GesThe Journal forn Gesneriade Growersria ds Volume 68 ~ Number 2 Second Quarter 2018 Return to Table of Contents RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS The Journal for Gesneriad Growers Volume 68 ~ Number 2 Gesneriads Second Quarter 2018 41 Experiences Growing the Gesneriads FEATURES from Southern Chile 5 The 2017 Lawrenceville School in Cuba Program: Trekking from Guantánamo Bob Stewart to the North Coast through the 44 Christopheria xantha Alejandro de Humboldt National Park Dale Martens John L. Clark 46 Rarely Seen, Rarely Done: Merging 11 Delivering the Power of the Sun Two Passions to Cuba’s Alejandro de Humboldt Drew Norris National Park Annika Goldman DEPARTMENTS 13 From the Garden State to the Pearl 3 Message from the President of the Antilles 4 From The Editor Grace Cangiano 35 Botanical Review No. 46 16 From Guantanamera to Polymita: A Cultural and Biological Expedition Bob Stewart to Cuba 40 Changes to Species Seed List 1Q18 50 Coming Events Hiroki Nagao 19 Cultivating Gesneriads in Greece Ray Coyle and Karyn Cichocki 51 Gesneriad Registrations Panagiotis Mperetzikis 22 There’s Something for Everyone in Irina Nicholson New England! 52 Donations Gloria Utzig and Maureen Pratt Betsy Gottshall 26 Gesneriad Hybridizers Association 54 Back to Basics: Convention Fun! Meeting Dale Martens 27 Introducing Sinningia speciosa 57 Seed Fund – Hybrids ‘Lorna Ohlgren’ Gussie Farrice Dave Zaitlin 61 Information about The Gesneriad 31 Gesneriads Index 2017 Society, Inc. Cover Back Cover Gesneria bracteosa Primulina ‘Silver Feather’ Photo: John L. Clark See page 51 Editor Business Manager The Gesneriad Society, Inc. Peter Shalit Michael A. Riley The objects of The Gesneriad [email protected] [email protected] Society are to afford a convenient Editorial Staff and Advertising Manager and beneficial association of persons Contributing Editors Tom Bruning interested in the Gesneriad Plant Katrina Andresen, Arleen Dewell, 31233 Beechnut Road, Treynor, Family (Gesneriaceae); to stimulate Jeanne Katzenstein, Charlene IA 51575 a wide-spread interest in; to gather Marietti, Dale Martens, [email protected] and publish reliable information Norah Otto, Paul Susi about the identifica tion, correct Consulting Taxonomist The right to reprint or quote nomenclature, culture, propagation, Dr. Laurence E. Skog exten sively from Gesneriads is and conservation of gesneriads; Taxonomy Reference reserved; permission may be and to encourage the origination, Website requested from the Editor. introduction, and conservation of Gesneriads follows the Interna- species and cultivars. http://botany.si.edu/ tional Codes of Nomen clature, The Gesneriad Society, Inc. is gesneriaceae/checklist/ including The International Code the International Registration Botanical Review of Nomenclature for Cultivated Authority for the naming of Bob Stewart Plants (2016). Views published gesneriad cultivars excepting those [email protected] in Gesneriads are not necessarily in Streptocarpus section Saintpaulia. Graphic Design and those of the editors, the Society, Any person desiring to register Production or its officers. Editor’s deadline is a cultivar should contact Irina three months before the first day Adshead Graphics Nicholson, 2512 South Balsam of each quarter. [email protected] Way, Lakewood, CO 80227 USA www.gesneriads.org ~ www.facebook.com/gesneriads [email protected]. Return to Table of Contents Message from the President HARD TO BELIEVE HOW TIME IS FLYING BY. BY THE time you read this, it will be almost time for convention. If you haven’t signed up, I recommend it highly. It’s always a great experience and I can’t imagine missing it. I always learn so much and get to hang out with my favorite people. I know that many of you just cannot go for various reasons, but don’t worry. We will have lots of pictures posted on the website afterwards. I hope that those of you who live near a chapter of The Gesneriad Society take advantage of that good fortune. A local chapter is a wonderful way to learn about gesneriads, as well as Check out the to acquire new plants, good advice, and good friends. I have been a member of the Tennessee Gesneriad Society since 1979 and it Chapters page is truly a great experience. I have met the best friends of my life on our website there, and learned so much. I also have acquired (too many) plants, but it’s also a place to share the over-abundance. That can be a to see if there is great help in the future when you lose a plant and want to replace a chapter near it. Check out the Chapters page on our website to see if there is a chapter near you. If there isn’t, why not gather up some friends you. and start one? I am getting ready to sow some gesneriad seed from our great Seed Fund. If you haven’t yet tried growing gesneriads from seed, you are missing out on a great opportunity to