Philippine Gardens
(A special section on flowers and ornamental plants)
During the 70’s it was stated by Professor Juan Pancho (UPLB/ Botany) that Asplenium nidus, which is very common elsewhere in Southeast Asia is relatively rare in the Philippines. It is this fact that started a series of events that affected the commercial growers and traders of ferns in the Philippines.
Since it is listed under the endangered species of the Philippines on the Redlist, the DENR-PAWB (now Biodiversity Management Bureau or BMB) apprehended and confiscated several times during flower and Plant Shows held in Metro Manila, large amounts of plants that they thought were Asplenium nidus. The confiscated plants were either Asplenium colubrinum, Asplenium australasicum or Asplenium musifolium and no Asplenium nidus (native or not).
Asplenium nidus doesn’t look good to gardeners. The plant has open center and collects lots of debris. The plant does not grow as big and robust as Asplenium australasicum nor Asplenium musifolium and therefore not preferred selling item. Most plants that look like Asplenium nidus which the commercial people call “Dapong lalaki” are Asplenium colubrinum not Asplenium nidus. It is also during the 70’s when the plant collectors started collecting mutated forms of the more common Asplenium colubrinums in Quezon Province. These plant traders have planted in their growing areas different mutants of A. colubrinums from simple furcate ones to plicataforms, dentataforms, crestataforms and even fasciated ones.
The collectors started selling the home-grown volunteer mutant sporelings in major shows during the 80’s.
This horticultural diversity resulted in Philippines being placed in the world map as a source of horticulturally interesting plants for introduction to world trade. In the whole Southeast Asia, Philippines is the favorite hunting ground of fern collectors and other plant lovers. Mutants of different forms of the different species appeared in the local plant market.
The growers are at a loss when it comes to the specific names of each mutants.
The local plant taxonomists (Botanists) simply would not want to deal with the mutants, so that the commercial people resorted to naming the plants in their own way resulting in confusion. Thais and the Singaporeans lumped all simple leaf Aspleniums as Asplenium nidus complex, thereby creating more confusion.
During the 90’s, Dr. Barbara Hoshizaki of California and Dr. Murakami of Japan, suggested that the best way to identify simple leaf Asplenium is to section the lamina and observe the vascular bundles together with the position and shape of the midribs.