Charles Darwin on Twitter

In case our fanciful encounter with Darwin in the FOC this week wasn't enough, you can now follow his every move on the Beagle expedition via Twitter. Posting one line excerpts from the young Darwin's diary during his HMS Beagle journey, @cdarwin has logged about 2400 tweets and has nearly 8,000 followers.

A given day's tweet is posted on the corresponding day Darwin made his diary entry 176 years ago. Tweets that mention a location are geotagged so that you can see where he was at that moment.

@cdarwin is a software developer and avid Darwin enthusiast who clearly enjoys introducing a new audience "to the humour, insight and imagination of the young Darwin as he begins to think about the marvelous, curious, and unexplained world he is circumnavigating."

Darwin Arrives at ABG

and he's wearing an orchid!

What would it be like to see the natural world through the eyes of a genius? To discover and think and wonder like Darwin?

Stanhopea costaricensis

Plants were an enduring focus of Charles Darwin's scientific life. His study of orchids was a cornerstone of his ideas about evolution. His ideas had their basis in his observations of living orchids, not just drawings or dried specimens. And he was fortunate to have access to an extraordinary variety of native and tropical orchids.

Imagine how excited Darwin must have been to see a Stanhopea flowering for the first time. What an explosion of creative thinking it must have ignited.

More than a hundred different species of orchids flower in the Fuqua Orchid Center on any given day. I can't help but imagine what fun it would be to tour around with Darwin. What would Darwin have thought of the myriad diversity of Dendrobiums, the slipper orchids, the exquisite simplicity of the Masdevallias, the horrific Bulbophyllums?

Come see and discover the orchids for yourself! Our Darwin exhibit runs through January.


Our thanks to Dr. Jenny Cruse-Sanders, Tracy McClendon, Chris Kozarich and Hilary Hart who created this exhibit.

Tropical Blueberries II

Ceratostema silvicola in bud & flower

Two more delectable tropical blueberry species are flowering this week in the Tropical High Elevation House. The flowers look good enough to eat.

Cavendishia micayensis 
Notice the ivory/green tubular flowers among the pink bracts

Last week I wrote about the antioxidant properties of these tropical relatives of our native blueberries. But did I mention how gorgeous they are?

Their culture is similar to that of the the Vireya Rhododendrons, another group of tropical ericaceous shrubs. They need some sun, temperatures above 48º, acidic peaty substrate. Many of them are epiphytes and therefore want some additional perlite and/or fine fir bark added to their mix. The biggest challenge in growing them? Size. The flowers pictured above are produced on branches about 6' in length.

Tropical blueberries are fairly uncommon in cultivation. The New York Botanical Garden has an excellent research collection. Our Tropical High Elevation House is a great place to see them.

Weird is cool.

Bulbophyllum (Cirrhopetalum) medusae

Here is orchid weirdness at its best. Something that Morticia Addams might wear as a corsage. In a genus known for offensive morbid odors and peculiar twitching parts, Bulbophyllum medusae stands out for being...graceful.

Not that it doesn't smell a bit funky--it does, as one might reasonably expect from a fly-pollinated Bulbophyllum. But the fragrance is pretty mild compared with the body-buried-under-the-stairs stench of Bulbophyllum carunculatum, or the road kill-with-bleu cheese bouquet of Bulbophyllum falcatum.

No, Bulbophyllum medusae dances rather than twitches in the breeze, an invitation to pollinators to come hither. The flower spike is a many-flowered umbel, like a globe-shaped Queen Anne's Lace. Each creamy flower has long (up to 8 inches) graceful sepals. Any twitching that occurs goes on inside the flower, each of which has a hinged petal (lip) to throw the pollinator off balance and up against the pollen masses.

It seems entirely fitting that Bulbophyllum medusae flowers at Halloween. A terrific addition to our Medusa orchid collection.

Extreme Superfruits

Whether you realize it or not, you are already familiar with this group of plants.

Macleania pentaptera in flower

These are blueberries. They belong to the same family (Ericaceae) that includes Rhododendrons, azaleas, heathers, mountain laurel, Pieris, and edible crops like cranberry, lignonberry, bilberry and, of course, the temperate zone blueberries that you put on your morning cereal.

