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

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formed a large collection of orchids together with Pittier,
exploring not only the Canal Zone but also Chiriquí and
other regions. Pittier remembered the collections in El
Boquete (Chiriquí): “The district is wonderfully rich in
orchids… We hope to have soon in Washington living
specimens of many of the specific types collected by
Warscewicz in the same region” (Heckadon-Moreno,
1998: 108). Somewhat later (1923) he was again in
Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, where he collected
in the company of Harvey and Valentine. In Costa Rica
he became a friend of Lankester and Otón Jiménez:
“Maxon has just advised his departure from CR. Am
regretful not to have seen him again. He + Otón Jiménez
went to Varablanca, a wonderful orchid region...”
(Letter from Lankester to Ames, July 27, 1923). He
discovered several new species of orchids, described
initially by Schlechter (who had worked together with
Pittier in the identification of the specimens from the
Smithsonian’s exploration) and later by Ames, many of
which were dedicated to him: Cranichis pseudociliata
Schltr. (Maxon & Hay 3208, Guatemala), Elleanthus
caricoides Nash. (Maxon 692, Costa Rica), Lepanthes
maxonii Schltr. (Maxon 5494, Panama), Malaxis
maxonii Ames, (Maxon, Harvey & Valentine 7770,
Nicaragua), Pelexia maxonii Ames, Pleurothallis
monstrabilis Ames (Maxon & Harvey 8096, Costa
Rica), Pleurothallis propinqua Ames (Maxon & Harvey
8268, Costa Rica), and Stelis maxonii Schltr. (Maxon
5697, Panama). Several species that were in the
private collections maintained in the Canal Zone by
Mrs. D. D. Gaillard and Mrs. H. H. Rousseau and which
Schlechter described as new species, were incorporated
to the Panamanian collection of orchids by Maxon
and Pittier: Aspasia rousseauae Schltr., Epidendrum
rousseauae Schltr., and Maxillaria rousseauae Schltr.
The orchid garden of Charles Wesley Powell
“The Powell orchid garden at Balboa is one of
the most interesting sights of the Canal Zone,
and botanically by far the most remarkable
thing to be seen there. It is something unique
in tropical America, if not in the whole world.”
Paul C. Standley (1925: 359)
In 1915, Charles Wesley Powell (1854-1927), in
charge of a dispensary in the Canal Zone, became
seriously interested in orchids and began to amass
LANKESTERIANA
LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009.
a complete collection of Panamanian species. “Mr.
Powell’s idea was to accumulate as representative a
Panamanian collection of orchids as possible and take
them to England, where he contemplated making his
home...” (Anonymous, 1929: 335). Powell had lived
during a short time in Guatemala and went to Panama
in 1907, shortly after the construction of the canal had
been initiated. During many years, often in the company
of A. A. Hunter, he undertook a systematic exploration
of many regions throughout the country, and especially
of the high mountains of Chiriquí. What began as a
pastime became with the years a true passion. A layman
in botanical matters, Powell began cultivating orchids
in his garden (Fig. 51D) and forming a good specialized
library. From 1916 onwards, he had the support of
Christopher Cheeseman, who collected orchids for
Powell until the former’s death in 1927 (Pring, 1927:
75). As soon as he realized that many of his plants were
not described in his books, he made contact with Rolfe
at Kew, to whom he sent in 1920 a series of herbarium
specimens, but Rolfe died before he had a chance to
study Powell’s collection (Standley, 1925: 359). Powell
sent then another collection to the German orchidologist
Dr. Rudolf Schlechter, who published a work about the
orchids of Panama (Schlechter, 1922). In this work
he described 184 species, of which 75 were new to
science. Schlechter wrote to Powell in 1921: “Your
exploration of the orchid flora of Panama is one of the
most important facts in orchidology during the later
years” (Letter to Powell, 14 December, 1921). Shortly
thereafter Schlechter made an attempt to gain Lankester
as a collector: “Do try to induce Mr. Lankester to send
materials to me too” (Letter to Powell, 21 November,
1922).
In 1922 Powell began his relation with Ames, who
wrote triumphantly: “Mr. Powell is now collecting for
me. He will send nothing more to Schlechter” (Letter
to Lankester, January 13, 1923). It is true that since
that year Powell sent only duplicates to Schlechter.
In addition, he kept Ames informed by transcribing
to Ames every letter he wrote to or received from the
German orchidologist. One of the species that Ames
had looked for, for years, was Selenipedium chica
Rchb. f. Great was his joy when he received, shortly
before embarking for Europe, a cablegram from
Powell confirming that he had found the desired plant
(Fig. 52A).