Mt. Apo hikers snack on wild berries found in Boulder Zone

Did you know that we have blueberries here in the Philippines?

As seen in Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras," Thursday, one species can be found in the highest areas of Mt. Apo, the tallest mountain in the Philippines.

Hikers often snack on these Mt. Apo berries or wild berries (Vaccinium fallax), a micro-endemic species found near in the sulfuric vents at the area called the Boulder Zone, over 2,000 meters above sea level.

"Kalat-kalat na mga berries lang," said Bianca Neumann, a hike organizer. "'Pag hilaw pa siya medyo maasim pero 'pag hinog na medyo malambot na and almost color black. Matamis siya like berry talaga."

According to Maverick Tamayo, a PhD candidate studying biology at the Texas Christian University, this is different from the species found in Cordillera (Vaccinium myrtoides).

"It's a different from 'yung common na widespread species sa Pilipinas," he said.

Tamayo and his group found in a study that Mindanao is the center of blueberry diversity in the Philippines. As of now, we have 45 species of blueberry in the country.

"Madami pa tayong ibang species ng blueberries na may potential na puwedeng kainin at gamitin," he said.

Berry is a fruit that comes from the ovary of a flower. Despite its name, strawberry is not a berry but an aggregate fruit. Meanwhile, banana is actually berry. —MGP, GMA News