FLORA FILIPINA FROM ACAPULCO TO MANILA by Alvina, Corazon S. and Madulid, Domingo A.
The Spaniards arrived in the Philippines in the sixteenth century, and discovered an archipelago blessed with natural resources, which included diverse fauna and flora.
The presence of the Spaniards in the Philippines opened the Galleon Trade route from the Americas via Acapulco, which brought different kinds of imports, including botanical species that actually enriched the native landscape and natural life of the Philippines.
The number of the early botanical introductions via the Galleon Trade consisted of food plants, cereals and beans such as corn, lima and yam beans; fruit trees such as avocado, kamatsile, tsiko (chico), kakaw (cocoa); kamatis (tomatoes), piña (pineapple), and mani (peanut). There were also ornamentals, medicinal herbs and textile plants such as maguey. Most of the Mexican species easily adopted to the local climate and soil, After learning how to cultivate them, the Filipinos learned to use the plants in may different possible ways in the form of food, clothing, medicine, and decorative and functional objects. They became integrated into the culture of the local population as material and motif.
