The Ateneo de Manila University Campus has a land area of 83 hectares. Only a little over half of this has any permanent infrastructure. The rest harbors a rich flora of introduced and indigenous species, both wild and cultivated.
Knowledge of existing plants in the campus is an important component in the enrichment of botanical instruction. Aside from the importance of vegetation as a source of food, fiber, medicine, and other industrial products, plants help in maintaining and improving the quality of life in the academe as they absorb pollutants and replenish oxygen supply in the air.
The study aims to provide baseline information on plant resources within the Ateneo de Manila University Campus. Essentially, the study was conducted to generate a listing of plants, map the location of trees, herbs, shrubs, grasses, and ferns within the campus and produce an electronic database that can be used as a user-friendly guide for species identification.
The floristic survey has so far covered only about 20 hectares of the campus grounds. A total of 164 species belonging to 132 genera and 55 families had been documented. There were three (3) ferns, three (3) gymnosperms and 157 flowering plants. Of the flowering plants, 52 are herbs, 53 are shrubs, nine (9) are palms and 43 are trees.
Ten (10) species are native to the Philippines namely Aerva sanguinolenta, Aglaonema commutatum, Justicia gendarussa, Spathiphyllum commutatum, Vitex parviflora, Mussaenda philippica, Dischidia oiantha, Schefflera odorata, Livistonia rotundifolia and Veitchia merrillii. Of these, the last five (5) are found nowhere else in the world except the country. Mussaenda philippica is represented in the study site by two (2) endemic varieties namely Dona Aurora and Dona Luz. 31 species were introduced from other countries in Tropical Asia and 123 species from the rest of the world.
All species documented in the study area have been planted mainly for ornamental purposes. Despite differences in countries of origin, these ornamental plants share the same properties, namely ease in propagation, similar basic conditions for growth and minimal maintenance requirements.
Knowledge of existing plants in the campus is an important component in the enrichment of botanical instruction. Aside from the importance of vegetation as a source of food, fiber, medicine, and other industrial products, plants help in maintaining and improving the quality of life in the academe as they absorb pollutants and replenish oxygen supply in the air.
The study aims to provide baseline information on plant resources within the Ateneo de Manila University Campus. Essentially, the study was conducted to generate a listing of plants, map the location of trees, herbs, shrubs, grasses, and ferns within the campus and produce an electronic database that can be used as a user-friendly guide for species identification.
The floristic survey has so far covered only about 20 hectares of the campus grounds. A total of 164 species belonging to 132 genera and 55 families had been documented. There were three (3) ferns, three (3) gymnosperms and 157 flowering plants. Of the flowering plants, 52 are herbs, 53 are shrubs, nine (9) are palms and 43 are trees.
Ten (10) species are native to the Philippines namely Aerva sanguinolenta, Aglaonema commutatum, Justicia gendarussa, Spathiphyllum commutatum, Vitex parviflora, Mussaenda philippica, Dischidia oiantha, Schefflera odorata, Livistonia rotundifolia and Veitchia merrillii. Of these, the last five (5) are found nowhere else in the world except the country. Mussaenda philippica is represented in the study site by two (2) endemic varieties namely Dona Aurora and Dona Luz. 31 species were introduced from other countries in Tropical Asia and 123 species from the rest of the world.
All species documented in the study area have been planted mainly for ornamental purposes. Despite differences in countries of origin, these ornamental plants share the same properties, namely ease in propagation, similar basic conditions for growth and minimal maintenance requirements.