Rapid propagation of rare plant species now possible

Rare, endemic, endangered, and economically important plants from Mindanao can now be easily propagated.

This was reported during the Research and Development (R&D) Symposium of the Northern Mindanao Consortium for Agriculture Council Research and Development, the group of R&D agencies of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) in Region 10.

Using ex situ method, or conservation of resources outside of its original habitat, Dr. Cecilia Amoroso of the Central Mindanao University (CMU) successfully propagated 50 species of endemic, endangered, and economically important plants from Mindanao.

Ex situ conservation may be in botanical and zoological gardens greenhouses, or fernery. Another ex situ method is in vitro culture, a technique that uses tissue culture methods in the maintenance, production, and modification of plant materials. It involves the growth of tissues on sterile culture vessels. This method has been used for the massive propagation of plants, which are difficult to grow in the wild and in natural environment.

The plants used were collected from the forests of Mindanao: Mt. Musuan and its vicinities; Mt. Malindang, Misamis Occidental; Mt. Kalatungan, Pangantucan, Bukidnon; and Mt. Calo-calo, Valencia City, Bukidnon. These were planted in the greenhouse/fernery of CMU for ex situ conservation and tissue culture.

PCARRD believes that there is now a chance for rare, endemic, and endangered plants to be saved from extinction. Economically important and difficult-to-grow plants can now be easily propagated.

Some of the successful propagated endangered plants were on eof the fork ferns, Tmesipteris lancelata; a climbing fern, Lygodium magnusiasum; Zebra taro (Alocasia zebrina); and almaciga (Agathi s philipinensis Warb). Some of the economically important plants propagated under the greenhouse condition were Jin bu huan (Lycopodium serratum); rhododendron from Java, Rhododendron javanicum; celery top pine (Phylloccladus hypophyllus); netted adderstongue (Ophioglossum reticulatum); red ginger (Alpinia sp.); and begonia (Begonia sp.). (Leila C. America, S&T Media Service)