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 ART AT FAIRCHILD MEMBERS’ LECTURE AND PLANTS AND PEOPLE: feature writers Through May 31, 2011 MOONLIGHT TOUR AN INTERACTIVE GARDEN The art of Les Lalanne and Yoko Wednesday, February 16 Monday, March 21 Georgia Tasker Ono’s Wishing Grove 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Saturday, March 26 Jeff Wasielewski 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The Everglades: Past, Present, 11:30 a.m. Reservations required staff contributors Future: The Big Picture! for this free program for people Kimberly Bobson JANUARY 2011 Presented by Leon Howell, living with Alzheimer’s, Stephanie Bott PLANTS AND PEOPLE: Everglades National Park Ranger. 305.667.1651, ext. 3388 AN INTERACTIVE GARDEN Exclusively for members Erin Fitts Monday, January 3 PLANTS AND PEOPLE: APRIL 2011 Marilyn Griffiths Saturday, January 8 AN INTERACTIVE GARDEN SPRING GARDEN TEA Noris Ledesma 11:30 a.m. Reservations required for Saturday, February 19 Sunday, April 10, 3:00 p.m. Carl E. Lewis, Ph.D. this free program for people living 11:30 a.m. Reservations required for For more information call Amy Padolf with Alzheimer’s, 305.667.1651, this free program for people living 305.663.8059 copy editors ext. 3388 with Alzheimer’s, 305.667.1651, PLANTS AND PEOPLE: MOMMY AND ME TEA ext. 3388 AN INTERACTIVE GARDEN Rochelle Broder-Singer Sunday, January 9, 3:00 p.m. FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE: Monday, April 11 Kimberly Bobson For more information call RESEARCH PROJECT SHOWCASE 11:30 a.m. Reservations required Mary Collins 305.663.8059 Saturday, February 26 for this free program for people Paula Fern ández de los Muros MEMBERS’ LECTURE AND 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. living with Alzheimer’s, Ann Schmidt 305.667.1651, ext. 3388 MOONLIGHT TOURS FIRST LADIES TEA advertising information Wednesday, January 19 MEMBERS’ LECTURE Sunday, February 27, 3:00 p.m. Mari Novo 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. For more information call Wednesday, April 13 Ecuador through the Eyes of a Plant 305.663.8059 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. 305.667.1651, ext. 3357 Nut . Presented by Georgia Pythons, Lionfish and Sacred Ibis: previous editors Tasker, followed by a Moonlight PLANTS AND PEOPLE: Biopollution in the River of Grass. Tour. Exclusively for members AN INTERACTIVE GARDEN Presented by Larry Perez, Marjory Stoneman Douglas 1945-50 TH Monday, February 28 Lucita Wait 1950-56 5 ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL Everglades National Park Ranger. 11:30 a.m. Reservations required Exclusively for members Nixon Smiley 1956-63 CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL for this free program for people Lucita Wait 1963-77 Friday, Saturday and Sunday, living with Alzheimer’s, PLANTS AND PEOPLE: January 21, 22 and 23 305.667.1651, ext. 3388 AN INTERACTIVE GARDEN Ann Prospero 1977-86 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16 Karen Nagle 1986-91 THE FAIRCHILD CHALLENGE MARCH 2011 11:30 a.m. Reservations required Nicholas Cockshutt 1991-95 for this free program for people PRESENTS: HIGH SCHOOL MEMBERS’ LECTURE Susan Knorr 1995-2004 living with Alzheimer’s, ENVIRONMENTAL DEBATES Wednesday, March 9 305.667.1651, ext. 3388 Saturday, January 29 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Guangxi, A Little Known Plant PLANT SHOW AND SALE The Tropical Garden Volume 66, Presented by the Bromeliad Number 1. Winter 2011. PLANTS AND PEOPLE: Paradise in Southwestern China The Tropical Garden is published quarterly. AN INTERACTIVE GARDEN Presented by Dr. Hong Liu, Society of South Florida Subscription is included in membership dues. Monday, January 31 Fairchild Research Ecologist. Saturday and Sunday, © FTBG 2010 ISSN 2156-0501 April 16 and 17 11:30 a.m. Reservations required for Exclusively for members All rights reserved. No part of this 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. this free program for people living FAIRCHILD’S 9 TH ANNUAL publication may be reproduced without with Alzheimer’s, 305.667.1651, INTERNATIONAL ORCHID THE FOOD AND GARDEN permission. ND ext. 3388 FESTIVAL FESTIVAL FEATURING THE 32 Friday, Saturday and Sunday, ANNUAL SPRING FEBRUAR Y 2011 March 11, 12 and 13 PLANT SALE Saturday and Sunday, GALA IN THE GARDEN— 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Accredited by the American Association of April 30 and May 1 A RENAISSANCE GARDEN THE ORCHID TEA ROOM Museums, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Saturday, February 5, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, is supported by contributions from members and friends, and in part by the State of VALENTINE’S CONCERT March 11, 12 and 13 Florida, Department of State, Division of AT FAIRCHILD 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, Monday, February 14 the National Endowment for the Arts, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Miami-Dade 7:00 p.m. For more