T he tallest known Philippine Rosewood (Petersianthus quadrialatus) or toog tree grows in

Mindanao Island, at San Francisco town. It is 54 meters tall.

RARE TROPICAL TREE

This enormous tree is attracting the attention of travelers for many years. Coconut palms
next to it look almost as low as grass. It seems that this toog tree still remembers the
dense jungle of Mindanao around it.

Rosewood, unfortunately, is disappearing from the Philippines – its wood is very hard,
valuable and well usable for construction, paper making, plywood. It bears also edible
fruits: there is a legend that the fruits are produced only after the tree is struck by
lightning. Often the remaining rosewood trees in Mindanao are towering high above
other trees.

EXAGGERATED HEIGHT
The measurements of this tree have caused some misunderstandings, largely
exaggerating the height of the tree and putting it in the league of the world’s tallest trees.
Thus, in 1980 the Alegria Toog was measured by the Reservation and Conservation
Foundation of the Philippines and then its announced height was 87.8 m (288 feet).

In autumn 2010 the people of Alegria decided to organize an extravagant event – to have
the highest Christmas tree in the Philippines. In order to record this achievement, there
was needed exact measurement. Manobo man named Gil Andipa climbed the tree and it
was announced that the measured height of the tree is 96.9 m (1). There is a possibility
that the decoration on the top of the tree was included in its height.

Local Manobo people believe in spirits of this tree and with a special tradition asked for a
permit to use it as Christmas tree.
With a help of skilled tree climbers the tree was adorned with 3,750 bulbs. Unfortunately,
the rain did damage – part of bulbs blew out. But we all know: the most beautiful part of
the festivity is the process of decorating the Christmas tree!

Christmas event turned the attention of local people to this tree.

PROTECTION OF THE TREE

The tree was endangered in 2019: the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
marked it for cutting to avoid the potential danger to the motorists. The tree grows at the
road and it is starting to lean because of the decay in its lower trunk. Nevertheless, in
September 2019 the local officials and environmental authorities agreed that this giant
tree needs to be saved and protected. It is in a danger to collapse but environmental
enthusiasts agree that something needs to be done to prevent it, e.g. added support to the
leaning giant (2).

REFERENCES
1. Jojie Alcantara, Majestic Toog: Philippine’s Tallest Living Christmas Tree,
PBase. Story with many pictures! Accessed on September 17, 2010.
2. Chris Panganiban, PH’s oldest, tallest tree spared from cutting,
Inquirer.net. Published in September 14, 2019. Accessed on December 4, 2019.

he century-old, 65-meter high Toog Tree in Alegria, San Francisco stands proud
by the roadside. It has been fenced and a marker has been erected at its foot.
What does the marker say? That the Toog lumber is hard and cross-grained,
making it difficult for traditional axes and hand saws to cut it (though the
modern chain saws can easily tear it down). If any, the majestic tree reminds us
that we should save and cherish it as a living testament of how beautiful and
pristine the forest and air was.
So go! Have your picture taken with the tree. Hug it and say thank you! I did