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70 years after David Fairchild’s famous exploration, we return to the Spice Islands published by fairchild tropical botanic garden tropical gourmet foods home décor accessories The Shop eco-friendly and fair trade products gardening supplies unique tropical gifts AT FAIRCHILD books on tropical gardening, cuisine and more

Painted Sparrow, $10 Starling Salt and Pepper Shakers, $18

fairchild tropical botanic garden 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, FL 33156 • 305.667.1651, ext. 3305 • www.fairchildgarden.org • shop online at www.fairchildonline.com

Photo by Gaby Orihuela FTBG contents

The trip of David Fairchild’s Lifetime: Fairchild’s Work in the Caribbean: Jamaica A Return to the Spice Islands, 32 23 Melissa E. Abdo, Pamela McLaughlin, Keron Campbell, Carl Lewis Brett Jestrow, Eric von Wettberg

5 FROM THE DIRECTOR 8 EVENTS 9 NEWS 11 TROPICAL CUISINE 13 WHAT’S BLOOMING 15 EXPLAINING 17 VIS-A-VIS VOLUNTEERS 20 SOCIETIES 49 THAT CHANGED THE WORLD 51 BUG BEAT 52 GIFTS AND DONORS 53 WISH LIST My Encounter in the Galapagos, 54 VISTAS Georgia Tasker 42 55 WHAT’S IN STORE 56 GARDEN VIEWS 60 FROM THE ARCHIVES

10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, FL 33156 • 305.667.1651, ext. 3305 • www.fairchildgarden.org • shop online at www.fairchildonline.com www.fairchildgarden.org 3 MATCH AND RIDE New Trams for Fairchild

The Donald and Terry Blechman Tribute Fund: Match and Ride What do you remember most about your visit to Fairchild? The beauty? The vistas? The palms? Probably all of these. But you’re most likely to remember enjoying a tram tour of Fairchild insightfully narrated by one of our dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers.

Don Blechman, one such Fairchild volunteer, could be found narrating tours of the garden every Friday morning with his wife, Terry. Don recently passed away, and the Blechmans’ dear friends and Fairchild Trustees, Allan and Patti Herbert, created a lasting tribute to Don, who always hoped that Fairchild could purchase new trams.

The Donald and Terry Blechman Tribute Fund is a grant established to help Fairchild raise critically- needed funds to purchase new trams for visitor tours by matching each dollar raised. The Herberts will match every dollar raised through December 31, 2010, so guests can enjoy tours of the garden in new trams. That means that every dollar Fairchild raises, the Herberts will match in tribute to Don and Terry. But, we need your help! The more we raise, the more the Herberts match and the closer we get to purchasing new trams.

If you would like to make a pledge, please call 305.663.8051. You can also donate online at www.fairchildgarden.org/Match. Hurry! This offer ends on December 31, 2010.

So please make your pledge soon. fairchild tropical botanic garden from the director

here is something uniquely magical about tropical islands. Since the earliest days of exploration, we have been captivated by their romance, mystery and unusually rich biodiversity. Isolated in warm and stormy seas for millions of years, tropical islands Thave developed some of the world’s most extraordinary plants and animals. In this issue of The Tropical Garden, we visit two spectacular groups of islands on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean, both situated directly on the equator. Separated by nearly 10,000 miles of open ocean, Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands and Indonesia’s Spice Islands both share an unusual significance in the history of biology.

In 1835, Charles Darwin spent a month in the Galapagos Islands while conducting surveys with the crew of the HMS Beagle. He collected dozens of plant and animal specimens, including representatives of the remarkable bird life. The bird specimens, especially the finches, provided the inspiration for Darwin’s discovery of how living things adapt to subtle environmental differences. Earlier this year our own Georgia Tasker followed in Darwin’s footsteps, traveling the Galapagos to observe the diversity that inspired his greatest discoveries.

Alfred Russel Wallace, a young colleague of Charles Darwin, collected bird and insect specimens in the Spice Islands of Indonesia. In 1858, immersed in the extraordinary biodiversity of the region, he was the first to articulate the groundbreaking theory of evolution by natural selection.

Inspired by Wallace’s discovery, David Fairchild spent his life traveling and exploring the world. Finally, in his 70s, he had a chance to visit the Spice Islands, but that expedition was cut short by the onset of World War II. To finish what Fairchild started, we have begun collaborating with organizations in Indonesia to document and conserve the unique flora that still exists in the Spice Islands. Exactly 70 years after Dr. Fairchild’s quick trip through the region, I was fortunate enough to be able to explore some of the places he missed. After my trip, conservation biologist Melissa Abdo trekked even further into the heart of the islands and saw an incredible diversity of palms and other tropical plants. As we continue exploring the region we follow in the footsteps of some of history’s greatest scientists.

Closer to home, our researchers have been exploring equally spectacular island habitats in the Caribbean, working to save plants on the brink of extinction. In this issue, Melissa Abdo and her colleagues describe a project to document and conserve the flora of the rugged Cockpit Country of Jamaica. The region is a matrix of different habitats, each supporting unique plant species, all influenced by subtle differences in geology. We are learning important lessons about the vulnerability of rare plant populations in that complex environment.

Our work to conserve the fragile habitats of tropical islands is increasingly important. Dr. Javier Francisco-Ortega, one of our senior scientists and Fairchild Challenge program manager, is a leading expert on island biodiversity and conservation. He is recruiting and training a new generation of students to join in our work.

As we study island habitats, we are incorporating their best elements into our plantings at Fairchild. Since our garden was founded, we have worked to build a landscape that is just as awe-inspiring and conducive to scientific discovery as faraway island archipelagos. Soon, our ability to inspire and educate students will increase as our collections expand and as we build new laboratory and teaching spaces.

On your next visit to Fairchild, I hope you will take a close look at our plants and think about the island habitats that inspired some of the greatest scientific discoveries in history. Just imagine the discoveries we can make in the years ahead.

Carl Lewis, P.h.D.

www.fairchildgarden.org 5 contributors DR. CARL LEWIS came to Fairchild from upstate New York in January 2001. As a scientist focused on palms, his work combines tropical field exploration with cutting-edge techniques in molecular biology. Inspired by Dr. David Fairchild’s legacy, he is incorporating historical information from our archives into new research projects. As Fairchild’s director, he is expanding our education programs to train a new generation of students for careers in the environment.

GEORGIA TASKER was the garden The Miami Herald RichardRichard Lyons’Lyons’ NurseryNursery inc.inc. writer for for over 30 years, and now writes and blogs for RareRare && UnusualUnusual TropicalTropical TreesTrees && PlantsPlants Fairchild. She has received the FloweringFlowering • • FruitFruit •• NativeNative •• PalmPalm •• BambooBamboo •• HeliconiaHeliconia garden’s highest honor, the Barbour HummingbirdHummingbird • • BonsaiBonsai && ButterflyButterfly Medal, and a lifetime achievement award from Tropical Audubon Society. PROUD MEMBER OF She is also an avid photographer, gardener and traveler. Georgia graduated cum laude from Hanover www.RichardLyonsNursery.comwww.RichardLyonsNursery.com College in Hanover, Indiana, and [email protected]@RichardLyonsNursery.com received the first certificate in tropical @lycheeman1@lycheeman1 onon TwitterTwitter commercial from Florida International University. Nursery:Nursery: 2020020200 S.W.S.W. 134134 Ave.,Ave., MiamiMiami Phone:Phone: 305-251-6293305-251-6293 •• fax:fax: 305-324-1054305-324-1054 NETIVA KOLITZ has been with the Mail:Mail: 12301230 N.W.N.W. 7th7th StSt •• Miami,Miami, FLFL 3312533125 garden since 2005, originally as an education outreach coordinator for the Fairchild Challenge program for high schools and currently as the Fairchild Challenge satellite programs coordinator. Netiva has a Bachelor of Science and has completed graduate coursework in both education and environmental studies. Additionally, she has more than 15 years of professional experience in formal and informal educational settings.

MELISSA ABDO is the International Conservation Projects Officer for Fairchild, and is thrilled to lead plant *J9;LA;=QG?9 exploration and conservation efforts in 1AL@>JA=F

Your Water Garden Professionals Growing with the community

South Florida is a place where beautiful things grow. It’s a place where the roots of the community are deep. Baptist Health has been a part of that growth — and of this community — for nearly 50 years. With a reputation for great care, we score higher than all other hospitals in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties in patient satisfaction, based on the latest U.S. government survey of hospital patients. Satisfaction like that doesn’t just happen. Our success is due to the dedication and professionalism of our caregivers. So, we give thanks to our people, who make all the dierence. And we thank our patients, who gladly recommend us. We pledge to give you the best possible care.

Committed to our faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence

For a free referral to a Baptist Health physician, call 786-596-6557 weekdays, 8 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Or, if you prefer, go online 24/7 at baptisthealth.net. The official publication of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden editorial staff editor in chief chief operating officer Nannette M. Zapata design Lorena Alban production manager Gaby Orihuela feature writers Georgia Tasker EVENTS @ FAIRCHILD Jeff Wasielewski THE EDIBLE GARDEN staff contributors OCTOBER FESTIVAL FEATURING THE DECEMBER Melissa Abdo MEMBERS’ DAY PLANT SALE SCARECROW CONTEST FREE DAYS AT FAIRCHILD* Stephanie Bott Saturday, October 2 Saturday and Sunday Wednesday, December 1 Erin Fitts 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. October 23 – 24 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Marilyn Griffiths Exclusively for members 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. HOLIDAY MUSIC AT Martha Kent BIRD DAY AT FAIRCHILD DOG DAY ON HOWL-O-WEEN FAIRCHILD Netiva Kolitz Sunday, October 3 Sunday, October 31 Sunday, December 5 Noris Ledesma 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. Carl E. Lewis, Ph.D. FREE DAYS AT FAIRCHILD* For more information please copy editors call 305.663.8058 Wednesday, October 6 NOVEMBER Rochelle Broder-Singer 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. FREE DAYS AT FAIRCHILD* MEMBERS’ LECTURE Kimberly Bobson Wednesday, December 8 Mary Collins PLANT SHOW AND SALE Wednesday, November 3, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Paula Fernández de los Muros Presented by the Bonsai 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Art at Fairchild, Ann Schmidt Society of Miami PLANT SHOW AND SALE The 2010 – 2011 Season, Saturday and Sunday Presented by the South advertising information Robert J. Petzinger, Trustee October 9 – 10 Florida Palm Society Mari Novo Exclusively for members 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 305.667.1651, ext. 3357 previous editors SAVE AT BLOOMINGDALE’S November 6 – 7 JANUARY 2011 AND SUPPORT FAIRCHILD 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 1945-50 AFTERNOON TEA: Wednesday and Thursday, THE 70TH ANNUAL RAMBLE Lucita Wait 1950-56 MOMMY AND ME TEA October 20 – 21 A GARDEN FESTIVAL Nixon Smiley 1956-63 Sunday, January 9, 3:00 p.m. 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday Lucita Wait 1963-77 For more information call Purchase $10 tickets to support November 12, 13 and 14 Ann Prospero 1977-86 305.663.8059 Fairchild and receive 15-20% 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Karen Nagle 1986-91 MOONLIGHT TOURS AND Nicholas Cockshutt 1991-95 off at Bloomingdale’s stores. THE FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE MEMBERS’ LECTURE Susan Knorr 1995-2004 Tickets at The Shop at Fairchild. PRESENTS: BOTANICAL Wednesday, January 19 THE FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE FASHION SHOW “ACCENTS The Tropical Garden Volume 65, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Number 4. Fall 2010. BY NATURE” PRESENTS: FLORIDA Ecuador through the Eyes The Tropical Garden is published quarterly. Middle Schools: Subscription is included in membership dues. ECOSYSTEMS: “PAST, of a Plant Nut PRESENT AND FUTURE” Saturday, November 20 © FTBG 2010 ISSN 2156-0501 Presented by Georgia Tasker PERFORMANCES 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. All rights reserved. No part of this Followed by a Moonlight Tour publication may be reproduced without Students perform mini-musicals High School: Exclusively for members. permission. or interpretive dances reflecting Saturday, November 20 TH the changes in Florida’s 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. 5 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL ecosystems. ART AT FAIRCHILD Friday, Saturday and Sunday High School: Opens November 30 Accredited by the American Association of Wednesday, October 20 January 21, 22 and 23 Museums, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. is supported by contributions from members 6:30 – 8:30 p.m (musicals) *Admission prices will be and friends, and in part by the State of Middle School: waived on the first THE FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE Florida, Department of State, Division of Wednesday, October 27 Wednesday of every month PRESENTS: HIGH SCHOOL Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, through December 2010. the National Endowment for the Arts, Institute 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (musicals) This schedule of events is subject to ENVIRONMENTAL DEBATES of Museum and Library Services, Miami-Dade Thursday, October 28 change. For up-to-the-minute Saturday, January 29 County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs C ouncil, the Mayor, and the 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (dances) information, please call 305.667.1651 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. or www.fairchildgarden.org/events Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, and with the support of The City of Coral Gables. 8 THE TROPICAL GARDEN news

IN CLAUDE MONET’S GARDEN FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE RECOGNIZED AT 4TH ANNUAL BOTANIC GARDEN CONGRESS In early 2010, members of The Versailles Foundation visited INTERNATIONAL Fairchild and extended an invitation to our very own Ricardo Aberle to intern for one month at Claude Monet’s home and This past June, Fairchild’s director of education, Amy Padolf, garden in the Village of Giverny, France, as part of the Munn attended the 4th Annual Botanic Garden Congress International in Volunteer Program. Dublin, Ireland. The conference brought together delegates from 37 countries to consider urgent priorities for implementation of the Claude Monet was known not only as a painter, but also as a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the future roles of gardener. He once said, “Apart from painting and gardening, I’m partnerships in plant conservation. good for nothing.” So, internships are part of the Munn Volunteer Program at Giverny are shared between horticulturists and artists. During this conference, the Fairchild Challenge was recognized as a positive tool for educating youth about the importance of plant Aberle was selected for the horticulture program, not only for his horticultural knowledge but also because he is talented as an conservation and diversity. Several new organizations showed watercolor artist. His goal was to find inspiration at the Monet overwhelming interest in being trained to conduct the Fairchild Garden and Kew Gardens (in London). Challenge within their organizations—including Nezahat Gökyigit Botanic Garden in Turkey, Les Jardins Botanique de Cayes in Haiti He had this to say about his experience: “Claude Monet’s garden is and Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort in Abu Dhabi. In addition, tremendous and is rightfully one of the most visited gardens in the Botanic Gardens Conservation International and Fairchild world. This was an incredible visual learning experience for me, solidified plans to expand their partnership with additional and I have many ideas that will push Fairchild forward and Fairchild Challenge Global Options and Showcases, in which maintain it as a premier botanical garden.” students share conservation initiatives in their communities with an international audience.

