Orchids in Costa Rica Part IV: The Charles H. Lankester Botanical Garden BY CARLOS OSSENBACH

“The preservation of the Lankester Gardens in Costa Rica is the greatest conservation effort made by those who love orchids ...” — Rebecca T. Northen, 1972

CÓNCAVAS (= CONCAVITIES) IS THE local Spanish name for circular, 3- to 4- feet- (.9- to 1.2-m-) depressions in soils with large contents of clay, several hundred feet in diameter, frequently found to the east of the Costa Rican city of Cartago. These depressions often fill with water and form large lagoons, a paradise for migratory birds that fly to Costa Rica during the last months of the year to escape the harshness of the North American winter. A coffee farm with the name of Las Cóncavas, established in the second half of the 19th century by Francisco Quesada, was bought in 1924 by Charles H. Lankester, and featured one of these beautiful lagoons. On a section of this farm, called El Silvestre (= the uncultivated), Lankester began his wonderful collections of orchids and of other families that formed the base of the Charles H. Lankester Botanical Garden of the University of Costa Rica. El Silvestre, which Lankester had kept when he sold the rest of his farm in 1955, was inherited by his daugher Dorothy, although economic circum- stances made it seem difficult to fulfill Lankester’s dream of conserving the place as an “orchid heaven.” Dorothy was forced to put the garden up for sale. However, through the efforts of the Costa Rican Orchid Society and Rafael ABOVE Charles Lankester in 1936 with a native of the southern valley of El Lucas Rodríguez, a group of members one of his first cacti. General, grew for several years at the of the American Orchid Society (led by OPPOSITE TOP LEFT Dorothy Lankester Botanical Garden in Munich until it was Rebecca T. Northen), raised half of the (1912–1992) inherited from her father not discovered as a new . purchase price, which was $25,000. The only his famous garden but also his OPPOSITE Chondroscaphe yamilethae other half was donated by the Stanley passion for orchids. Carlyle Luer, MD, honors the president of the University of Smith Horticultural Trust of Great named dorotheae in her honor. Costa Rica, Dr. Yamileth González, for her Britain. An evaluation committee was OPPOSITE TOP RIGHT Kefersteinia retanae, achievements in favor of the garden. formed, and thus the garden was

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WWW.AOS.ORG APRIL 2006 ORCHIDS 269 F. PUPULIN F. inspected by Thomas A. Bartenfeld, Günter Gerlach, Klaus C. Horich and president of the Conservation Com- many others were frequent guests at mittee of the AOS; Eric Young, Charles Lankester’s old farm at Las president of the Orchid Society of Cóncavas. Her interaction with other Great Britain; and Calaway H. Dodson, botanists resulted in 300 Costa Rican PhD, whose expertise on Costa Rica was orchids illustrated under the series of great value. Their decision was Icones Plantarum Tropicarum, mostly positive and the garden was purchased based on the living collections kept at on condition that the University of Costa the gardens. As Atwood remembers, Rica would operate it as a botanical she kept a vision of Lankester Gardens garden. And so, on March 2, 1973, the not only as a tourist garden for Charles H. Lankester Botanical Garden generating revenues but as a garden was formally inaugurated. dedicated to Costa Rican orchid The first years were difficult. Without research. In 1984, in collaboration with a proper budget, the garden could not Dressler, who at the time was an invited be kept open to the public, and could be professor at the University of Costa visited only by special appointment with Rica, she organized the first formal Rafael L. Rodríguez. It was not until 1979 course in orchidology. Her main that the University named Dora Emilia scientific legacy to the knowledge of Mora de Retana as the first director of Costa Rican orchid was the the garden, which, under her direction, treatment of the subtribes Maxil- slowly tranformed itself from a small farm larinae and for the Flora of 25 acres (10.7 ha) into a world- Costaricensis, prepared in collabora- renowned botanical garden. tion with Atwood. CHARLES LANKESTER Aside from her scientific achieve- Many new orchid species were ABOVE LEFT Formerly a Chondrorhyncha, ments, Mora de Retana had the merit dedicated to Mora de Retana. Hágsater Stenotyla lankesteriana was dedicated to of converting the garden into a meeting named in her honor his Epidendrum the garden’s institutional merits. point for the world’s most prestigious mora-retanae, Gerlach his Kefersteinia ABOVE Charles Lankester was an orchidologists. Calaway H. Dodson, retanae, Dressler his Sobralia Norris H. Williams, Robert L. Dresser, doremiliae, Luer his morae and accomplished photographer. Among his John T. Atwood, Carlyle A. Luer, Rudolf Dodson and Escobar their Telipogon portraits was this cow grazing at the Jenny, Eric Hágsater, Henry Oakeley, retanarum. lagoon in Las Cóncavas taken in 1937.