Anthopteris wardii with flowers and fruits

The blueberries pictured above grow in the tropics of Central and South America. Their vivid flowers are the precursors of large fleshy berries, usually white or purple. Beautiful, yes. Great tasting? Well...I would describe them as faintly sweet, but without a distinctive flavor. I won't be making a pie out of them.

But wait. In July of this year researchers at Lehman College and the New York Botanical Garden announced that tropical blueberries have two to four times more antioxidants than U.S. blueberries. Consumption of antioxidants is associated with a low incidence of some chronic diseases and may help protect against heart disease and cancer.

Anthopteris wardii, pictured above, along with Cavendishia grandifolia, are the two species that the researchers found to have the highest amounts of antioxidants.

"We consider these two species of neotropical blueberries to be extreme superfruits with great potential to benefit human health," said Dr. Edward Kennelly of Lehman College in a statement.

You can see Anthopteris wardii, Cavendishia grandifolia and a dozen or so other neotropical blueberries in our Tropical High Elevation House.

Masdevallia floribunda

Not every Masdevallia needs a cool greenhouse. This beauty shrugged off two exceptionally hot summers and rewarded us in early autumn with a microburst of flowers.

There are a  handful of Masdevallia species that are warm growers, i. e., they tolerate daytime temperatures pushing 80 degrees, Masdevallia floribunda being one of them. A hybrid with M. floribunda in its parentage can be expected to have some degree of warmth tolerance.

All right. Enough recitative. Want proof that Masdevallias are some of the most beautiful orchids on earth? Check out Gerritson & Parson's book, Masdevallias, Gems of the Orchid World.

This is a dangerous book. I'm not generally susceptible to plant lu$t (really), but I have to admit that Masdevallias get to me. And prolonged exposure to the photographs in this book makes me dizzy. Not that I want to buy all the species pictured. I just want to be around them all the time, like some sick groupie. Sell my house and move to Cuenca, Ecuador. Visit Ecuagenera every day. Okay, enough. Close the book.

If you are susceptible to this sort of thing you might be better off with Will Rhodehamel's Masdevallia Cultural Guide, which has no photographs, just the facts in plain jargon-free English. Confused about the exact meaning of "warm, intermediate and cool-growing"? Here it is. Want to know exactly how much light and humidity you need? Rhodehamel tells you. And look how plain the cover is. You can keep your house! A great guide.

The Short Life of a Sobralia Flower

Sobralia turkeliae in the early morning

Sobralias produce some of the most ephemeral flowers in the entire orchid family. The poignant combination of beauty and brevity in nature is a source of wonder to some and disappointment to others. Alex D. Hawkes, in his Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids, notes sadly, "The blossoms of Sobralia are usually large and handsome, and occur in a wide range of colors, but unhappily they seldom persist in perfection for more than a day or two. Despite this failing, they are produced over a long period of time... and their extravagant beauty never fails to attract attention." And he goes on to say that great opportunities await some enterprising breeder.

The flowers of Sobralia atropubescens last just one day

Why should the ephemeral nature of Sobralia flowers be thought of as a flaw? Can the value of a living thing really be measured by the hours, weeks or years that it survives?

On the day when a Sobralia flowers, it never offers up just one or two shy blossoms. The entire plant, every reedy stem, bursts into flower simultaneously as the sun rises. And it's not uncommon for all of the plants of a given species, like the S. atropubescens pictured above, to flower on the same day in the Orchid Display House. To me it feels like a privilege to see so much concentrated beauty.

Masdevallia Eye Candy

The Tropical High Elevation House is a playground of miniature orchids. A few, like this Masdevallia, are tucked into moss among the rocks. But most are on tree branches at eye level and higher. Lots of plants that grow at high elevations are quite small. Discovering an exquisite treasure like this can be a thrill for anyone who is willing to slow down and look carefully.

Many Masdevallias are teacup sized. Within this group of ~300 species and many hybrids is an astonishing variety of flower colors and shapes. They are a botanical candy shop.

 Most Masdevallias enjoy cool conditions, meaning a 52 degree night and 72 degree day. Some are fine with slightly warmer temperatures. They thrive in shady locations away from direct sun.  They like high humidity (80% R.H.) with air movement, a difficult combination that pretty much excludes your living room. Many people do well with them in small pots of sphagnum under lights in their basement, with a small oscillating fan supplying the air movement.

