Plant taxonomy book explores
local fauna

The Philippines has an abundance and variety of plants, many of which remain undiscovered and unidentified. Unfortunately, there are also very few Filipino plant taxonomists who can go about the task of making an inventory of these plants.

Students, teachers and plant enthusiasts will therefore find an invaluable resource in the University of the Philippines Press’s latest release, Irma Remo Castro’s A Guide to Families of Common Flowering Plants in the Philippines.

The book is an introduction to the science of plant classification and identification or plant taxonomy. It provides helpful guides to the vocabulary of plant science, providing illustrations and photographs to give readers a clearer understanding of an appreciation for flowering plants that commonly grow in the Philippines. While the book aims to stimulate interests in the subject and perhaps inspire some young Filipinos to go deeper into the field of plant taxonomy, Castro also wishes to "invite people into taking a second look at plants – to see the details of a leaf, and see the beauty of the flower." What the reader discovers in the pages of this book is a familiar place, say, a back garden, all at once transformed into a fascinating world filled with possibilities for discovery.

Irma Remo Castro is a graduate of BS and MS Botany from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She worked as a science researcher at the National Institute of Science and technology, now Industrial Technology and Development Institute, particularly on medicinal plants and environmental impact assessment projects. She trained on plant anatomy at the Jodrell Laboratory at Kew, United Kingdom, and worked as a volunteer at the Harvard University Herbaria. She has published her works in the Philippine Journal of Science for which she has also served as an associate editor.