With its striking pattern of glossy black scales adorned with bold yellow crossbands, the Luzon Mangrove Snake (Boiga dendrophila divergens) is one of the Philippines’ most visually stunning reptiles. This large, robust snake moves comfortably both on the ground and in the trees of the forests and mangroves it inhabits.…
This month, the Makiling Botanic Gardens features a plant that embodies the remarkable diversity of Philippine flora: pingol-bato (Begonia nigritarum (Kamel) Steud.), a stunning endemic begonia that has served both culinary and medicinal purposes for generations. Where It Grows Pingol-bato is a creeping plant that grows in moist or damp…
If you’ve ever walked along the streams and rivers of Mount Makiling, you might have caught a glimpse of what looks like a tiny crocodile darting across the rocks or slipping into the water. Don’t be alarmed—you’ve just encountered one of the Philippines’ most fascinating endemic reptiles: the Spiny Waterside…
Walk through the primary forests of Mount Makiling at low to medium elevations, and you might encounter a glossy-leaved shrub bearing clusters of fragrant whitish-pink flowers or striking dark purple berries. This is tagpo (Ardisia elliptica Thunb.), our featured Plant of the Month—a species that beautifully illustrates how a single…
Hidden among the leaf litter of Luzon’s forested mountains lives one of the Philippines’ most elusive reptiles—the Mount Makiling Dwarf Skink (Parvoscincus abstrusus). True to its scientific name, which means “hidden” or “concealed” in Latin, this small lizard is rarely seen, quietly going about its life beneath logs and forest…
Meet Tacca palmata, locally known as Payung-payungan—a fascinating plant native to Southeast Asia. Found throughout Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and across the Philippines, this unique herb grows in forests and thickets at lower elevations. What Makes It Special Payung-payungan is easy to recognize once you know what to look for. The…