270 ORCHIDS APRIL 2006 WWW.AOS.ORG WWW.AOS.ORG APRIL 2006 ORCHIDS 271 We leave Dora Emilia Mora de Retana Costa Rica (1937), where Oakes Ames As Atwood liked to say, “I don’t have with Atwoods’ final words in his obituary, had contributed the . the brains of Joaquín, therefore I need “… her greatest legacy is to rise above In this Lista actualizada de las a well-organized library.” Always personal ambitions to foster efforts of orquídeas de Costa Rica, Dora Emilia generous with his knowledge and his those around her. Because of her, and Castro added 46 genera and 467 time, Castro was for several periods the Lankester Gardens is blessed with a species to the previous catalog. A president of the Costa Rican Orchid talented, imaginative, and altruistic staff medical doctor and university pro- Society. With good reason, Franco … .” fessor, Castro had a privileged mind Pupulin dedicated his Prosthechea Joaquín B. García Castro (1944– and was, for long years, the mentor of joaquingarciana to him shortly after 2001), who was called “Quincho” by many Costa Rican orchid enthusiasts. his death. his friends, was Mora de Retana’s A brilliant scholar, Castro liked to The Lankester Botanical Garden friend and main collaborator for more lecture to his friends on complicated has become the most important center than 25 years. Together, they published themes such as the biochemistry of for orchid research in Central America the first checklist of Costa Rican colors in orchid flowers or fun- and the Caribbean. Because of this, in orchids after Paul Standley’s Flora of damentals in orchid hybrid genetics. 2003 the University of Costa Rica converted the garden to an ex- Promoting Orchid Conservation in Mesoamerica perimental station. In December 2005, the Ministry for the Environment declared the Lankester Botanical MESOAMERICA has one of the world’s richest orchid floras with more than 3,000 Gardens a “National Center for the species and a high level of endemism. In the past 60 years, this area has experienced Convervation of the Flora and National one of the highest rates of deforestation and habitat fragmentation. Knowledge of Epiphyte Sanctuary.” For its in- Mesoamerican Orchidaceae is still largely incomplete. Many taxa are represented in stitutional merits, Pupulin named herbaria worldwide by less than five specimens, and a high number of species are Chrondrorhyncha lankesteriana known only from the type specimen. Assessments of orchid diversity are made, not (today Stenotyla lankesteriana) in by direct observations, but by analyzing historical data that is usually found in honor of the gardens. libraries and herbaria in Europe or the United States. In the past, a lack of Jorge Warner, a former assistant to information resources and documentation about local flora has hindered research and Dora Emilia Mora de Retana, took o- conservation activities in those countries. ver the position of director of the In 2000, Jardín Botánico Lankester launched a conservation strategy for Costa Lankester Botanical Garden after she Rican orchids, the core of the cultural and scientific heritage of this botanical retired in 2000. Assisted by a scientific institution. This strategy consisted of developing a better understanding of orchid council, Warner has been able to secure habitat and species diversity, based on efficient retrieval of biological information more support from the University and improving our current knowledge, as well as disseminating and sharing results authorities, especially from university with the public and scientific communities. President Dr. Yamileth González, to In the last five years, Jardín Botánico Lankester has been working in partnership whom Pupulin dedicated his with other botanical institutions, to establish an information center for Chondroscaphe yamilethae. Warner Mesoamerican orchid research and conservation. Specific goals are to gather and has also been successful in improving update historical and current biological information about orchids. This includes the garden’s infrastructure and has clarification of species, variation, distribution, ecology, natural history, population built up a highly qualified research dynamics and endangerment, and to establish conservation priorities both in terms staff, among which the figures of of genetic rarity and habitat sensitivity. Dressler and Pupulin stand out. The As a direct result of this project, we now have: small team of researchers has produced ! a documentation center with actual-size reproductions of 1,600 types of high-caliber scientific findings and orchid taxa (± 30 percent of the published orchid names in the region), together with described more than 60 new orchid thousands of relevant historical documents species in the last five years. ! collections of living plants, flowers preserved in spirit, pollinaria, dried Lankester Gardens is famous for its tissue samples and digital images (see separate note by Diego Bogarín) that allow orchid collections. However, col- local and visiting botanists quicker and easier access to critical research resources. lections of other families have ! a digital database of the field books of scientific staff and associate become increasingly important over researchers, including more than 10,000 documented records on orchid distribution the past years. The section of cacti and and habitats other succulents was one of Charles ! published orchid inventories of several Costa Rican national parks Lankester’s favorite spots since the ! predictive distribution maps for about 70 selected orchid species years before World War II, when don ! a collection of 7,000 medium-format color slides (+80 percent) of all Costa Carlos brought the first specimens of Rican taxa. cacti into El Silvestre. With this instrument, we have arrived at a functional understanding of the causes Herminia López-Calleja, a niece of of rarity and decline of some orchid populations and have been able to give Amparo Zeledón, Costa Rica’s famous recommendations to the government of Costa Rica for legislation to protect orchid orchid grower and collector during the habitats. We have organized two international conferences on orchid biology and first decades of the 20th century, conservation in Costa Rica and have been selected to host the Third International donated her collection of cacti to the Orchid Conservation Congress in San José in March 2007. — Jorge Warner, garden in the 1980s. Her daughter, Director, Lankester Botanical Garden (e-mail [email protected]). Conchita Guzmán, donated new

