Introduction
Family Aristolochiaceae also known as birthwort is represented by over
700 species belonging to 8 genera. They are primarily tropical plant
family extending to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere that
encompass a range of plant forms, including small to medium-sized vines
and lianas, geophytes that emerge from thickened rootstocks or tubers,
as well as shrubs or small trees (Neinhuis et al. 2005). In the
Philippines, Aristolochiaceae is poorly known represented by two genera:Aristolochia L. with 11 species and Thottea Rottb. with a
single species (T. philippinensis Quisumbing). We suspect that
future fieldwork focusing on collecting Aristolochiaceae species will
probably result in the discovery of more species, either endemic or as
new records from neighboring countries.
Fresh materials of unknown Thottea species were collected in
Pasonanca Natural Park, Zamboanga City in April 2023, and in
Naga-Kabasalan Protected Landscape, Zamboanga Sibugay in June 2023 as
part of the authors’ ongoing exploratory and conservation work on
flowering plants within the Zamboanga Peninsula. The specimen collected
from Zamboanga City has been identified as Thottea tomentosa(Blume) Ding Hou, using the key provided by Mustaqim & Putra (2020).
This species is distributed in Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Jawa,
Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nicobar Is., Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, and
Vietnam. In contrast, the specimen collected from Naga-Kabasalan
Protected Landscape, Zamboanga Sibugay was found matching with the long
lost and poorly known species T. philippinensis Quisumbing.
Hence, this study prompted us to provide an extended description,
updated geographical distribution, habitat and a provisional IUCN
conservation assessment for T. philippinensis and confirm the
occurrence of T . tomentosa in the Philippine archipelago.
With the inclusion of T . tomentosa , the Philippines now
holds a total of two Thottea species.