increase the diversity of your collection without spending a fortune. Packets of seed are very reasonable, and we have quite a good collection, thanks to donations from our members. It’s also really fun to pollinate your plants and watch the seedpods grow. I am watching a huge nautilocalyx pod develop right now. Once you have ripe seed, why not sow a little for yourself and then send the rest to the Seed Fund? It’s a great feeling to share. Hope to see you all at the convention! Julie Mavity-Hudson <[email protected]> Joelton, TN, USA e Seeds For Us f Send orders for hybrid seed to: Gussie Farrice, 121 Nelson Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10308 Send orders for species seed to: Carolyn Ripps, 21 Sprain Road, Hartsdale, NY 10530 Send donations of seed for the Seed Fund to: Karyn Cichocki, 79 Beaver Run Road, Lafayette, NJ 07848 Second Quarter 2018 Return to Table of Contents 3 From The Editor I FINALLY REGISTERED A COUPLE OF MY HYBRIDS. I’m a very slow hybridizer. When a new seedling blooms it’s incredibly exciting, but I resist the temptation to immediately name and distribute the plant. I’ve learned that just because the plant has a pretty flower, doesn’t mean that it will be easy to grow, floriferous, easy to propagate, and all those other characteristics that make a new plant worthwhile for folks to grow. I discard most of the hybrids I produce, and grow the most promising seedlings through several cycles of bloom and propagation before considering releasing them. Despite this Ideally I would register a hybrid when I name and release it, but I’ve been lax about that. With much prodding, though, I era of social have gone ahead and registered one sinningia and one primulina. media… there Registering makes a plant “official;” we publish descriptions and photos of all newly registered hybrids in Gesneriads and they are is still a very also archived on the Society website. There is also an award at big place for each convention show for the best recently registered hybrid, in-person which brings more attention to the plant. If you are hybridizing gesneriads, please consider registering any that prove to be worth interaction. releasing to the public. Registration of a hybrid is easy and it doesn’t cost anything. Information about registering hybrids can be found on the Gesneriad Society website. Gesneriads are easy to hybridize, so breeding new varieties has always been a big part of my enjoyment of the plant family. If you haven’t tried it yet, I encourage you to do so. Joining the Gesneriad Hybridizers Association (GHA) is a good way to get started. Their newsletter has articles by other amateur gesneriad breeders, and their seed fund offers new hybrid seed to members of the GHA at no cost, so you can grow new hybrids without even making a cross. In fact, one of the ancestors of my sinningia hybrids was grown from GHA seed many years ago. This is the last issue of Gesneriads before our 2018 Convention. Despite this era of social media, where we can connect online with friends of shared interest, there is still a very big place for in-person interaction. I love seeing all my old gesneriad friends and meeting new ones. And speaking of hybridizing, the GHA also hosts a presentation at each Gesneriad Society Convention, and it is one of the most popular and best-attended events of the week. I hope to see you there! Enjoy Gesneriads! <[email protected]> Seattle, WA, USA ADVERTISERS DIRECTORY Dave’s Violets .................34 Kartuz Greenhouses ............60 Far Reaches Conservancy ........34 Mrs Strep Streps ...............34 Far Reaches Farm ..............25 Steve’s Leaves .................50 Gesneriaceae of South China .....60 Violet Supply .................26 4 Return to Table of Contents Gesneriads ~ Volume 68 ~ Number 2 The 2017 Lawrenceville School in Cuba Program: Trekking from Guantánamo to the North Coast through the Alejandro de Humboldt National Park John L. Clark, Aldo Leopold Distinguished Teaching Chair, Science Department, The Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 USA ~ < [email protected]> ALEJANDRO DE HUMBOLDT NATIONAL Park straddles the provinces of Holguín and Guantánamo in eastern Cuba. This park is one of Cuba’s most important biological treasures. It has one of the highest rates of endemicity in the Caribbean because the flora is adapted to soils derived from ultramafic (=Serpentine) rocks that contain toxic levels of heavy metals. In 2001 it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most tourism to the park is limited to short hikes (2-3 km) along the north coast. Since my first visit to Cuba in 2006, I have always wanted to trek from the southern end (Guantánamo) to the north coast (Holguín) of the park. That dream became a reality when the Cuban park service launched an initiative in 2016 to promote tourism through trekking.