The Lure of Carnivorous Flora

photo by Chris Keane, New York Times

ABG's own Ron Determann, Conservatory Director, got a great shout out from Ken Druse in an article in today's New York Times. Ron has been a pioneer and a leader for more than two decades in the conservation of our native Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia) in the southeastern U.S. Good going, Ron!

The Secret Language of Moth Orchids

Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica

Even if it weren't ridiculously floriferous I would still love Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica. Who can resist the idea of an ancient language inscribed on orchid petals?
You can see this beautiful Philippine orchid in flower now in the Orchid Display House.

The mysterious Phaistos Disc with Cretan hieroglyphs

And if you want to find out what the word Phalaenopsis, or any other word, looks like in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, visit Mark Millmore's site, Discovering Ancient Egypt to try out his very cool hieroglyphic typewriter.

How to Grow Andean Slipper Orchids

Phragmipedium schlimii

Bright, moist and cool(ish) just about sums it up. That may sound like a strange combination for a tropical orchid, but it isn't really. Not for an orchid that grows along mountain springs near the Equator.

When I first started growing orchids I grew the Andean Phragmipediums (Phrags) right alongside the Asian tropical slippers, the Paphiopedilums. Same greenhouse, same treatment. They're both tropical slippers, right? Same requirements!

Wrong!

Picture the lovely Andean slippers growing on a steep granite embankment at 4,000 ft in the mountains of Peru. The rocks glisten with moisture from an underground seepage. Before noon the entire hillside is flooded with sunlight. In afternoon the area is bathed in mist.
Now picture Paphiopedilum stonei growing on the island of Borneo, wedged in the crevices of limestone cliffs and shaded by the crowns of trees growing at the base of the cliffs. The air is warm and humid and the microhabitat is drier and shadier.

No wonder my Phrags wouldn't flower!

Phragmipedium besseae

Cheat Sheet for Andean Slipper Orchids 

Phragmipedium schlimii and Phragmipedium besseae

PRONUNCIATION: frag-mih-PEA-dee-um...SHLIM-ee-eye....BESS-ee-ay
ORIGIN: Colombia, Peru, Ecuador
CLIMATE/ECOLOGY: As terrestrials on continuously wet embankments exposed to morning sun in lower montane (~2,000-6,000 ft) tropical forest.
GROWTH HABIT: Fan-shaped growths without pseudobulbs
GROWTH CYCLE/REST PERIOD: No rest period
LIGHT: bright (schlimii) to moderate (besseae)
TEMPERATURE: 58 degree night minimum; 78 degree daytime maximum
POTTING MEDIUM: premium sphagnum
HUMIDITY: very high, 80%
MOISTURE: constantly moist; water with low mineral content
TIPS: Because of their requirement for high humidity these are difficult to grow well on the windowsill. Reasonably easy for greenhouse growers who can adapt their methods to the plants' needs. A bit more challenging in areas with hot summers.Want to grow them in an Atlanta greenhouse? Invest in a max-min thermometer and an evaporative cooler.

Slipper Orchid Season

Phragmipedium schlimii

Now is a great time to see Andean Slipper Orchids in full bloom in the Tropical High Elevation House.

Phragmipedium schlimii & P. bessseae grow on mossy rocks of the waterfall

The Andean Slippers Phragmipedium schlimii and P. besseae are two of the tropical counterparts of the familiar north temperate slipper, Cypripedium. (The other tropical slipper genera are Paphiopedilum, Mexipedium and Selenipedium.) In total there are about 20 species of Phragmipedium (pronounced frag-mih-PEE-dee-um) ranging from Mexico through northern South America.

Andean Slippers grow in the splash zones around waterfalls, along flowing streams and in rocky seepage areas on cool slopes in Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. We created the waterfall and the flowing stream in the Tropical High Elevation House in order to provide suitable growing conditions for these orchids. They are wonderful!

Our Go-to Orchid Books, Part II

Every horticulturist has one or more favorite books--books that are in constant use and are rarely returned to the shelf. Which orchid books do we like? Which are the most-used, most loved, most likely to be rescued from the flames if the library were burning down?