CONNECT TO PROTECT NETWORK GAINS AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC CORRIDOR Fairchild is happy to welcome the Town of Cutler Bay to the Connect-to-Protect Network. During the next two years—as part of a new roadway improvement project along Old Cutler Road—new sidewalks, traffic circles and landscaping will appear between SW 97th Avenue and SW 87th Avenue. Consulting with project landscape architects Rosenberg Gardner Design, Fairchild has made recommendations for native plantings in conjunction with the improvements. A designated Pine Rockland Garden is planned for the intersection of Marlin and Old Cutler roads. The garden will feature beautiful pine rockland plants, including little strongbark, locustberry and pineland clustervine. The garden will offer great possibilities for improving the plight of the globally endangered pine rockland ecosystem, involving community members in rare plant conservation and showcasing the potential of native plantings in public landscapes.

Photo by Jennifer Possley/FTBG Byrsonima lucida, locustberry www.fairchildgarden.org 9 news fairchild board of trustees 2010 - 2011

Bruce W. Greer PRESIDENT

Louis J. Risi, Jr. SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & ASSISTANT TREASURER Charles P. Sacher TREASURER

Suzanne Steinberg Photo by Alison Walker/FTBG Photo by Eugene Francisco, age 5, son of Dr. Liu. (L-R) Zhenhai Liang, Hong Liu, Mike Ross and Lei Wang. VICE PRESIDENT VISITORS FROM CHINA’S JIANGSU FAIRCHILD GETS ASSIST FROM Jennifer Stearns Buttrick VICE PRESIDENT ACADEMY OF FORESTRY COMMUNITY TO HELP RESTORE DUNES ON MIAMI BEACH L. Jeanne Aragon Two researchers from the Jiangsu Academy of VICE PRESIDENT & Forestry in Nanjing, China, visited Dr. Hong Liu On August 7, Fairchild conservation scientists ASSISTANT SECRETARY in August. The researchers, Drs. Zhenhai Liang worked with volunteers from the Surfrider Foundation and employees of the eco- and Lei Wang, are collaboring with Dr. Liu on Joyce J. Burns friendly hotel Tempo Miami to restore coastal the GIS habitat analysis of wild orchids at the dunes on Miami Beach. The volunteers hand- SECRETARY Yachang Orchid Nature Reserve, China’s first removed large amounts of the non-native Leonard L. Abess natural area dedicated to the protection of invasive shrub beach naupaka, Scaevola Henry N. Adorno, Esq. endangered orchids. While in Miami, they were taccada, from North Shore Open Space Park also interested in learning about Florida’s coastal (NSOSP) and followed up with a planting of Alejandro J. Aguirre ecosystems and the Everglades Long Term 102 federally endangered beach clustervine, Raymond F. Baddour, Sc.D. Ecological Research program, as they are Jacquemontia reclinata. Removing the Nancy Batchelor involved in the establishment of a long-term dominant non-native plant in other sections Norman J. Benford ecological monitoring station in the coastal area of the park has allowed the dune to restore Faith F. Bishock itself through recruitment of native plants. of China’s Jingsu Province. Leslie A. Bowe Similar results are expected with this project. Swanee DiMare José R. Garrigó Kenneth R. Graves Willis D. Harding Patricia M. Herbert Robert M. Kramer, Esq. Lin L. Lougheed, Ph.D. Bruce C. Matheson Mike Maunder, Ph.D. Robert A. McNaughton, M.D. Clifford W. Mezey David Moore Stephen D. Pearson, Esq. Robert J. Petzinger T. Hunter Pryor, M.D. Jean Ellen Shehan Janá Sigars-Malina, Esq. Penelope W. Stamps 14885 S.W. 248 St. Homestead, FL 33032 James G. Stewart, Jr., M.D. Vincent A. Tria, Jr. Stop by and try our deliciously fresh and locally grown smoothies Angela W. Whitman and buy tropical fruit from Fairchild’s collection. Ann Ziff Saturday and Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Year-round Carl E. Lewis, Ph.D. DIRECTOR tropical cuisine Jumbo Jackfruit! By Noris Ledesma

he jackfruit originates in Southeast Asia and is known for its delicious taste and massive size. Most fruit range between 30 and 60 pounds and hang Tdirectly from the trunk of the tree. The fruit’s skin is a thick, semi-spiny covering that houses hundreds of starchy . Each is surrounded by a bulb of aromatic flesh that is extremely sweet when ripe, with a distinctive flavor reminiscent of bananas and “Juicy Fruit” gum. The bulbs can be used in fruit salads, ice cream, boiled with rice or coconut milk, in soup and even with fish. They are also excellent dried or preserved in syrup.

The seeds are also edible and nutritious, consisting of 38% carbohydrate, 6.6% protein and 0.4% fat, and taste a little Jackfruit Beef Burritos like cheese. They may be prepared in several ways. For instance, boil the seeds for five minutes and then roast them • 1 large jackfruit in a heavy frying pan with a little oil. Similar results are • 1/2 cup chopped onion obtained by cooking them in a microwave oven. Use a low • 1 clove garlic, minced setting for about two minutes, enclosing the seeds in a bag, • 2 teaspoons chili powder as they may tend to “explode.” If you want a real treat, try • 1 teaspoon dried whole oregano roasting jackfruit seeds over the coals of your next barbecue. • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin • 1/2 teaspoon salt Whether it’s the tasty jackfruit bulbs you desire or the • 1/4 teaspoon pepper nutritious seeds, the jackfruit is sure to be a family favorite. • 1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce, divided Your children will never forget the first time you place a 50- • 6 flour tortillas, 8-inch size pound jackfruit on the kitchen counter next to the apples • Shredded lettuce and bananas! The jackfruit can be used many ways, • 1 pound lean ground beef including the delicious burrito recipe to the right. Prepare jackfruit seeds: • Cut ripe jackfruit in half. • Remove the bulbs. Every bulb will contain one seed. Use a knife to remove the seeds. (The bulbs can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen for months.) • Place the seeds in a plastic bag and heat for about two minutes in the microwave on low until they open up a little, then peel the first thin layer of skin—translucent and tough as nails, it turns opaque when heated. • Boil the seeds in salted water until they can be easily mashed with a fork.

Next, in a large skillet, brown ground beef and add onion and garlic. Drain well, then add chili powder, jackfruit seeds, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the enchilada sauce, cooking until heated. Keep warm.

Wrap tortillas in foil; bake at 350° for 10 minutes, or until thoroughly heated. Spoon about 1/2 cup ground beef mixture on each warm tortilla. Roll tightly and place seam-side down on a shredded lettuce-lined serving platter. When all burritos are made, spoon remaining enchilada sauce over the burritos. Garnish with your choice of toppings.

This burrito recipe can be made in advance without garnishes and frozen, then heated in the microwave to serve. You can freeze the burritos on a cookie sheet, then wrap in foil and store in food storage bags. Photo by Noris Ledesma/FTBG www.fairchildgarden.org 11 The highly endangered Amorpha herbacea var. crenulata

Calling all citizen scientists Have you seen this plant? Citizen scientists can play an important role in conserving rare plants. You can help Fairchild determine how many of the endangered crenulate leadplants may be growing on private land. If you have this plant growing in your yard or have seen it elsewhere, and are willing to participate in our study, please send your name, address or the address where you have seen the plants and the number of plants to Joyce Maschinski at [email protected]. We will use this information to create a map showing the number and locations of this highly endangered plant. The plants growing on private land have the possibility of significantly increasing the total number of plants in this population while helping connect these to the wild populations currently growing in public parks or other open spaces. It’s what we call our Connect-to-Protect Network. But it all starts with you, our citizen scientists. Visit www.fairchildgarden.org/ConnectToProtect for more information.

CITIZEN SCIENTISTS!

Participate in our study to find crenulate leadplants. Send your name, the address where you’ve seen this plant growing and the number of plants to Dr. Joyce Maschinski at [email protected]. (Your contact information will be kept confidentail.)

FAIRCHILD TROPICAL BOTANIC GARDEN Photo by J Maschinski/FTBG Big trees—Fairchild has plenty of them. Have you stopped to think how lucky we are that so many of them have survived our severe storms? Many were planted back when Fairchild opened in 1938 and some were here even before. Oaks, buttonwoods, fruit trees and mangroves have all been part of the Fairchild landscape for a very long time. Over the years our Fairchild horticulturists have planted many large and beautiful flowering trees from around the world. Here is a sampling of what is blooming in the fall. blowhat’s ming Text and photos by Marilyn Griffiths

Ceiba speciosa Pachira aquatica Cordia alliodora Alstonia scholaris Couroupita guianensis

eiba speciosa, silk floss tree, recently had its name Cordia alliodora, cypre or Ecuador laurel, is a timber tree native to changed from Chorisia. Walking down the brick path from tropical America. The two lovely specimens of this tree in Plot 52 the Visitor Center, you will see two young specimens of this near the Tram Plaza are covered with clusters of white flowers Cplant with very large spines all along their green trunks. As you tinged with pink. One was planted in 1940, the other in 1959. They head toward the Overlook, a very large silk floss tree will be on both have magni ficently tall trunks. your right. Planted in 1951, it has grown to tower over nearby plants. It has a bottle-shaped trunk and the large branches will be We are all familiar with the spectacular view from the Palm Glade covered with pink flowers during the fall. The resulting open railing, looking to the far eastern end of the garden. A glance to the right to reveal seeds embedded in fine silky fiber, which has been used towards the Rainforest reveals an Alstonia scholaris with a dramatic to stuff everything from pillows to life preservers. display of its own. This massive tree was planted as a seedling in 1958 and is covered with dense clusters of white flowers. A member of the We are fortunate to have two specimens of Pachira aquatica, Apocynaceae family along with Plumeria and Adenium, it produces Guiana-chestnut, that provide examples of an old established tree long double seedpods after the flowers have finished blooming. and a younger one with low branches that give a better vie w of the flowers. In Plot 58, next to Pandanus Lake, a very large specimen Near the Garden House Lawn, the cannonball tree, Couroupita has amazing buttress roots. Fifteen seeds were wild-collected in guianensis, has the unusual habit of flowering from the trunk. A Belize in 1959 and this tree grew from a seedling planted in 1961. resident brought it from Jamaica in 1913 as a four- Long, narrow flower buds peel open to reveal a mass of burgundy- inch seedling. It was donated to the garden in 1938 and, after six tipped stamens. Fragrant at night, it is pollinated by bats in its native years, in 1944, it bloomed, and it has been blooming ever since. Central to South American habitat. At the eastern end of the Palm The flowers are borne on specialized stems towards the base of the Glade, a younger tree has grown quickly since being planted in trunk and are fragrant at night to attract bat pollinators. The fruit 1998. It was also wild-collected, this time in Mexico. gives the tree its common name as it is the size of a cannonball.

A plot map of the garden is available when you arrive Our Web site is an invaluable resource for plant information, at Fairchild. There is also a current list of flowering horticultural advice and news of plants at Fairchild. Visit www.fairchildgarden.org/Blooming to find plants as well as a complete list of plants that you can what’s blooming this month. find in the garden. Browse through the botanical names or the common names to locate plants of interest. Make it a Fairchild Weekend. Saturday and Sunday October 2 and October 3 Two events. One Weekend.

72ND ANNUAL MEMBERS’ DAY PLANT S A L E Saturday, October 2, 2010 9:00 a.m. - 1:00S p.m.ALE

2ND ANNUAL

Sunday, October 3, 2010 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Admission: Free for Fairchild members and children 5 and under. Non-members: $20 for adults, $15 for seniors 65 and up and $10 for children 6-17. Eco-Discounts: Save $5 off admission when you walk, bike or take public transportation to Fairchild. It’s our way of thanking you for supporting our conservation efforts. fairchild tropical botanic garden explaining The Fairchild Challenge: A Global Community By Netiva Kolitz

Tens of thousands of students are heeding the call and becoming engaged citizens through their participation in Fairchild’s unique and world-renowned educational program: The Fairchild Challenge.

ore than 73,000—that’s the number of students and The Fairchild Challenge has clearly become a model beyond South teachers that the Fairchild Challenge engaged in both its Florida, influencing programs nationally and internationally. The local and Satellite Partner programs during the 2009- success of the program in the Miami region has prompted Fairchild M2010 school year. What exactly does this mean? It means that tens to offer it as a replicable model, both within the U.S. and abroad. of thousands of students worldwide are actively learning about, The eagerness with which so many institutions have embraced this exploring and devising imaginative and effective responses to some model reflects the program’s relevance. of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. More importantly, these students are heeding the call and becoming To date, Fairchild staff have trained educators from 53 institutions engaged citizens through their participation in Fairchild’s unique and around the globe; of these, 12 have launched Fairchild Challenge world-renowned educational program: The Fairchild Challenge. Satellite programs. Fairchild Challenge Satellite Programs are active in central Florida, California, Utah and Pennsylvania (two sites). The Fairchild Challenge is an annual, standards-based, The Fairchild Challenge program is also reaching the far away lands environmental education outreach program that offers a menu of of Venezuela, Colombia and Botswana. During the past program multidisciplinary comp etitions for grades pre-Kindergarten through year alone, Satellite Partners have involved thousands of students in 12. What began in 2002 as an environmentally-themed competition various Fairchild Challenge competitions including debate, eco- for local high schools, with some 1,400 high school participants in concert, poetry slam and garden chef cook-off. its first year, has now blossomed into a global movement in environmental education reaching students of various ages. www.fairchildgarden.org 15 In an effort to further expand our international reach, the Fairchild Global Option to create a design that embodies Target 14 of the Challenge initiated a partnership with Botanic Gardens United Nation’s Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). Conservation International (BGCI) in 2008. Through this initiative, Target 14 emphasizes “the importance of plant diversity and the local Fairchild Challenge middle school participants were offered need for its conservation.” The winning design will be printed on the opportunity to create cartoons and accompanying narratives posters that will be distributed to participants worldwide. that depict the complex relationships between plants and climate change throughout the world. Many of these students’ creative and Schools may also participate this year in Global Showcases in art thought-provoking designs have been showcased on BGCI’s Web (original photographs and watercolor paintings that depict local site: www.bgci.org/education/winners. area landscapes), school garden and habitat restoration, and environmental action projects. These many Global Options enable

Participants in Costa Rica’s Fairchild Challenge program create Participants in the Jardín Botánico de Mérida’s Fairchild Challenge in Venezuela a model car using recycled materials. perform at their end-of-year awards ceremony and celebration.