272 ORCHIDS APRIL 2006 WWW.AOS.ORG LEFT Homepage of the new Web site of Lankester Botanical Gardens (www.jardinbotanicolankester.org) where visitors can learn about LBG projects, new publications from the orchid world, organization of the 3rd IOCC Conference in Costa Rica (March 2007) or enjoy the magnificent gallery of photographs. The homepage is conveniently presented in two languages: English and Spanish. The photograph on the homepage is of a rare Costa Rican terrestrial orchid, Eurystyles standleyi. BELOW Sobralia doremiliae is found in Tapantí National Park, only a few miles away from Lankester Gardens. F. PUPULIN F.

WWW.AOS.ORG APRIL 2006 ORCHIDS 273 installations for the cacti collection that Garden, with news and articles on Costa Rican Orchids, Vol. 1. University of were inaugurated in 2005. Other popular orchid-related topics. Costa Rica Press. Warner, J., 2002. Joaquín Bernardo García collections are those of bromeliads, Castro, 1944–2001. Lankesteriana 3:3–4. palms, heliconias (35 species) and Acknowledgments bamboo (40 species). To Franco Pupulin for his photographs. Carlos Ossenbach is a research One third of the garden, used as To Ricardo Lankester for photographs and associate of Jardín Botánico Lankester, pastures during Lankester’s time, has family documents. To Jorge Warner and Diego University of Costa Rica. Since 1998 he been left to regenerate without human Bogarín for their contributions to this article. has worked on a large project of influence and is today an extremely documentation, the Bibliographical interesting secondary forest. Under the References Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica, Atwood, J.T., 2001. Dora Emilia Mora de trees we find a great variety of plants, Retana, a remembrance. Lankesteriana 2:9. aimed to combine in a single work all among them the beautiful aroid, Bitter, E. 2002. Joaquín García, Quincho. the information sources about the Monstera deliciosa. Lankesteriana 3:3. orchid flora of the country. In 2003, he A last word must be said about the Northen, R.T., 1972. Salvando los Jardines published a Brief History of Costa Rican Lankester. Orquídea (Méx.) II(1):20–23. garden’s publications. Lankesteriana Orchidology. This article completes his —. 1973. Dedication of the Lankester has become a scientific journal that Garden. Orquídea (Méx.) III(7):216–219. four-part series on the orchids of enjoys worldwide recognition. Many Ossenbach, C. 2003. Breve Historia de la Costa Rica. Jardín Botánico Lankester, new species of orchids have been Orquideología en Costa Rica. Editorial de Universidad de Costa Rica, PO Box la Universidad de Costa Rica. described there since it first appeared Pupulin, F., and C. Ossenbach. 2005. 1031-7050 Cartago, Costa Rica, in 2001. Epidendrum is the increasingly Orchidology in Costa Rica, in Pp. xi–xxx, Central America (e-mail caossenb@ popular bulletin of Lankester Botanical Pupulin et al. Vanishing Beauty, Native racsa.co.cr).

