RICAN APRIL 1982 ORfICULTURlSf lue Hollies combine the superb as a hedge, they serve as a barrier to Angel (PI. Pat. 3662), a medium sized performonce of a rugged w ind and animals. It's the I'\ind of red berried beauty for smaller land­ Bshrub w ith the classic good lool~ engineering achievement you'd scapes; the Glue Princess (PI. Pat. of Eng lish Holly. The result is an expect to be introduced by Conard­ 3675) a popular, highly ornamental extraordinarily versatile plant that Pyle. variety with a profl,Jsion of bright red responds beautifully to all conditions In short, when it comes to meeting berries; and the Glue Prince ( PI. Pat. from narmal to extreme. From the most demanding landscape 3517), a rapid growing male that sun bol"ed hills and arid plains, to rocl"Y challenges, the Glue Hollies are the best insures pollination for Glue Angel and soil and the snowy North, the Glue thing to come down the road in Glue Princess. Hollies go anywhere, in any w eather. a long time. Naturally, all three come with the They can be sheared and shaped Find out more aboutthe Glue Hollies built-in hardiness and rich lustrous foli­ to any size from full to compact. at leading nurseries and garden age that's standard eqUipment on Use them as foundation plantings centers through out the U.S. They're all Glue Hollies. or fit them in any space. Formed available in three models: the Glue RICAN VOLUME 61 NUMBER 4 ORTICULTlIRIST Florists' strain of Primula X polyantha. Turn to page 14 for more information about growing primulas. President's Page 2 The U.S. Botanic Garden by Karen D. Solit 5 Strange Relatives: The Solanaceae by Jane Steffey 8 Photographing Plants by George Baetjer 12 Primulas by Herbert Dickson 14 A Gardener's Detente by Adele Auchincloss 20 A Connoisseur's Garden by Pamela Harper 23 Lilacs by Judith Hillstrom 26 Biological Control of Insect Pests by Altieri, Hamai, Hajek and Sheehan 28 Pronunciation Guide 38 Gardener's Marketplace 42 On the cover: Unusual Arisaema sikokianum is surrounded by Primula sieboldii in the garden of Harold Epstein. Turn to page 23 for more about his lovely plant collection. Photograph by Pamela Harper. American Horticulturist 1 Judy Powell EDITOR Rebecca K. McClimans ART DIRECTOR Barbara W. Ellis PREsIDENT'S PAGE ASSOCIATE EDITOR Steven H. Davis Jane Steffey has it done for plants and why is Welwit­ EDITORIAL ASSIST ANTS schia on the list? Irene Polansky It seems to me that it is time to review PRODUCTION ASSIST ANT the Endangered Species Act (the internal H. Marc Cathey protective legislation in the United States) Gilbert S. Daniels and the Convention on International Trade HORTICULTURAL CONSULTANTS in Endangered Species (the international Gilbert S. Daniels agreement among nations). Within na­ BOOK EDITOR tions, local protection of endangered spe­ Louise Baughn cies varies widely in be>th legislation and Cindy Weakland enforcement. We think of ourselves as a ASSISTANTS TO THE EDITOR nation of laws, yet the listing of endan­ May Lin Roscoe gered species has become hopelessly bogged BUSINESS MANAGER down in red tape, and the enforcement of Dorothy Sowerby the law is negligible. It is still common in EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS the southwestern states to see a pick-up COORDINATOR he other day I was enjoying a slide truck loaded with a pile of collected cacti Connie Clark presentation being shown by a fel­ for sale. And in such countries as Brazil, MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE T low gardener who had just re­ where all plant collecting is prohibited ex­ turned from a plant collecting trip to Na­ cept by specific government permit, it is John Simmons - Chromagraphics Inc. COLOR SEPARATIONS mibia (formerly South-West Africa). He now estimated that as much as 25 percent filled the screen with beautiful photo­ of the great Amazonian jungle has been C. Lynn Coy Associates, Inc. graphs of one of the world's strangest plants, 55 Forest Street leveled by the bulldozer and the logger Stamford, CT 06902 (203) 327-4626 Welwitschia bainesii. This primitive plant without any accounting for the thousands ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE grows in the desert areas just in from the of plant and animal species that may have Replacement Issues of AMERICAN Atlantic Coast, and individual specimens been driven to extinction by this "advance HORTICULTURIST are available at a are said to be thousands of years old. Dur­ of civilization." In South Africa, one of the cost of $2.50 per copy. ings its entire life it has only two leaves, rarest species of aloe (Aloe polyphylla), has The opinions expressed in the articles which grow continuously in a wild, twisted for years been decimated by the local pop­ that appear in AMERICAN pattern. A large plant can cover an area ulation for its presumed medicinal value. HORTICULTURIST are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the size of a small house. As my friend Yet all collecting of this plant