In 2009, the Fairchild Challenge offered its first “Global Challenge students to share their work globally, while learning about plant Option” to Satellite Partner programs and Plant Conservation Day conservation, and ecological and cultural diversity. Partners around the world. This time, high school students were presented with the following challenge: create a design and In January, Fairchild will host the 7th Annual Fairchild Challenge accompanying narrative that convey a clear message on the theme Satellite Partners Training Workshop for sites that want to learn more of one’s ecological footprint. The winning design would be printed about the program and how to establish the Fairchild Challenge in on the cover of the CD single “Footprints,” by London-based their region. Representatives from institutions in Abu Dhabi, China, independent band, Storey. Haiti, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Turkey and Uganda have already expressed interest in attending. Fairchild scientists already have solid A local high school student, José García of Miami Lakes research ties with many of these sites, and expanded partnerships Educational Center, won first place in the Global Challenge Option. will provide unique opportunities for international collaborations In addition to gaining international recognition for his talents, his between education and conservation science. eye-catching design and narrative, which focus on how to reduce one’s ecological footprint, are helping educate others and raise The Fairchild Challenge continues its global growth and positive awareness worldwide. You can view Jose’s and other top entries at: impacts around the world, encouraging a global community of www.bgci.org/education/fairchild10. You can also download the environmental leaders. single “Footprints” from iTunes; proceeds from the sale of this single go to support the Fairchild Challenge. To learn more about the Fairchild Challenge The 2010-2011 Fairchild Challenge offers five global opportunities and its Satellite Partner programs, please visit our Web site: www.fairchildchallenge.org. to high schools participating in Miami and Satellite Partner programs, as well as through BGCI. Schools may compete in the

16 THE TROPICAL GARDEN vis-a-vis volunteers Every Plant Tells a Story By Stephanie Bott, Photos by Volunteer Department Staff/FTBG

1. Volunteer Margaret Dunn takes her wagon full of supplies to spend one day a week out in the garden replacing and repairing plant labels. She loves her work because she learns something new every time she volunteers.

2. Plant Records volunteers use maps like this one to verify the location of Fairchild’s accessioned plants. 1

rmed with detailed garden plot maps, plant lists and replacement plant 2 labels, Plant Records volunteers Ken Barrus, Jack Broman, Margaret Dunn, Nancy Fehr, Andy Laroche and Carole Merten venture out weekly to help Fairchild’sA Plant Recorder Marilyn Griffiths with the enormous and important task of maintaining data on all accessioned plants in the garden’s collection.

Plant records are essential to Fairchild, as they are to all botanic gardens, which are defined by their documented collections of plants. When a plant is added to Fairchild’s collection, it is assigned an accession number and all relevant information about the plant, including its scientific name, plant family and origin, is recorded. Working quietly behind the scenes, the Plant Records volunteers play an extremely important role as their observations about our plant collections help to tell the ongoing stories of every Fairchild plant.

Plant Records volunteers begin a typical inventory of a garden plot by using an enlarged plot map divided into grids. Then they systematically move through the plot searching for each recorded plant. Plant locations are confirmed, missing plants or labels are recorded and plant conditions and interesting details are described. Andy Laroche explains, “We are looking at each plant to see if it is alive and healthy and if there are any seeds, cones or flowers. We make sure that each plant has the proper stake or trunk label with the correct identification. And, of course, we try to make sure the labels are placed so they can be readily seen by visitors.” Volunteers also have the sometimes arduous task of hunting for plant labels, which frequently disappear under burgeoning plants, are misplaced to nearby plants or are mistakenly removed when certain plants go dormant during the winter. Plant Records volunteers are thus problem solvers and researchers all in one, constantly making decisions to ensure the accuracy of each plant’s information. By the end of each year, volunteers will have surveyed the entire garden’s plant collections.

www.fairchildgarden.org 17 Although they are always adding new information to the records, the Plant Records volunteers are part of an important historical legacy. David Fairchild himself kept detailed records of the plants he observed on his frequent explorations around the world as well as of plants that would become part of the garden’s collection. In the May, 1945 Fairchild Tropical Garden Bulletin, Dr. Fairchild discussed both the difficulty and the importance of proper plant identification: “We hope we may succeed in attaching to the trees and palms of this garden labels which will help thousands of visitors more easily to learn their names and enjoy their history as well as their beauty.” Thanks to Fairchild’s Plant Records volunteers, the important work of documenting the stories of all Fairchild plants will be available for future generations. Thank you Plant Records volunteers, and keep up the good work!

4

3

3. What is this palm’s growth rate? Carole Merten, assisted by staff member Stephanie Bott, collects the data for plant records by measuring each palm “from ground to crown.”

4. Nancy Fehr and Andy Laroche work together to make sure all the plants are correctly labeled and mapped. Plant Records staff and volunteers inventory the entire garden each year.

How to read a plant label

Common Name Family

Botanical Name

Native Range Supporting Fairchild. It’s Simple. Fairchild’s annual giving program provides support for our critical work in tropical plant conservation, tropical science and research, horticulture and education. Fairchild’s education programs reach more than 100,000 students annually, and with your help, we could reach even more students and help them learn about the importance of science and environmental stewardship, as well as experience Fairchild, one of the few remaining green spaces in Miami. Our scientists are saving native plants right here in South Family Florida. On an international scale, Fairchild is working with over 20 partners worldwide on conservation studies and wildlife management plans. And, we are your community garden—a Botanical Name place of beauty and connection with nature. But we need your help! Please take a moment and support the vital work of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. It’s simple. Please send your gift in the enclosed envelope or you can call 305.667.1651, ext. 3377 or give online at www.fairchildgarden.org/donatenow.

FAIRCHILD TROPICAL BOTANIC GARDEN plant societies Plant Show and Sale Presented by the South Florida Cactus & Succulent Society Text and photo by Martha Kent

he extraordinary form, color and design that set cacti and succulents apart from all others were evident throughout the Garden House, Twhere the 27th South Florida Cactus and Succulent Show and Sale took place this past May. Over 1,500 people enjoyed the tremendous diversity, strange and awe-inspiring characteristics and growth habits of this most interesting group of plants. Both children and adults were delighted and fascinated, and many took home plants for their own gardens. Don’t miss next year’s event, which will be held May 27-29, 2011.

For more information about the SFCSS visit: www.sfloridacactus.org or 305.606.5365.

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FAIRCHILD’S SCIENTIFIC WORK IN THE

By Melissa E. Abdo, Pamela McLaughlin, Ph.D., Keron Campbell, Brett Jestrow, Eric von Wettberg, Ph.D. Photos by Melissa E. Abdo The Caribbean Islands are home to nearly 11,000 known indigenous plants, and an extraordinary 72% of these Caribbean plant taxa are found nowhere else on earth.

Cockpit Country forest in ith an impressive record of exploration, in the Caribbean, the garden’s world-class Caribbean the springtime, abloom with color from endemic research and on-the-ground conservation collection permits us to experience plant life from all Spathelia trees w activities in the Caribbean Islands, corners of the colorful islands. Fairchild continues its work in the region in exciting ways through joint efforts with Florida International Intrinsic to the growth of our scientific endeavors in the University and partners throughout the Caribbean region has been a consistent and simultaneous region. Dating back to Dr. David Fairchild’s earliest strengthening of partnerships with Caribbean botanists, visits to the Caribbean in the late 1800s, Fairchild has scientists and conservation practitioners. Fairchild engaged in activities to explore, study, cultivate and collaborates closely with botanical gardens and conserve the diverse plants of the region. In fact, a little- herbaria throughout the region. One of our primary known historical detail about Dr. Fairchild is that the city partners in Jamaica is the Natural History Museum of of Kingston, Jamaica “was the first foreign port in which Jamaica (NHMJ), a division of the Institute of Jamaica [he] began a serious study of the marketplaces, tasting whose mission is to research, document, preserve, the new fruits and vegetables.” (excerpted from Dr. protect and disseminate information on Jamaica’s Fairchild’s The World Was My Garden.) natural heritage and to function as a repository for Jamaican flora and fauna. Importantly, the Natural Since those early days, our work has helped bring about History Museum of Jamaica is the custodian of greater understanding of the diversity of Caribbean flora Jamaica’s national collections and houses the National and the best strategies for conserving it. Fairchild has Herbarium. Fairchild’s and NHMJ’s missions are endeavored to bring Caribbean plants of ecological, mutually supportive, contributing to a successful long- ethnobotanical, and economic importance into term partnership that will continue into the future in cultivation and ex-situ conservation. Our many active Jamaica and other sites of environmental concern and research projects in the region involve multi- botanical int erest in the Caribbean. disciplinary efforts from garden staff, students, and colleagues; Fairchild is also the Caribbean regional The Caribbean Islands are home to nearly 11,000 coordinator of the Global Plants Initiative (GPI). Built known indigenous plants, and an extraordinary 72% of over years of research and commitment to conservation these Caribbean plant taxa are found nowhere else on

24 THE TROPICAL GARDEN earth. The biodiverse nation of Jamaica has an research components). This vital research will inform exceedingly rich flora with more than 3,000 flowering protected area planning and culminate in the plant species—of which nearly 34% are endemic to the conservation and protection of a key biodiversity area island, including many that are rare and threatened. of Jamaica. Emerging data collected by Ms. Abdo and Jamaica is also home to one of the last remaining large Mr. Campbell, in close collaboration with the project forested tracts in the Caribbean, known as the Cockpit team and local counterparts, suggest that the Cockpit Country. In 2004, FIU-Fairchild Ph.D. candidate Brett Country is one of the highest priorities for protection in Jestrow traveled to this remote region to study a highly all the Caribbean. endangered species of the . Based on molecular and morphological data, this research Importantly, within Cockpit Country study sites and changed the generic placement of the species formerly across Jamaica, we have made it a priority to interact known as trelawnienses: it is now with and create linkages to local organizations such as recognized as trelawniensis. Delving further Local Forest Management Committees, indigenous into the Cockpit Country, Fairchild and Institute of Maroon communities, farmers, and other local Jamaica, in cooperation with colleagues from the stakeholders who have shown a great deal of support Jamaican National Forestry Department, Hope Royal for our research and conservation work. By fortifying Botanic Gardens, Jamaica’s National Environmental linkages and connectivity between local communities, and Planning Agency and the University of the West professional partners, and other colleagues in the Indies, began work to successfully rediscover many Caribbean, we are increasing the synergies and “lost species” of the region that had not been seen in sustainability of conservation efforts. Continuing the decades. Collaborative work with all these Jamaican effort to strengthen regional Caribbean research professional partners continues to thrive today. collaboration, botanists from the Jardin Botanico Nacional of the Dominican Republic will soon Currently, the focal project, jointly led by Ms. Abdo and participate in field research in Jamaica. This project is Keron Campbell of the Institute of Jamaica, provides the being generously supported by The John D. and foundation for our work in Jamaica. The goal of this Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and by all project is to explore, study and analyze the flora of the collaborating institutions. Cockpit Country in order to support an integrated plant (L-R) conservation strategy for the region, while building One highlight of the Cockpit Country project was an An endemic Jamaican intensive summer course on Conservation Genetics Tetrazygia fadyenii is one research and management capacity every step of the of numerous voucher way. In what is one of the most ambitious collaborative held in Jamaica in 2009, designed and taught by Dr. plant specimens carefully exploration and collecting efforts ever undertaken in the Javier Francisco-Ortega. By emphasizing cutting-edge collected during field research. Caribbean, we have already collected thousands of techniques in the application of DNA studies for informing conservation planning, Dr. Ortega engaged participants Lois Morgan of Jamaica's plant specimens and associated data on species National Forestry Dept. distributions, as well as important geo-referenced data ranging from research scientists to graduate students to collects data on on priority conservation sites (in addition to other government agency professionals, and his informative Columnea rutilans. (L-R) presentations and lively discussions were extremely tonics and treatments for a variety of ailments ranging From their precarious perch amidst the karst, the team well received. In fact, one such discussion sowed the from stomachaches to colds. Indeed, extracts from P. captures important new seed that led to collaboration between a course amalago var. nigrinodum have been reported to contain information about the participant, Dr. Pamela McLaughlin of the University natural compounds having anticancer and antifungal Cockpit Country's biodiversity. of Technology, Jamaica, and Dr. Eric von Wettberg. properties. Dr. McLaughlin’s Fulbright visit is allowing

Dr. McLaughlin working Dr. von Wettberg’s interest in conservation genetics her to work with Dr. von Wettberg to use new, next- with samples in the FIU- and Dr. McLaughlin’s interest in determining patterns generation sequencing technology; these methods have Fairchild molecular lab. of genetic variation in Jamaican plants, particularly in the capacity to relatively inexpensively and quickly those used for medicinal purposes, dovetail nicely. sequence the expressed genes in an organism. These Many Jamaican plants have significant medicinal technologies, driven by the need for sequencing properties and are used extensively in folklore methods to help scientists understand the genetic basis medicine for the treatment of ailments and illnesses. of disease, can also be applied to rare tropical plants. Research on this aspect of Jamaica’s rich biodiversity is This collaborative work has two aims: allowing us to still emerging, as throughout the region there is a understand the genetics of medicinal compounds in paucity of information regarding the genetic Piper species, and building upon the genetic resources characterization of plants of medicinal and we need to help conserve these species. Genetic ethonobotanical note. Dr. McLaughlin was awarded a information allows us to gain a broader understanding prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research in of different populations and how they vary, and to collaboration with Dr. von Wettberg at Fairchild and inform our understanding of evolutionary relationships FIU. Sponsored by the government to amongst species across the Caribbean and throughout provide international exchange and research the world. opportunities for individuals based on their academic merit and leadership potential, the Fulbright Fellowship Our tradition of engaging in cutting-edge research in has had a tremendous impact worldwide. the Caribbean Islands thrives at Fairchild today. We are pleased to strengthen our links with Florida Dr. McLaughlin’s fellowship research focuses on the International University, the Natural History Museum analysis of the expressed genes of pepper elder, Piper of Jamaica, the University of Technology of Jamaica, amalago var. nigrinodum of the Piper family. The the Forestry Department and many professional Piperaceae family is quite diverse, with about 280 colleagues and institutions across the region. With our species from the genus Piper present in the Caribbean partners, we look forward to continuing our and 13 of these are known to occur in Jamaica. Piper exploration of unknown habitats and new technologies amalago var. nigrinodum is endemic to Jamaica, and is to support biodiversity conservation in Jamaica and used by Jamaicans as an ethnomedicine in preparing throughout the Caribbean.

