Individual Project: Eduardo Quisumbing

Delwin Rose V. Villarey

2010-79267

Eduardo Quisumbing is a foremost Filipino botanist. He was a distinguished academician and bore the title of National Scientist of the Philippines for his contributions to Philippine plant taxonomy and systematics.  Dr. Quisumbing graduated from the University of the Philippines (undergraduate) and the University of Chicago (postgraduate) as magna cum laude in both  universities (Wikipedia, 2014).

Not to be confused with another Filipino scientist, Dr. Francisco Quisumbing, it is necessary to situate him not only with his titles but also with his life's works.

The global community considers the Philippines as one of the centers of biological diversity. Our country's flora comprises more than 10,000 plant species that are endemic to the Philippines. Out of that number, it equates to roughly about 40% of flowering plants which any Western botany enthusiast have to travel half the world to see. In fact, they do. As early as the 1900s, during the colonial occupation of the Americans in the Philippines, "vigorous explorations, discoveries, and collections" have been made in the Philippines (Pelser, et. al., 2011). This is the "Golden Age of Philippine Botany." The Herbarium of the Bureau of Science, biggest herbarium in Asia, was established in the Philippines. Until World War II, it housed a whooping number of plant specimens (over 1,000,000!). But then, the war broke out and the herbarium and all the endemic plant specimens it contained were burned. 605, 367 specimens turned to ashes (Wasson, 557, 1987). Fortunately, some of the plants were sent to different parts of the world for research. 

Dr. Eduardo A. Quisumbing is a god-send for Filipinos and foreigners alike who are interested in our country's flora. After the war, he searched and paid for 76, 983 specimens of Philippine endemic plants sent out before the war ( and therefore preserved from the fire that consumed the Herbarium) so that he could make a working library (Pelser, et. al., 2011; nationalmuseum.gov.ph). Hence, he was also dubbed as the "Treasure Hunter of Green Gold" (Manila Times). In essence, he rehabilitated the National Herbarium.

Known as the "Father of Philippine Orchidology," Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing's primary interest is Philippine Orchidaceae. He published 137 papers about Philippine orchids and other flora. He was the sole writer of majority of the papers. He also co-written with other Filipino botanists and other botany authorities such as the former director of the Philippine Herbarium, Elmer D. Merrill (Wasson, 1987; Pelser et. al., 2011). In August 29, 1969, when Quisumbing was 74 years old, he received the American Orchid Society's Gold Medal. This recognition is the "highest honor for distinguished work in orchid culture," given to "individuals [who] have contributed to the betterment of orchid culture, understanding, education, and the social aspects of the orchid hobby" (AOS.org).

His study of Philippine medicinal plants, published as a book called Medicinal Plants in Philippines, was the predecessor of all other researches about medicinal plants. Here, he shared his discoveries of over 900 kinds of medicinal plants which was used in Philippine pharmaceutics and medicine ever since (Wasson, 557, 1987).

He died at the age of  90, on August 23, 1986.

Sources:

American Orchid Society. 2014. AOS Medal and Award Recepients. Florida: Fairchild Botanic Garden. http://www.aos.org/Default.aspx?id=669. March 3, 2014.

Manila Times. 2013. Filipino Scientists Recognized. Intramuros: Manila Times. http://manilatimes.net/filipino-scientists-recognized/22103. March 3, 2014.

National Museum. 2014. Botany Division: Historical Notes. Manila: National Museum of the Philippines. http://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/Botany/BotanyHistory1.html. March 3, 2014.

Pelser, P., J. Barcelona & D. Nickrent. 2011. Co’s Digital Flora of the Philippines. Philippineplants.org.

Wasson, G. 1987. Plant Taxonomy. 36: 2. International Association for Plant Taxonomy.   JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1221489. March 3, 2014.  

Wikipedia. 2014. Eduardo Quisumbing. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Quisumbing. March 3, 2014.