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Re: [SANS] Puerto Rico

Hi Jackie, I was last in Puerto Rico in 1976, at which time I visited the
cloud forests and several nurseries.  I bought plants and brought them home
to the US without a problem.  As long as they were in my luggage and clean
of soil the inspectors at the airport in San Juan were happy and there was
no declaration or inspection at the US end of the trip.  I don't know if the
policies have changed but there are mail order nurseries in Puerto Rico that
regularly ship to the US.

I'm  active in the Gesneriad Society (American Gloxinia and Gesneriad
Society) and we have an advertiser in our journal, The Gloxinian from Puerto
Rico.  You might want to check them out.  The are Finca La Vista Tropicals,
HC-09, Box 3019 Sabana Grande, PR 00637 (787)643-4829.  The owners are
Richard Weaver and Rene Duval.  I haven't met them but I know people who do
and they recommend them.  Their ad says: "Specializing in Caribbean Basin
natives, including gesneriads, and other rare and unusual tropicals.  Write
for our free listing.  All plants USDA inspected."  Their ad plus all of the
other advertisers in the Gloxinian also have their ads on the AGGS web site
located at www.aggs.org which is a great site with photos of gesneriads,
information about the society, a message board for questions and answers on
plants including but not limited to gesneriads and links to other plant
related sites.  (No, sansevierias are not gesneriads, but I thought any rare
plant nursery located in Puerto Rico would be of interest to you).

When I was in San Juan I saw a species of sansevieria growing everywhere.
It had long flat leaves similar to trifasciata.  It was identified for me as
S. longiflora (or longifolia--I can't remember).  It is not native;
sansevierias come from the old world; but it has escaped cultivation and was
growing everywhere, even on walls.  I got my S. Bantel's Sensation in PR
from a collector who broke off about 10 growths from a plant and handed them
to me.  From a little nursery way up in the mountains in a town with a name
something like Naranjito (?) I got my first S. kirkii v. pulchra.  The first
gentleman had a great estate with all kinds of tropicals but his favorite
plants were daylilies.  The second man had a neat nursery with all kinds of
odd and unusual tropicals but his favorite plant was the Camelia (and he
longed for fuchsias).

The plant with notches sounds like one of the kalanchoes, commonly called
"Mother of Millions".  The one people would pin to a curtain and watch the
plantlets form is K. pinnata.  But, it could be any of a half dozen or more
species.  They are native to Madagascar.

Jon Dixon
Woodside, California

----Original Message-----
From: Jackie Pendergast <Jackiepen@AOL.COM>
Date: Monday, November 02, 1998 3:56 PM
Subject: [SANS] Puerto Rico


>Frances, are you in Puerto Rico? What part?
>
>My husband and I moved to Culebra (from Minnesota) in September. I've been
>lurking and learning on this listserv and I was surprised to see Puerto
Rico
>brought up. I don't know the import laws though. I'd be interested in
learning
>about them so I hope you share any responses you get.
>
>hermine, I copied your information for my records, but getting anything
>official in PR is a hassle. Stand in line or wait on the phone - I don't
like
>to spend all day to doing that kind of stuff.
>
>We have received some mail order plants from Greg Stych (Sunshine State
>Gardens (I think))- so I know it can be done.
>
>Export is ok with bare root plants.
>
>A question I've been meaning to ask. We have what I think is a native Sans.
>growing in many places on this Island. Is there a Sans. that is known to
grow
>on Culebra? or do I need a description of it for identification. I have
found
>a native Orchid and probably some Peps - now, tell me I've hit the jackpot
and
>found a native Sans.
>
>Jackie Pendergast
>
>I also have the leaf with plantlets at the notches.I don't know if it is
>native but it sure grows well here. We are tropical arid zone 11.
>
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