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TH

70ANNUAL T he Ramble A GARDEN FESTIVAL Celebrating South Florida Living for 70 Years Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 12, 13 and 14

By Jeff Wasielewski Photos by Gaby Orihuela

he Ramble has been a part of South Florida for seven decades! and Old and Rare Books booths, but it also very modern. This year In The Ramble’s 70 years of existence, it has grown and we will be updating thousands of Facebook fans and Twitter evolved into the world’s biggest garden party and a celebration followers during the festival with event schedules and up-to-the- Tof South Florida living, where you can find everything from rare books minute photos from the event. You can follow us on Twitter at and rare plants to eco-friendly products and stellar art. www.twitter.com/fairchildgarden and Facebook at www.fairchildgarden.org/facebook. Sign up today and get the latest The Ramble began back in 1941 when Nell Jennings, the wife of information on news and events in the garden. Fairchild’s founder Col. Robert Montgomery, organized a fundraising event that featured items donated by friends of the Ramble stalwarts that have been around for almost as long as The garden to raise money for a new Fairchild truck. The Ramble was Ramble itself—like the Waterpoorter, the fantastic music-making successful and Fairchild got its new truck, but it’s certain that no machine that delights children and adults alike—will of course be one involved envisioned that The Ramble would still be going on display, but there will also be the very latest products for strong 70 years later—or just how much it would have grown. gardening and outdoor living. There will be an incredible selection The Ramble has wonderful history in the Antiques and Collectibles of hard-to-find plants grown and sold by Fairchild as well as local

www.fairchildgarden.org 29 plant vendors and a wide variety of plants from local plant Children will be happy to find that The Ramble’s Kidway will societies. Plus there will be countless booths selling gardening tools feature face painting, arts and crafts and environmentally themed and accessories. This is the perfect opportunity to find the plants games. The Kidway is traditionally a place where children not and the pieces you need to create your own garden paradise. The only have fun, and can also learn about plants and conservation Ramble is truly your one-stop garden shop. issues. Bring your whole family to the Kidway for outstanding fun and festivities. Don’t miss another new feature of The Ramble, the Green Market, where you can stock up on herbs and vegetable plants and find Seventy years is an impressive feat for any festival, and Fairchild is many local vendors selling fresh produce, homemade jams, jellies very proud to celebrate seven decades of fun, festivities and and even soaps. education with this year’s Ramble. The Ramble has done more than last a long time; it has grown exponentially and become a South Garden-themed watercolors, oils, photographs and many other types Florida tradition. It is, quite simply, the garden event of the year. of art can also be found at The Ramble. Artist groups such as the Great food, fantastic garden-themed art, hard-to-find plants, stunning Ceramic League, South Florida Jewelry Arts Guild, the Enamel Guild antiques, rare books, eco-friendly ideas and great kids’ activities are and the Wood-turners Guild will display their wares and speak to all a part of this year’s Ramble. Bring your family and find out why visitors about their creation. If you are looking for a piece of art to The Ramble has been a part of South Florida for 70 years. complement your home, the artists of The Ramble won’t disappoint.

Rambling about the Ramble

Nettie Belle Robinson Patty McNaughton Judy Stewart An artist, gardener, grandmother and Fairchild A tropical fruit enthusiast, devoted wife and Judy is a master gardener, co-chairperson of the member for more than 50 years, Nettie Belle doting grandmother, Patty has been a Fairchild Herbs booth, a student guide and a Fairchild designed the poster for the 50th Ramble. She member for more than 56 years. member for more than 20 years. remembers having to help with the printing and First thought: “The Ramble brings to mind a Never misses: Any of The Ramble, its “fun “actually post them around town.” delightful day of books, oddities, antiques, plants activities and neat things.” She always manages to Favorite food: A fine barbecue chicken dinner, and seeing old friends.” get some new plants and tagua nut carvings. prepared by gentleman volunteers. It required Never misses: Antiques and collectibles, books Not-so-fond memory: After a hurricane destroyed advance reservations, and the servers wore and stocking up on jams and jellies. her herb supplier a few weeks before The beautiful Seminole embroidered aprons. Fond memory: Nell Montgomery Jennings Ramble, Judy had to scramble for new sources— Never misses: Antiques and collectibles at what greeting visitors and answering questions from her which she did admirably—so visitors could stock was always the “biggest rummage sale in town.” very tall chair on the Garden House Lawn. There up on their herbs for the season. She loves the treasures she has collected, such as were also piles of Oriental rugs on the grass. How the Ramble has changed: The art, from the a beautiful mirror from the late 1800s that still How the Ramble has changed: “It has come a watercolors, to ceramics, to artists in the hangs over her fireplace. long way—from small town to international, with Marketplace, “adds a fun new element.” Fondest memory: Marjory Stoneman Douglas the enthusiasm of visitors remaining constant.” signing books and greeting people, “and even though she was almost blind, she recognized me by my voice.”

Antiques, Collectibles and Rare and Old Books Needed

The Antiques and Collectibles Committee is seeking donations of china, ceramics, crystal, silver, art, linens, jewelry and all other items of age, distinction or beauty for The Ramble Antiques and Collectibles sale. Items can be picked up. For more information, contact volunteer committee chair Dorothy Errera at 305.666.3010. Have you been thinking about downsizing your book collection? The Ramble Old Books Committee will gladly pick up those books for the Ramble Old Books booth. Books on Florida history, gardening, natural history, art, children’s books and cookbooks, as well as any rare editions, are especially welcome. Contact volunteer committee chair Stuart Debenham at [email protected] or 305.665.8572. All proceeds go to support Fairchild programs in education, conservation, horticulture, research and cultural events.

magine tropical islands with living treasures more valuable diversity of plants and animals. It is from its rich flora that the clove than gold. Imagine that those islands could be shrouded in tree, Syzygium aromaticum, was domesticated, bringing secrecy, hidden from the mighty nations of the world searching unprecedented fame and prosperity to the region (see “Plants That desperately to find them. That is how Indonesia’s North Maluku Changed the World,” p. 49). Other elements of the islands’ Province, the fabled Spice Islands or Moluccas, existed for biodiversity, most notably the array of unique birds and insects, thousands of years. provided evidence for the discovery of evolution by natural selection. Today North Maluku is well off the beaten path for most travelers Expeditions of discovery and conquest, bloody wars and the rise of and researchers, despite its unparalleled beauty, rich history and global commerce eventually revealed the location of the Spice importance in shaping our modern understanding of biology. Islands to the outside world. The ancient lineages of people who guarded those islands and their secrets—the powerful sultans, English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace probably told colorful tales soldiers and merchants—eventually fell. The name “Maluku,” based of the Spice Islands while he stayed with David Fairchild’s family in on the Arabian “Jazirat al-Muluk” or “Land of Many Kings,” is all the spring of 1887. Perhaps he described the bizarre landscape, the that remains of that history. Still, after thousands of years and the storied history, and the unique wildlife that inspired his most rise and fall of empires, the jungles of the Spice Islands are untamed important scientific discoveries. As part of a speaking tour, Wallace and undoubtedly have many more secrets to be discovered. visited the State Agricultural College where Fairchild’s father was president. At the time, Fairchild was an 18-year-old student of A patchwork of sparsely inhabited islands, North Maluku has an out- Botany who had never ventured beyond the Midwestern United of-this-world landscape dotted with immense, cone-shaped States. Wallace gave a compelling speech on natural selection, and volcanoes puffing vapor into the sky. Straddling the equator, the somehow he also set Fairchild’s life on a new trajectory. After islands have a consistently moist, tropical climate that supports a vast meeting Wallace, Fairchild came away with a lifelong dream of

34 THE TROPICAL GARDEN exploring the tropics. In the years that followed, his appetite for global exploration was insatiable. Although his travels took him to many extraordinary places, Fairchild always held a special fascination for the Spice Islands and Wallace’s discoveries. Alfred Russel Wallace and the Spice Islands

His chance meeting with Wallace had given Fairchild his first glimpse of the adventurous lifestyle he would embrace for the rest of his life. Wallace’s career as an explorer began at age 25 when he embarked on an extensive, four-year trip through the Amazon. His goals were to study, collect and ponder the origins of the multitude of animals and plants in the region. He collected thousands of specimens intended for European museums and private collections. Sadly, a shipwreck on his return trip to Britain caused nearly all of those specimens to be lost at sea. But Wallace survived the shipwreck and retained his spirit of discovery. Back in London, he published several papers and books based on his memory and the scraps of notes he was able to rescue from the sinking ship. One of those books, Palm Trees of the Amazon and Their Uses, is a testament to Wallace’s appreciation of tropical plants. While publishing the results of his Amazon experiences, Wallace became acquainted with the most eminent British scientists, including Charles Darwin. In Darwin he found a kindred spirit and an equally sharp observer of living things.

Soon Wallace set off again, this time to the islands of Southeast Asia that are now Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. He spent eight years travelling extensively and collecting insect and bird specimens, corresponding with Darwin and other scientists. He

COVER PAGE: Dock on the shore of Halmahera, with boats departing for the islands of Tidore and Ternate. Mt. Kiematabu, the largest peak on Tidore, is one of many active volcanoes in the region. Photo by Carl Lewis/FTBG.

PREVIOUS PAGE: Map of the Spice Islands, showing David Fairchild’s 1900 trip with philanthropist Barbour Lathrop (yellow), the 1940 Cheng Ho Expedition (purple) and the 2010 visits by Carl Lewis and Melissa Abdo (red; air travel shown as dashed lines).

(T-B) Pigafetta filaris, David Fairchild’s favorite palm, near Gita, Halmahera. Photographed in May 1940 by Edward Beckwith/FTBG Archives

Pigafetta filaris near Gita, Halmahera, photographed in May 2010 by Carl Lewis/FTBG.

www.fairchildgarden.org 35 chronicled his travels in Southeast Asia in his famous book The Malay Archipelago, which was published in 1869, the year David Fairchild was born. Reprinted many times, the book remains popular as a historic travelogue and a thorough account of Southeast Asian natural history.

For two years Wallace had a home on the volcanic island of Ternate, an ancient Spice Island sultanate that was then controlled by the Dutch. Using Ternate as a base of operations, he explored the rich biodiversity of the Spice Islands and New Guinea. During his time there, he encountered thousands of fascinating insect and bird species, but he also found the islands to be teeming with tropical diseases. During one particularly severe bout of malaria, Wallace lay incapacitated for several hours pondering the biological richness he had observed. He considered that all living creatures face threats to their survival, and that the vast majority of animals succumb to those threats before reaching maturity. He had the sudden realization that only the fittest creatures, the individuals best adapted to their environment, would survive, while other members of their species would perish. As the environment changes, this would cause species to give rise to new, better- adapted varieties that would gradually change with successive generations and eventually replace the original form.

This concept, called “survival of the fittest” or “natural selection,” had never been articulated in writing. As his fever subsided, Wallace expressed his thoughts in an essay, titled “On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely From the Original Type.” He mailed the essay to Charles Darwin, and it was later published in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Scholars today call it the “Ternate Paper,” and regard Wallace’s fever-induced stroke of brilliance as the first plausible theory of evolution. David Fairchild’s lifelong dream

Years later, traveling the world as a botanical explorer, David Fairchild carried his copy of Wallace’s Malay Archipelago for guidance and inspiration. His travels brought him close to the Spice

(T-B) The Cheng Ho expedition team in a coastal village on Halmahera Island. The team includes (from left to right) Fenton Kilkenny, Hugo Curran, Ann Archbold and David Fairchild. Photo by Edward Beckwith/FTBG Archives.

Elaeocarpus fairchildii, a new tree species collected on Halmahera Island during the Cheng Ho expedition and named in honor of David Fairchild. Photo by Edward Beckwith/FTBG Archives.

36 THE TROPICAL GARDEN Islands on several occasions. In 1895, just eight years after meeting Wallace, he studied for several months in Java at what is now the Bogor Botanic Garden. During that time he became enamored with Southeast Asia and got a taste of the richness of tropical forests. He returned at the beginning of 1900 and made a quick trip from Java through the Lesser Sunda Islands, the arc of islands that stretches eastward toward New Guinea. Traveling with philanthropist Barbour Lathrop, he visited the orchards, fruit markets and forests of Bali, Lombok, Timor and Flores, seeing a diversity of plants he had never before encountered.

In spite of the many discoveries he made on his 1900 trip, Fairchild lamented the fact that the Spice Islands remained out of reach, just to the north of his route. He set off once again in 1925 with the goal of exploring the Spice Islands, this time on an around-the-world voyage aboard the scientific vessel Utowana. That expedition, funded and organized by philanthropist Allison Armor, yielded many important discoveries from northern Africa and southern Europe. Unfortunately the engines of the Utowana failed before the ship reached Asia, sending Fairchild back to the United States before he could reach his objective.

At last, in the late 1930s, well past the age of retirement, Fairchild’s dreams once again seemed within reach. He befriended Ann Archbold, a philanthropist and keen natural historian, and inspired her with the idea of exploring the Spice Islands and building upon the work of those who had traveled there before. Fairchild Tropical Garden had opened to the public, but its landscapes needed new plantings of tropical species from the far corners of the globe. Caught up in the romance of this idea, Archbold commissioned a replica Chinese sailing junk and outfitted the ship as a floating laboratory for botanical exploration. She financed the construction, the captain and crew, and came along as a member of the expedition party. The Cheng Ho set sail in January of 1940 without a specific itinerary, but with the main objective of exploring the forests of the Spice Islands for palms, tropical fruit and other interesting plants. Fairchild, then 70 years old, was prepared for the expedition to last at least a year. Sailing southward from Manila toward the Spice Islands, the Cheng

(T-B) The coast of Halmahera Island, photographed from the deck of the Cheng Ho. Photo by Edward Beckwith/FTBG Archives.

Shore of Gita, where the Cheng Ho expedition party first landed on Halmahera Island in May, 1940. Photographed in May 2010 by Carl Lewis/FTBG.

www.fairchildgarden.org 37 David Purmiasa, Halmahera Program Team Leader of Burung Indonesia (BirdLife Indonesia), on a hike along a riverbed toward the interior of Halmahera. Photo by Melissa E. Abdo/FTBG.

