In January 2024, the description of a new plant species from the Philippines was published in the Nordic Journal of Botany.
๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐ก๐๐
Distribution/habitat: Naga-Kabasalan Protected Landscape, Zamboanga Sibugay (discovered in June 2023)
Endemic: Yes
Distinctive traits: ๐. ๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ข has strong physical similarities to two other ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฉ๐ช๐ป๐ข species, ๐. ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด and ๐. ๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ข (particularly due to its overall hairy appearance). However, it also has notable differences: Aside from growing lying on the ground and curving upward (as opposed to growing upright), ๐. ๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ข possesses, among other traits, pointy egg-shaped leaves with gray to silver gray undersides, white flowers that are 6 to 7 mm long, and tiny, membranous bracts (specialized leaves under the flower). Based on the researchersโ observations, ๐. ๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ข likely blooms in April and/or May, producing fruit from June to October.
Conservation status: Least Concern (LC); known from the type collection site
Described by: Mark Arcebal Naive & Grecebio Jonathan Alejandro
Etymology: The new species takes its name from the Latin words ๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ถ๐ด (grayish) and ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ถ๐ฎ (leaf), as a nod to the coloration of its leavesโ undersides.
Significance
๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฉ๐ช๐ป๐ข is among the largest genera in Rubiaceae, the family under which the genus of coffee (๐๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ข) belongs. There are about 32 known species of ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฉ๐ช๐ป๐ข in the country (30 of which are endemic); excluding ๐. ๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ข, there have only been two newly described species since 2020. The discovery and description of ๐. ๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ข strongly suggests that if more researchers were to conduct fieldwork in lesser-explored (but certainly no less biodiverse) areas of the Philippines, there is a high chance of finding new records of species that exist in other countries, or even species previously unknown to science that are unique to the Philippines.โMF
Reference:
Arcebal K. Naive, M. and Jonathan D. Alejandro, G. (2024), Ophiorrhiza ravifolia (Rubiaceae), a new endemic species discovered in Naga-Kabasalan Protected Landscape (NKPL), Zamboanga Peninsula, southwestern Philippines. Nordic Journal of Botany, 2024: e04311. https://doi.org/10.1111/njb.04311
Author: Mikael Angelo Francisco
Bitten by the science writing bug, Mikael has years of writing and editorial experience under his belt. As the editor-in-chief of FlipScience, Mikael has sworn to help make science more fun and interesting for geeky readers and casual audiences alike.
