A new endangered plant endemic to Capiz and Iloilo has been recently discovered.
The Begonia jurgenneae was discovered by Dr. Harold O. Buenvenida, a faculty of the Capiz State University (CAPSU)-Pontevedra Campus.
His finding of the Begonia jurgenneae was published in the scientific journal Taiwania. The rare specie is named after renowned mangrove scientist Dr. Jurgenne Primavera.
The Begonia jurgenneae thrives in “moist limestone habitats between 60 and 600 meters above sea level, with lance-shaped leaves, delicate white blooms, and graceful bell-shaped seed capsules.”
With only 100 Begonia jurgenneae, documented so far, it is being recommended to be placed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species.
This discovery had an endowment from the Capiz Provincial Government’s Capiz Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (CaPENRO) to the Capiz Ecology and Conservation Center (CECC) of CAPSU–Pontevedra Campus.
According to Buenvenida, the discovery of Begonia jurgenneae is a testament to the rich biodiversity of Panay Island and what can be found in the forest.
“Even tiny fragments of forest can shelter life found nowhere else on the planet,” he said.
Buenvenida is the lead author of the study and the Dr. Leonard L. Co Postdoctoral Fellow for Philippine Biodiversity at the UP Institute of Biology. (Additional information from CaPENRO)