information This schedule of events is subject to change. For up-to-the-minute County Department of Cultural Affairs, the please call 305.663.8044 information, please call 305.667.1651 or visit Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor, and the 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 Early Exploration Brought “Strange” THE SEARCH FOR Plants to European Collections By Javier Francisco-Ortega, Arnoldo Santos-Guerra, Charles E. Jarvis, NEW PLANTS Mark A. Carine, Miguel Sequeira and Mike Maunder The publication of Species Plantarum by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 represented a major milestone in the history of plant sciences, laying the foundation for the scientific system of naming plants that we use today. However, long before Linnaeus, plant exploration was a major priority for the early botanic gardens established in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, which included “strange” plants in their PREVIOUS PAGE living collections. Indeed, it appears that the search for new plants The lowland pine forest of La Palma in Las Nieves, Santa Cruz de La Palma. It is likely that James has been at the core of botanic gardens’ missions since their early Cuninghame collected plant material near this site between December 1697 and January 1698. establishment Photo by Arnoldo Santos-Guerra he Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores, Canaries, Salvages and Madeira are located relatively close to the European mainland. Yet, they have many endemic species that T are morphologically very different from those found on the mainland. Dr. David Fairchild visited the Canaries in 1925 and 1927 during his famous Utowana expeditions, and he referred to these islands with the following words: “I doubt if there is any other archipelago in the world that approaches this one in its wealth of ancient romance. The Canaries seem to have been in Homer’s mind as the islands beyond the Pillars of Hercules to which the souls of departed heroes were transplanted and which he called Elysius. Herodotus referred to them as the Gardens of the Hesperides.” In these archipelagos, European botanists found an exotic flora that could be studied directly without major investments in logistics. It is, therefore, not surprising that the unique plants of these islands have attracted the attention of botanists since Europeans colonized them in the 15th and 16th centuries. ABOVE Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores, Canaries, and Madeira © 2010 Palheiro Estate RIGHT Examples of endemics from the Canary Islands that were cultivated in public/private gardens from Europe before Linnaeus established the current system of plant nomenclature. Top left: Canarina canariensis ; Top right: Isoplexis canariensis ; Bottom left: Convolvulus canariensis ; Bottom right: Sideritis canariensis . Photos by Arnoldo Santos-Guerra 44 THE TROPICAL GARDEN (L-R) As part of our research on botanical history, we have been investigating early accounts of Folio 10 of volume 241 of the Sloane plant exploration in these archipelagos. Our findings include the oldest documented Herbarium showing herbarium specimens collected by James Cuninghame in La herbarium collections for Madeira and the Canary Islands. The direct result of these Palma. Arrow points to the specimen of the explorations was the early introduction of spectacular Canary Island endemics such as the Roccella vicentina lichen . Canarina canariensis Sideritis canariensis) Photo courtesy of the Natural giant bell-flower, , woody mints (e.g., , the Canarian History Museum, London. foxglove, Isoplexis canariensis , and the Canarian morning glory, Convolvulus canariensis , into private and public gardens of Europe. Indeed, based on our studies, we estimate that by First folio of James Cuninghame’s the early 16th century at least 91 plant species from these Atlantic Islands were relatively manuscript listing those plants reported in La Palma between December 1697 well known by European herbalists. and January 1698. Photo courtesy of the British Library. Chelsea Physic Garden is the second-oldest botanic garden in Great Britain, after the one at the University of Oxford. Based on two manuscripts found in the British Library we know that by 1694 both “trees” and seeds were apparently shipped to the Chelsea Physic Garden from the Canary Islands. The material was collected by “Thomas Simmonds” whom we believe was a merchant involved in the extensive wine trade that existed between Britain and the Canaries during the 17th and 18th centuries. The manuscripts list 68 accessions using, in many cases, Spanish vernacular names to identify the plants that were shipped to London. Research on the lists of living collections from Chelsea Physic Garden from that period show that Canary Island plants were a common component of the garden's collections before the publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus. Other works included material from even further afield.