Learn More About Our Trees

By NORBY BAUTISTABloom Of The Week

This driveway leading to a hostel in Peñablanca, Cagayan Valley is lined with beautiful native trees that provide shade for pedestrians. (Photo by NOEL B. PABALATE)

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos are being encouraged to appreciate the importance of our Philippine native trees. Our trees thrive well in the Philippine setting and they give the natural landscape that distinctive Filipino look.  Most of our trees were introduced from other countries. These include the Acacia, Mahogany, African Tulip, Sampaloc, Calachuchi and most of our fruit trees.  Only a few like the Narra and Talisay are native trees.

Not many people can identify some truly native trees and what they can be used for. Learning from old folks has been instrumental in familiarizing us with some of them.  We have shade trees like the Agoho, Antipolo, Balitbitan and Banuyo.  Some trees have medicinal properties like the Alagau, Banaba, Bani and Lagundi.  The important timber tree species includes Narra, Apitong, Bagras, Bagtikan, Malapapaya, Bangkal, Batino, Dita, Dao and Molave.  We also have trees that produce colorful sprays of flowers such as Narra, Anilaw, Mangkono, Aunasin, Bagawak Morado, Balai Lamok, Banaba, Kamuning and Mali-Mali.  For fruits and nuts, we have Anubing, Mangga (Kalabaw and Pahutan), Talisay, Mabolo or Kamagong, Katmon, Bignay, Bitungol, Kalumpit, Lipote and Marang.  We also have vegetable trees like Aunasin, Bago and Kamansi.

Native trees are icons of the beauty and the bounty of our natural heritage.  The Philippines boasts of about 3,600 identified native trees of which 67 percent are endemic, meaning they are found only in our archipelago.

There is a need for them to be conserved and protected. Most of the native trees in our forests are fast disappearing as most of them are used for timber and paper production.  Furthermore, they are being replaced by exotic invasive tree species like the popular Mahogany, which is actually not good for our wildlife. Trees clean our air, fertilize our soil, absorb floods and provide a habitat for birds, butterflies and other tree dwelling animals. The non-use of our trees endangers their existence as they can end up as weeds. We should learn more about what they can for us so that the public will at least be aware of their value and make an effort to preserve them.

Our native trees come in different sizes, shapes,and shades of green in combination with other hues of other colors. Leaves may range from large to tiny, round to elongated, thick to paper-thin, waxy to rough. Trunks also have many shapes and texture from straight to twisting to gnarled, singular or branched, smooth or covered with rough bark. Roots may grow vertically down and deep, or buttressed and shallow. The combinations are endless and they can suit any type of urban landscaping requirement.

A team of environmentally conscious native tree-advocates is publishing a colorful and informative book on native trees. Entitled “Philippine Native Trees 101… Up Close and Personal,” it is being published by Green Convergence for Safe Food, Healthy Environment and Sustainable Economy (GC).  The project team is composed of Dr. Angelina P. Galang, Sylvia Mesina, Marie Marciano, Imelda Sarmiento and Arceli Tungol, who served as the book’s chief photographer.

I’m very sure that the book will benefit both garden aficionados and plant hobbyists alike, as it’s supposed to be an eye opener on the value of our native trees.  We are hoping to see the book by the end of May this year.