The Forests of the Philippines. 5^7 



type. Often, such species as molave, batete, ebony, liusin, batit- 

 inan, and others, are found scattered throughout the open places 

 of the yacal-lauan type. This is especially true of batete. So far 

 as observations go, with the single exception of supa, all the trees 

 mentioned above are found growing scattered in the various types 

 of dipterocarps, and occupy positions either along the streams 

 or in the drier portions. Some of them reach better individual de- 

 velopment in such situations than when growing on limestone 

 hills. It will thus be seen that many of these species occupy lime- 

 stone soils, not because they prefer them to any other, but because 

 they are shaded out of the moister soils by the more successful 

 development of the shade-enduring dipterocarps. The diptero- 

 carps, on the other hand, have soil-moisture requirements that 

 will not permit them to exist in the drier soils of the limestone 

 regions. In a word, the limestone habitat is one that contains 

 a mixture of certain species of the various types of dipterocarp 

 forest. 



As one would suppose, the volume of the molave type is much 

 lower than that of any of the dipterocarp types. This is due 

 both to the thin sand and to the short boles of the trees. It is 

 estimated that the type will average not more than 30 cubic 

 meters per hectare of timber of merchantable size (3,000 board 

 feet to the acre). However, the type is a valuable one, because it 

 contains hard, durable timbers, many of wlijch are very valuable 

 cabinet and furniture woods. 



Mangrove Type. 



The mangrove type is in many respects the most peculiar one 

 in existence. It is literally a forest of the sea. Where condi- 

 tions are favorable, it occupies the beach washed by the tides. 

 It is especially well developed on the mud flats at the mouths of 

 rivers entering the sea at the heads of protected bays. Wherever 

 wave action allows a fairly stable shore line, trees of the type are 

 present. They occur on the quieter portions of the coral reefs, 

 and are thinly scattered on many wave-made terraces that are 

 exposed at low tide. A majority of the stand is composed of the 

 members of one family, the Rhizophoraceas, or bacauan family, 

 comprising the following principal species : Bacauan {Rhisophora 

 mucronata), bacauan-lalaki {Rhisophora conjugata), busain 