Ho visited the southern Philippines, tiny islands in the Celebes Sea, the branches of the trees and some large vines framed a view of the and the northern tip of the sprawling island of Sulawesi. coast of Halmahera across the water. It seemed a great pity that we Unfortunately, the ship’s engine caught fire off Sulawesi, causing an were not to have time to get into its interior; but it was something unplanned detour to a port in Java where repairs could be made. just to sit there and look at it stretched out before me, its range of mountains rising at places to 4,000 feet above the sea. What is to be The Cheng Ho left Java six weeks later, in April 1940, back on track the future of this island paradise I wonder—this sparsely settled toward the Spice Islands. When the Cheng Ho landed in Ambon, just archipelago of the great East, unrivaled in beauty, in climate, in south of the Spice Islands, the crew received distressing news that once fertility—when once the universal highway overhead has brought it again threatened their plans for exploring the region. The possibility of closer, and the insanities of war have passed?” war in Europe had been brewing for many months, but now the German military was advancing into Dutch territory. As Dutch officials in Ambon Weeks later the Cheng Ho was in drydock in the southern watched their country fall, they began arresting all Germans and became Philippines, and Fairchild was among the thousands of Americans fearful of all foreigners in their colony. In disarray and suspicious of evacuating the region as the threat of war in the Pacific intensified. everyone, they ordered the Cheng Ho crew to leave Ambon and head for the Philippines. Once again, Fairchild saw his dreams fading away. The Spice Islands today Fortunately, en route from Ambon to the Philippines, Fairchild found Fairchild predicted that the Spice Islands would be forever changed opportunities to make brief stops in the Spice Islands. by war and the arrival of modern air travel. Indeed, the Japanese Sailing northward, the Cheng Ho visited Bacan, Mandioli, Kasiruta, occupation of the islands began just two years after the Cheng Ho southern Halmahera, and Makian Island. Not wanting to arouse the expedition, bringing a wave of industrialization that continues suspicion of patrolling warships, the team reluctantly decided to bypass today. The Japanese-built airport on Ternate, a lasting reminder of the island of Ternate, Wallace’s home in the Spice Islands. Instead, they that period, is now a hub of increasing commercial air travel into visited northern Halmahera and its offshore islets, favoring sheltered, North Maluku. Logging and mining operations are now hidden bays where they could explore briefly without being detected. permanently changing the face of the Spice Islands, as those industries have in so many other parts of tropical Asia. During their time in the Spice Islands, the Cheng Ho team collected The heart of Halmahera Island, which remained out of Fairchild’s many plant specimens, including a new species of banana, Musa grasp in 1940, is still in surprisingly good condition. In 2004, two lolodensis, and a new flowering tree species, Elaeocarpus fairchildii, large portions of Halmahera were set aside as Aketajawe-Lolobata which was named in Fairchild’s honor. Despite these discoveries, national park, the first and only national park in North Maluku. The Fairchild was disappointed about missing what he considered to be administration of the park works with partner organizations to the richest parts of the Spice Islands. One of these areas was the advance conservation activities in the region. One particularly center of Halmahera Island, which Fairchild was only able to view important group is Burung Indonesia (BirdLife Indonesia from a distance. Upon his departure, he reflected on his unfinished Association), which has an office in Ternate that focuses primarily work in the region: “I could not help lingering on the cliff, where on conserving the habitats of Halmahera Island. Through Burung

38 THE TROPICAL GARDEN Seventy years after David Fairchild’s birth and the publication of Wallace’s Malay Archipelago, Fairchild finally got a glimpse of the Spice Islands. Now, after another 70 years have passed, we have finally returned to continue his important legacy.

Flying over Ternate, with a view of Halma hera across the water. Photo by Carl Lewis/FTBG.

Indonesia we are learning about the extraordinary diversity that passengers to and from the outlying islands. Just across the water remains in the forests of Halmahera. It appears that the opportunity from Ternate, Halmahera looks gigantic and richly forested. My may still exist to explore and help conserve the untamed jungles of goal was to visit those forests and begin working with the the Spice Islands. conservationists who protect its unique flora and fauna. I traveled with officials from Burung Indonesia and Aketajawe- Our return Lolobata National Park, crossing the Halmahera Strait by boat and continuing toward the interior of Halmahera by car. Along the way This year is the 70th anniversary of Fairchild’s Cheng Ho we spotted representatives of the extraordinary palm flora. expedition, an occasion that has rekindled interest in our historic Fairchild’s favorite palm, Pigafetta filaris, is the most beautiful and ties with the Spice Islands. During the past year our archives majestic of all. With a team of park rangers, I did a quick survey of volunteers have been examining, organizing and digitizing the palm diversity in a rugged patch of forest. Starting at a hilltop cell original materials from the expedition. They uncovered images and phone tower, we walked down the slope photographing and notes that had been tucked away since 1940, and now those making notes about the many palms we saw along the way. We materials are providing new information about the expedition and saw Arenga, Caryota, Rhopaloblaste, Orania and many different Fairchild’s original plans. The archive materials, now online at types of rattans. It is clear that the palm flora of this island is diverse www.fairchildgarden.org/chengho, include tantalizing glimpses of and poorly understood. Two months after my visit, Melissa Abdo the Spice Islands from 70 years ago. traveled to Indonesia to attend the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation meeting in Bali. She used that opportunity to visit Now, working with colleagues in Indonesia, we are designing a our colleagues in the Spice Islands and make more detailed plans project that will bring us back to the region to continue where for expeditions in the region. With the staff of Burung Indonesia she Fairchild left off. As an initial step toward building this project, I trekked into the heart of Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park, had the opportunity to visit the region earlier this year. Exactly 70 witnessing an even greater diversity of plants. years after the Cheng Ho threaded its way northward through the Spice Islands, I found myself passing over the same route by air. In the years ahead, we hope to continue the work that Fairchild Flying into the region from Java, we passed Mandioli, Bacan and started in the Spice Islands. Working with Burung Indonesia, Kasiruta at sunrise and then traveled up the chain of volcanic Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park, Kebun Raya Indonesia islands west of Halmahera before touching down at Ternate. From (Indonesian Botanic Gardens; Indonesian Institute of Sciences) and the air, the Spice Islands look wild, peaceful and far removed from other organizations, we are planning to explore Halmahera for the past centuries of conflict. palms and other tropical plants. The data we compile during our work will complement other biodiversity surveys already underway. The island of Ternate is dominated by Mt. Gamalama, a large, Once we have a better understanding of the flora and fauna of smoldering volcano that occasionally rumbles to life with powerful North Maluku, we will be in a better position to help plan for the earthquakes. The island’s small city is squeezed between the slopes conservation of the region. of the volcano and the southeastern shore. A fleet of small speedboats serves as the local transportation system, carrying

www.fairchildgarden.org 39

WISHES. ART. NATURE. FAIRCHILD.

On 11.30.2010 Fairchild continues the Art of Nature.

Featured works include: The Largest outdoor exhibition of works by Les Lalanne

and Yoko Ono’s Wishing Grove Wishes. Art. Nature. Fairchild.

www. fairchildgarden.org/art

Art at Fairchild is generously supported by The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Lin Lougheed, and the Aaron I. Fleischman Foundation. Galapagos Encounter Raw earth and fearless creatures populate a journey through the volcanic archipelago

Text and photos by Georgia Tasker

Pinta Genovesa Marchena Equator Pacific

Santiago Ocean Fernandina Baltra Pinzón Santa Cruz

Santa Fé San Cristóbal Tortuga Isabela

Santa María Española (Floreana) Galapagos Islands

A mother sea lion reassures her pup on an island ledge, left, while a blue- footed booby, below, shows off his beautiful feet.

n a week’s journey to the The archipelago is 3 to 5 million years old, and Galapagos Islands, a lies 600 miles west of Ecuador over a hot spot remarkable thing of volcanic activity in the Pacific Ocean. happened: evolution and Volcanic islands are born, and then move east natural history came alive on a tectonic plate. It’s at this juncture that Ofor me in a way that was startlingly vivid. It the Cocos plate and the Nazca plate are took only hours to shed the dents and prickles rubbing elbows. Cocos is moving northeast, of urban life and experience nature on an while the Nazca plate is moving east toward intimate basis. The raw earth and fearless South American at a rate of about two inches a creatures brought home a vision of life year. Volcanoes on the western islands are seemingly without the scars from human active; those on the eastern side are older and encounters. Little wonder Charles Darwin’s weathered. Some of the oldest islands have understanding of evolution was ignited by sunk beneath the sea. Most are gently sloped what he saw in the very same land. You shield volcanoes that spill lava in flows, not the cannot help but be on High Nature Alert after cone types given to wrathful explosions. watching boobies courting at your feet and mockingbirds trifling with your shoelaces. Our trudge up Bartolome was a lava lesson as we looked at the kinds of volcanic flow that My travels took place aboard the National can occur. Hollow tunnels are created as the Geographic Islander, with 48 other top of a lava flow cools first but the flow passengers. We went ashore in rubber keeps moving below; rocky splatters are left Zodiacs, eight or 10 at a time. Here are some by dollops of magma; beaches are of tuff, yet of the plant and animal wonders that another kind of lava. The planet is moving contributed to the magic. and shaking here. A volcano erupted on Isabela island in 2008 and another on Fierce and tender at once, the Galapagos Fernandina island last year. In 1954, an area archipelago is the creation of volcanoes. As of coral was lifted instantaneously 15 feet an introduction, we climbed 368 steps to the from the sea to become part of Isabela. In top of an old volcano on Bartolome islet 1968, a caldera on Fernandina dropped more before breakfast to get a panoramic view of than a thousand feet. Kerplunk. islands created by fire. The vista of turquoise water, golden beaches and distant volcanoes Because lava can hold your interest only so was paradisiacal. long, our attention soon was diverted to the archipelago’s famous birds. Why are the feet

44 THE TROPICAL GARDEN of blue-footed boobies, blue? Well, probably a few sticks, called them nests and sit there, so their species can recognize each other, showing off. Female frigates with nestlings are comes an Internet hypothesis from Stanford scattered about, too. The fluffy nestlings with University’s Robb Gibson. Eggs are incubated small hooked beaks look like something on the parents’ feet on the ground, so from imagined by DreamWorks. the time they hatch, nestlings learn to recognize the color of feet that are important Flamingos are on another island. And so are to them. As a part of the courtship ritual, a flightless cormorants, which have huge feet male raises his feet to show them to a blue- and stubby wings that press against them when footed female. If she approves of the color, swimming. They seem to be halfway down the he’s got a wife. road to becoming long-necked penguins.

About the size of geese, the boobies are Sea lions charm us immediately. They have heedless of us as we tromp by during courtship external ears (seals do not). Galapagos sea season. The males make their elaborate bows lions originally came from Califo rnia, liked and wing displays, then show off their feet as if the climate and stayed. They are smaller now, we were not gathered around them making our and given to swimming around you as you own peculiar digital camera noises. snorkel. Sally Lightfoot crabs are as intricately colored as fine cloisonné. Galapagos Throughout our journey, we are accompanied penguins are here but not in great numbers— by Lindblad Expedition naturalists, nearly all of an El Nino year has left the ocean them native to the Galapagos, who seem to temperature warmer. With the onset of the know every bush and bird. Expedition leader dry season, cold-water upwelling begins Lynn Fowler, the only non-native, has worked again, bringing an enriched supply of food. in the islands for 32 years, armed with a Master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Florida. The four kinds of mockingbirds that so influenced Darwin are on their appropriate Together, we watch magnificent frigate birds islands. The Charles mockingbirds, however, sharing the same courting and nesting areas now number fewer than 100, perhaps even as with the blue-footed boobies on North few as 50, and may well be the first of Seymour island. The frigate male shows off a Darwin’s mockingbirds to become extinct bold red gular sac that inflates to enormous unless funding can be found for a breeding size beneath his chin. It could be Date Night program. They are on two islets, one of which in the Magic City: the boys sit around and we approach in Zodiacs because we are not puff up whenever a girl comes into view. allowed to go ashore. And yes, a pair appears They shake their wings, and tilt back for the on a large clump of prickly pear cactus. These best display position. They’ve pulled together Charles mockingbirds also are called Floreana

An endangered Charles mockingbird, above, takes off from a prickly pear cactus. At left, a magnificient frigate bird displays his gular sac, hoping to attract a mate.

www.fairchildgarden.org 45 mockingbirds, because they originally were have evolved from a single forebear. For present on that island. Floreana has a long example, the grayish Scalesia villosa is on history of settlement and the introduction of Floreana, S. helleri on Santa Cruz, and S. exotic plants and domestic animals, which microcephala near the Wolf Volcano summit on have caused the birds to become extirpated Isabela. The tallest of the group is high up on from that island. Santa Cruz Island. Here we hiked beneath their canopies, and found the green-flowering orchid, Finches, which Darwin came to appreciate for Epidendrum spicatum, and a medium-sized their adaptive radiation from island to island bromeliad, Tillandsia insularis, growing on the only after he returned to England, are really mossy branches. An endemic passion vine with tough for tourists to tell apart. There are ground white flowers is found here, too, with fruit about finches and tree finches, a cactus finch—all of the size of kumquats, along with lycopodium which have differing beaks—as well as a and even mistletoe. Also on Santa Cruz, Cyathea warbler finch and a little woodpecker finch weatherbuyana, a tree fern, is endemic. that uses bits of wood to poke among branches for insects. Be still my heart. Darwin’s daisy is Leocarpus darwinii and grows mostly on San Cristobal. We saw Plants throughout these islands range from the Lecocarpus pinnatifidus on Floreana; it is the scraggly little gray Tiquilia subshrubs on cut- daisy. At Punta Cormorant, where we young lava to the orchids growing in the daisy walked on greenish sand, we passed many trees in the higher elevations of Santa Cruz. examples of this shrub on our way to a beach There are about 500 plants native to the where dark rays play in the surf and yellow Galapagos, and 180 of them are endemic, or warblers venture onto the beach. found nowhere else in the world. An army of invasive exotic plants threatens. Lantana, Cacti are either recumbent or tree-like. On guava and hill blackberries are among the islands where giant tortoises and land iguanas worst, and on Santa Cruz, even the quinine exist, the opuntias have evolved to have tree has consumed vast areas. During the trunks with reddish, hard bark, the better to siesta hour offered daily aboard the Islander, avoid being eaten. Another kind of cactus, I hole up in the ship’s library, making notes called the lava cactus, is one of the first plants and puzzling over asters and finches. to grow on new lava. These are Brachycereus nesioticus, and they grow in clumps. The new Daisy trees are, in fact, as famous as the growth is yellow on top, and cute, resembling finches for having evolved into many species something you might see in a Disney film. in the archipelago. There are three genera in Candelabra cactus, Jasminocereus thouarsii, the aster family here, including 15 Scalesia can soar more than 35 feet. It is decidedly not species and several subspecies, all thought to cute, but rather stately.

