Morphology and habitat of wild tea Gaultheria cumingiana in Mountain Province, Philippines
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Abstract. Garsi JP, Nasungan LM, Baldic AT, Tawanna Jr. R, Cuyangoan JD, Magwilang E, Cue EG, Bangao BJD. 2026. Morphology and habitat of wild tea Gaultheria cumingiana in Mountain Province, Philippines. Asian J For 10 (1): r100133. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjfor/r100133. Gaultheria cumingiana is an important indigenous wild tea species valued in Mountain Province, Philippines, for its aroma, flavor, and medicinal properties. This study aimed to characterize the morphology and habitat features of G. cumingiana and assess the relationship between key soil properties and the plant's essential morphological characteristics. A descriptive quantitative research design was employed across five distinct locations in Bontoc and Barlig, Mountain Province. At each site, ten individual plants were sampled (N = 50 total). Data collection included morphometric and reproductive morphology, as well as soil variables. One-way ANOVA, DMRT, and Pearson r test were utilized to analyze data. The results showed that G. cumingiana was a small, aromatic shrub, exhibiting significant site-based variation in growth with an overall mean of 1.07 m, meanwhile the mean Apical Dominance Index (ADI) ranged from 7 to 14, p<0.05, and the leaf area had an overall mean of 10.89 cm2. Reproductive morphology showed highly significant differences for the number of flowers per peduncle and fruit weight, while not significant for corolla diameter. Soil analysis revealed not significantly different and moderately acidic with the overall mean 5.65, while the % moisture content is highly significant (mean 37.9%). Analysis established a significant negative correlation between soil N concentration and measured leaf area (mean 10.89), indicating that it develops smaller leaves in challenging environments. The species is a strong candidate for focused conservation, sustainable wild tea production, and domestication due to its inherent resilience.
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