Comments by Weber
I thank Dr. Lyman B. Smith for his valuable comments and the Keeper of the Herbarium of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, for a photograph of the holotype of Hohenbergia eriantha.
After his discovery of the "New World", Columbus was followed for a long time by numerous adventurers who by conquering new territories hoped to enrich themselves and the countries they represented. Only considerably later did the scientific exploration of hitherto unknown regions begin. At first, the material which reached Europe consisted of the most conspicuous curiosities, but gradually aa scientific expeditions brought more specimens, they began to receive the attention of specialists who systematically examined and described them.
In order for knowledge of new plants to be added to the body of scientific information, it is necessary for all the factors and circumstances between the plant growing in the field and the final, correctly prepared specimen to occur in proper sequence, like the links in a chain, and not be broken by some omission. For example, a collector who finds a new plant must prepare a specimen at anthesis in its habitat, make adequate notes and prepare for the specimen's safe transportation to a destination where it will receive the attention of an appropriate scientist who can examine it and perhaps prepare for a publication. If this chain of conditions is broken, that is, if a link is missing, then all efforts will have been in vain. In the last century, many carefully collected specimens were ruined on their way from the interior to a seaport or between the port and Europe. Humboldt and Bonpland, for example, were aware of these problems so they divided their collections into parts for separate shipment. How wise they were was proven by the fact that the first shipment was lost due to a shipwreck! Even after a safe journey, many collections were ignored by the European scientific community. In many herbaria today it is not uncommon to find bundles of undetermined specimens, more than 100 years old, unnoticed, gathering dust.
During an examination of some specimens among a group of undetermined plants from the Fielding-Druce Herbarium at Oxford University, I found a sheet with a hitherto undescribed species of Hohenbergia erroneously labelled "Chili" on a printed label and without any notes. Using the key in Flora Neotropica I was led to Hohenbergia eriantha (Brongn.) Mez 1894, but the specimen from Oxford is very different in having much larger suberect branches, very broad leaves, and other differing details. The specimen I examined probably came from Brazil: Bahia or Pernambuco, judging by the distribution of its nearest relatives; furthermore, Chile is far distant from all known habitats of species of Hohenbergia. From the state of preservation of the sheet, I estimated the age of it to be more than 100 years. No duplicates are known. In the hope that in the near future collectors will rediscover ihis impressive and handsome species, I present a drawing and description of it. The Latin diagnosis appears in Feddes Repertorium V. 94. —SeeJ. Bromeliad Soc.