Patterns of hardened lava are colonized by a cactus, Brachycereus nesioticus, above. Marine iguanas at left. Next page, a Galapagos tortoise eating. From the Field Office

The magic that exists in the Galapagos Islands is but a remnant of what once was there. Historically, whalers used the islands as a supply stop, capturing giant tortoises by the thousands; pioneering families introduced goats, pigs and domestic animals; Ecuador once turned one island into a penal colony.

As with islands around the world, the endemic plants that support life are disappearing. “The Galapagos Islands are showing us the pattern, the rule,” says Dr. Javier Francisco-Ortega, molecular plant systematist at Fairchild and Florida International University. “It’s happening on islands all over the world.”

The Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) and the Charles Darwin Foundation, as well as the Galapagos The Charles Darwin Research Station on shorter claws than marine iguanas. The National Park, are combining forces to Santa Cruz is active in rearing giant tortoises, marine iguanas are black and gray, absorbing try to stop the devastation. Fairchild keeping tabs on feral animals (goats, black heat quickly after they emerge from the sea. Tropical Botanic Garden is playing a role rats, dogs, cats and cattle) and working with They have a grim expression, but when they in that effort. Francisco-Ortega and Patricia Jaramillo, curator of the the Galapagos National Park to eradicate sun in groups on rocks, often piling on top of herbarium at CDRS, have cooperated on them. The scientists document the effects of each other, no one seems to mind. They plant research that will be used to introduced plants on endemic and graze on algae, swim and make sneezing prioritize conservation of the indigenous plants, study the genetic diversity noises when they eliminate salt water archipelago’s endangered endemic plants. of native and endemic plants, and work at through their noses. establishing baseline botanical information. Jaramillo, 39, originally from Quito, It is at CDRS that we saw the young tortoises A genetically older iguana recently has been Ecuador, received a botany scholarship being reared and old, former-pet tortoises discovered and described as a new species on from the Charles Darwin Foundation. The scholarship took her to Santa Cruz, being fed. It is here that a tortoise named Isabela Island’s Wolf volcano. It is pink with where the CDRS is located. Four years Diego has contributed to the breeding black stripes and its comb is not jagged, but ago at a botany symposium in the program, while Lonesome George, the last smooth. Marine iguanas on Española are Dominican Republic, Jaramillo met giant tortoise of his kind rescued from Pinta reddish. All of them, like the giant tortoises, Francisco-Ortega, and they began an seem to be thinking inscrutable thoughts. Island, is now more than 100 years of age email correspondence. Ever since, “we and has two female enclosure mates, but has have been developing several projects What are not inscrutable are the juvenile sea yet to produce any offspring. that use DNA as a tool for plant lions, which gave me perhaps the greatest thrill conservation,” she says. Giant tortoises roam the pastures at higher of the islands by swimming around me. They elevations on Santa Cruz, and just a week or are as frisky as puppies and just as curious, Jaramillo helped one of Francisco- so after we left, tortoises were reintroduced to and they love showing off their sensuous Ortega’s FIU graduate students, Nicole Pinta island for the first time in more than 30 water skills. Up and around you they swirl, Andrus, when she worked in the islands, and was a co-author on a paper about years. Pinta’s feral goats led to the demise of lovely brown eyes large and beckoning. Then Darwini niothamnus, a genus in the aster food for the tortoises and ultimately the they dive into an underwater cave and shoot to family that is endemic to the islands. The tortoises themselves. Once the goats were the surface, only to surround you again. I study showed evidence that one group watched them as they circled me and together eradicated, native vegetation came back, and of this genus shares a common ancestor we delighted in a singular experience of it needs the grazing power of tortoises (often with a species endemic to Cuba. They interspecies frolic. It was a moment that will called the engin eers of the islands) to keep it believe that such a connection under control. remain with me forever. happened before the Isthmus of was bridged one million years ago. Iguanas, about which we have mixed feelings You can go to Francisco-Ortega is excited about in South Florida, are indeed as prehistoric in retortoisepinta.blogspot.com to keep up their demeanor as the tortoises. Yellow and Jaramillo’s work. “We need trained, with the success of the tortoise release. talented botanists in the tropics who can black land iguanas have longer snouts and assume the huge conservation challenges faced by the region,” he says.

Plants tHat CHanged tHe World CLOVES How a mysterious spice made its way into the world

By Carl Lewis, Ph.D.

odern cuisine is flavored with a rich medley of spices such as black pepper, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom were from the farthest corners of the globe. We take for carried from the tropics to emerging civilizations in Asia, the M granted the fact that we can buy jars of spices, even Middle East and Europe. scarce and exotic ones, for a few dollars each and use them in our everyday cooking. Because spices occupy a small space in the The story of cloves is especially colorful, involving a complex, secret supermarket and in our kitchen cabinets, we often overlook their system of trade that lasted for thousands of years. Cloves are the dried importance in shaping the modern world. It is hard to comprehend flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, a tropical tree in the myrtle the centuries of exploration, conquest, slavery and war that brought family. The flower buds contain high concentrations of eugenol, an these products to our shelves, and it is impossible to estimate the aromatic chemical compound that is also found in cinnamon, nutmeg number of lives and fortunes that were risked and lost along the and basil. The tree is native to a row of volcanic islands, the Spice way. Spices were among the first commercial products to be traded Islands or Moluccas, in what is now Indonesia’s North Maluku th over long distances. Used to flavor food and preserve meat, spices Province Province (see map on p. 34). Prior to the 17 century, clove trees could not be found anywhere else.

Dried cloves, Photo by Jorge Barrios Flowers of the clove tree, Syzygium aromaticum. www.fairchildgarden.org 49 Cloves drying by the roadside on the island of Halmahera, North Maluku Province, Indonesia. Photo by Carl Lewis/FTBG

There is archaeological evidence that cloves made their way from Resolving the mysterious origin of cloves became a top priority for the Spice Islands to world markets in ancient times. Like many other those expeditions. It took more than a century of exploration, spices, they appear to have reached India by 1700 BC and multiple around-the-world voyages and an extraordinary investment southern Europe by the first century AD. We can find additional of wealth to pinpoint the location of the Spice Islands. Portuguese clues about the history of cloves by studying their integration into explorers arrived first, in the mid-15th century, followed soon by the cultures and traditions of Asia. Cloves are a particularly the Spanish, English and Dutch. The first detailed maps of the important component of Indian cuisine, appearing in a wide variety world’s continents were produced during those early voyages, as of spicy dishes and in spiced teas. This suggests an ancient and were the first records of the plants and animals of distant lands. strong connection between the Spice Islands and many parts of India. Cloves also have widespread traditional use in China and As the world’s powerful nations began to expand and colonize Japan, where they are used to make incense and perfume. territories overseas, the Spice Islands were the prize they coveted most. Through a series of bloody conflicts, the Dutch seized and controlled Merchants kept the location of the Spice Islands a closely guarded the Spice Islands for 350 years. In their quest to monopolize the supply secret for thousands of years. Ancient writings from Asia, the of cloves forever, the Dutch established plantations to the south on the Middle East, and Europe mention possible locations of the islands, well-fortified island of Ambon. Once those plantations were able to but few of them are even remotely accurate. Incredibly, this secrecy adequately supply global markets, Dutch soldiers began burning all was maintained as cloves became increasingly common in markets clove trees in their native range of North Maluku. That action was worldwide. With an aura of mystery surrounding their origin, strongly resisted by the local people, who had traditionally planted fanciful myths about cloves began to emerge. One theory, persisting clove trees to commemorate the birth of each child. for centuries, suggested that cloves could only be grown and harvested by genies using magical techniques. Somehow, even under the tight grip of the Dutch, clove seeds were eventually smuggled out to other tropical regions in the 18th By the first century AD, traders had learned to sail westward across century. The trees were propagated in French and English colonies, the Indian Ocean on the steady monsoon winds, carrying cloves and cloves quickly became widely available and less expensive. and other spices from Southeast Asia to North Africa. From there, overland routes brought spices to the Mediterranean Sea, where As the Dutch monopoly was finally broken, cloves were reestablished they could be distributed far and wide to markets throughout the as an important part of the North Maluku economy and culture. Roman Empire. Today, the intensely fragrant flower buds can be found drying in the sun along roadsides throughout the islands. North Maluku is now When Rome lost control of North Africa in the seventh century, a peaceful, and little evidence of its bloody history remains. new trading route was established through the Middle East to what is now Turkey. Trade along that route flourished for 800 years, until The majority of the world’s cloves now come from elsewhere, it was interrupted by the rise of the Ottoman Turks. Without an primarily Zanzibar, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. The bulk of the world overland connection to the Indian Ocean, Europe lost its supply of supply is used to make clove cigarettes, which are especially popular precious Asian spices. As the nations of Middle-Ages Europe became in Asia. Cloves remain a favorite culinary spice throughout the world, desperate to reestablish the spice trade, they launched expeditions to used in a variety of baked goods, meat dishes and soups. They stand chart new maritime routes, beginning the Age of Discovery. as one of the best examples of a local crop that skyrocketed onto the world stage and forever transformed the global economy.

50 THE TROPICAL GARDEN bug beat The Gumbo Limbo Spiraling Whitefly: A New Pest in South Florida Text and photos by Jeff Wasielewski

here is a new pest in South Florida: The Gumbo Limbo Spiraling Whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus. This whitefly is two- to three-times larger than a normal whitefly and has an extremely wide host range. According to Dr. Catharine Mannion Tof the University of Florida’s Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, this whitefly has been found on gumbo limbo, black olive, Calophyllum species, copperleaf, broadleaf arrowhead, cocoplum, Brazilian pepper, wax myrtle, live oak, mango, areca palms, coconut palms and several Veitchia species. Photo by Carl Lewis/FTBG This pest was first found on gumbo limbo trees in March of 2009 in Miami-Dade County and has since been found in numerous locations, including recent sightings in west Coral Gables and North Miami.

The Gumbo Limbo Spiraling Whitefly is thought to originate in Central America and is identified by its large size and the spiral pattern in which it lays its eggs. The undersides of are typically covered in spiraling patterns of white eggs and large amounts of a white waxy

Gumbo Limbo substance. Numerous large whiteflies are also typically found on the Spiraling Whitefly, undersides of the leaves. While most whiteflies will fly easily when Aleurodicus disturbed, this particular pest tends to stay in place and is reticent to fly. rugioperculatus This whitefly tends to infest older, weaker leaves first and then move towards the newer, healthier ones. It has not caused a great deal of host mortality to date, and damage has been limited to outbreaks of sooty mold and general plant decline. Sooty mold is a black fungus that grows in the sweet honeydew that is produced by many species of pests as they feed. It can be messy and will get on cars, patio furniture or decks that the infested trees overhang.

There are many pesticides labeled for whitefly and most will be effective against this pest. However, treatment will be difficult due to the pest’s large host range. Pesticides will also harm any beneficial insects that are helping to control the pest. Since pest populations typically rebound more quickly than beneficial populations, pesticides often have a negative effect on the natural balance of beneficial insects and pests.

Unfortunately, new pests tend to have large population surges before beneficial insects get them under control, so this whitefly’s numbers may still increase before they begin to decline. Nonetheless, there has been promising evidence of ladybugs preying upon the Gumbo Limbo Spiraling Whitefly, and of it being parasitized by the parasitoid Aleuroctonus vittatus. If you discover this pest in your garden, monitor its population growth before you decide to spray, as the pest may be controlled by beneficial insects and will probably not do a (T-B) Gumbo Limbo Spiraling Whitefly on the underside of a gumbo limbo leaf. tremendous amount of damage to your plants. Females lay their eggs in a spiral pattern. www.fairchildgarden.org 51 gifts and donors

The following gifts were made between May 16, 2010, and August 15, 2010. Please notify the Donor Relations Office at 305.667.1651, ext. 3373 if your information is incorrect. We apologize in advance for any errors or omissions.

