“NEW SPECIES ALERT! 🚨🚨🚨”
Tatlong mga bagong species ng halamang “Begonia” ang nadiskubre sa Luzon at Mindanao Islands, ayon sa National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) kamakailan.
Sa gitna ng pagdiriwang ng Museums and Galleries Month 2023, inanunsyo ng NMP ang tatlong latest addition ng “newly-discovered species” ng Begonia: Begonia noraaunorae, Begonia akaw, at Begonia masilig.
Ayon sa NMP, ang Begonia noraaunorae, kilala rin sa lokalidad bilang mampang or amamampang na nangangahulugang “cliff,” ay ipinangalan umano sa Pambansang Alagad ng Sining na si Nora Aunor para parangalan ang kaniyang mga nagawa sa entertainment industry.
Magna cum laude graduate na pinagsuot ng toga ang ama, kinaantigan
Lumalago umano ang naturang halaman sa “semi-shaded broadleaf forest” sa national highway ng Crossing, Cortes, Surigao del Sur.
Base sa International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria, maituturing umanong “vulnerable” ang B. noraaunorae.
“It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild, making the collection of the species restricted. According to the locals living in the area, the younger leaves of this plant are edible. It has been used to treat cough and as a spice for cooking paksiw (fish with vinegar),” saad ng NMP.
Samantala, ang Begonia akaw at Begonia masilig umano ay parehong endemic sa Aurora Memorial National Park sa Luzon.
“The epithet masilig is a Tagalog-Baler (Balereño) word that translates to ‘fast’, ‘rapid’, or ‘heavy water flow’ where it was discovered. Meanwhile ‘akaw’ is a Balereño word used to convey awe, disbelief, or surprise since the species had been documented and observed on multiple occasions, but usually misidentified as other known 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢 species,” anang NMP.
“At present, both species are currently facing extinction with the growing anthropogenic pressures in the area, specifically with the development of the localities into tourist spots and unregulated collection of these endemic species,” saad pa nito.
Ang naturang mga nadiskubreng bagong species ay resulta umano ng kolaborasyon ng panananaliksik ng NMP at Philippine Taxonomic Initiative for B. masilig and B. akaw, kasama ang Saint Theresa College of Tandag, University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines - Manila, North Eastern Mindanao State University, Academia Sinica, at National Taiwan Normal University for B. noraaunorae.
