How deforestation decimated my plant collection

Kohleria hybrid

What does forest deforestation have to do with losing plants in my collection?

Over the years I have managed to expand the plant collection in waves- many were obtained either via trades or given as gifts, or simply bought. This was a time when I was as rabid a collector as anyone could possibly be, a time when I always had my eyes set on a plant or two and will seek out anyone who happened to have that plant I want. Now, as many of you probably already know, I have made it a habit of trekking into forests to observe plants in their natural habitats and fortunately, there is one within my area, although much of the old growth has already been harvested way even before I was born. But on my later visits, I was appalled by the sudden influx of charcoal producers- trees were being cut down and land being razed to the ground to make way for coal production. And this was particularly troubling because this forest is one of the two sources of water for our town. It was supposed to be protected and declared as a watershed but is not.

The two photos below were taken on Feb. 8, 2013:

Not long thereafter and the expected effects came to manifest itself. Water pressure diminished until one day there was no more water coming out of the faucets. It was clear that prior to this, the water carrying capacity of the forest was already at the edge, and now the balance has been tipped. The barangays near the forest still get their supply, but not the farthest ones, including ours. When it happened it was the height of the dry season and people were forced to use well water, the quality of which varies from one neighborhood to another. And we were misfortuned enough to have ours of very dubious nature- it was quite murky and reeked of rust. At first, I thought that the possibly high iron content would be beneficial to the plants, though I know that there should be a threshold somewhere. When the rains came the plants showed great vigor, probably due to whatever useful nutrients were contained in our well water, but also because plants naturally grow more luxuriantly with more moisture. But it was apparent that our water problem isn't going to go away soon.

By the next dry season, many of the plants showed signs of deterioration, and a number already have died. The poor quality of our well water was taking its toll. We were sourcing our drinking water from the nearby town, but I should make it clear that my water consumption is much higher than an average household's. I have fish tanks and I have plants. Transporting water with the volume that I require, as often as about three times per week just to meet the minimum demands, just wasn't realistic enough.

The fleshy geophytes and the epiphytes were the ones that initially showed the ill effects of dirty water, followed closely by the carnivores. I could literally see them die before my eyes. When I was finally able to relocate in the second quarter of 2014, many of my cherished plants have succumbed. Some have already been replaced since, and some will be replaced if I wanted to.

The scale of this disastrous event, set in motion by destroying a forest, is presented here by the plants I have lost, some of which were never even photographed.

Gesneriads:

I lost quite a number of Aeschynanthus and a few Cyrtandra, and also some seedlings of Sinningia bullata and another Sinningia species whose name I cannot recall. Two Kohleria hybrids died too, including the one on top, and other which I only have a photo of:

And these are just some of the Aeschynanthus species that met their demise in that fateful year:

Bromeliads:

Curiously, I lost very few tillandsias- well I did not have that much anyway. From what I remember, I lost Tillandsia graomogolensis and some T. ionantha forms, and the one below, T. mallemontii. I lost my T. streptophylla too around this time but that was during a typhoon when it was blown away by the strong winds. Shortly after I moved to my current location, I also lost a T. duratii. But blame my cat for its demise. Apart from those tillandsias, a large Alcantarea imperialis died, its urn deteriorated because of the foul water. Oh, and also a Brocchinia and a Catopsis. 

Tillandsia mallemontii

Ferns:

Aglaomorpha heraclea, Marattia pellucida (now a Ptisana), Marsilea crenata, Platycerium alcicorne (bought as P. vassei) were the ferns I remember that were killed. I surely have lost a few more but cannot remember exactly what they were (and also because I do not know what the names of the others were- I have terrible fern identifying skills).

Medinilla:

Let's see... I never really collected much Medinilla due to lack of space, but those that aren't with me anymore include M. cephalophora, M. cumingii, M. dolichophylla, M. multiflora, and M. miniata.

Gingers:

Most of my odd species of Alpinia perished during this period, but do not have photos of them as they all died still immature.

Hedychium philippinense

I can buy another Globba winitii again as it's a very commonly offered plant. But for reasons that still escape me, I still have not.

Globba winitii

Hernandiaceae:

This plant did not die from the terrible water quality. It was killed by the later occupants. I should have taken cuttings. This was grown from seed collected and given to me by slain botanist Leonardo Co.

Illigera luzonensis

Palms:

I lost just three palm species from this dark period, a Pinanga heterophylla, P. maculata, and this one, Chamaedorea metallica. This plant used to be common in nurseries until it just totally vanished. If I see plants for sale I'll surely get a couple.

Chamaedorea metallica

Succulents:

A Euphorbia species from Madagascar was lost, as well as a succulent Plectranthus. Also Welwitschia seedlings. 