by botanists the Society. They are presented as flashed slide after slide of this strange plant or horticulturists is strictly forbidden, even contributions to contemporary thought. on the screen I began to wonder why this including the collection of seed, which in Manuscripts, art work and photographs species was one of the plants on the en­ no way harms a plant. At the ports of entry sent for possible publication will be into the United States the agricultural in­ returned if they are accompanied by a dangered species list. I asked my friend self-addressed, stamped envelope. where he had seen so many of these "rare spectors must now confiscate all plants AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST is the and endangered" plants, and I was amazed brought in without the proper import per­ official publication of The American to hear they were extremely common for mits. Some small part of these confiscated Horticultural Society, P.O. Box 6118, more than 400 miles along the northern plants may be turned over to local botanic 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, coast of Namibia. In fact, in nature, they gardens where they are held in limbo until Virginia 22308, (703) 768-5700, and is some bureaucratic decision can be made issued monthly. Membership in the are neither rare nor endangered. So what Society includes a subscription to are they doing on the list? (if ever) to determine their fate. Most will AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST. The Convention on International Trade eventually die because the holding agencies Membership dues start at $20.00 a year, in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and have little incentive to spend any effort on $12.00 of which is designated for Fauna is an international agreement among growing them or any way to ultimately AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST. Copyright © 1982 by The American nations that was originally formed to pro­ share them with other organizations or in­ Horticultural Society. ISSN 0096-4417. tect a small number of animals in danger dividuals. The rest end up in the trash. Second-class postage paid at Alexandria, of becoming extinct because of the com­ That doesn't seem to me to be a very good Virginia and at additional mailing mercial demand for their hides, hoofs, way to "protect" an endangered species. offices. Postmaster: Please send Form 3579 to AMERICAN horns, etc. It was a worthwhile endeavor, The stated purpose of both the national HORTICULTURIST, Mount Vernon, and in the animal world it has, to the best and international legislation is to protect Virginia 2212l. of my knowledge, been successful. For the the flora and fauna from commercial on­ Member of Society of National moment, at least, it has saved such animals slaught. The result has actually been to Association Publications as tigers and rhinos from extinction at the make scientific collection difficult and am­ hands of commercial hunters. But what ateur collection almost impossible. The 2 April 1982 AUTOMATIC VENTILATION commercial collectors, however, are not complaining. Business is better than ever and prices are higher because the plants and animals are now "officially" rare. Just THERMOFOR automatically controls hinged windows as heavy as 30 lb. to look at the advertisements for jungle col­ maintain the temperature required. It will lift a full 12 inches, or hold part way open lected orchids, or cacti, or rare parrots or as necessary. other wild animals. THERMOFOR lets you go away Extinction cannot always be prevented without worrying about sudden weather changes. Plants in cold frame or and is, in fact, part of the evolutionary greenhouse do better with closer process. If we really want to save some of temperature control. Power failures our plants and animals from human de­ don't affect THERMOFOR - it uses no struction, then only the establishment of power, has no operating costs! large areas of natural preserve (i .e. wil­ The SELECT model - best for derness areas) will be effective in the long greenhouses because it takes only 2 run. You cannot truly preserve a species inches headroom. Readily fitted to Orlyt, Janco, National, Everlite, Texas, by maintaining individuals in a botanic Sturdi-built and other standard makes. garden or a zoo. In a typically bureaucratic Clamp-on attachments simplify manner, endangered species legislation installation on metal houses. is almost a guarantee of extinction for The SOVEREIGN model - best for BRAMEN CO., INC. cold frames because it's readily the very plants and animals it seeks to P.O .Box 70-AD, Salem,MA 01970 preserve. disconnected and re-connected. The frame can be opened fully at any time. o Please send full information about As for collecting, I believe that small THERMOFOR controllers quantities (say five or 10 specimens of a Ask for FREE PLANS to make your o Please include FREE PLANS for single plant species), and particularly cut­ own CAREFREE COLD FRAME.