Newsletter
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From Newsletter 73 - May 2014
Report on the Spring Meeting on Sunday April 6th 2014.
About thirty of us met around 10am in the conservatory of the Utrecht Botanical Gardens. For the first hour or so (until roughly 11am) we enjoyed our coffee while we brought each other up to date, admired all the plants displayed ready for the plant discussion and inspected the plants intended for the later auction.
| At 11am the chairman, Eric Gouda, started the brief house-keeping meeting. He began by welcoming the two new members, Sebastiaan Claus and .... The next item was a power-point presentation sent us by the San Diego Bromeliad Society (SBS) about the growing conditions for several plants from three different areas of San Diego County, California, USA. The initiative for this project came from four SBS members. This type of presentation might be a solution to the question of it not always being possible to go together to see how other members cultivate their Bromeliads. The project initiators hope that others will follow their example and that perhaps this could lead to working together on this. The chairman suggested that we should view the presentation in the afternoon, should there be sufficient time available, and that, if not practical, it should be kept for the Autumn Meeting. (Later: it was postponed until the Autumn Meeting). | Pitcairnea andreana photo Roel Tomassen |
Jan Wolf from Amsterdam University had sent an email about research into Portea petropolitana. The survival of this terrestrial Bromeliad, found along the Atlantic coast of Brazil, is seriously endangered by deforestation, urbanization and collecting in the wild. The Secretaria Municipal de Meio Ambiente in Rio de Janeiro has started a genetic investigation, together with Amsterdam University, to try and prevent the extinction of this Bromeliad by stimulating seed production in the species. They need leaf tissue from this Portea for the research. The chairman said that the Utrecht Botanical Garden could help with this.
The BCG finances were then presented by the Treasurer, after which Newsletter 70, the report of the last Autumn Meeting on October 13th 2013, was considered and accepted. The chairman remarked that there was now a print option on the website for newsletters. The Secretary announced that the next BCG excursion, to the Botanical Garden in Leiden, was already over-subscribed and it was agreed that he would find out whether the maximum number of participants could be increased.
After this the chairman moved on to Other Business. Some members asked whether there could be another BCG visit to the Tillandsia collection of Mrs. Ibes in Huissen. The Secretary agreed to contact Mrs. Ibes about the possibility of such a visit, perhaps one in early September this year. Mrs. Ibes has a limit of ten people at a time. Peter Bak had brought bloom stimulator granules for Bromeliads for any members who wanted to try them. This ended the house-keeping meeting and Eric Gouda moved on to discussing the plants brought by members and some plants he had brought in from the Botanical Garden.
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- Vriesea mini chrysostachys. This very appealing mini species, brought by Hans Willems, comes from Colombia. Hans grows this plant on carbon cloth (used for filters) and it would seem a very attractive species, particularly for terrarium owners.
- Aechmea carvalhoi. Was bought by Roel Tomassen some years ago from Michael’s Bromeliads, Florida. A cute, small Aechmea species that quickly grows offshoots and flowers almost every year.
- Pitcairnea andreana. One of the smaller Pitcairnea species, a fast grower and also a faithful bloomer. Sadly, it only flowers briefly (see the photo above)
- Dyckia species. Gerard van Kooten once bought this plant in Germany. The plant has grown beautifully and is, as with most Dyckias, not a plant to pick up without gloves!
- Tillandsia tenuifolia. This is one of the many types of T. tenuifolia, bought by Roel Tomassen from Mrs. Ibes, Huissen.
- Billbergia nutans. A very small type, bought at a plant fair by Gerard van Heusden. Very attractive!
- Tillandsia krukoffiana. A large Tillandsia species from Northern Peru, found at around 1,800m (5,850ft), brought by Peter Bak.
- Tillandsia diaguitensis. For unknown reasons, sometimes difficult to get to flower. It is lovely if it does flower with its large white blossoms.
- Tillandsia schatzlii. A Mexican from Oaxaca (see photo below) but unfortunately another Tillandsia which is often unwilling to flower.
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- Tillandsia mitlaensis. This species (see photo below) is another that is difficult to persuade to flower.
- Tillandsia pfeufferii. This species was described by the late Professor Rauh. It might in fact be a hybrid with T. argentina; this is still being investigated.
- Tillandsia straminea. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish this Tillandsia from T. cacticola, though the latter has a somewhat shorter stem.
- Tillandsia durangensis. An attractive plant, monocarpic, grows so-called 'grass pups' but nevertheless also sets seed.
- Tillandsia bermejoensis. Species named for the eponymous river in Bolivia. Very nice plant to grow!
- Guzmania madisonii. a pretty flowering plant (see photo) from Ecuador, brought by Peter Bak and intended for the auction following this discussion.
- Tillandsia hammeri. An attractive Tillandsia species from Central America. This plant, too, was for the auction.
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Once again, Gerard van Heusden showed us one of the epiphyte branches he had made, this one covered with Tillandsia aeranthos. He keeps it outside for most of the year and only when it is very cold or wet is it moved to safety in the shed.
This ended the plant discussion and the chairman moved on to auctioning the plants brought by Peter Bak and other members. Again, our thanks to them! Eric acted as auctioneer, so that all the plants were provided with the necessary information and were soon on their way to their new owners. The auction made € 406,
After lunch, Mr. and Mrs. van der Hoeven, from Klundert, together gave an exciting presentation about their travels through Costa Rica. The beautiful pictures of flora and fauna accompanied by their enjoyable commentary made an enjoyable ending for this Spring Meeting.
The Autumn Meeting will be on Sunday October 19th 2014 (now changed, see Nb 75), once again in the conservatory of the Botanical Garden in Utrecht.
On behalf of the Board,
Roel Tomassen, report
Editing: Eric Gouda
Translation: MaryRose Hoare
Bijgewerkt: 20140821, 2735 keer bekeken
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