For cultural information about tropical orchids I like two books in particular, the Orchid Species Culture series by Charles and Margaret Baker; and the Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids by Alex Hawkes. In terms of style, these two books could not be more different.

Charles and Margaret Baker's series of Orchid Species Culture books details the culture of hundreds of orchids based on data gathered at meteorological stations located within the geographical range of each species. This approach has one significant caveat: The weather records do not reflect the exact conditions in the plant's microclimate.  Nevertheless, the Baker books give the orchid grower at least the impression that she has some objective data beyond the usual "likes intermediate temperatures." Greenhouse geeks (like me) who enjoy creating software templates to track average temperatures in their greenhouse will swoon over these books. You can waste hours blissfully poring over these tables. General readers (normal folks) can pick up lots of useful and very specific tips about how to grow your orchid.

At the other end of the spectrum is Alex Hawkes classic 1965 Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids. Taxonomy may have changed, but Hawkes' cultural recommendations remain sound. For an encyclopedia, this book projects a surprisingly distinctive personality. I like Hawkes' aristocratic stock phrases, "requires quantities of fertilizing materials, and "is singularly intolerant of stale conditions at the roots." The book's line drawings are exquisite. This book has been in and out of print for decades. After a long search (in pre-internet days) I finally stumbled upon a copy at Fairchild Tropical Garden's bookstore and unhesitatingly forked over all of my cash for it.

Finally, Henry Oakeley's sumptuous Lycaste, Ida and Anguloa, published in 2008. Every plant deserves the lavish devotional treatment that the author gives to these three  particularly lovely orchid genera.  Oakeley is the National Plant Collection holder for these genera in the United Kingdom and his book is the fruit of decades of work with them. The photography alone would make this a stunning coffee table book. But more than that, it contains descriptions of 150 species and natural hybrids, with photographs, historical notes, synonyms, bibliography, cultural information, habitat details, and information on everything from location of type specimens, pollination mechanisms and how to prepare specimens for exhibition. I suspect it will become a treasured collector's item years from now. I'll leave it to others to debate the taxonomy--this is the book that I would run through the flames for.

Mike and Sarah's Go-to orchid books are here.

Coelogyne mooreana

Ravishing in the early morning light, Coelogyne (pronounced see-LOJ-in-ee) mooreana, photographed in the Tropical High Elevation House.

This large-flowered orchid species is easily grown under cool tropical conditions and flowers several times each year for us. A really choice plant. Most Coelogynes are epiphytes, i.e., they grow in trees, but ours do just fine planted in the ground in the very porous soil of the Tropical High Elevation House. C. mooreana is endemic to Vietnam where it grows at 1300 to 2,000 meters in montane cloud forests.

Our Go-to Orchid Books

Every horticulturist has one or more favorite books--books that are in constant use and are rarely returned to the shelf. Which orchid books do we like? Which are the most-used, most loved, most likely to be rescued from the flames if the library were burning down? I asked some of our staff.

Mike Wenzel, ABG's Plant Recorder says that these days he doesn't often read orchid books for pleasure. "I almost always go to a book as a reference." One exception is Rebecca Tyson Northen's book, Miniature Orchids and How to Grow Them. "I love her miniature orchid book--it's pictures, descriptions of interest, tidbits about weirdnesses of plants, personal opinions. There is a huge array of things unusual and unknown to me. This is one book that I would leaf through."

"Another book would be the Phalaenopsis monograph by Eric A. Christenson.  Good taxonomy, good descriptions, good illustrations and photos.  It goes into details of ecology, cultivation and areas of need for further investigation.  In the case of this book I tend to go to it looking for specific information and wind up enjoying the read and spending more time with the book than just for the info I was looking for."

Sarah Carter, Orchid Center Horticulturist, picks Botanica's Orchids. "I like it because it is so comprehensive.  When I need to know some general information about a genus or species that I am unfamiliar with, I know I am likely to find what I am looking for in that book.  It is also full of nice color photographs with pictures of at least one example, and usually more, from every genus next to its entry.  It’s a good place to start."

Check back as we continue our discussion of our Go-to Orchid Books...

Autumn Colors

Early autumn brings a flush of flowers on Masdevallias in the Tropical High Elevation House