orchids and orchidology in central america. 500 ... - lankesteriana.org

ossenbaCh — Orchids and orchidology in Central America
are valid names. From the valid names, 163 correspond
to Central American species.
The Hortus was a limited edition for private
distribution, beautifully bound and that used a
watercolor paper of heavy weight. The edition was
obviously prepared for a select and wealthy list of
clients, and was divided into five sections or chapters.
Part one is a history of the Veitch family and of the
creation of the company and its evolution. Part two is
dedicated to short biographies, with interesting notes,
of the travelers and collectors sponsored by Veitch
& Son, which amount to a total of 22, between 1840
and 1905. Section three is destined to biographical
data about the main horticulturists, most of them
dedicated to the hybridization of orchids. Section four
is the one that is of interest to us. It bears the title of
Orchid Species. A list of the principal orchid species
introduced by Messrs. Veitch. The list mentions 219
species with its author, origin, often curious notes and
a very brief description. Of these species 23 are Central
American.
Because of the different selection criteria, in
Veitch for a wealthy clientele and in Williams based
on a populist attitude of orchids for the millions, any
analysis or numerical comparison would be useless.
It is clear, however, that Central American orchids
played a very important role in the early development
of professional and amateur orchidology.
Costa Rica: the National Museum and the ‘Instituto
Físico-Geográfico’
“The interest for natural sciences is proportional
to the spiritual development of the nations”
Karl Wercklé
(In a letter to Dr. N. L. Britton,1901)
Botanical exploration of Central America was
in the hand of foreigners during the entire century.
“Costa Rica attracted more botanists and plant hunters
than the neighboring countries. Although the list by
Lanjouw (1945) is not complete, it shows that in the
XIX century Costa Rica was visited by 10 scientists
or collectors, Nicaragua by 5, Panama by 6 and
Guatemala by 7. This preference can be explained
because the publications by the foreigners who visited
129
the country after Independence were very favorable to
Costa Rica” (León, 2002: 154). However, the last two
decades of the century showed for the first time the
development of a ‘national science’ in Central America.
In Costa Rica, “as part of an educational reform aimed
at secularizing public education, the government of
president Bernardo Soto (1885-1889) hired a group of
European academics to staff the two new public high
schools in the capital, San José (The ‘Liceo de Costa
Rica’ for boys and the ‘Colegio Superior de Señoritas’
for girls, both founded under Soto’s administration).
The arrival of these academics marks the beginning
of a small scientific renaissance in Costa Rica. Two
institutions symbolize this renaissance: the Instituto
Físico-Geográfico (IFG) (=‘Physical-Geographical
Institute’) and the National Museum, founded in 1887
and 1889, respectively.”
Among the hired teachers were Pablo Biolley
(1861-1908) and Henri Francois Pittier (1857-1950)
(Fig. 43B), who arrived in 1886 and 1887. Pittier
lived in Costa Rica until 1905 and during these years
conducted a systematic exploration of the Costa Rican
flora that had no equal in his time in any country of
tropical America. From these efforts resulted the
publication of the Primitiae Florae Costaricensis,
the first flora of Costa Rica, a work that unfortunately
was not concluded 33 . The Primitiae was published
in conjunction with a Belgian colleague, Téophile
Alexis Durand (1855-1912) and appeared in three
volumes and 12 fascicles, published from 1891 to
1905 (Grayum et al., 2004: 12). According to Paul C.
Standley, in his introduction to the Flora of Costa Rica:
“Henri Pittier has undoubtedly gained a more intimate
knowledge of the natural history and especially the
botany of Central America and northwestern South
America than has ever been possessed by any single
person” (Standley, 1937:49).
The combined labors of Pittier, Alfaro, Tonduz,
Biolley, Wercklé, Brenes and the Brade brothers
resulted in the formation of the National Herbarium that
counted initially with more than 5,000 species. Citing
Standley again, in 1903 the National Herbarium “was
unequaled below the Río Grande del Norte” (Standley,
1937:50). Pittier’s other goal was the creation of a map
of Costa Rica. Cartographic work began in 1891 and
33 Only the first two volumes of the Primitiae Flora Costaricensis were published. Pittier expected Schlechter to write the fascicle
on the orchids, which never happened.
LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009.