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

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152 bradei Schltr. (C. Brade s.n.), Stelis bradei Schltr. (C. Brade s.n.), Sarcoglottis costaricensis Schltr. (C. Brade s.n.), and Warrea costaricensis Schltr. (A. Brade 16327). As could be expected, numerous species where named in honor of the Brades: Barbosella bradeorum Schltr., Cranichis bradei Schltr., Cyclopogon bradei Schltr., Dichaea bradeorum Schltr., Dipteranthus bradei Schltr., Elleanthus bradeorum Schltr., Epidendrum bradeanum Kraenzl., Goodyera bradeorum Schltr., Habenaria bradei Schltr., Laelia bradei Pabst, Lepanthes bradei Schltr., Lycaste bradeorum Schltr., Masdevallia bradei Schltr. ex Hoehne, Maxillaria bradeorum (Schltr.) L. O. Williams, Octomeria bradei Schltr., Pleurothallis bradeorum (Schltr.) Ames, Hubb. & Schweinf., Pogonia bradeana Kraenzl., Polystachya bradei Schltr. ex Mansf., Sarcoglottis bradei Schltr., Sobralia bradeorum Schltr., Sophronitis bradei (Pabst) Van den Berg & M. W. Chase, Stelis bradei Schltr., Stenorrhynchos bradei Schltr., Trichosalpinx bradei (Schltr.) Luer, and Zygostates bradei (Schltr.) Garay. ‘Bradei’, ‘Bradeorum’, ‘Bradeanum’... are all normal epithets that remember and honor the Brade brothers. But only a few know that Liparis fratrum Schltr. was also dedicated to them (from the Latin fratrum = ‘belonging to the brothers’). Otón Jiménez One of the most vivacious and enjoyable gentlemen (and botanists) to be met anywhere Louis O. Williams (1972: 206) Schlechter wrote: “a young collector stands out lately in Costa Rica, O. Jiménez, who in a short period of activity has already found a series of new species and, through his efforts, promises to enrich in an important way our knowledge about the flora of that country, especially of the Orchidaceae” (Schlechter, 1918: 325). Otón Jiménez (1895-1988) (Fig. 49C) had the good fortune to study at the Liceo de Costa Rica in its golden age, with teachers like Emel Jiménez, Dr. Michaud and Biolley. Of a precocious intelligence, he was only 17 years of age when he was appointed as director of the Herbarium of the National Museum, a position he held until 1914. He remembers his first encounter with Charles H. Lankester in 1911: “I still remember his smile while shaking hands with me, observing my youngster-look due to the short trousers, LANKESTERIANA LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009. long socks and occasionally a sailor-type blouse, the usual attire of the students of those years ...” (Jiménez, 1967: 248). His friendship with Lankester, that lasted throughout their lives, converted him into a lover of orchids, accompanying the great Englishman on many of his collecting trips, during which he found several new species: Epidendrum obliquifolium Ames, Hubb. & Schweinf. (Jiménez 972), Habenaria jimenezii Schltr. (Jiménez 631), Stelis jimenezii Schltr. (Jiménez 621), and Stelis tonduziana Schltr. (Jiménez 618). He had the privilege to grow up during a period when the botanical exploration of Costa Rica was in full effervescence. “By 1914 Costa Rica had become the center of scientific research in tropical America” (Evans, 1999: 20). Jiménez knew personally the great botanists of his time: Wercklé, Pittier, Tonduz, the Brade brothers, Donnell Smith, Britton, Dr. Patiño (Colombia), Wilson Popenoe, Maxon (with whom he collected orchids in the region of Varablanca), Standley, Williams and Allen, and furthermore married a daughter of Anastasio Alfaro. In 1915, Pittier described him as follows: “... a disciple of Tonduz and a student of pharmacy, who has already done a large amount of collecting and may yet surpass” his master (Letter from Pittier to J. H. Barnhart, 1915). Because of the ups and downs of the Museum after the departure of Pittier, and because of his studies in Pharmacy, ‘Oto’ could not continue with the Botany, as he wished. However, during the remaining years of his life, he dedicated to Botany as much time as he could (which unfortunately was not much). After this period, since the collections at the Museum were not well organized and sometimes were lost, he started to send his collections abroad, I believe for the rest of his lifetime. I know that in the process many got lost, especially those destined to Europe.his later work, besides collecting and taxonomy, was oriented to the investigation of the nourishing properties of certain plants, or to the study of certain drugs (Silvia Troyo, pers. comm.). Together with Lankester, he had to suffer Ames’ impatience: “When may I expect the specimens that Jimenez has in hand? Now is the time to get this material under the lens” “‘Otón’ has not sent me a scrap. I think it will be wise if you remind him of my needs and accompany him to the post office with the package” (Ames to Lankester, in letters from August and December, 1923). But it was not Ames