MAJOR GIFTS Mr. and Mrs. Dennis J. Olle Tribute Bricks Donald and Terry Blechman Endowment Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel P. Reed In Memory of Don Blechman Tribute Fund Estate of Virginia Matheson Mr. and Mrs. Israel Reyes Mr. Morris Broad Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Aragon Edward J. Robinson Trust Mr. Kenneth J. Reilly In Memory of Casey Cousins Mrs. Nettie Belle Robinson Estate of Muriel L. Thomson Mr. and Mrs. Larry Rutherford Cousins Associates Mr. and Mrs. David Bercuson In Memory of Bob Geiserman The Fairchild Challenge Mrs. Margaret M. Scelzo Mr. and Mrs. Tom Brown The Batchelor Foundation Ms. Jolyn H. Sellers Mr. and Mrs. Ron Martin Ms. Ann B. Bussel Mr. and Mrs. Philip W. Skove In Memory of Eleanor G. Green Mr. Carl Cergol and Ms. Arlene Ferris SPECIAL PROJECTS Mayor and Mrs. Donald D. Slesnick, II Ms. Beverly Potter Mr. and Mrs. Herbert J. Cohen Education Programs Ms. Jacqueline Stetson and In Memory of Christopher R. LoCicero Mrs. Marny Dixon Edward S. Moore Family Foundation, Inc. Mr. Vincent Pastore Ms. Minnie Hernandez Mr. Steven Friedland and United Way of Miami-Dade Mr. Reginald Whitehead and In Memory of Joan Loughrin Dr. Jennifer Sadock FAIRCHILD GIFTS Mr. Thomas Moore Mr. and Mrs. Paul Loughrin Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Friedman The following list combines Mr. and Mrs. Ed Williamson In Memory of Kay Roth Ms. Lenore Gaynor membership and gifts to Fairchild Dr. and Mrs. Sanford Ziff Mr. and Mrs. Paul Loughrin Ms. Judith Gelber In Honor of Jackie Rudd at the $1,000 level and above. TRIBUTE PROGRAM Mr. Bruce W. Greer and Mrs. Jeanette Rudd Schuster Ms. Evelyn Langlieb Greer Diamond Fellow Commemorative Gifts In Honor of Linda Boone In Memory of Ron Sequeiros Dr. David C. Gross Bill and Ann Ziff Foundation Mr. Jim Partridge Mrs. Harriet C. Halpryn Mrs. Ann Ziff The Staff of Lubitz Financial Group In Honor of Elvera Desmond In Memory of Eve Sherouse Mr. and Mrs. Samuel L. Heller Gold Fellow Mr. and Mrs. Barry McClure Ms. Carole A. Jones Mr. and Mrs. Hardy Katz Mr. and Mrs. Victor M. Alvarez In Memory of Barbara Foote Fales In Memory of Sally Westaway Ms. Patricia Kelly Mr. and Mrs. Armando Codina Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Keppie Mr. and Mrs. Paul Loughrin Mr. and Mrs. Dan Kimball In Honor of Jim and Fredericka White Hogan Lovells US LLP Mr. and Mrs. Arnold D. Scott Mr. Herbert A. Kolben Mr. R. Kirk Landon In Memory of Hallie Morris Ms. Lisa M. White Mr. and Mrs. Howard S. Levin Mrs. Dorothy Lichtenstein Ms. Anne E. Helliwell Tribute Trees Dr. and Mrs. Frederic Levine Adam R. Rose and Peter R. McQuillan In Memory of Beatrice S. Price In Memory of Ray Ochandarena Mr. Michael Mael Silver Fellow Ms. Suzanne Cahill Carnival Corporation Mr. and Mrs. Steve Nock James Deering Danielson Foundation In Honor of Doris Rosenthal Ms. Agatha D. Ellis Outdoor Gardens, Inc. Mr. Richard W. Ebsary Mrs. Eleanor Weiss Mr. Elliott Franklin Mr. Scott Perwin and Mr. and Mrs. Victor L. Fuller In Memory of Ruth Shapiro The Staff of Lario’s on the Beach Ms. Amy McClellan Mr. Robert J. Petzinger and Mr. and Mrs. William Leftwich Mr. and Mrs. Louis P. Michetti Mr. Robert J. Petzinger and Ms. Cristina Moran Ms. Rose Spector Mr. Armando Sigaretto Ms. Cristina Moran Mr. and Mrs. Alan Steinberg In Honor of Roe and Penny Stamps Mr. James F. Wilson Mrs. Nancy E. Roberts Mr. and Mrs. Steven P. Rosenthal Fellow The Eig Family Foundation Tribute Benches In Memory of Harold Steinbaum Mrs. Stefanie Schinoff Art Basel Miami Beach In Memory of Alfred H. Deuel Mrs. Sandra Schoenfeldt Ms. Ruby M. Bacardi Art Miami Mr. and Mrs. James R. Andersen Ms. Erica Barrish Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Seymour Mr. and Mrs. Carl Bauer Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Cooper Drs. Leonard and Gail Silverman Mr. and Mrs. James T. Bernhardt Mr. Peter M. Benjamin and Ms. Nancy E. K. Custer Dr. Kate M. Callahan Mr. William Shade Dr. and Mrs. S. Allen Bradford Ms. Leslie DeMarco Mr. Morton Slakoff Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Brockway Ms. Wendy Brasecker and Ms. Clare Greenbaum Mr. Mike Rothenberg Mr. Jules Sotnek Ms. Teresa Buoniconti Ms. Carol Hyden Ms. Georgia B. Tasker Mr. David Carr and Ms. Lynn Sellers Central Florida Medical Imaging, PA Mr. Guy Kehler Mr. Jerome Cohen Ms. Rikki Warner Ms. Alicia M. Celorio Ms. Lynn McLaughlin Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Zane Dr. and Mrs. Rafael de Montoro Dr. Carol Damian and Mr. and Mrs. Ronald D. Morrison Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Donsky Mr. Vincent Damian Ms. Sarah Mullen Patricia Frank Memorial Fund Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Z. Duke Mr. and Mrs. Herb Dubovy Ms. Ileana Perez Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Aragon Mr. Elling O. Eide Mr. Marcelo Garcia Ferrer In Memory of Liz Ferrari Mr. and Mrs. Tom Brown The Eig Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Funk Mr. and Mrs. Michael R. Boyce Mr. Carl Cergol and Ms. Arlene Ferris Dr. and Mrs. Richard A. Elias Mr. Bruce W. Greer and Mr. and Mrs. Maurits J. B. de Blank Mrs. April Dominguez and Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Esserman Ms. Evelyn Langlieb Greer Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Hartsook Mr. Eduardo Dominguez Mrs. Lillian Fessenden Mr. and Mrs. Larry Hoffman Mr. Nikolas O. Kozy Mr. Chayo Frank Mr. and Mrs. Willis D. Harding Ms. Kimberly Kolback and Ms. Louise S. Lanham Mr. Bruce W. Greer and Ms. Jennifer Heegaard and Mr. Scott Sheffel Mr. Romain Ritter and Ms. Evelyn Langlieb Greer Mr. Andres Franco Mr. and Mrs. Irv Lamel Mr. Michel Ritter Ms. Patricia Kelly Mr. and Mrs. Ronald E. Herzog Dr. and Mrs. Robert H. McCabe Mr. and Mrs. Alex Soto Mrs. Lynda L. LaRocca Dr. and Mrs. James R. Jude Dr. Melanie P. Merriman Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Surville Dr. and Mrs. Frederic Levine rs. Michael Maunder and Dr. James A. Kushlan Mr. and Mrs. Harold M. Rifas Mr. Jeffrey R. Talbot D rs. Bernice Steinbaum Sawsan Khuri-Maunder Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Lynch M In Memory of Robert C. Hector, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Devand A. Sukhdeo Mrs. Ruth Light Stanley Mrs. Ruth H. Mitchell Mrs. Nancy Hector Ms. Georgia B. Tasker Dr. and Mrs. William P. Murphy, Jr. In Memory of Elba Hilders de Castro Ms. Nannette Zapata and Ms. Lamar J. Noriega Mr. and Mrs. John Struck Dr. Frank DeLaurier

52 THE TROPICAL GARDEN wish list Fairchild has a wish list of items that will enhance our programs, but we need Wish Makers. We hope you see an item that you can help fulfill.

FOR HORTICULTURE PROGRAMS • LCD Projector, $1,000 • Walk-Behind Aerator, $1,500 • Software/Hardware for Accession Tag Embossing Machine, $2,600 • Plant Transport Van, $20,000 FOR CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND ONLINE HERBARIUM PROGRAMS • Extra-Tall Tripod, $150 • Weather-Resistant Picnic Table and Benches, $700 • Macro Zoom Lens for SLR Sony Camera, $800 • Laptop Computer, $2,000 • Ne w Display Giclee Prints on Canvas for Public Events, $2,000 • Large-Format Scanner, $2,600 • Ultra-Cold Freezer (DNA Bank), $6,000 • Laminar Flow Hood, $6,000 • Seed Germination Chamber, $8,500 • Mid-Size Pick-Up Truck, $26,400 • Eppendorf Robotic Liquid Management System (DNA Extraction), $100,000 FOR THE SCIENCE LIBRARY • From Kew Gardens: Flora of Somalia (4 Vol.), World Checklist & Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae, other monographs on tropical plant families, $1,000 • New Computer, $1,200 • Large-Format Scanner, $2,600 FOR THE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS TEAM • Nikon Digital 22-24 mm Super Wide Angle Lens, $900 FOR SPECIAL EVENTS • Energy-Efficient Washer/Dryer, $1,500 • Fully-equipped Commercial Kitchen for Visitor Center FOR MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS • Laptop Computer/LCD Projector, $2,500 • Digital SLR Camera, $1,000 FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS • Laptop Computer, $1,000 • Solar Conversion Kit, $2,000 • Canon Double-sided Feeder Scanner, $3,000 • Art Supplies, TBD • Production of a Fairchild Challenge Documentary (In-kind or underwriting) FOR THE VISITOR SERVICES TEAM • Two-way Radios (2), $800 FOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS • Digital SLR Camera, $1,000

To fully fund a wish, donate a portion of the cost or donate the actual item, please contact Bill Shade at 305.663.8051 or [email protected].

To fulfill a wish online, please visit www.fairchildgarden.org/Donate

www.fairchildgarden.org 53 vistas Fairchild Palms Mangoritaville Celebration

he sweet smell of tropical fruit filled the garden on the evening of Saturday, July 17, as The Palms’ Mangoritaville celebration took place in Thonor of the king of tropical fruit, the mango. More than 150 young professionals and their guests sipped on Mangoritas and dined on divine BBQ food with mango dressings. The melodious sounds of “The Rejects” floated through the garden’s Visitor Center Ballroom and veranda as the Fairchild Palms raised funds for the Fairchild Challenge.

For more information on The Palms, the garden’s young professionals conservation group, please visit us at www.fairchildpalms.org. Photo by Andrew Quarrie

(L-R) Claire Menard, Cori Franco, Palms President John Malloy, Isabel Diaz-Guiteras, Raymond Baker

SAVE THE DATE for Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s

Gala in the Garden A RENAISSANCE GARDEN Saturday, February 5, 2011

Ticket prices start at $600 per person. For table and ticket information, please contact Susannah Shubin at 305.667.1651, ext. 3375 or [email protected] FAIRCHILD TROPICAL BOTANIC GARDEN what’s in store Gardening for Birds in South Florida By Erin Fitts

BIRD GARDENS: WELCOMING WILD BRINGING NATURE HOME BIRDS TO YOUR YARD By Douglas W. Tallamy, $27.95. Edited by Stephen W. Kress, $9.95. This book is a great resource for anyone who wants to This Brooklyn Botanic Garden guide is full of general learn more about the interaction between wildlife and information on starting a bird-friendly garden, how to native plants. Tallamy shows how wildlife depends on avoid using invasive plants and how to choose bird- native plants and how to use that interaction to create attracting plants for each region of the country. wildlife-friendly gardens, and gives a list of native plants by region along with list of butterfly host plants.

WILDLIFE-FRIENDLY PLANTS THE YOUNG BIRDER’S GUIDE TOS BIRD By Rosemary Creeser, $19.95. OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA This book is a great resource for starting a wildlife-friendly By Bill Thompson III, $14.95. garden that will attract butterflies, amphibians and birds. Once birds are attracted to your garden, this Peterson The book includes start-up information and extensive Field Guide is a great way to get your children started directions on which plants to use. It also offers with birding. This is a field guide that can be used information on care for each plant, as well as about independently by children and is full of color which wildlife the plant will attract. Included are many photographs, drawings, interesting facts and range maps. plants that can be grown in South Florida.

Be sure to come to Fairchild’s Bird Day on Sunday, You can purchase these books online October 2 to purchase these books and to learn at http://store.fairchildonline.com everything about birds.

Give the Gift The BRANCH OUT Program provides Fairchild members with discounts and benefits to over 150 local businesses and organizations. To view a list of participating BRANCH of the Garden OUT locations and discounts, visit www.fairchildgarden.org/branchout today. If you are a business and would like to join the BRANCH Consider a gift of membership and share your OUT Program, please contact Mari Novo at support of Fairchild. Members enjoy free [email protected]. admission to Fairchild; a subscription to The The Miami Center of Excellence for Tropical Garden; priority registration for Fairchild classes; invitations to members-only OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY events; library privileges; discounts on books, Randy A. Fink, MD, FACOG, Medical Director Alejandra Turmero, MD, FACOG gifts and classes; and free admission to Stephanie Fink, MSN, ARNP hundreds of gardens, arboreta and science Irene Besser, Certified Nurse Midwife museums throughout the United States. FULL SERVICE OB & GYN CARE * BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES * MIDWIFERY *CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION * MED-SPA * CONTRACEPTION * SEXUALITY To give the gift of membership or to renew, please contact the Membership Office at 8700 NORTH KENDALL DRIVE, SUITE 208 MIAMI, FLORIDA 33176 305.667.1651, ext. 3301 or ext. 3362 or visit (305) 274-3130 www.fairchildgarden.org. www.miamiobgyns.com garden views Photo by Gaby Orihuela/FTBG Photo by Gaby Orihuela/FTBG

CELEBRATING INDIAN MANGOS AT THE 18TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL MANGO FESTIVAL Almost 10,000 visitors were in mango mania mode this past July 10 and 11, as they celebrated the “king of fruit” at Fairchild’s 18th Annual International Mango Festival. This year’s Mango Festival celebrated Indian mangos.

You may ask, “Why Indian Mangos?” Richard Campbell, Fairchild’s senior curator of tropical fruit, has an answer: “A good question and best answered with a single word: quality.” India is the birthplace of the mango, and nowhere is the fruit more revered. Indian mangos such as ‘Alphonse’, ‘Mallika’, ‘Imam Pasand’ and ‘Neelum’ define dessert mango quality.

This year’s Mango Festival included Bollywood dancers, a cultivar tasting, henna tattoos, yoga classes for kids and a Mango Chutney Challenge with a cooking demonstration from acclaimed food writer and actress Madhur Jaffrey. During the Mango Cultivar Tasting on Saturday, more than 1,000 people evaluated 10 cultivars. The results rewarded ‘Sunset’, first place, while ‘Nam Doc Mai’ came in second. On Sunday, at the famously quirky mango auction where trays of mangos were auctioned off, a plate of ‘Alphonse’ went for more than $240.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped and to our sponsors: Whole Foods Market, Bacardi USA, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Ciruli Brothers, Coast Tropical, Green Mobility Network, Jimmy Howell, JoAnna’s Marketplace, Kenny’s Great Pies, Martex, Mason Girl Cupcakes, Macy’s Catering, The Miami Herald, Pollo Tropical, Procesos Agroindustriales, Rina Yoga, Savani Farms, Sushi Maki and Westfalia. Photo by Gaby Orihuela/FTBG

Dates for the upcoming season are: An interactive garden 2010 November 1 Fairchild proudly welcomes individuals living with Alzheimer’s December 6 and their caregivers to the garden for a tour and lunch. The program is free of charge; early registration is encouraged as 2011 there is limited seating. To register or for information, please January 3, 8, and 31 call Patty Kelly at 305.667.1651, ext. 3388. February 19 and 28 March 21 and 26 Need help? Please call the Alzheimer’s Helpline: 800.272.3900 April 11 and 16 May 2 and 16 Support is generously provided by Lin Lougheed, the Aaron I. Fleischman Photo by Benjamin F. Thacker Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Association. SHOP TO BENEFIT FAIRCHILD Fairchild is excited to participate in a unique two-day event, Love Where You Live, The Shopping Benefit to Support Your Community, on October 20 and 21, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The event takes place at four South Florida locations of Bloomingdale’s: The Falls in Miami, Aventura Mall, Town Center in Boca Raton and The Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens.