Begonias:

I gotta be honest here: most of the begonias that died were most likely undescribed species, including the one below, which was sent to me from Samar. I also lost B. bolsteri and B. neopurpurea. 

Begonia sp., Samar

Plant below is of course not a Begonia but a creeping rosemary, given to me by my Singaporean friend Jin Hong. All rosemary plants I see in the Philippines are the erect ones.

Hoyas:

I'm pretty sure I lost a few more hoyas than what I included here. It's just that I do not have photos of those and so cannot remember what they were.

Hoya patella

Hoya soligamiana

The loss of this H. lucardenasiana was particularly bad- it's a plant from where the type description was derived from.

Hoya lucardenasiana

This was a rambling weed before the stems turned into brown twigs. Fortunately, I gave a cutting to a friend who is now willing to share me one.

Hoya acanthominima

Hoya heuschkeliana var. cajanoae. If you ask me, bestowing a varietal name to a color form does not make any bit of sense.

Sarcolobus carinatus

 I totally had no idea what this one was. It was initially shrubby then started climbing, and was really quite free-flowering.

Aroids:

Black-petioled Amorphophallus from Mindanao

Aglaonema 'Yuyung Lao' is actually a still undescribed species/subspecies.

Aglaonema x Manila is said to be a natural hybrid involving A. commutatum 'Tricolor' and an unknown species.

Aglaonema commutatum fma. concolor 'Black Majesty' is known for its black petioles.

Aglaonema crispum fma. bicolensis 'Emeralds-on-Ice' is from southern Luzon and the Visayas.

I cannot recall the name of this one, but if I remember it correctly, this one is said to be a naturally occurring plant. The speckled, pink petioles are distinctive.

A neat Aglaonema from Cagayan with whitish petioles and a compact crown.

This Dieffenbachia with speckled petioles was given to me and was said to have come from the wild- an escapee perhaps. However, I have never seen this plant anywhere other than from where it supposedly came from.

Alocasia brancifolia

Alocasia sinuata

Alocasia sanderiana

Alocasia nebula

Alocasia scalprum

I really had no idea what this was. It looked like Alocasia zebrina with weak petiole patterning and wavy leaf margins.

Could this be a Burttianthus? It's an aroid genus found on Sarawak, but I could not think of any Philippine genus from the family that resembles this. This and the plant below were among the first to go when the water quality worsened. 

This surely reminds me of a Bakoa, a genus that is not known from the Philippines. The plant perished before it even managed to bloom.

Listed below are the other aroids that were also lost. Or at least the ones I remember.

Alocasia aff. clypeolata
Alocasia lauterbachiana
Alocasia maquilingensis
Alocasia robusta (if this survived to this day I would have had a plant that can hide a dinosaur!)
Alocasia wenzelii
Amorphophallus decus-silvae x gigas
Amorphophallus gigas
Amorphophallus hewitii
Amorphophallus lewallei x impressus
Amorphophallus macrorhizus
Amorphophallus myosuroides
Amorphophallus yuloensis
Amorphophallus yunnanensis
Anthurium cabrerense

Orchids:

The orchids were the hardest hit, and I lost more plants from this group than from anything else. But that may also be a reflection of the diversity the collection once had.

Gastrochilus calceolaris

Ceratostylis heterophylla was a species I described in 2011. A mossy forest species, I was successful in maintaining this plant in the lowlands, until disaster hit.

Cirrhopetalum multiflorum is another orchid I described in 2011. This particular plant may have provided the type description.

Coelogyne candoonense

Flickingeria restrepioides is an orchid I described with Mark Clements in 2015.

Epicranthes sagemuelleri

Trichoglottis mindanaensis

A still undescribed species related to Dendrobium uniflorum.

Cirrhopetalum cfr. loherianum

I forgot the name of this Dockrillia...

A dwarf form of Paphiopedilum philippinense

Paphiopedilum urbanianum

Thrixspermum celebicum. This plant was previously unknown in the Philippines until I found a few specimens. 

Bulbophyllum maxillare

Mastigion (Bulbophyllum) fascinator

Bulbophyllum lemniscatoides. The flowers are candy-scented.

Aerides savageana. Previously mistaken as A. quinquevulenera fma. purpurea.

Renanthera monachica. I have since reacquired this species but none had the deeper orange base color nor the wider floral segments.

Sadokum stapeliiflorum

Dendrobium (Ceraia) junceum

Vanda merrillii

Dendrobium parthenium

This is a still undescribed species of Bulbophyllum from the Philippines.

Bulbophyllum translucidum

Bulbophyllum cornutum, a fragrant-flowered species.

