THE PROGRESS OF WOOD IDENTIFICATION IN THE 

 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 



By E. E. Schneider* 



[This very interesting article was submitted nearly two years ago, 



but was delayed on account of the pressure on space by material of 



closer home interest. The article has lost nothing of its interest by 

 the delay. — Ed.] 



The relative complexity and difficulty of the study of wood 

 structure is primarily, of course, a mere matter of number of 

 species. There are probably few countries in the world where 

 in an equally small area there can be found a more complex and 

 varied forest flora than in the Philippine Islands and where, con- 

 sequently, there is presented a wider and more interesting field 

 for the study of woods. 



The Philippines extend over about 1100 miles, from the lati- 

 tude of the middle of Borneo to near the southern end of For- 

 mosa. Geologically, as well as by population, they constitute the 

 northernmost spur of the Indo-Malayan region. Their topography 

 is very rugged, ranging from coastal swamps to mountain tops 

 of 10,000 feet in height. Besides coral and limestone soils, they 

 possess almost every possible type of soil of volcanic origin. The 

 flora of the Archipelago is, in the main, of Malaysian origin, but 

 numerous Formosan, Japanese and Chinese species are also found. 



More than 10,000 species of woody plants have so far been 

 recorded. Of these, about 2500 are trees, in the botanist's wide 

 acception of the word. The species that, by size and quality of 

 product, can be called timber trees number over 500, while those 

 that reach the dignity of being "commercial woods" will probably 

 reach 200 or more. These figures, vague as they are, are very 

 conservative estimates, and will undoubtedly be largely increased 

 as further explorations and collections enable us to make them 

 more accurate. 



A single concrete example will illustrate these conditions. At 

 Lamao, Province of Bataan, only twenty miles or so from Manila, 

 there is a forest reserve containing 17 square miles. It extends 

 from the shore of Manila Bay to one of the peaks of Mount 

 Mariveles, 4600 feet in height, and contains at least four types : 

 a bit of beach, a small area of mangrove swamp, a fairly heavy 



*Wood expert, Bureau of Forestry, Manila, P. I. 



325 