ossenbaCh — Orchids and orchidology in Central America but Schlechter and several other scientists who really valued Jiménez’ work, naming in his honor a series of new species: Epidendrum jimenezii E. Hágsater, Epilyna jimenezii Schltr., Habenaria jimenezii Schltr., Lepanthes jimenezii Schltr., Masdevallia jimenezii Königer, Pachystele jimenezii Schltr., Scaphyglottis jimenezii Schltr., and Stelis jimenezii Schltr. In addition to being an excellent botanist, Jiménez was a prolific writer, who left interesting articles about Von Frantzius, Humboldt, Wercklé, Tonduz, Brade, and Lankester; an important bibliographical source for the study of scientific life in Costa Rica during the XIX and the first half of the XX century. “It is much to be regretted that the demands of business affairs have precluded a greater amount of personal field work on the part of one who has such a keen perception of facts and the ability to discover them in strange places” (Standley, 1937: 53). Amelia Smith Calvert (1876-1966) and Philip Powell Calvert (1871-1961) came to Costa Rica in 1909 and stayed one year in the country. As entomologists, the main purpose of their visit was the study of the seasonal distribution of dragonflies. However, they were interested in all fields of natural history and published an account of their travels throughout the country, under the title of A Year of Costa Rican Natural History (Calvert & Calvert, 1917). Although orchids are frequently mentioned in their work, the book is of some interest because the Calverts met and became friends of several of the characters that are now part of our orchid history. One of the Calvert’s first acquaintances was Alfred Brade, whom they visited at his home where he had a “flower garden, with a few animals in captivity, which formed one of the sights of San José at this time” (Calvert & Calvert, 1917: 30). They set up their headquarters in Cartago, from where they made excursions in all directions, starting to explore the flanks of the Irazú volcano and continuing than to the south, to the foothills of the Cordillera of Talamanca, where they often found great numbers of Epidendrum radicans. Finally, in March of 1910, they met the Lankesters, who invited them to their house in Cachí. The invitation was accepted and the Calverts went by train to Paraíso and then rode to Lankester’s farm. “Mr. Lankester’s house was beautifully situated half a mile from the Reventazón 153 River and about a hundred and fifty feet above it. It was not a typical Costa Rica residence, for although built of adobe it was two-storied and had no patio. A wide veranda or “corridor” ran across the entire front on the first and second floors, charming places, for they were set with plants and hung with baskets of orchids, some of which were in full flower when we were there” (Calvert & Calvert, 1917: 160) (Fig. 49D). In many of their excursions the Calverts traveled in the company of Costa Rican naturalist José Fidel Tristán (1874- 1932), who was a magnificent guide and became their best friend in the country. The also received help from naturalist Anastasio Alfaro and well know ornithologist José Cástulo Zeledón. Near Guápiles, on the Atlantic side of the mountains, they were the guests of Mr. R. E. Woodbrigde, manager of the United Fruit Company, who was extremely fond of flowers. “All around the balconies were numerous potted plants and hanging baskets of orchids, ferns, caladiums and begonias” (Calvert & Calvert, 1917: 284). And while climbing the Poás volcano, they found that “all trunks and branches, even the stems of small bushes, were thickly covered with soft bright green moss, and the epiphytes were mostly green bromeliads and orchids.” Finally, near the Tempisque River, in Guanacaste, they passed “a number of trees bearing orchids with medium-sized pinkish flowers, which were called ‘guarias’; the same name is applied to Cattleya in the interior of the country, but these orchids were not Cattleya” (Calvert & Calvert, 1917: 354, 418). On May 4, 1910, while preparing to return to Limón and to their ship to the United States, the Calverts were caught by the terrible earthquake that destroyed Cartago, and barely saved their lives and their collections. Harvey Elmer Stork (1890-1959) was a U. S. botanist who made important collections of orchids in Costa Rica. He collected in the country from 1920 to 1932, and was also in Peru, Nicaragua and Guatemala (1938-1939) where he collected with Oliver Butler Horton (Habenaria bractescens Lindl. –Stork & Horton 8832 – Guatemala). Many years later, in 1956, he returned to Costa Rica. He had met Lankester in 1923: “On Friday past I had the pleasure to take two botanists for a short woodland ramble (Dr. Stevens 37 ... and Mr. Stork..) (Letter to Ames, June 25, 1923).” 37 Frank Lincoln Stevens (1871-1934), was professor of Biology at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic and a botanical collector who did NOT collect orchids. LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009.
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