity of the tree has since been confirmed by Pieter Pelser from the University of Canterbury. For the benefit of the uninitiated, the genus Castanopsis differs from Castanea only by very minor suite of characters. Castanea is the genus where the chestnut belongs. Some species of Castanopsis bear seeds of comparable sizes to the chestnut, and these are also consumed in much the same way as the chestnuts of commerce. But ruminating on the tree, I am much more interested with its distribution. You see, Cas
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A 'jewel orchid' that does not meet your expectations

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Currently in bloom at the plant junkyard is this Erythrodes wenzelii which, despite its plain green leaves, is a member of subtribe Goodyerinae tribe Cranichidae - the tribe where the jewel orchids belong. While the 'jewel orchid' designation has also been used for totally unrelated plants particularly Crepidium (subtribe Malaxidinae tribe Malaxideae thus related to Liparis ), it perhaps should be kept in mind that since the original application was for the members of the cranichids- think of Ludisia and Macodes , among others- then it follows that only those from that tribe deserves recognition as 'jewel orchids.' Or does it? Because like in the case of our plant here, it can hardly be called a 'jewel orchid' due to the unadorned foliage. In fact, many members of the cranichids have non-descript leaves. One can argue that any terrestrial orchid with flashy leaves can be a jewel orchid. However, once we try to be politically correct then it's a can of w
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'cf.', cfr., aff., sp. aff.'... huh?

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 You probably have seen these odd abbreviated words before, squeezed in between a plant's genus and species name. The likelihood of you encountering these is even greater if you have leanings towards botany and have seen discussions or identifications made by more seasoned botanists. And since this is a very seldom discussed topic, I do sometimes get queries what these abbreviations are for. This time I'll let the information go public and save time and effort mansplaining botanical mumbo-jumbo through private messages.  cf. and cfr. Both of these are just abbreviations of the same word, confer. However,  confer here refers to a Latin word and not the one in English usage. A direct translation into English of the Latin  confer is 'compare' and this is often wedged in between a genus and a species name to convey how the plant in question is comparable in appearance to an already known species. This is often employed in social media discussions when pictures of a plant a
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How to properly write scientific names

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I am assuming that most people aren't, but if you don't belong to the 'most people' category and would like to sharpen your botanical knowledge further by learning how to properly write scientific names, then this is for you, padawan. These are very simple rules, and I will try to present these in a very simple and layman-friendly manner. Note that the rules enumerated here are not arranged in order of importance. First rule:  Scientific names are supposed to be italicized- if you can. Particularly in the English language, any foreign word is italicized to denote that it is a foreign word. Since scientific names are NOT in English (hence, it follows that scientific name pronunciations should also NOT be in accordance with English rules), then these are supposed to be italicized. Note, however, that I already have so far mentioned the word "supposed" twice. This is because at the dawning of social media, most people don't know how to italicize their typed w
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When is a jewel orchid not a jewel orchid?

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 Jewel orchids have been popular subjects for decades, and is now appearing to gain renewed interest, likely due to the foliage boom which took root since the COVID pandemic. It was inevitable. As people waded into begonias and sonerilas, the next steppingstone unexpectedly were the jewel orchids which were generally smaller and have similar care regimes. However, as more collectors joined in on the fray, the definition of jewel orchids became more and more loose. More muddied. The term 'jewel orchids' actually originally refers to a group of orchids included in tribe Cranichidae , most especially those from subtribe Goodyerinae . Nowadays, a jewel orchid can be any terrestrial orchid with patterned leaves. The problem with this concept is that it admits other plants that are beyond the boundaries of what essentially is a natural group. Someone in the near future with very little understanding of plant relationships but who commands a vast social media following may even inclu
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Dacrydium pectinatum at a highland heath swamp

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Dacrydium pectinatum  (family Podocarpaceae ) is a tropical conifer with a widespread distribution, from Hainan to Sabah and Sarawak, and to Kalimantan and Sumatra. In the Philippines, it is known from the islands of Mindoro, Palawan, and the Zamboanga Peninsula on Mindanao (all in the west), and Sibuyan and eastern Luzon, where it has so far been found only from the province of Aurora's section of the Sierra Madre, the longest mountain system in the Philippines. A recent hike to Mt. Anacuao in the town in Dinalungan in Aurora yielded observations of this species.   Developing seeds. Cone of D. pectinatum .   The trees were prevalent in a swampy heath at about 1100 m elevations. Grasses, members of the Cyperaceae , ferns ( Blechnopsis orientalis ,  Dipteris conjugata and Sticherus truncatus ), lycopodids, rushes ( Equisetum sp.), and of course, ericaceous shrubs dominate this flat area. Also notable were the bright red rosettes of Drosera spatulata - these number well into the th
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What exactly is an 'Alocasia pseudosanderiana'? Spoiler alert: I don't f***ing know

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 Whilst taking a stroll around the church grounds of San Jose in Nueva Ecija one early September morning, I came across this Alocasia whose identity is still steeped in a shitload of question marks. Consider: 1. No one really knows where it originally came from.  Well, probably from the Philippines. However, Dr. Lanie Medecilo did not include this plant in her studies on Philippine alocasias a few years ago. But in the same vein, it can be found growing semi-wild in some areas in the Philippines, while it has so far not been reported doing the same in neighboring regions. 2. No one knows what its exact identity is. The name ' Alocasia pseudosanderiana ' is a nomen nudum . In other words, it was established without following the rules of describing new plant species. As such, the name should not be used at all. But we do need something to refer this plant with, and ' Alocasia pseudosanderiana ' is available despite its dubious merits. But here is where it gets interestin
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