Introduction
Family Aristolochiaceae also known as birthwort is represented by over 700 species belonging to 8 genera. They are primarily tropical plant family extending to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere that encompass a range of plant forms, including small to medium-sized vines and lianas, geophytes that emerge from thickened rootstocks or tubers, as well as shrubs or small trees (Neinhuis et al. 2005). In the Philippines, Aristolochiaceae is poorly known represented by two genera:Aristolochia L. with 11 species and Thottea Rottb. with a single species (T. philippinensis Quisumbing). We suspect that future fieldwork focusing on collecting Aristolochiaceae species will probably result in the discovery of more species, either endemic or as new records from neighboring countries.
Fresh materials of unknown Thottea species were collected in Pasonanca Natural Park, Zamboanga City in April 2023, and in Naga-Kabasalan Protected Landscape, Zamboanga Sibugay in June 2023 as part of the authors’ ongoing exploratory and conservation work on flowering plants within the Zamboanga Peninsula. The specimen collected from Zamboanga City has been identified as Thottea tomentosa(Blume) Ding Hou, using the key provided by Mustaqim & Putra (2020). This species is distributed in Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nicobar Is., Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, and Vietnam. In contrast, the specimen collected from Naga-Kabasalan Protected Landscape, Zamboanga Sibugay was found matching with the long lost and poorly known species T. philippinensis Quisumbing. Hence, this study prompted us to provide an extended description, updated geographical distribution, habitat and a provisional IUCN conservation assessment for T. philippinensis and confirm the occurrence of T . tomentosa in the Philippine archipelago. With the inclusion of T . tomentosa , the Philippines now holds a total of two Thottea species.