Nearly 100 charities—including Fairchild—will benefit from Photo by Gaby Orihuela/FTBG funds raised through sales of tickets to the event, which will feature storewide entertainment, fashion events and special FAIRCHILD’S SECOND ANNUAL Photo by Gaby Orihuela/FTBG savings. Fairchild is now selling tickets for $10 each, and 100% SCARECROW COMPETITION of these proceeds benefit the garden. Ticket holders will receive The Garden-to-Garden fundraising committee, comprised of Fairchild a certificate for 15% to 20% savings off regular and sale-priced volunteers, is organizing its second annual Fairchild Scarecrow merchandise at Bloomingdale’s on both days of the event (with Competition as part of the Edible Garden Festival to be held on limited exclusions). Tickets to Love Where You Live are for sale October 23 and 24, 2010. Proceeds from entry fees and ballot sales at The Shop at Fairchild through September 30, 2010. All told, will benefit the Fairchild Challenge Satellite Program. For more the Love Where You Live event expects to distribute more than information and to download an application form, please visit $100,000 to participating charities. www.fairchildgarden.org/ScarecrowContest.

FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE LAUNCH BRUNCH On Saturday, August 28, Fairchild hosted the Ninth Annual Fairchild Challenge Launch Brunch. More than 380 local elementary, middle and high school teachers, from more than 180 schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, attended.

The Launch Brunch served as an orientation for schools about the Fairchild Challenge and its mission: To foster interest in the environment by encouraging students to appreciate the beauty and value of nature, develop critical-thinking skills, understand the need for biodiversity and conservation, tap community resources, become actively engaged citizens and recognize that individuals do indeed make a difference. Teachers were treated to a delicious brunch, presentations by current participants and student alumni and an

Photo by Benjamin F. Thacker introduction to this year’s Fairchild Challenge Options.

Photo by Gaby Orihuela/FTBG While the Fairchild Challenge began in 2002, this year celebrates the kick- off of the expansion of the elementary school program, with 75 new schools registering at the event and more expected during the coming weeks.

John Malloy, president of the Fairchild Palms, Fairchild’s young professionals organization, presented the Fairchild Challenge with a donation of $15,000, so that Fairchild can continue to offer the program for free to all participating schools.

For additional information about the 2010-2011 Fairchild Challenge, please visit our Web site at www.fairchildchallenge.org or email us at [email protected]. Photo by Benjamin F. Thacker www.fairchildgarden.org 57 in memoriam

DONALD BLECHMAN Fairchild lost a dear friend and dedicated volunteer with the recent passing of Donald Blechman. Don began as a volunteer in the horticulture department, working closely with the Conservatory staff and volunteers taking care of the plant collections. Don and his wife Terry became tram guides in 2004, and gave wonderful tours of the garden to visitors every Friday morning. The Blechmans were chosen as Fairchild’s Volunteers of the Year in 2003 for their service on the Capital Campaign Committee and again in 2006 for their volunteer work in the design and installation of landscape lighting for the Chihuly exhibits.

Photo by Gaby Orihuela/FTBG Don served the garden and the community with passion and distinction. His warm smile and gentle humor will be missed by all who knew him.

Match and Ride: The Donald and Terry Blechman Tribute Fund has been established to honor Don Blechman by Patti and Allan Herbert as a way to raise funds for the purchase of new trams. Each dollar raised will be matched by the Herberts. To donate, please visit www.fairchildgarden/Match.

TRICIA FRANK A volunteer at Fairchild for more than 30 years, Tricia Frank was on the staff for eight years working in special events before she died of cancer in late June at age 67. And while remembering her elicits superlatives from those who knew her, one description comes up again and again: a gardener.

“There was just a pure pleasure that she had in plants,” said Arlene Ferris, director of volunteer services. “To know her was to know someone who always looked beautiful— and even in the hospital had her makeup on—but she was a gardener. I knew her for 25 years and never heard about other things she loved [besides] this garden or her garden.”

Tricia was married to architect and artist Chayo Frank for 45 years. The couple met at Palmetto High School, where they were on the swim team, and often came to Fairchild on dates. They married after college and in 1976 bought a home on a site that once was a pit for fill used to create Old Cutler Road. Beginning with bare limestone, they designed and planted their now-resplendent garden with “a democracy of individuals,” said Chayo, noting a special fondness for aroids.

Tricia was a founding member of the International Aroid Society and each year organized that society’s show and banquet. In 2007, the society named a plant for her, Anthurium triciafrankiae.

Tricia was a Fairchild Fellow, chairman of The Ramble in the early 1980s, briefly drove the The Patricia Frank Memorial Fund tram, worked in the nursery and was named Volunteer of The Year in 1997. “She was a has been established to honor gardener,’’ said Ann Schmidt, head of special events. But in addition, “she always loved Tricia’s life-long passion for the social aspects of the garden .” Typically, she always worked in the kitchen for the plants, especially aroids. Funds annual volunteer brunch. “She’s the one who taught us how to roll silverware into a raised will be used to support a napkin,” said Sandy Schoenfeldt in volunteer services. And for 32 years, she was a cashier fellowship for the study of aroids. at all the plant sales. To donate to The Patricia Frank Memorial Fund, please visit Mary Neustein, manager of adult education, was a new homeowner when she met Tricia. www.fairchildgarden.org/fund. “She told me to come on over and dig out some heliconias and aroids for my new garden. I was just amazed at how much she could tell me about each plant. Going to her garden was visiting paradise.” Tricia once called Fairchild her garden, said Nannette Zapata, Fairchild’s chief operating officer. “And not in a selfish, keep-everyone-else-out way, but in a sacred and protective way.”

58 THE TROPICAL GARDEN This Howl-O-Ween bring your pooch to Fairchild! Sunday, October 31 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

What better way to celebrate Halloween than by bringing your pooch to Fairchild? In costume, no less. Dog-friendly activities, dog merchandise, adoption agencies and more will make this a not-so-scary Howl-O-Ween.

Admission: Free for Fairchilds members and children 5 and under. Non-members: $20 for adults, $15 for seniors 65 and up and $10 for children 6-17. Eco-Discounts: Save $5 off admission when you walk, bike or take public transportation to Fairchild. It’s our way of thanking you for supporting our conservation efforts.

Sponsored by The Pet Chamber of Commerce FAIRCHILD TROPICAL BOTANIC GARDEN staff news Photos by Gaby Orihuela/FTBG and Jeff Wasielewski/FTBG

LAURA TELLEZ joined BARBARA MARTINEZ- RICK ECHEVERRIA has been MARI NOVO began at Fairchild as the Discovery recently joined the Facilities Director for Fairchild in 2006 as a visitor Program Coordinator this Fairchild as an Education Fairchild for more than 12 services associate and later past August. She holds a Coordinator. Before coming years. He is a licensed moved to the marketing Master’s Degree in Ecological to the garden, she was a general contractor in the department. She is currently Leadership and Education teacher for 10 years, working State of Florida and has a in donor relations, where she from the Audubon in both New York and South Bachelor’s Degree from FIU works closely with sponsors Expedition Institute at Lesley Florida. Barbara received a in construction management. and donors. Mari has a University. She spent the last B.S. from Florida International Rick moved to Miami when Masters Degree from FIU in two years traveling and University and a M.A. from he was five years old, enjoys hospitality management and living outdoors throughout Columbia University’s spending time with his kids continues to be excited to the United States while Teacher’s College and has and the outdoors, especially work at a place as beautiful learning and teaching about also worked internationally boating and fishing. and special as Fairchild. environmental and cultural teaching English while in the issues. She is thrilled to be a Peace Corps. part of the Fairchild famil y. www.fairchildgarden.org 59 from the archives Introduction of Phoenix dactylifera: Getting the Date Palm to the “New World” by Janet Mosely

“Here was a vast field for us to enter, exploration here would be worthy of the name of Agricultural Exploration.”

Dr. David Fairchild

ucked away in the archives at Fairchild is an unpublished account of the introduction to American horticulture of Phoenix Tdactylifera, or as it is more commonly known, the date palm. Dr. Fairchild, as official historian of the USDA’s Section of Plant Introduction, wrote it in 1931. It recounts in detail the early days of the Section’s investigation into the viability of a date industry in the U.S.

Some work had been done previously by the Pomological Division with Professor J.W. Toumey of the University of Arizona, and commercial growers were attempting to introduce dates into cultivation. But it was the talented, well-trained scientists in the Section of Plant Introduction who overcame obstacles and made the dream reality.

In 1897, Walter T. Swingle—a colleague of Dr. Fairchild’s at the USDA—became intereested in th date palm, despite learning that it took approximately 15 years for a tree to produce fruit. A bit daunted at first by the time element, Dr. Fairchild would later write “…as I look back now I wonder why we cared whether it took 15 years or 50; the fun came in getting the palms into America, watching them grow, and helping the industry to develop.” For the next quarter century, “To stand and look up at a tall Maktum date palm in the Tempe garden in Arizona, and try to realize that it was Swingle, Dr. Fairchil d, Professor Silas C. Mason one and the same thing that you had puddled in mud and others would work through the intricacies on the deck of a Tigris river steamer twenty-six years involved in establishing the date palm in America. before, was an experience that one does not forget. It is one of the recompenses which come to the agricultural explorer who is fortunate to be able to wait.” At this time, date cultivation was almost entirely Dr. David Fairchild, 1928. restricted to the Arab world of the Middle East and North Africa, where the practice dated back more than 3,000 years. “How Swingle struggled nights with Arabic, adding it to his repertoire of languages! A new world was literaltly laid ou before us, the world of oases and camels and palms,” Dr. Fairchild wrote.

60 THE TROPICAL GARDEN “I cannot help considering this date palm as having a special historic interest.” Dr. Fairchild visited Professor J.W. Toumey in 1901. Toumey showed him this seedling date palm growing in front of his office in Tucson. It was one of those shipped from Egypt by the Department of Pomology in 1889. Believing in the future of a date industry in Arizona, Toumey offered to establish a Date Palm Introduction Garden if the Section of Plant Introduction would collect the best “Old World” date varieties.

In 1899, Swingle set out to explore this world and found that, after locating and properly identifying suitable varieties, his next obstacle was shipping them home. Phoenix dactylifera will not fruit well from seed. It was necessary to harvest suckers from the mature plant and ship these offshoots—which weighed as much as 20 pounds—in tubs. Swingle’s first trial shipment was awkward, expensive and not very successful.

In early 1900, Swingle went to Algeria to try again. He brought with him sphagnum moss and coconut fiber, wrapped up eight tons of palm suckers, boxed them up and shipped them home. Everyone thought they’d be smothered, but “…Swingle’s ingenuity turned the trick…” and more than 90% of them lived. This was the first substantial shipment of date palms into the U.S. and became the basis of the experimental work on cultivation that followed in Arizona and California. “The idea of planting the Southwestern deserts with date palms appealed to the American imagination, and the demand for a collection of date palms of the world was insistent.”

(All quotations are from The Date Palm; unpublished manuscript by David Fairchild; Phoenix dactylifera date palm in full fruit. Offshoot imported from Egypt by Division Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Archives.) of Pomology in 1889. Indio, Calif. F. W. Johnson Aug. 1905

www.fairchildgarden.org 61 connect with fairchild

VISIT US GET INVOLVED Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Become a Member 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables FL 33156 Become a member and enjoy garden benefits all year long. T: 305.667.1651 F: 305.661.8953 Inquiries: 305.667.1651, ext. 3301 or 3362 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Everyday (except December 25) [email protected] Admission: Free to Fairchild members and children 5 and under. www.fairchildgarden.org/membership Non-members: $20 for adults, $15 for seniors 65 and up and $10 for children 6-17. Volunteer Eco-Discounts: Save $5 off admission when you walk, bike or take Become a volunteer and help the garden grow. public transportation to Fairchild. It’s our way of thanking you for Inquiries: 305.667.1651, ext. 3324 supporting our conservation efforts. [email protected] www.fairchildgarden.org/volunteer FOLLOW US Give Donate to the garden and help support Fairchild’s programs. www.fairchildgarden.org Inquiries: 305.667.1651, ext. 3351 Facebook [email protected] www.fairchildgarden.org/facebook www.fairchildgarden.org/donatenow

Twitter www.twitter.com/fairchildgarden EVENTS AND PRIVATE RENTALS Information about events can be found on Fairchild’s Web site. FAIRCHILD BLOGS Tickets for certain events maybe be purchased online. Interested in having your event at Fairchild, please call us or visit our Web site. Gardening with Georgia Inquiries: 305.667.1651, ext. 3359 Plant writer extraordinaire Georgia Tasker writes about plants and [email protected] everything Fairchild. www.fairchildgarden.org/events www.fairchildgarden.org/georgiatasker Musings with Mary SHOP AT FAIRCHILD Fairchild’s Senior Horticulturist Mary Collins writes about Visit The Shop at Fairchild for a large selection of gardening and horticulture in the garden and around South Florida. culinary books, home decor items and unique gifts. www.fairchildgarden.org/horticulture Inquiries: 305.667.1651, ext. 3305 For the Love of Mangos [email protected] Fairchild Tropical Fruit Curators Dr. Richard J. Campbell and Noris http://store.fairchildonline.com Ledesma write about traveling the world in search of the world’s most delicious fruit. GIFTS THAT GIVE BACK www.fairchild.org/lovemangos Give the gift of Fairchild A Conversation about Conservation Inquiries: 305.667.1651, ext. 3351 Fairchild’s conservation scientists write about their adventures [email protected] exploring for and saving plants and habitats in South Florida and www.fairchildgarden.org/giftideas around the world. www.fairchildgarden.org/conservationblog SHARE YOUR MEMORIES The Cheng Ho Blog If you have a fantastic Fairchild picture, moment or comment you Seventy years after David Fairchild’s famous Cheng Ho expedition, would like to share, send it to us at [email protected]. you can follow the ship’s journey with daily journal entries posted We will publish the best entries on this page. in this historical blog. www.fairchildgarden.org/chengho

62 THE TROPICAL GARDEN FESTIVAL AT FAIRCHILD

Saturday and Sunday, October 23 - 24, 2010 , 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Admission: Free to Fairchild members and children 5 and under. Non-members: $20 for adults, $15 for seniors 65 and up and $10 for children 6-17. Eco-Discounts: Save $5 off admission when you walk, bike or take public transportation to Fairchild. It’s our way of thanking you for supporting our conservation efforts. fairchild tropical botanic garden

Photos by Gaby Orihuela/FTBG Printed on recycled paper that contains Non-Profit 10% post-consumer waste, using Organization vegetable-based ink and is FSC certified. U. S. Postage Please pass this magazine on or recycle it. PAID Miami, Florida Permit No. 155

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70ANNUAL T he Ramble A GARDEN FESTIVAL Celebrating South Florida Living for 70 Years

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 12, 13 and 14, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m www.fairchildgarden.org/Ramble