Re: buying amorphophallus
- To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L
- Subject: Re: buying amorphophallus
- From: A* W*
- Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 11:06:55 -0600 (CST)
Zach,
I remember when I was your age I discovered that while visiting South
Africa my grandmother had joined purchased copies of the journal of the
South African Botanical Society. On reading through these, I discovered
that for the pittance of membership, which I could afford even on a 1958
allowance, I'd not only get the journal, but a number (20 I think) of
packets of free seeds of South African wildflowers, as part of their
preservation program. I had no idea what these seeds were but a lot of
the fun of getting them (not many were viable after months at sea; I couldn't
afford air fare for them) was just seeing what came up. I only wish I
had discovered aroids then, but at that time I had become fixated on
the proteas, which never did seem viable when I got them...later an article
appeard in the journal suggesting that the key to getting these seeds to
sprout was to provide a constant moist wind. Weird... Another I really
wanted was Disa uniflora but the seed never did anything for me. Then
an article appeared in the journal suggesting that for success, I needed
soil from 'beneath the common black wattle tree...' I've still never seen
a Disa. What world of discovery there is out there.
BTW, the Botanical Society of South Africa is online at:
http://www.botsocsa.org.za/
but it can sometimes be hard to connect...
Clear skies,
Al
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Alwyn Wootten (http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/) |
| Project Scientist, Atacama Large Millimeter Array/US |
| Astronomer, National Radio Astronomy Observatory |
| 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903-2475, USA |
| (804)-296-0329 voice Help us build The ALMA|
| (804)-296-0278 FAX {> {> {> {> |
+----------------------------------^-----^-----^-----^---+
