Pollenatrix

Selby's takes the low road

      I had to laugh at this quote from Selby's in response to criminal charges against Kovach for orchid smuggling:

"I think that pretty well proves that the garden is quite innocent of any wrongdoing except in accepting the orchid to identify it...(Selby's stated) last year that Kovach produced the proper paperwork upon his arrival and that 'we would have kicked him out' if he didn't have it.' (They) also said that Selby does not check or verify papers. "

Wow, there's a spectacular display of hypocrisy. Selby's knew very well there was no way the orchid could have been brought in to the U.S. legally, thanks to the convoluted logic of CITES regulations. In their rush to get their names consigned to posterity, they forgot to cover their posteriors

Canada has it's own Phrag scandal too

Ahh, how refreshing to hear of orchids hijinx closer to home, this time concerning Phragmipedium tetzlaffianum...

The Orchid Source Forum: Canada has it's own Phrag scandal too!!

Phrag. Kovachii discoverer busted

Remember my post of November 12th ("A rat among the orchids")?

Jury indicts Virginia nursery owner for alleged orchid smuggling: "After a yearlong investigation, a Tampa grand jury indicted James Michael Kovach on charges of smuggling and illegally possessing a rare Peruvian orchid now named for him: Phragmipedium kovachii.

If convicted, Kovach could face up to six years in prison and fines of up to $350,000."

Last word on Stanhopea

Remember the Stanhopea? I sent email to John Marcotte asking him if he had any information on it, and he was kind enough to forward my photos to Peter and Inge Poot, who are Stanhopea specialists and AOS judges.

This is their reply:

"This plant looks a lot like S. x ruckeri, a natural hybrid between S. wardii and S. oculata. The man-made hybrid of these species is S. Ronsard. The natural hybrid is quite common in Mexico according to the literature. This plant has the shape of  wardii, with oculata showing up in the spots arranged in circles and the somewhat widening gap in the apex of the hypochile.

My plant was collected in Honduras, and is probably a natural hybrid.

Here's (another) picture of my stanhopea:

Here's a picture of a stanhopea oculata:

And here's a picture I found on the Web of a stanhopea wardii:

The unusual challenges of a botanical garden in India

The Daily Star ("Journalism without Fear or Favour"): "The centre of the problem is an under-construction 12-storey building overlooking the garden. 'Labourers of construction site often throw liquid rice-starch smack on top of the conservatory house which houses exotic orchids and indoor plants,' Hossain said. "

UK Telegraph Review of the Singapore Orchid Festival

Passion flowers: "Raymond Chandler found their petals too fleshy but 19th century plant hunters were prepared to die for these exotic flowers. Diana McAdam visits the Singapore Orchid Festival"

A garden in your day can make the doctor go away

 

             

      A growing body of research is giving credibility to the widely held belief that nature can improve health.

"The belief that nature is beneficial for people with illness dates back centuries and is consistent across cultures, (researcher Robert) Ulrich notes. There are several theories, he says, that attempt to explain people's affinity for nature.

Learning theories hypothesize that people associate relaxation with nature, for example during vacations. They acquire stressful associations with urban environments because of aspects like traffic, work and crime. Other scientists argue that built environments are overly taxing to people's senses because of high levels of noise and visual complexity. Nature settings are not as arousing and therefore less stressful.

Proponents of an evolutionary theory believe that humans may have a genetic readiness to respond positively to nature such as vegetation and water because these things were favorable to survival during some two to three million years of evolution.

Whatever the case may be, the capability of gardens to improve health arises mainly from their effectiveness as stress reducing and buffering resources, Ulrich notes.

And while gardens have the potential to help patients and staff cope with stressful scenarios, not any garden will do, Ulrich emphasizes. To be effective in reducing stress, Ulrich has found that gardens must address four main areas: promoting a sense of control, encouraging social support, offering opportunities for physical movement and providing access to natural distractions. "

One-of-a-kind Orchid

This article from Thailand reports:"A red foxtail orchid with an extraordinary height of 1.2 metres...was described as a one-of-a-kind specimen by an orchid expert yesterday."

Also known as Rhyncostylis gigantea, this particular specimen is a rare variety, and normally does not grow grow more than 15cm in height, according to another Web site.

It was given to the current owner "for free last year by Bu Khampee, an elderly Tak resident he had befriended...Bu found the orchid plant in the wild in 1974, when it was less than 10 centimetres tall."

It took 10 years for the first flowers to appear. The orchid community in Thailand is very excited about this plant, which is described as "priceless".

THE MEATRIX

THE MEATRIX, featuring "Moopheus" and Leo the pig. Don't take the red pill, Leo!!

A very entertaining presentation of some harsh realities about factory farming corporations, and the decline of family farms. It also offers some practical suggestions "to escape.....The Meatrix".

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

First, the ugly.

The first blooms on my phrag. Sargentium x (besseae x Grande) (*I think* -- thank the raccoon for that) are deformed things. I'm told it may be a dud plant, or it may be due to the semi-hydro method that I'm growing it in. I'm going to wait, and if the third bloom is deformed I'm going to cut off the whole spike and repot the plant in a different medium. Time will tell if it's the medium or the plant itself.

The bad? The bad is my dog. I will elaborate.

This is my lovely cattleya Portia var. coerulea, purchased in spike from John Marcotte last month. One of inflorescences came off, and so I took it with me to Kitchener last weekend as a parental offering, evidence that I am doing something worthwhile with my life :-) Well, I stopped at a store on the way, and Jake took the opportunity to jump into the front seat while I was gone. On TOP of the carefully wrapped flowers.

Hi Mom, missed you, here, have a squished orchid.

The Good: Pescatoria Dayana. I bought this nice-sized plant from John, also last month and just before my close encounter with the deer. When I got it home I repotted it in semi-hydro, and put it in a shady nook just under the cattleya and beside the humidifer. In fact, the humidifier blows on the leaves of the plant, and it seems to love it. A couple of leaves have yellowed at the tips, but I put that down to the shock of the repotting and change of environment. A week or two ago I noticed the start of a spike, and voila! It bloomed this morning. I was actually kind of surprised that the accent colour is closer to blue than rose. I like it very much, though this morning there was a gawd-awful musky/musty smell coming from the grow room, and I sure hope this little fella isn't the culprit. I was in a rush to get to work this morning so I didn't stop to investigate.