DAVAO CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Davao region (DENR-11) recently rediscovered a rare flowering plant inside the Mount Apo Natural Park that had not been documented for 122 years.

In a statement, the DENR-11 said that personnel of the Protected Area Management Office–Mount Apo Natural Park (PAMO-MANP) found Ophiorrhiza biflora following routine wildlife monitoring activities.

“While retrieving camera traps along a forest trail, the team spotted a tiny flowering plant that caught their attention despite its minute size,” the DENR-11 said.

It added that the flower is a Philippine endemic species first collected in Mount Apo in October 1904 by American botanist Edwin Bingham Copeland.

DENR-11 emphasized that the rediscovery is highly significant as it confirms the continued survival of a Philippine endemic species that had not been documented in Mount Apo for over a century.

With the rediscovery of the rare flowering plant, the DENR-11 said it reinforces Mount Apo Natural Park's status as one of the country's important biodiversity hotspots. The rediscovery also strengthens the bid for UNESCO Global Geopark recognition.

It also marks the first successful photographic documentation of the species which is also considered a significant milestone in Philippine botanical research.

Belonging to the Rubiaceae family, which includes coffee, gardenia, mussaenda, and santan, Ophiorrhiza biflora was also recorded in Benguet and Negros, DENR-11 said.

Another rare plant species, Agalmyla calelanensis, originally recorded in Mount Apo in 1909, was rediscovered in 2025.

These remarkable discoveries underscore the enduring richness of Mount Apo's forests and highlight the importance of sustained biodiversity monitoring, scientific research, and habitat protection in conserving the Philippines' unique natural heritage, DENR-11 said.