Native Tree + Rare Fruit = Fun Walk

Ponchit Enrile and the happy RFSP gang

With Prof. Roberto Coronel

RFSP guyss inspecting tangisang bayawak

Flowering Leea manilensis

It was definitely a rare combination and a pleasure for me to handle.  Members of the Rare fruit Society of the Philippines and  the Philippine Native Plant Conservation Society joined today's native tree walk in U.P.  Diliman. Serious plant enthusiast Ponchit Enrile and rowdy RFSP group braved the hot sun and the muddy trails to lend me an ear and learn a little more about native tree species growing in the campus. Plus they brought along the rare fruit guru, Professor Emeritus Roberto Coronel. He shed some light on some of our controversial fruit species. It was an enlightening morning even for me. 

Photo op at UP Sunken Garden

Ed Agdeppa with his non-native Strychnos mask

Dracaena multiflora in full bloom

I was expecting that the Rare Fruit members would be less ecstatic about the non-fruiting species but they seem to be very much into all the natives, even those which do not bear fruit produce.  The heavily-berried kalumpit (Terminalia microcarpa) and katmon (Dillenia philippinensis) were the expected  favorites. But then again, any other plant which bore seeds (which some participants collected) were also crowd-pleasers.   It was also interesting to note that after a few months, the plants in Beta Way and the Marine Scince Institute complex are doing and growing very well. 

To the members of the Rare Fruit Society of the Philippines, thank you very much for participating in the U.P. native tree walk. It was a pleasant experience to be your guide in today's lesson about native flora.