A new species of pitcher plant, Nepenthes higaonon (Nepenthaceae), has been discovered in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental, Philippines. Found in July 2021 at Talangisog Viewpoint and Forest Park in Barangay Eureka, the discovery was made by a research team from Central Mindanao University, led by Noel E. Lagunday and Victor B. Amoroso, along with local conservationist Melbert James G. Baul, and Ramil P. Ansihagan of the Baliguihan-Higaonon Ancestral Domain. This new species, officially confirmed just this year, is the 36th pitcher plant species identified in Mindanao.
The name of the new species denotes the indigenous cultural group in Gingoog City, the Higaonon tribe that actually protected the flora and fauna of the site. Nepenthes higaonon is assessed as Critically Endangered according to IUCN criteria, facing threats of poaching, shifting cultivation, without legislative protection and calls for immediate conservation efforts.
Here’s a map where the new species was found.
Below are photos of Nepenthes higaonon.
inflorescence; F) aerial pitcher (anterior view); G) aerial pitcher (anterolateral view); H) peristome, showing milky white waxy zone and
lid lower surface (photos by N.E. Lagunday).
surface; E) dormant pitchers; F) aerial pitcher (anterior view); G&H) 1-flowered female inflorescence (illustration by N.J.E. Simbajon).
info and images courtesy of Melbert Baul
You can download the full report HERE.
