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

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The first years in Mexico were spent in close
collaboration with Glenn Pollard and the other orchid
enthusiasts living in Oaxaca. Greenwood explored the
Oaxacan roads together with Octavio Suárez, a young
boy who had been introduced to him by Pollard. In the
field, Ed was a terrific observer, always looking for the
rarest, smallest, and most inconspicuous terrestrials,
in which he became a specialist. “Ed´s knowledge
of Mexican Spiranthinae eventually became very
authoritative [...] However, Ed Greenwood’s most
important contribution was the formation of a new
generation of Mexican orchidists in systematics. His
endless enthusiasm was contagious and joining him on
field trips was very enlightening (Light et al., 2002: v).”
In 1987 he had to travel to Canada and from there he
wrote to Dressler: “I was disappointed at missing you in
Guadalajara and also at not observing the presentations
there by our AMO juniors. You had met only Nacho
Aguirre, I believe; how did you like Miguel Ángel Soto
and Gerardo Salazar?” (Letter to Dressler, October 31,
1987). “Among his output of about 20 papers were
the descriptions of 10 new orchid species” (Reddoch,
2002: 251). Many others were dedicated to him,
among them: Acianthera greenwoodii Soto Arenas,
Anathallis greenwoodii Soto Arenas & Salazar, Bletia
greenwoodiana Sosa, Dryadella greenwoodiana Soto
Arenas, Salazar & Solano, Encyclia greenwoodiana
I. Aguirre-Olavarrieta, Epidendrum greenwoodii
Hágsater, Galeandra greenwoodiana N. Warford,
Govenia greenwoodii Dressler & Soto Arenas,
Habenaria greenwoodiana R. González, Lepanthes
greenwoodii G.A. Salazar & Soto Arenas, Liparis
greenwodiana Espejo, Malaxis greenwoodiana
Salazar & Soto Arenas, Stelis greenwoodii Soto
Arenas & Solano, and Trichosalpinx greenwoodiana
Soto Arenas. Greenwood had been involved since
1978 in the fascicles about Orchidaceae of the Flora
de Veracruz, and worked later on the project of the
Flora Mesoamericana, as a specialist in the genus
Govenia. Greenwood had concerns with regard to his
appointment as a specialist for the Flora: “because I
personally am located in the fringe zone, with mixing
of northern and tropical floral elements, there may be
some highly specific targets to investigate. On the other
hand, my total lack of funds for travel to herbaria and
the very limited access to have to the literature are very
real limitations on my capability. There is one bright
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spot, though; my two-year bout with heart trouble is
past, after a coronary by-pass job in Houston less than
three weeks ago. My work capacity won’t be limited by
feebleness, I am assured” (letter to Dressler, November
19, 1986). In 1986 Greenwood traveled to Costa Rica,
where he came together with Dressler and met Dora
Emilia Mora de Retana. In a letter to Dressler, written
in March of that year, he expressed his wish to meet
in Costa Rica Norris Williams, Calaway Dodson and
Carlyle Luer. We don’t know if his wish was fulfilled.
“Failing health and the advantages of the Canadian
public health service finally lured Ed and Mary back to
Canada, where Ed continued to correspond with many
other orchid enthusiasts in Mexico and elsewhere as
long as his health permitted” (Dressler, 2002: 1119).
Edward W. Greenwood died in Ottawa on February
24, 2002, at the age of 84. “His energy, enthusiasm,
encouragement and expertise, as well as his passion for
orchids, will be remembered by many who new him”
(Reddoch, 2002: 252).
The role of George C. Kennedy (1919-1980) in the
orchidology of Mexico is difficult to judge. On one
side, his most important collections were made in South
America, or in the northwestern states of Mexico, which
lie outside of our area of study. On the other, we know
(from her correspondence with Robert L. Dressler) that
he was a frequent visitor of Ruth Oberg in Oaxaca and
he wrote several important articles on different genera
which are widely distributed throughout Mexico,
sometimes together with Halbinger, with whom he
went on several collecting trips. A graduate of Harvard,
Kennedy moved in 1952 to Los Angeles and became
a research professor at the Institute of Geo-physics
and Planetary Physics at UCLA, where he worked
and studied until his death. “As a research professor,
he taught no classes but experimented in his lab with
two or three post doctoral students each year. Together
they made the Kennedy Lab famous throughout the
world” (Fowlie, 1990: 8). Kennedy visited Mexico on
geological excursions and was immediately fascinated
by orchids and Pre-Columbian art. It was said about
him that he was ‘persona non grata’ in Mexico,
because he took numerous archeological pieces of
the Colima culture out of the country. Hunting after
orchids he traveled extensively, and –besides Mexico-
collected in Madagascar, Burma, India, Colombia,
Ecuador and Peru. He often gave many of his living