schedule of events

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 writer CONCERTS AND ORCHID CONSERVATION Georgia Tasker VALENTINE’S DAY PEOPLE IN A CHANGING WORLD staff contributors CONCERT PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE Thursday, March 7 Stephanie Cornejo Thursday, February 14 LIVING WITH ALZHEIMERS 7:00 p.m. Mary Dudley 7:00 p.m. AND THEIR FAMILIES THURSDAY, MARCH 28 TH Arlene Ferris FROST SCHOOL OF Registration is requested FAIRCHILD’S 75 Erin Fitts MUSIC PRESENTS: A FILM one week in advance of ANNIVERSARY Javier Francisco-Ortega MUSIC SPECTACULAR each offering. RSVP to Thursday, March 28 Marilyn Griffiths UNDER THE STARS 305.667.1651, ext. 3388 6:30 p.m. Brett Jestrow Featuring Composer James Saturday, February 9 FAIRCHILD: Nancy Korber Newton Howard 11:30 a.m. THE EDIBLE GARDEN Noris Ledesma Coming soon! Monday, February 18 Thursday, April 11 Joyce Maschinski 11:30 a.m. 7:00 p.m. Jeff Wasielewski SUNDAY SOUNDS Monday, March 18 MOONLIGHT TOUR AND copy editors February 3, 10, 17, 24 11:30 a.m. BUTTERFLY LECTURE March 3, 17 Saturday, March 30 Rochelle Broder-Singer Thursday, April 25 Kimberly Bobson April 7, 14, 28 11:30 a.m. 6:30 p.m. Mary Collins 1:00 p.m. Monday, April 8 advertising information TEAS 11:30 a.m. SALES Monday, April 29 Leslie Bowe For information or PLANT SHOW AND SALE 11:30 a.m. 305.667.1651, ext. 3338 reservations, please call Presented by the Bromeliad PROGRAM FOR previous editors Marnie Valent at Society of South Florida CHILDREN WITH AUTISM Marjory Stoneman Douglas 1945-50 305.663.8059. Saturday and Sunday Lucita Wait 1950-56 AND THEIR FAMILIES April 13 and 14 FIRST LADIES TEA Monday, March 25 Nixon Smiley 1956-63 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m Sunday, February 10 10:00 a.m. Lucita Wait 1963-77 3:00 p.m. WINGS OF THE PLANT ID Ann Prospero 1977-86 WORKSHOP Karen Nagle 1986-91 THE ORCHID TEA ROOM TROPICS Friday through Sunday Nicholas Cockshutt 1991-95 The world’s most Friday, March 1 Susan Knorr 1995-2004 March 8, 9 and 10 spectacular butterfly 1:00 p.m. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. exhibit is now open daily! Friday, April 5 SPRING GARDEN TEA 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 1:00 p.m. Sunday, April 14 EASTER BRUNCH The Tropical Garden Volume 68, 3:00 p.m. FAIRCHILD Number 1. Winter 2013. FEATURES Sunday, March 31 The Tropical Garden is published quarterly. FESTIVALS Subscription is included in membership dues. GALA IN THE GARDEN 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. 11TH ANNUAL © FTBG 2013, ISSN 2156-0501 Saturday, February 2 INTERNATIONAL All rights reserved. No part of this publication 6:30 p.m. may be reproduced without permission. ORCHID FESTIVAL Friday through Sunday MOONLIGHT TOURS March 8, 9 and 10 AND LECTURES 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Accredited by the American Association of CHUPUNGU: CUSTOM Museums, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is FOOD AND GARDEN supported by contributions from members and AND LEGEND, A friends, and in part by the State of Florida, FESTIVAL CULTURE IN STONE Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Featuring the 34th Annual Thursday, February 7 Florida Council on Arts and Culture, the John D. Spring Plant Sale and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. This schedule of events is subject National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute of Saturday and Sunday to change. For up-to-the-minute Museum and Library Services, the Miami-Dade April 20 and 21 GETTING TO KNOW THE information, please call County Tourist Development Council, the Miami- 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EVERGLADES 305.667.1651 or visit Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the www.fairchildgarden.org/Events Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Thursday, February 21 Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, and 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. with the support of the City of Coral Gables. www.fairchildgarden.org 7 Pilea fairchildiana An unusual, re-classified, succulent earns a new name honoring Dr. David Fairchild

