Utente:Esculapio/Sandbox/Flora delle Filippine
The Philippines is the home of 3557 endemic species and 26 endemic genera. Of these, 3200 species are angiosperms, 6 gymnosperms and 351 are pteridophytes (ferns and fern allies) [1]
At the very least, one-third of the more than 9,250 vascular plant species native to the Philippines are endemic. There are, however, no plant families endemic to the country. The families of gingers, begonias, gesneriads, orchids, pandans, palms, and dipterocarps are particularly high in endemic species. For example two-thirds of the 150 species of palms present in the country are found nowhere else in the world. 700 of the 1,000 species of orchids found in the Philippines are unique to its wildlife.
The broad lowland and hill rain forests of the Philippines, which are mostly gone today, were dominated by at least 45 species of dipterocarps. These massive trees were abundant to up to 1,000 meters above sea level. Other important tree species here include giant figs, which provide food for fruit bats, parrots, and monkeys, and Pterocarpus indicus, which like the dipterocarps, is valued for its timber.
A few species of Rafflesia are found in the Philippines, one of them being Rafflesia philippensis.
There are about 141 genera of orchids representing about 1,100 species of orchids 900 of which that is described are endemic to the Philippines. many of them have showy, brightly colored and attractive flowers.[2]
Euanthe sanderiana (formerly Vanda sanderiana) is unofficially dubbed the National Flower, as the only representative of the species is unique to the Philippines and is only found in the island of Mindanao.[3][4]
Note[modifica | modifica wikitesto]
- ^ D. Madulid The endemic genera of flowering plants in the Philippines Acta Manilana, 39 (1991), pp. 47–58
- ^ Valmayor, Helen L. (1984). Orchidiana Philippiniana. ISBN 9711005522.
- ^ Cootes, Jim (2001). The Orchids of The Philippines: p. 123. ISBN 9780881925166.
- ^ http://www.orchidiana.com/the-philippines.html
Bibliografia[modifica | modifica wikitesto]
- Cootes J., A Selection of Orchid Species from the Philippines (PDF), in 19th AOC Conference & Show Perth, Western Australia 11th to 16th September 2012.
Categoria:Flora endemica delle Filippine