Diario de yowarduuu
I wrote a blog entry today about the rediscovery of this rare species and a brief introduction to this tree.
You can read it here:
https://medium.com/@johnedward.villasis/ficus-cassidyana-elmer-a-century-of-being-elusive-8c2a5488cf21
yowarduuu
|
1 observación
|
0 comentarios
|
Deja un comentario
Our ability to survive depends heavily on flowers. For our ancestors, the blossoming of trees and rice plants was a sign of hope and manifested the Creator's unfaltering love for His people. Flowers also inspired the greatest of them: our poets, weavers, and pattern makers. However, not all flowers are enchanting, especially those that have an obnoxious smell that is similar to the strong and terrible odor of decaying flesh. Locals believe that several species of Rafflesia belong to malignant entities and are used to make people go astray in the forest and to destroy any ordinary person who trespasses the boundaries and portals of their territories.
One of the centers of Rafflesia diversity, the Philippines has 15 currently recognized species found only on five larger islands: Luzon, Samar, Panay, Negros, and Mindanao. Rafflesia is a holoparasitic plant that lives on its sole host, the lianas of the genus Tetrastigma (Miq.) Planch. (Vitaceae: Vitoideae: Cayratieae), which has 19 native species extant in the country.
These are some of the local names for Rafflesia spp. that I have carefully compiled, together with the name of the language (in parentheses), the species to which they correspond, and the term's literal translation (in brackets):
The flowers of Rafflesia have long been recognized by Filipinos. In order to describe them, a name derived from the word for “flower” is utilized. It can be noticed in the use of the words “búlak” (and its cognate búrak; present in many of the country's languages) and “sábong” (in Northern Luzon [Cordilleran] languages), which are general terms for flowers.
The majority of the local names from Mindanao for Rafflesia spp. especially R. schadenbergiana, which has the largest flower among the species found in the country, is linked to the busáw, a demon or an evil spirit who is greatly feared by the people. In western Panay, R. speciosa is connected with the amô (long-tailed macaque, Macaca fascicularis philippensis). It is even assumed that the flowers are used as the toilet of these mammals, which would explain why they have such an unpleasant odor. While the interaction between these two organisms in the wild is unknown, the connection might be a product of the fact that monkeys were once common in the area, and there are legends among members of the Ati ethnic group regarding the giant monkey (Inati: tumanan ini lotong, ‘monkey king’) that governs the forests of Mt. Porras, where this species of parasitic flowering plant was discovered. The same species is also associated with anyone who is boastful and a teller of untruths. The flower is thought to represent a hat worn by Huán Púsong, a trickster and famous folklore figure who is comparable to Tagálog’s Juán Tamád.
Its distinctive odor inspired other local names. In Abra, R. consueloae is known as “billángot,” probably from the Ilocano word ángot (‘odor, smell’). Additionally, several species of tuberous herbaceous plants belonging to the genus Amorphophallus Blume ex Decne. are also referred to by some of these local names, which also produces pungent odor during its flowering period to attract its pollinators. For example, in northern Luzon, Rafflesia spp. are known as “sábong ti tígi.” It is composed of the words sábong (‘flower; petals; blossom’) and tígi, a local name for Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennst.) Nicolson. Additionally, the terms billángot for R. consueloae in Abra and bagáng for Rafflesia spp. in Cagayan are also used to refer to A. paeoniifolius. In Antique, the term “uróy” refers to Rafflesia speciosa. However, in the municipalities of Barbaza, Culasi and Sebaste in the northern portion of the province, the word refers to Amorphophallus spp. This is also observed in some parts of Bicol (Region V) region. Merrill (1903), in his A dictionary of the plant names of the Philippine Islands, p. 123, listed the words bagáng from Cagayan and óroy from Visayas as local names for A. campanulatus (= A. paeoniifolius).
Both Rafflesia and Amorphophallus are flowering plants, but they are only distantly related. However, they may have shared common names because they are both foul-smelling flowers, leading locals to believe they are of the same species. The same name is frequently used for distinct species today because, although ancient Filipinos classified organisms by category, they did not classify them according to their natural relationships. Traditionally, residents use the blooms of Rafflesia as guides to locate the existence of Amorphophallus spp. which are traditionally used as vegetables or as feedstuff for pigs. There are many photos on Facebook displaying flowers of Amorphophallus spp. that are labelled “Rafflesia.” Since both species are typically found in the same area, an abundance of one denotes the presence of the other.
The flowers of Rafflesia are linked to more than just evil spirits and monkeys, as they also represent one thing: conservation. Rafflesia, like so many other species that are restricted to the tropical rainforests of the world, is threatened by the extensive destruction of its habitat cleared in recent decades for illegal logging, mining, urbanization, plant poaching, kaingín or slash-and-burn agriculture and conversion of lowland forest into monocrop plantations. Other threats include the cutting of its host plant (Tetrastigma vines), and human disturbance in the guise of unsustainable ecotourism, or flower viewing by tourists. That is why every Filipino should make an effort to ensure the sustainability and survival of this gigantic flower in its natural habitat.
Note: It is forbidden to copy and reproduce this journal entry — entirely or partially — in any way without my permission. Ang paskíl na itó ay hindî maaarìng gayáhin ng sínomán. Ipinagbabáwal ang anó mang paraán ng pagkopya at pagpaparámi nitó na walâng pahintúlot mulâ sa akin.
