Page 15 - BSAM 2017 Q1

Top; Tugas are commonly found in the South Cotabato - Sarangani provinces.
Bottom; Tugas, Vitex trifolia, 51 cm, by Jun Serapio.
as an indigenous herbal medicine locally known as Lagundi is classi ed as Vitex negundo. Some popular literature gives credence to the classi cation of Tugas as Vitex trifolia, however, the academic community accepts the classi cation of Tugas as Vitex parvi ora, which is consistent with the classi cation by E. D. Merril in his landmark book, A Flora of
Manila. While Merril published his material in 1912, there are new editions which are continuously used as academic reference. e uncertainty of Tugas’ taxonomy was similarly asserted by Prof. Ben Bareja, an Agronomist from Mindanao State University (MSU), in an interview conducted by the authors. Herden Pedrajas, current Internal Secretary of the Philippine Bonsai Society, Inc. (PBSI) further gave a twist on this controversy in his book, Mindanao Bonsai. Pedrajas recognized the close association of Tugas with Vitex parvi ora and Vitex negundo and echoed an opinion from technicians of the Philippine Bureau of Forestry that Tugas maybe classi ed as Vitex tri ora or Vitex trifolia, nally adopting Vitex trifolia, based on local interviews. Given this unsettled taxonomic issues in the scienti c circles on the Linnean classi cation of Tugas, the writers will just rely on its locally accepted name as Tugas and refrain from endorsing a scienti c name.
Endemic Geography of Tugas
e Philippines is an archipelagic country, located just above the equator and classi ed as belonging to both “ e Paci c Ring of Fire” and “World’s Typhoon Belt.” ese conditions, which are rich in karstic limestone and volcanic formations are visited by numerous typhoons every year. Furthermore the hot-humid, year-round conditions conspire to create some of the trees’ characteristics: hardy, gnarled, twisted, with an aged look. One such ne examples of a tree that excellently exhibits these characters and more, is the material commonly found in the South Cotabato - Sarangani provinces. e Tugas found in these southern parts of the Philippines exhibit some unique character, which is not commonly found in Molave, and which makes them outstanding bonsai material. To sum it up: thick foliage that can be easily trained to few centimeters and internodes that can be reduced considerably in length. On another note, some important contributing factors to the uniqueness of Tugas materials are historical/cultural factors such as the commercial and domestic logging tradition of the area. Logged trees from the 1950s to 1980s resprouted from stumps of old trees. Such specimen, locally called “tuod”, display excellent nebari. Also, the cultural practice of slash- and-burn agriculture or “kaingin,” created burnt stumps and branches that gave rise to natural jin, shari and sabamiki.
M A L A Y S I A
January/February/March 2017 | BCI | 13
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