New Era Ljshered in at the Retreat
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r9901 GOLDSTEIN:THE RETREAT Principes. 34(i). 1qq0. pp. I I 20 New Era ljshered in at the Retreat LnoNIA,nrGornsrux 8101 S.W. 72ndAaenue, #313-W, Miami, FL 33143 The Retreat, I I acres of Bahamian wall that surroundsthe property datesfrom woodlandeast of Nassau,is a specialgar- about 1780, and two rockJinedwells from den that International Palm Society mem- the period are still readily identifiable, bers have come to know in bits and pieces thoughno longerin use.The mostly-wooden over the last 33 years. An article and house is actually a composite of several photoshave appearedin Principes (I:48, pods, the oldesta formal dining room (Fig. 1957 and I I:139, 1967),and photosof, l) datingfrom the 1860's, whenthe prop- and references to palms on the property erty belongedto the British Colonial Sec- are found in McCurrach's Pahns of the retary. However,just behindthe houseis World. For over half a century, with love, part ofan outdoorkitchen (Fig. 2) thought ingenuity, determination,and goodhumor, to have beenbuilt 25 or 30 years earlier. Arthur and Margaret (Wumpsie) Langlois Atop the houseis a red shingledroof whose personally collected and assembled an restoration earlier this decadewas funded impressivegroup, of palms, many of which in part by a donation from the South FIor- have become the best specimensof their ida Chapter of The Palm Society. kind in North America.But in the 1970's, Margaret Langlois was a second-gen- illness turned the couple's attention away eration Bahamian, but apparently had no from their hobby, and the garden began special interest in palms before meeting to decline. When Wumpsie Langlois died Arthur, a native of the British Channel in 1985, eight years after Arthur, a fas- Islands, who had probably become cinating era ended. enchantedwith the plants as a young man But this article does not focus on loss. in England.The couplebought The Retreat Onihe contrary, it bearsgood news:The after deemingit suitablefor growing palms, Retreat is on the way back. In I9B5 the and gradually a hobby became a consum- property becamethe headquartersof The ing passion. Certainly the greatest early BahamasNational Trust, and Prince Philip boostto their collectingzealcamein 1934, of Great Britain traveled to Nassau for when Arthur, a civil servant, was trans- ceremoniesto dedicatethe change in gov- ferred to palm-rich Trinidad to help install ernance(Fig. 7). However,to fully appre- a fresh-water system. Many attractive ciate the value of what is happening now specieswere collectedand crated up for and what is being preserved,it is perhaps shipment to Nassauwhen the Trinidadian best to review a bit of The Retreat's past. assignmentended. When Arthur and Wumpsie Langlois The Langlois' first of many trips exclu- boughta homesteadin 1925, shortly before sively to collect and photograph palms was their marriage,the property already had an expedition to British Honduras (Belize) a long history. As far back as the era of in 194I. Arthur and Wumpsie not only the American Revolution, it was part of a attained their objective-finding Reln- land grant known as The Retreat Estate, hardtia latisecta-btt also succeededin most likely settled by Loyalists who came introducingSchippia concolor into culti- to the Bahamas from the mainland. The vation. One of the Shippia seedlingsthat PRINCIPES lVoL. 34 1. Formal dining room, oldest pod of the Langlois house, is separated from living quarters by wood-screened breezeway./breakfastroom at left in background. 2. Outdoor stove, circa 1835, stands complete with well-used kettle at rear of dining room. Behind it to the left is cover to one of the cisterns installed by the Langloisesto capture rainfall from roof of the main house. 3. Beautiful interfoliar white flowers constitute one of the attractive feitures of Schippia concolor, a slow-growingmember of the subtribe Thrinacinae (tribe Corypheae, sub-family Coryphoideae).4. Young SynechantAzs occupies one of smallest solution holes in coppice. Surrounding leaf litter proves invaluable in enriching soil. they brought back (Fig. 3) is now 18 feet Areca 208, an orange-crownshafted tall and thriving in the coppice, or woods, beauty, became known for a time as Areca even though it had no trunk until 1963 langloisiana, though later research estab- and Wumpsie once called it the slowest lished that it had already been described growing of any palm in the garden. and named Areca uestiaria. But Shake- Other rare palms came to the Langloises speare's pronouncemenl on roses is no less through their friendship with Dr. David accurate for fine palms, and the Langloig' Fairchild. In fact, following Fairchild's Areca oestiaria now stands as the finest famed ChengHo expeditionto the Far East example of its kind in North America. in 1940, they were the only non-institu- Following their success in British Hon- tional recipients-aside from sponsorAnn duras, Wumpsie and Arthur undertook Archbold-of seedcollected during the six- another quarter century of collecting trips month trip. One of the seed acquisitions, with characteristic enthusiasm and more r9901 GOLDSTEIN:THE RETREAT 5. Rare Pelagodoxa henryana, abaxial surfacesbacklighted by sun, is native to one island in Marquesasgroup 700 miles north of Tahiti. Spent inflorescence is visible in lower right corner of photo. 