By Brett Jestrow, James J. Valdés, Francisco Jiménez Rodríguez and Javier Francisco-Ortega Photos by Chad Husby

andscape designers and ornamental restricted to the Constanza Mountains of the Dominican horticulturalists worldwide have long been Republic. This species is locally abundant but has a attracted to succulents. Mostly found in arid narrow distribution at elevations between 500 and 1,500 L regions of the world, these plants are sources meters, usually on well-drained cliffs above streams. It of pride in most botanic gardens’ living collections, has succulent , and prior to our research it was including here at Fairchild. named Sarcopilea domingensis. However, our studies clearly demonstrated that this species belonged to the Succulence, and some physiological features linked to Pilea–where it needed a new name. We decided this trait, are rampant in many plant families with to make the required taxonomic transfer to this genus gardening value such as Aizoaceae, Apocynaceae, while honoring Dr. David Fairchild and Fairchild Cactaceae, Crassulaceae and Euphorbiaceae. But in the Tropical Botanic Garden: Pilea fairchildiana Jestrow & order, succulence is extremely uncommon, Jiménez Rodríguez. It was recently published in the June known only in a few species of the . This 2012 issue of the prestigious international plant unusual feature of the Rosales led us to investigate the systematic and journal Taxon. taxonomy and morphology of an Urticaceae species TOP Pilea fairchildiana Artwork by Julio Figueroa

34 THE TROPICAL GARDEN Brett Jestrow and Jason Lopez botanizing in the An individual growing on a rock face above a native habitat of Pilea fairchildiana. stream in Constanza, typical for the species.

Our research into this species followed the Garden’s layer. This is the opposite of all other leaf succulents, strong tradition of using its living collections for which have the water-storage layer above the scientific research. Most of our studies were based on photosynthetic layer. Second, these Pilea succulents plants cultivated at Fairchild, including not only Pilea have leaf stomata (the pores plants use to exchange fairchildiana but also other species of the genus, which gases with the environment during photosynthesis and are growing across the Garden. In association with respiration) located on the upper surface of their leaves. laboratories from Florida International University, we The vast majority of terrestrial plants have their stomata used molecular, mass spectrometry and electron arranged on the lower leaf surface. Clearly, these Pilea microscopy techniques to understand the taxonomic species have unique traits that seem to utilize the placement of Pilea fairchildiana. However, some of the unusual location of water storage and stomata, together most interesting and unexpected results of our study with leaf succulence and regular photosynthesis routes, came from the anatomical and histological studies as an alternative physiological strategy. performed in Fairchild’s own laboratories. Some of these results will need to have a physiological interpretation Pilea fairchildiana is easy to cultivate in our South and we are currently heading in this direction. Florida climate and has great ornamental potential. It grows well in both pots with regular pot-mix and in the Many succulent species perform a special type of ground–even with our soil’s high limestone content. photosynthesis known as “CAM” that helps to prevent Currently a single male plant grows on the rocky east- plant dehydration. Pilea fairchildiana has the typical facing edges of the Garden’s “Overlook.” This was the superficial features of a CAM species, with large only example of the species outside of the island of succulent leaves arranged in rosettes located on terminal Hispaniola until propagation began in the Fairchild stem branches. But the mass spectrometry and nurseries. Last July, we were able to collect cuttings of anatomical studies show that this species and other females and males during a plant exploration trip to the succulents placed in Pilea are not CAM species. Instead, Dominican Republic in partnership with Montgomery they have the typical photosynthetic routes of most of Botanical Center and supported by Lin Lougheed. These species in the plant kingdom. These plants do, however, cuttings are now growing, and we hope to produce have two features that are extremely uncommon in seeds in the coming months for propagation, and, terrestrial plants. First, the leaves store their water in ultimately, for plant distribution. specialized tissue, located beneath the photosynthetic

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