OZAMIZ CITY —-Watch out!
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources office in the Zamboanga Peninsula is warning collectors of ‘Badiang’ or Giant Taro not to collect such a plant as it is considered ‘critically endangered’.
Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez, Regional Executive Director of DENR in the Zamboanga Peninsula said collectors run the risk of paying the penalty ranging from P100,000 to P1-million if they will be caught getting plants considered as critically endangered.
On January 22, 2007, the DENR issued Administrative Order 2007-01, which established the national list of threatened Philippine plants and their categories. It also provided the list of other wildlife species which include ‘Badiang’ or Giant Taro which belong to the family of Alocasia zebrina Schott ex Van Houtte being considered as vulnerable species.
To collect critically endangered plants, one must secure a permit from the DENR or they will be charged for violating Republic Act 9147 known as The wildlife resources conservation and protection act.
Included as the critically endangered species are the following: giant staghorn fern, waling-waling, among others while threatened species include green velvet alocasia, kris plants, and alocasia zebrina.
Badiang recently trended in social media after a television personality elegantly displayed it inside her house resulting in speculative buying among flower collectors.
Giant taro or Badiang is a coarse, erect, monoecious, rhizomatous, and evergreen plant which grows to about 5 m high with large, sagittate, rosette leaves measuring up to 0.9-1.8 m long and 0.6-1.2 m wide.
The leaves are glossy in medium green color. The fruit is the spathe, oblong top ellipsoid, green, and 8 cm long. Each fruit possesses several, pale brown seeds with 4 mm as a diameter. It has upright, erect, elongated, woody stems of 1-1.2 m long and 25 cm in diameter. It prefers tropical, subtropical climates and well-drained soil.
Given the law and the penalty, will you still collect one?.-Neptalie Batolenio/Newsline.ph
