Re: Aroids in the Movies

Dear Ted,

Most interesting!  Was the Anthurium bloom a ''typical'' A. andreanum bloom (Hawaiian "special") or perhaps a wax mock-up?  
I too tend to take note of plants used as back-drops in movies, and am amazed at the Sabal palms in Viet Nam, and all the cultivated palm species, vining Monstera and Philodendron, Alocasias and other genera of aroids, etc. which seem so very common, even feral on all these many film sets! :--)

The Best,

Julius

Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 14:41:31 -0500
From: oppenhauser2001@gmail.com
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Subject: [Aroid-l] Aroids in the Movies

Dear Friends of Horticulture,
 
Yesterday my wife and I were watching an old Sherlock Holmes movie titled "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", dating from 1939 (Basil Rathbone). In it the arch-villain, Moriarty (played by George Zucco), turned out to be a big plant aficionado. Although a ruthless criminal, he is devoted to his plants. His manservant has committed the crime of failing to water his plant, obviously an aroid. Moriarty then says that this plant is the extremely choice Anthurium magenta. I was skeptical about the species name, but the Anthurium half came across clear and bold. (Maybe the magenta part is a cultivar description.) Then Moriarty wistfully clips off the bloom (correct, for Anthurium) and places between the pages of a book he is using to try to steal the British crown jewels.
 
Every once in a while cultivated plants come up when watching a movie. Many times it's an orchid. On the current "Lost" program there are always aroids drifting in and out in the background but these are there purely for decorative purposes. This is the first time I recall seeing an aroid followed by an educated name attached.
 
Has anyone seen other aroids mentioned in film? It would be nice if a plant person who was not a sociopath were involved.
 
Ted Held

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