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

ossenbaCh — Orchids and orchidology in Central America
growth of orchids, without understanding the formation
of fruits and seed. In book XI of his work, About the
flowers, he dedicates a chapter to orchids under the
title: “Flowers of the trees”: “No seed is recognized in
them from that they reproduce, but from one little onion
new others are born and if one gives once a flower, it
will not give it again, and it leaves other onions at its
foot produced from itself and so those plants multiply”
(Ximénez, 1722: 313). He tells us also how orchids are
only found in adult trees: “On the other hand, one sees
an oak growing, that had its bark clean, and suddenly
out of him comes some genus of those flowers, which
are without number. And this can only be seen when the
oak is old” (Ximénez, 1722: 303).
Ximénez continues describing several species
of orchids. He mentions the monjitas (= little nuns
— Lycaste spp.), the flower of Saint Martin (Laelia
superbiens Lindl.) and the flower of Sacrament
(“They give it this name because it flowers at the time
of Lent and they put this flowers on the altars. It is very
fragrant and out of the onion rise long twigs, about
a vara 11 long and it all fills with little flowers like a
real 12 ” (Ximénez, 1722: 314). Ximénez also mentions
the miniatures: “Others give smaller flowers and still
others give some that are extremely small.”
As it is a terrestrial, it does not surprise us that
Ximénez fails to recognize Peristeria elata (Fig. 11C)
as an orchid, although it attracts his attention that they
have not been able to acclimate it to Guatemala: “In
the fields near the city of Panama grows a herb whose
flower is a well formed white dove, that is the reason
that they call this the flower of the Holy Spirit, and it is
so unique to that land, that it has not been possible to
take it to another, notwithstanding all efforts that have
been made...”. Ximénez mentions a total of more than
12 species, ending with a reference to the great variety
of orchids existing in the region and to the impossibility
of describing them all: “There are [so] many others
that grow on onions that I do not remember any more”
(Ximénez, 1722: 304).
Little more can be told about orchids in Central
America during the XVII and the first half of the
XVIII centuries. While Sloane and Plumier explored
the Antilles and England and France increased their
knowledge about the floras of their colonies, Spanish
11 vara = unit of length, about 2.8 ft.
12 real = a silver coin.
science continued in a profound lethargy. Botanical
interest slowly extended from the British colonies to
Tierra Firme. “A few botanical specimens may have
been garnered by the British buccaneer William Dampier
(1652-1715).... [who] stopped at Cocos Island and Cabo
Blanco [Costa Rica] in June and July (respectively) of
1684 aboard the pirated ship Batchelor’s Delight...”
(Hammel et al., 2004: 2). During his voyages to the
Caribbean and Central America, the Scott William
Houston spent four years (1729-1733) in Cuba,
Veracruz, Campeche and Jamaica, collecting specimens
and seeds (Steele, A. R., 1964: 15). There are however
no orchids among his collections. In the previous chapter
(The history of vanilla) we already commented about the
collections of R. Miller in Campeche in 1739. Shortly
afterwards, the Swede Carl von Linné (1707-1778)
set the foundation for modern botanical nomenclature.
“According to present rules, the terminology of orchids
starts on May 1, 1753... “ (Jacquet, 1994: 96). With
Linné, “... botanical science came to life, if not yet to
maturity” (Steele, 1964: 9) (Fig. 11D).
enlIghTenmenT and Independence
“Hispaniae Florae nullae nobis innoterunt,
adeoque plantae istae rarissimae, in locis
Hispaniae fertilissimis, minus detectae sunt.
Dolendus est, quod in locis Europa cultioribus,
tanta existat nostro tempore barbaries botanices.”
(= Nothing comes to us from the Hispanic
Flora, because these rare plants that live in the
fertile regions of Spain are barely taken into
consideration. It is painful to see that so much
botanical barbarity exists in such enlightened
places of Europe)
Carl von Linné, Bibliotheca botanica, 1751
The Age of Reason. Fernando VI, who ascended to
the throne in 1746, proved that Spanish botany only
needed the support of the crown in order to grow. After
a petition of Secretary of State José de Carvajal, Linné
sent to Spain one of his favorite pupils, Pehr Löfling
(1729-1756). “Löfling cast off to bring light to Darkest
Spain in May, 1751” (Steele, 1964: 31). As proof that
the XVIII century desire for “useful knowledge” had
LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009.
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