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

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62 “If we are requested to select the most interesting from the multitude of vegetable tribes, we should, on the whole, perhaps, be willing to give the preference to the natural order of Orchideae. Whether we consider general elegance of individuals, durability of blossoms, splendid colours, delicious perfume, or extraordinary structure, it would be difficult to select any order superior to Orchideae in these respects, and few even equal to them.” John Lindley, Collectanea Botanica (in Stearn, 1999: 107) The increasing interest in the botanical exploration of Central America had its counterpart in the enormous figure of John Lindley (1790-1865), who in 1830 began in England the publication of his famous work The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants, describing numerous species which were new to science. The Austrian botanist Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher (1804- 1849) published his Genera Plantarum secundum Ordines naturales disposita between 1836 and 1841. In this work, Endlicher recognized 367 genera of Orchidaceae, of which 117 had been established by Lindley (Stearn, 1999: 57). Another of Lindley’s ventures was the founding, with Joseph Paxton and others, of The Gardeners’ Chronicle in 1841, of which the horticultural part was edited by Lindley. Lindley’s editorship for twenty years ensured the maintenance of a high standard which earned it international repute. Many species were dedicated to Lindley, of which only a few, that are found in the American tropics, shall be mentioned: Aspidogyne lindleyana (Cogn.) Garay, Barkeria lindleyana Batem. ex Lindl. (Fig. 24D), Bletia lindleyana Rchb. f., Catasetum lindleyanum Mansf., Cattleya lindleyana Rchb. f., Cyclopogon lindleyanus (Link, Klotzsch & Otto) Schltr., Laelia lindleyana Nichols., Lepanthes lindleyana Oerst. ex Rchb.f., Malaxis lindleyana Rchb. f., Maxillaria lindleyana Schltr., Odontoglossum lindleyanum Rchb. f. & Warsz., Odontoglossum lindleyi Galeotti ex Lindl., Oncidium lindleyi (Lindl.) R. Jiménez & Soto Arenas, Phragmipedium lindleyanum (R.H. Schomb. ex Lindl.) R.A. Rolfe, Pleurothallis lindleyana Cogn., Sobralia lindleyana Rchb. f., Stanhopea lindleyi Zucc., and Stelis lindleyana Cogn. LANKESTERIANA 18 According to Wagner (2001: 118), Klee was the first German immigrant to Guatemala. LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009. Oakes Ames, for many years the leading American orchidologist, stated that Lindley ‘laid the foundations of modern orchidology’. With that verdict there is and has long been unanimous agreement (Stearn, 1999: 66). George Ure Skinner (1804-1867) (Fig. 25), businessman, diplomat and amateur botanist is without doubt the most fascinating character in the history of the orchids in Central America during the first half of the XIX century. “Son of a Scots clergyman, Skinner steadfastly refused to follow his father’s vocation or in any way to consider an ecclesiastical or academic career. The call he heard was from the world of Mammon…” (Berliocchi, 2000: 72). He arrived in Guatemala in 1831 and joined Carl R. Klee, Consul of the Hanseatic Towns, with whom he founded the firm of Klee, Skinner & Co. 18 He was actively engaged in the political and commercial life of the Central American Federation, not only pursuing his own interests but as an active agent of those of Great Britain. A skilled diplomat, he enjoyed the sympathy of most of the Central American politicians of that time. This made him a valuable adviser of the omnipotent English Consul Frederick Chatfield and turned Skinner into one of the principal ideologists of English policy in Central America, which pretended territorial gains in exchange for the unpaid debt resulting from the loan that had been granted years before to the government of Manuel José de Arce. Klee, Skinner & Co. became the most important British company not only in Guatemala but in the whole of Central America in the period before 1850 (Naylor, 1988: 120). The only route of these days from Europe to the highlands and the capital of Guatemala was via Jamaica to Belize, then along the Río Dulce to Izabal (a small port on Lake Izabal), and from there by mule over the terrible road across the Mountains of the Mico, a 10day long ride. This route was used by all travelers until the inauguration of the Panama railway. It became then much easier to travel to Panama, take the train across the isthmus and then a ship to Port San José or Iztapa, on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. In relation to Skinner’s and Klee’s activities on Lake Izabal, Pérez de Antón (2005: 80) calls our attention to what he describes as “the first manifestation of Spanglish in Central America”. Klee, Skinner & Co.
ossenbaCh — Orchids and orchidology in Central America A B C Figure 24. A — Hugh Cuming (1791-1865). From a litograph by Hawkins, 1850. Courtesy of Rudolf Jenny. B — Oncidium ampliatum Lindl. From Reichenbachia. C — Maxillaria cucullata Lindl. Curtis’ Botanical Magazine, Plate 3945. D — Barkeria lindleyana Batem. ex Lindl. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, plate 6098. D LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009. 63
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orchids and orchidology in central america. 500 ... - lankesteriana.org

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