DAVAO CITY — The Protected Area Management Office – Mount Matutum Protected Landscape have discovered a Bagras Tree with an impressive average diameter of 302 centimeters above the buttress, large enough to be wrapped in a full embrace by an estimated 10 individuals, with a towering height estimated at 40 meters.
Bagras (common name) or “Eucalyptus deglupta”, which is native to the Philippines and other western Pacific islands, was discovered in Barangay Upper Linan Tupi, South Cotabato,
The team from (PAMO-MMPL) team of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) South Cotabato with the Municipal ENRO of Tupi, South Cotabato had a trek that led to the discovery of the impressive tree.
The team was trekking four kilometers away when they discovered the towering giant tree, which they described “As a testament to the resilience and splendor of nature.”
In a statement, the DENR Socksargen stated “Upon technical inspection, the team deduced that the age of the tree ranges between 100 to 200 years. Based on research from Philippine Medicinal Plants, the Bagras tree has shown antibacterial, and anticataract properties using its leaves and oil.”
With his development, the PAMO-MMPL coordinated with the Barangay Local Government Units of Linan to declare the tree as a heritage tree through a Sangguniang Bayan Resolution.
The discovery of this venerable Bagras tree underscores the importance of conserving our natural heritage and serves as a beacon of hope for our forests as it is being witnessed by today and generations to come, the statement emphasized.
Though the said tree is not threatened under the National List of Threatened Philippines Plants of DAO 2017-11, it holds a vulnerable conservation status in the whole world as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the statement added.- with a report from JVOro PAMO-MMPL
