Dear Steve,
It is Edouard F.
André (1840 - 1911). He is a contemporary of Linden
(1817-1898).
Look your site
:Anthurium crystallinum Linden and André, found in
Colombia, Panama, Anthurium crystallinum and other exotic and rare tropical plants from the
rainforest.
The best ,
Geneviève
----- Original Message -----
From:
S*@ExoticRainforest.com
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Sent: Sunday, November 15, 2009 3:18
PM
Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Alocasia Amazonica
and Alocasia x Amazonica
I've been told my "database" of
botanists may have given me the wrong name.
There are apparently two French botanists known as
André, Edouard F André (1840-1911) and his son René Edouard André
(1867-1942).
Can anyone confirm if one of these is the André in question?
Steve
ExoticRainforest
wrote:
This
one is going to be long guys and gals so please stay with me!. Since
many of you are growing this plant you may find this interesting.
I
am seeking the assistance of any and all the botanists and/or experts on
this forum since I've uncovered an apparent new mystery and can't seem to
reach a resolution.
Although at least one plant seller on the
internet advertises "Straight from the Rainforest to Your Home" while
offering Alocasia Amazonica for sale this plant has never existed naturally
in any rain forests of the world. It is very well known this plant is a
hybrid but the actual parentage has been debated. Alocasia Amazonica
is likely a hybrid of Alocasia watsoniana x Alocasia
sanderiana but other crosses including Alocasia watsoniana x
Alocasia nobilis have produced similar results. Other sources have
stated other parentage is involved so I'm not sure what the real parentage
may have been, I only know it did not come from nature.
The
plant is sometimes known by the common names African Mask, Green Velvet,
Jewel Alocasia, Alocasia Polly, or Alocasia Alligator and commercial growers
have sold it as Alocasia Frydek and as Alocasia Maxkowskii.
Botanical
gardens rarely list hybrid plants on their website but if you do an internet
search you will find the National
Botanic Garden of Belgium plus some "official"
sources including the University of Connecticut and the USDA list the plant as Alocasia x Amazonica
André. Unless I've got my facts totally wrong "André" refers to
botanist André
Michaux who
lived from 1746 to 1802.
Since Alocasia Amazonica is
not a species and at least the plant we know by the name Alocasia Amazonica
today wasn't even hybridized until the 1930's are they talking about the
same plant? How could it be the same hybrid if botanist André Michaux
wrote about it before his death in 1802?
Now, for some background for those on
the forum that don't normally dig into this kind of "plant
mystery":
Alocasia Amazonica is not a species and has never been
described to science It does not grow naturally in any native rain
forest,is not from the Amazon. The name should never be used in either
the italicized form or with single quotations since it is neither a
published species nor a registered cultivar. With the help of John Banta our
friend author and expert Julius Boos was able to trace the hybrid to a
nursery owner who during the 1930's and 1940's owned a now defunct nursery
in the Miami. The nursery was known as the "Amazon Nursery" and the grower
is said to have named Alocasia Amazonica after his own business. The name
has since been used by growers for over 70 years.
Just in case you
are confused, Alocasia species are all naturally found in the
geographical region composed of Southeast Asia and neighboring island
nations of the Pacific Ocean including the Philippines. No Alocasia
species has ever been found naturally in Central or South America including
the Amazon basin although species have been imported as well as set free and
now thrive in the area.
Just in case one of our members believes
Alocasia Amazonica is a species here are three scientific data bases.
You won't find Alocasia Amazonica on any.
The Royal Botanic Garden
Kew, London: http://www.ipni.org/index.html The
Missouri Botanical Garden: http://www.tropicos.org/ World
Checklist of Selected Plant Families: http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do
Still,
it is listed on the National Botanic Garden of Belgium website: http://www.br.fgov.be/RESEARCH/COLLECTIONS/LIVING/LIVCOL/list/l_113.html
and
credited to André. Some experts believe
the plant did not originate in Miami and likely was originally bred in
Belgium, France or England since it is mentioned in Burnetts 'Cultivated
Alocasia'. I don't have access to that publication so I can't check
out the sources. If it was hybridized in Europe, who did it?
When? Was André Michaux
involved? Did he write about it? If so, where are his papers and
more importantly, is it the same plant we grow?
Are we talking about the same hybrid or
was there a plant hybridized before 1800 in England, France or Belgium that
also used the name Alocasia x Amazonica which was copied by the grower in
Miami?
I can normally figure these "mysteries" out with the help of
Julius, Leland, Tom and Pete as well as some of our other esteemed botanists
but this one has me stumped. Josef, David, Wilbert and Simon, since
you are in Europe do you know anything about this? I'd really like to
understand where the name originated and if we are talking about the same
plant that is commonly tissue cultured and grown
today.
Thanks!
Steve
www.ExoticRainforest.com
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