Jardinerong Sunog (the Burnt Gardener)

The current popularity of aroids around the world has brought into spotlight several previously obscure species of the species-rich Anthurium as well as Philodendron and Monstera. This triumvirate of Neotropical aroids form the bulk of Araceae found in very many private collections worldwide, but monsteroid genera from Asia, particularly Rhaphidophora , are increasingly being regarded as worthwhile subjects too, especially the widespread and very variable R. korthalsii . In the Philippines, one species stands out among all the other known species to date, but is virtually unknown in horticultural circles- R. monticola . Rhapidophora monticola was described (as ' Rapidophora monticola ') in 1910 by Kurt Krause in Botanische Jahrbucher fur Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie (Botanical Yearbook for Systematics, Plant History and Plant Geography) based from specimens collected by A.D.E. Elmer in Cuernos Mountains in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental in June, 19

About a decade ago, some plants of a supposedly albinistic Hoya pubicalyx became available from a few orchid peddlers in the province of Quezon, and were being offered for rather exorbitant prices. Not too long thereafter, the plants were visited in its area of discovery by George Mendoza, a plant collector, and the plants he collected were sent abroad, which formed the bulk of the plants eventually propagated in Thailand, Sweden, and the US. Meanwhile, the plants were very rarely seen in its country of origin. I have been to the type locality of this species, and contrary to what was given in the protologue, the plants were not found in the town of Mauban, but in Real. Here also is the locus classicus for Begonia polilloensis . The area where Hoya celata was found in 2010 is characterized by cliffs facing the sea but is now heavily degraded due to a road being constructed, although recent visits proved that plants still persist, particularly on the higher reaches. However, si