Orchid Collections at Lankester Botanical Garden

THE collections in a botanical garden complements the herbarium material and play a major role in the development of is useful in maintaining the three- scientific research. The reference dimensional character of an orchid collections system is in charge of the flower. The collection was begun in Orchid Identification Center, in the 2002 and has now more than 2,000 Research Department of Lankester samples, 90 percent of which are Costa Botanical Garden (LBG). The Rican specimens, representing about 65 collections provide the staff and visiting percent of the native Costa Rican researchers with critical information orchids. In addition, there is an orchid essential to botanical work, and also pollinaria collection, a novel idea function as sources for public display in because it involves both physical educational exhibits. specimens of pollinaria with their The extensive botanical exploration respective digital images. throughout the country, donations and The collection has 200 samples of

interchange of plants with other PUPULIN F. species both native and exotic. The botanical institutions, have built up the dried tissue collection has 400 samples living collection of LBG. This living ABOVE A beautiful discovered by of orchids. The tissues, preserved in collection includes no less than 10,000 Franco Pupulin on his birthday. He aptly silica gel, are used to make phylogenetic orchid plants, each identified with a named it inexperata, the “unexpected.” analysis or DNA studies. Finally, the label showing the scientific name, the digital images collection is composed of number and name of the collector and a cultivate. The species described as new photographs, scanned plates, ink reference number. Plants native to Costa to science by the taxonomists at LBG are drawings, sketches and historic Rica make up 80 percent of the total. represented in cultivation as clonotypes. documents such as types at the The other 20 percent is composed of The living collection is a constant Harvard, Kew and Vienna Herbaria, orchids mainly from South and Central source of material needed for taxonomic protologs and bibliographic documents. America, with some from Africa and work. Taxonomy is a comparative All collections have an electronic Asia. The number of species is around activity, and requires the study of a lot of inventory searchable by a computer, 1,100, representing about seven of material to assess variability and select making it easy to access the every 10 species native to Costa Rica. critical characters to differentiate the information. In the future, LBG plans There are unique specimens growing in species. To support this, the LBG has to put all of this information on the this collection like Dracula inexperata, established several parallel collections in Internet by a mechanism that involves a one of the beauties of Costa Rican addition to the collections of living list of names in a taxonomic sense. pleurothallids; the enigmatic Warmingia plants. One important reference is the Linked to the orchid collection system margaritacea, a rare oncidioid orchid collection of flowers preserved in spirit, of LBG, each name will refer to the only known from Costa Rica; and where important vouchers are kept of information existing at the moment for Brachionidium haberi, one of the orchid photographies, anatomical studies, each taxon. — Diego Bogarín, Research biggest species of the with purple floristic projects and plants described as Associate, Lankester Botanical Garden flowers, which is difficult to find and new species. This collection (e-mail [email protected]).

274 ORCHIDS APRIL 2006 WWW.AOS.ORG TOP LEFT Rafael Lucas Rodríguez (standing) during the opening address at the inauguration of the Lankester Botanical Garden. Next to him Gordon Dillon, Secretary of the American Orchid Society and to the far right Rebecca Northen, who led the fundraising efforts in the United States to buy the garden. ABOVE Front covers of Lankesteriana (top) and Epidendrum, the publications of Lankester Botanical Garden. LEFT Stelis morae, a representative of this genus known for its confusing taxonomy. F. PUPULIN F.

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