Bulbophyllum papulosum

All these jewel orchids only lasted a few weeks since I was forced to resort to well water for their watering needs:

Other orchids I lost include:

Ascoglossum calopterum (transferred to Renanthera, a taxonomic move which I do not conform with)

Cleisocentron merrillianum

Bulbophyllum barbigerum 

Bulbophyllum costatum

Bulbophyllum inunctum

Bulbophyllum lasiochilum 

Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis

Bulbophyllum purpureorachis

Dendrobium bicaudatum

Dendrobium lindleyi

Dendrobium parishii

Dendrobium taurinum

Dendrobium ravanii

Paphiopedilum gratrixianum

Porphyrodesme sarcanthoides (also transferred to Renanthera)

Renanthera matutina

Scaphyglottis prolifera

Alright, let's stop there. Or this post might necessitate a second part.

Carnivores:

Now, this is particularly painful. I lost almost all my carnivores in just under a year.

Drosera lunata

Drosera spatulata

Pinguicula x Sethos

Some of my P. x Sethos propagations.

Red Drosera burmannii

Green Drosera burmannii

Drosera serpens

Drosera paradoxa

Drosera madagascariensis

Pinguicula primuliflora

Nepenthes cornuta

A particularly Nepenthes cornuta. Photo below is of the same trap.

Nepenthes eymae BE3067. Frankly, I don't think it's N. eymae. It's just one of the many forms of N. maxima that Borneo Exotics (BE) propagates and distributes. 

That's a N. northiana. And it's neither from Malesiana Tropicals (MT) or Borneo Exotics. 

This came from Mindanao and may have been a natural hybrid involving Nepenthes truncata. 

Nepenthes madagascariensis from MT.

Nepenthes peltata

A green Nepenthes peltata. The only green form of this species I have ever seen.

I still have the amp. The two are now gone.

This also came from Mindanao. The lids do not have a basal keel, and the traps are hipped.

Nepenthes khasiana

That's a richly colored N. graciliflora with stable, wavy-edged lids.

The reddest Nepenthes graciliflora I ever had.

This is a strange Nepenthes graciliflora with very long necks.

Nepenthes mirabilis var. echinostoma

Nepenthes samar

Hard to think that I lost this Nepenthes reinwardtiana when it was already in excess of 2 m in length.

Nepenthes reinwardtiana

Nepenthes ampullaria which I think I bought from MT.

Nepenthes ampullaria

Nepenthes sanguinea. I believe this came from MT. This is the one that stays green.

Nepenthes sanguinea from BE.

Nepenthes x trichocarpa BE3231. Such a terrible photo, isn't it?

A red Nepenthes mirabilis

Nepenthes hirsuta from MT

Nepenthes x coccinea. This came from a friend. Actually, this was from the second cutting he gave me after I killed the first one.

Nepenthes x dyeriana. The traps were already nearing the 1-foot mark when the plant died.

A speckled Nepenthes alata. I had other alatas, but this was the most colorful.

Nepenthes albomarginata

Nepenthes albomarginata MT2AB

Same plant as above.

Nepenthes mira

Nepenthes rafflesiana

Nepenthes rafflesiana, 'Borneo Giant' from BE.

 Nepenthes rafflesiana MT25

Nepenthes x hookeriana

Nepenthes x hookeriana

Nepenthes bicalcarata

This is an undescribed species, supposedly from Mindanao. I have another plant of this at home, but the traps are not as dark.

Nepenthes mirabilis var. globosa

Lowland Nepenthes veitchii. Apart from this one I also lost a highland type of the same species.

Other carnivores that went back to their Creator:

Dionaea muscipula
Sarracenia (hybrid?)
Seedlings of Drosera nitidula subsp. allantostigma and a few other pygmies
South American Drosera, but the one I can remember right now is D. ascendens
Nepenthes abalata (acquired at a time when it was a still undescribed species)
Nepenthes faizaliana
Nepenthes gracilis from MT
Nepenthes macrovulgaris BE3107
Nepenthes merrilliana
Nepenthes micramphora
Nepenthes neoguineensis BE3151
Nepenthes pervillei from MT
Nepenthes spectabilis from MT
Nepenthes sumatrana
Nepenthes treubiana
Plus various lowland Nepenthes complex hybrids
Utricularia gibba
Utricularia striatula



Sometimes I still wonder what the plant collection should look like today had I not lost all these plants. But this experience probably contributed to my current mellowing, of being happy with what I have and focusing my efforts on improving my growing techniques instead of just expanding the collection all for the sake of hoarding as many species as I possibly can.

And yet I know that perhaps in the foreseeable future, the old fire in the belly might return and I may find myself recovering what I once had, and then some more.