Assessment of Floral Abundance in Polytechnic University of the Philippines Main
Campus
Introduction
Methodology
Plant kingdom covers all the plants in the
entire planet. These are multicellular
organisms that use photosynthesis to make
their own fruit. Over 300,000 species of
plants are found worldwide. Some of these
are grasses, tress, and shrubs (Lane, et. al.,
2017). Plants are very helpful in the
environment. They maintain the atmosphere,
produce oxygen, and absorb carbon dioxide.
Aerobic organisms need oxygen for cellular
respiration. These are just some of its
importance, not just to animals and humans,
but also to the entire environment (Khosla,
2019).
The study and the floral survey was
conducted in the vicinity of Polytechnic
University of the Philippines (PUP) Main
Campus. The survey identified 100
individuals, under nine (9) different plant
species, and classified into six (6) families—
Convolvulaceae,
Rubiaceae,
Meliaceae,
Fabaceae, Asteraceae, and Poaceae.
Results and Discussion
Figure 1 shows the nine (9) plant specifies
identified with their number of individuals
counted during the field survey.
Plants can be found everywhere.
They can be seen at almost all places. Variety
of plant species are found in the campus of
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Manila. In this report, it aims to identify the
different plant species that can be found in
the university as well as to classify them
based on their respective families. To
successfully identify them, floral survey is
needed to conduct and take place.
Floral surveys are being done in a
particular area to help understand its overall
ecological condition. It is the way of
classifying the recorded plants into various
biological life forms (Dudani, 2013). Floral
survey collects data about the native plant
occurring naturally in a particular area to
provide guidance for management planning.
It is being done in order to understand the
biological diversity, the distribution of species
and the environmental factors that affect this,
and to prepare guidelines for managing
natural resources (Barrett, 2020).
Figure 1. Plant Species and the number of
individual counted
Among the nine (9) plant species identified,
Ixora coccinea is the most abundant in the
PUP campus with 27 individuals. And Coffea
arabica is the least abundant plant species
with only one (1) individual. Ipomoea
acuminata has 4 individuals, Swietenia
macrophylla has 5, Tridax procumbens has
19, Bambusa sp. has 12, Turbina
corymbosa has 8, Caesalpinia pulcherrima
has 7, and Pterocarpus indicus has 17, with
a total of 100 individuals found in PUP main
campus.
Table 1 shows which among the six
(6) families each plant species belongs to.
Plant Species
Family
Coffea arabica
Rubiaceae
Ipomoea
acuminata
Convolvulaceae
Ixora coccinea
Rubiaceae
Swietneia
macrophylla
Meliaceae
Tridax
procumbens
Asteraceae
Bambusa sp.
Poaceae
Turbina
corymbosa
Convolvulaceae
Families and Their Plant
Distribution
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Figure 2. Families and their plant distribution
Caesalpinia
pulcherrima
Fabaceae
Pterocarpus
indicus
Fabaceae
Table 1. Plant species and their family
Coffea arabica and Ixora coccinea belong
to the family Rubiaceae. Ipomoea acuminate
and Turbina corymbosa belong to the family
Convolvulaceae. Swietenia macrophylla
belongs to the family Meliaceae. Tridax
procumbens belongs to the family
Asteraceae. Bambusa sp. belongs to the
family Poaceae. Caesalpinia pulcherrima and
Pterocarpus indicus belong to the family
Fabaceae.
Figure 2 shows the number of
individuals present in each family classified
during the field survey.
There are twelve (12) individuals of
two (2) plant species classified under the
family of Convolculaceae. These are four (4)
individuals of Ipomoea acuminata and eight
(8) individuals of Turbina corymbosa. There
are twenty-eight (28) individuals classified
under the family of Rubiaceae. These are
twenty-seven (27) Ixora coccinea and one
(1) Coffea arabica. The five (5) individuals of
Swietenia macrophylla are classified under
the family of Meliaceae. Under the family of
Fabaceae are seven (7) individuals of
Caesalpinia pulcherrima and seventeen (17)
individuals of Pterocarpus indicus. A total of
twenty-four (24) individuals are classified in
this family. And the remaining nineteen (19)
individuals of Tridax procumbens and twelve
(12) individuals of Bambusa sp. are classified
into the families of Asteraceae and Poaceae
respectively. Rubiaceae family has the
highest percentage of plant distribution while
Meliaceae has the least percentage among
the six families.
Conclusion
Among the six families, Rubiaceae has the
highest percentage of plant distribution in
Polytechnic University of the Philippines Main
Campus. Meanwhile, Meliaceae has the least
percentage among the six families.
Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants. It
is one of the largest families of angiosperms
and mainly consists of approximately 620
genera and 13,500 plant species. Terrestrial
trees, shrubs, and herbs with opposite
leaves, interpetiolar stipules, and inferior
ovary are categorized under this family.
On the other hand, Meliaceae is the
mahogany family of flowering plants. It has
53 genera and 600 known plant species.
Members of this family have large compound
leaves, and branched flower clusters.
References
Lane, A., et. al. (2017). Plant. Biology
dictionary. Retrieved from:
https://biologydictionary.net/plant/
Khosla, N., et. al. (2019). Importance of
Plants. FlexBooks. Retrieved from:
https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck1
2-biology-flexbook2.0/section/9.2/primary/lesson/impo
rtance-of-plants-bio
Dudani, Sumesh. (2013). ResearchGate.
Retrieved
from:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/
What-is-the-significance-ofsurveyand-documentation-of-plantsof-theparticular-region-in-recenttrends-ofplant-sciences
Barrett, Adrian. (2020). What is Important for
a Good Flora and Vegetation
Survey.
Retrieved
from:
https://www.focusedvision.com.au/