6. Shaft of sunlight reaches upper level of Green Hell to illulninate imposing teeth of Myrialepis paradoxa, a rattan widespreadin Southeast Asia. than a little bit of daring. To finance their consciousdeparture from the typical prac- travels, they often rented their home to tice of hobbyists,they soughtto emphasize winter vacationersand stayedin the garage genera,rather than species,in their col- apartment on their property. Few indi- lecting. The Retreat, at its peak, was home viduals today realize the significant niche to about 95 genera, or nearly half those that they occupiedin broadeningboth hob- known to botanists. byists' and scientists' awarenessof palms None of the foregoing information should at mid-century. For asidefrom augmenting leave the impression that the hard work their collection, the Langloisesincreased ended once plants or seedswere brought the general store of palm knowledge-at to The Retreat. While New Providence a time when there was no Palm Society- Island is blessed with temperatures that by forwarding many specimensto Dr. Max seldomdip below50'F (I0'C), its mod- Burret in Berlin and Drs. Libertv Hvde erate 46.4-inch (1,I79-mm) average Bailey and Hal Moore at Cornelltlr aaai- annual rainfall is rapidly lost from the thin tion to their respectivecollections and her- soil overlyingdense limestone caprock. The baria. And as their own palms reached result is an inhospitable environment for fruiting age, the Langloises provided a many palms, and the problem is exacer- sourceof seedto Fairchild Tropical Garden bated by great variability in rainfall from and The Palm Society Seed Bank. In a year to year. Early plantings in the scant I4 PRINCIPES IVoL.34 7. Monument dedicatedby Prince Philip occupiesposition oppositefront of house. Behind lower wall are leaves of Heterospathe elata, which has become naturalized in coppice. soil on the front third of The Retreat additions to the garden. But others, much grounds brought mostly disappointment, deeper or longer, were chosen to hold a especially with the more demanding palms. favorite palm, such as Pelagodoxa hen- 'What made the Langlois garden a suc- ryana (Fig. 5), or a group of several species. cess was the fortuitous existence on the Nevertheless, despite the apparent desir- back part of the property of sinkholes, ability of any sinkhole, the Langloises were depressions etched slowly by the action of very particular in their choices of which rainwater dissolving patches of softer lime- to use. If, after thorough examination, they stone. The sinks, also known as solution felt that roots of nearby trees would com- holes, provided a healthier environment for pete with the exotic palms, they would exotic rain forest palms by catching rainfall leave the hole unplanted and look for some- and leaf litter, and the Langloises also had thing more suitable. The most special hole, loads of soil brought in to improve them. an erstwhile chicken coop excavated by To augment the meager dry-season rain- Arthur, boasts a shallow pool and even a fall, Arthur eventually installed a fairly paradoxical name, Green Hell. The descent extensive system of irrigation pipes around into the depths by narrow stone steps the grounds to tap cisterns constructed reveals ferns, heliconias, and more palms, next to the house. but only the devilishly-armed and fittingly- The Langloises utilized all sorts of sink- named rattan, Myrialepis paradoxa (syn. holes. Some accommodate a single small M. scortechinii) (Fig.6), appears capable plant, such as a Synechanthus (Fig. a) of inflicting everlasting agony. Creen Hell, that apparently was one of Wumpsie's last intended to simulate Amazonian forest. later r9901 GOLDSTEIN:THE RETREAT l5 l -.t B. Pavilion dedicated to Godfrey Higgs occupies area between main house, visible in background, and garage apartnent. 9. Stanley Kiern adrninisters foliar spray to palms bordering front porch of home. Virtually all the rare palms on the property received a trace element application the same day. lo PRINCIPES [Vor. 34 10. Surroundedby a flowering red ginger, Alpinia purpurata, Phoenicophorium borsigianzm, from Seychelles, residesin sinkhole apparently enlarged to a rectangular shape. The palm is probably a replacement in the same spot for the specimenpictured on p. 238 of Palms oJ the World. ll. Corypha umbraculifera, entering final stagesof fruiting in June 1987, still bears 2,000 or more maturing round seeds.Once spent, infiorescencewould collapse against trunk. A nearby second batch has grown much more slowly and i:tf":J*:YJ;1ffi;;lffi: served as prototype for the Rare Plant have succeeded;the three plantswe have House at Fairchild Tropical Garden.