Gwyneth Perseveranda

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently spotted four critically endangered Rafflesia verrucosa during a four-day biodiversity monitoring activity in South Cotabato.

Photo Courtesy of Facebook/DENR.

The sighting was made by the DENR’s Biodiversity Monitoring System (BMS) team from the Protected Area Management Office of the Mount Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL) at Barangay Kablon, South Cotabato, on September 23.

At an altitude of approximately 1,553 meters above sea level, one Rafflesia bud and one partially opened flower were observed at Sitio Datal Ngisi, Barangay Kablon.

The partially opened flower had a circumference of 28 cm and a height of 11.43 cm.

Another two buds were found within the BMS transect area at Sitio Glandang, in the same barangay.

Rafflesia verrucosa, endemic to the Philippines, is classified as critically endangered under the Updated List of Threatened Philippine Plants and their categories.

It was first discovered on Mount Kampalili in eastern Mindanao, during a small mammal survey.
The plant has the smallest diameter of any species from the genus, ranging from 14.5 cm to 16 cm.

Tagged as the first small-flowered Rafflesia, the verrucosa species is the 10th variety of Rafflesia found in the Philippines.

Regional executive director Felix Alicer stated that the presence of these rare plant species highlights the need for continued efforts to protect the biodiversity within Mount Matutum.

"The sightings of Rafflesia verrucosa at  the MMPL, a protected area, indicate that the biodiversity and its ecosystem are still intact, and it's only proper that the ongoing protection and conservation efforts for this rare plant shall be sustained within the MMPL," Alicer said.

These instances of discovering rare species also provide an opportunity to boost biodiversity and enhance the species’ ecological resilience, through the application of tailored measures designed to promote their growth and sustain them for longer years.

In the meantime, the MMPL-BMS teams set their return to monitor and observe the plant’s full bloom.