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

ossenbaCh — Orchids and orchidology in Central America
chemistry. In 1909, he came to Washington with the
Bureau of Plant Industry as a chemical biologist.
During this time he worked on the genetics of
Oenothera. In 1915 he became assistant professor of
botany at the University of Michigan, full professor in
1921, head of the Botany Department from 1922-47,
and Director of the Botanical Garden from 1919-55.
In 1918, he explored and botanized in Sumatra with
the U.S. Rubber Company. Bartlett, sponsored by the
Carnegie Institution and the University of Michigan,
had been in Mexico (1930) and collected in 1931 in
Guatemala and Belize, where he returned in 1936 and
obtained an extensive series of plants in the Belize and
El Cayo districts. In Belize he collected Habenaria
wercklei Schltr. (H.H. Bartlett 11598), Sobralia
bradeorum Schltr. (H.H. Bartlett 11771), Elleanthus
graminifolius (Barb. Rodr.) Løjtnant (H.H. Bartlett
11733), Lophiaris lurida (Lindl.) Braem (H.H. Bartlett
12077), Oncidium sphacelatum Lindl. (H.H. Bartlett
12946), and Encyclia belizensis (Rchb. f.) Schltr.
(H.H. Bartlett 14068). From Guatemala we have his
specimen of Brassia maculata R. Br. (H.H. Bartlett
12699). In 1940, Bartlett was in Panama together with
Tobias Lasser (1911-) 39 . They collected among others
Campylocentrum micranthum (Lindl.) Maury (H.H.
Bartlett & T. Lasser 16823).
It was undoubtedly a fortunate circumstance that
Bartlett, in 1931, could convince Percival Hildebart
Gentle (1890- 1958) (Fig. 57A) to collect for him.
Gentle, a Belizean-born botanist, devoted the latter
half of his professional life to collecting herbarium
specimens throughout the country. His collections,
among which over 150 new species were found, were
sent to the United States and from there distributed to
herbaria throughout the world. His collections were a
great contribution to Lundell’s studies on the flora of
Belize. “From 1931 until shortly before his death in
1958, Gentle collected 9756 numbers, easily making
him the most prolific collector of the Belize flora....
Percival Gentle had a keen eye for plants he had not
previously collected. Based on collection data in our
databases, we estimate that he collected approximately
65% of the flora. His numerous and well-executed
collections are a testament to his dedication and skill
as a botanist and a legacy enriching our understanding
197
of the Belize flora.” Gentle’s “botanical efforts
during 1931-1958 made possible most subsequent
studies involving the Belizean flora” (Balick et al.,
2000: 18).Among his orchid collections we can find
Ponera striata Lindl. (Gentle 1097), Trigonidium
egertonianum Bateman ex Lindl. (Gentle 1122),
Maxillaria crassifolia (Lindl.) Rchb. f. (Gentle
1123), Oncidium sphacelatum Lindl. (Gentle 1154),
Encyclia bractescens (Lindl.) Hoehne (Gentle 1195),
Stelis ciliaris Lindl. (Gentle 1196), Ornithocephalus
inflexus Lindl. (Gentle 1312), Brassavola nodosa
var. grandiflora (Lindl.) H.G. Jones (Gentle 1313),
Scaphyglottis behrii (Rchb. f.) Benth. & Hook. f.
ex Hemsl. (Gentle 1576), Ionopsis utricularioides
(Sw.) Lindl. (Gentle 1700), Scaphyglottis leucantha
Rchb. f. (Gentle 1781), Maxillaria tenuifolia Lindl.
(Gentle 2189), Bletia purpurea (Lam.) DC. (Gentle
2537), Dimerandra emarginata (G. Mey.) Hoehne
(Gentle 2541), Brassia maculata R. Br. (Gentle 3023),
Sobralia decora Bateman (Gentle 3036), Elleanthus
graminifolius (Barb. Rodr.) Løjtnant (Gentle 3065),
Prescottia stachyodes (Sw.) Lindl. (Gentle 3492),
Habenaria mesodactyla Griseb. (Gentle 3636),
Polystachya clavata Lindl. (Gentle 3640), Prosthechea
cochleata (L.) W.E. Higgins (Gentle 3974), Habenaria
trifida Kunth (Gentle 4036), Scaphyglottis prolifera
Cogn. (Gentle 4077), Scaphyglottis minutiflora Ames
& Correll (Gentle 4265), Cryptarrhena lunata R. Br.
(Gentle 4266), Ornithocephalus bicornis Lindl. ex
Benth. (Gentle 4267), Cryptarrhena guatemalensis
Schltr. (Gentle 4309), Sobralia mucronata Ames &
C. Schweinf. (Gentle 4314), Lophiaris lurida (Lindl.)
Braem (Gentle 4396), Campylocentrum hondurense
Ames (Gentle 4472), Sobralia fragrans Lindl.
(Gentle 4925), Campylocentrum micranthum (Lindl.)
Maury (Gentle 5049), Campylocentrum tyrridion
Garay & Dunst. (Gentle 5077), Oncidium ensatum
Lindl. (Gentle 5147), Lycaste aromatica (Graham ex
Hook.) Lindl. (Gentle 5418), Dichaea panamensis
Lindl. (Gentle 6032) and Prosthechea pygmaea
(Hook.) W.E. Higgins (Gentle 6368). A few months
before his death he made his last orchid collection, the
beautiful Encyclia belizensis (Rchb. f.) Schltr. (Gentle
9740). Lundell honored him in the genus Gentlea
(Myrsinaceae).
39 Lasser, Director of the ‘Instituto Botánico’ of Venezuela, was the editor of the Flora de Venezuela (1964), for which Ernesto
Foldats wrote the treatment of the Orchidaceae.
LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009.