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136 Lindl. (Millspaugh 1797, Island of Cozumel) and Oncidium cebolleta (Jacq.) Sw. (Millspaugh 1617, Pisté, Yucatan). He described his collections in 1900. Millspaugh was at that time already famous for his work American Medicinal Plants (1887). Other travelers in Central America (II): 1870-1900. We continue with accounts of travels through Central America, written by persons who came for various motives (never primarily as botanists). In 1874, the German Helmuth Polakowsky (1847- 1917) came to Costa Rica, hired to teach lessons of Chemistry, Physics, Botany, Mineralogy and Zoology at the National Institute of San José. Polakowsky traveled throughout the country and left various detailed accounts, among which “La República de Costa Rica” stands out (Polakowsky, 1940). In addition to his comments about the Vanilla that Carmiol had in his house, he writes in his books about the common plants of Costa Rica: “The largest number of parasites belong to the family of the orchids and Bromeliads. Among the first I mention the genus Epidendrum (there are many species), Lelia [sic], Oncidium, Trichopilae [sic], Odontoglossum and the rarest Catleyas [sic] (such as Dowiana and Stanhopea [sic]). In no private garden have I seen these plants growing in large numbers; at the most one or two hang in the corridors of the ‘haciendas’ growing on a piece of wood, and nobody knows or chooses the species with particularly beautiful flowers” (Polakowsky, 1940). Specimens of Epidendrum ciliare L., Epidendrum paniculatum Ruiz & Pav. and Stelis sp. were collected by Polakowsky in 1875 (Polakowsky 382) and are today in the orchid collection of the Natural History Museum in London. The British traveler John W. Boddam-Whetham (1843-?) arrived at the Guatemalan port of San José in October of 1875. From the capital he made ‘some interesting trips, east and west’, and continued then to Cobán in Alta Verapaz. He went on over the mountains to the region of Petén and finally by canoe on the Usumacinta River to the island of Carmen in the Gulf of Mexico. Two years later Boddam-Whetham published an account of his travels with the title of Across Central America (Boddam-Whetham, 1877). In his narrative, orchids are frequently mentioned. Between Guatemala and Esquipulas, he finds “many of the large trees [...] LANKESTERIANA LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009. adorned with a most beautiful rose-coloured orchid -I think a Lycaste Skinneri- whose large flowers gave a wonderful glow to the grey trunk and green leaves among which they were perched. It appeared to me that they had been transplanted, as they were seldom far from the ground, and generally on trees overhanging a native hut; to an Indian an orchid is a sacred flower, and as none of the trees in that locality, except those near houses, were similarly decorated, it is not improbable that superstition rather than a love of gardening accounted for their appearance.” And he complains: “Guatemala is rich in these lovely plants -the élite of the floral kingdom- and every day I had cause to regret my limited knowledge of botany; and after I had left the country, when showing what I had collected and describing what I had not, I often found I had taken the chaff and left the grain”. Once in Esquipulas, he describes the procession of the pilgrims who came to the village to worship the Holy Christ: “They were all decked with garlands of the tillandsia, and in their hands they carried brilliant orchids. Some of the different companies carried spikes of the beautiful rose-coloured orchid I have before mentioned; others carried a species of Epidendrum whose rich orange flowers contrasted with the creamy blossoms of an Odontoglot which seemed a great favourite. Panicles of one of the commonest orchids in Guatemala -an Oncidium- were used in great profusion, and their long drooping stalks covered with small yellow flowers looked very graceful”. Riding back to Guatemala he “entered a beautiful country [which] was a region of orchids, and each species seemed to have its favourite locality. In one spot a Stanhopea flourished, the flowers of this kind being a bright yellow, barred with chocolate. In another, the trees bore no other species, except one whose flowers were shaped like a China rose and of a delicate pink hue. I gathered twenty of these blossoms off one tree, and I recalled to mind that once or twice in London I had paid five shillings for a single specimen”. He continued and crossed the border to Honduras, wanting to inspect the ruins of Copán. “The forest was damp and hot, and for that reason a wild garden of ferns, orchids, and creepers...” Some weeks later, in the first days of 1876, he rides from Guatemala to Cobán. Close to this city, amidst a terrible down-pour, he crosses a river and finds a place that “in fine weather must be a perfect Paradise
ossenbaCh — Orchids and orchidology in Central America A B C D D Figure 44. A — Adolphe Tonduz (1862-1921). Courtesy of L.D. Gómez. B — Front cover of Pfau’s book and advertisement of his nurseries. C — Chondroscaphe bicolor (Rolfe) Dressler. Illustration by R. Pfau. Courtesy of F. Pupulin. D — Edward Shuttleworth (1829-1909). Anonymous, 1889b: 1. 137 LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009.
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