Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 00:19:14 -0300 From: "Fernando Rivadavia Lopes" <fe_riva@uol.com.br> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg608$foo@default> Subject: On the road again... and U.nelumbifolia
Dear Friends,
Sorry I've been so quiet lately! The new job has been keeping me
real busy, but at least I'm enjoying it! I'm just writing to say hello to
all and that I'll write more ASAP. BUT... I'll be away for 2 weeks and don't
know if I'll have e-mail access. Taking advantage of Carnaval hollidays (and
the fact that I'm not too keen on samba), I'll be getting away from it all
and going to the E Amazon, in the state of Para. I'll be searching for CPs
(not many around there unfortunately) although the main objective is to
study the non-CPs Podostemaceae with a friend. I'll be going to Santarem
and Maraba. Afterwards, I'll be spending a week at Belem for work. So I'll
only be back around March 19. Therefore, whoever wrote to me recently will
have to wait a little more for a reply.... sorry!
Anyways, an interesting story before I go. I discovered a
beautiful patch of U.nelumbifolia...... SMACK in the middle of bustling
chaotic Sao Paulo city!!!! It's true!! A few years ago I would've killed for
such location info! But it's not natural, merely acidental.....
Recently, I've been noticing that bromeliads are become
increasingly popular landscaping plants in S.Paulo (they can grow outdoors
here, no problem). By far the most popular is _Vriesia imperialis_, a
beautiful reddish species which can grow gigantic. I was hoping this
popularity was maybe due to increasing tissue culture plants, making them
cheaper. But U.nelumbifolia proved me wrong unfortunately.
Two weeks ago I'd stopped for a quick lunck at a McDonald's in
one of S.Paulo's busiest crossings. I noticed my bank across the street and
remembered I needed to get some money. So I ran over while munching down my
meal. Walking up to the bank, I realized that behind a fenced garden there
was a beautiful patch of V.imperialis, one of many new ones I've been seeing
around. Knowing that this species is probably the most popular host of
U.nelumbifolia (both occuring in the same regions of SE Brazil), I couldn't
resist taking a closer look to see if there were any.
As some of you may remember, the first time I saw U.nelumbifolia
was at the Rio de Janeiro botanic Garden in late 95, having hitchhiked their
way with there in bromeliads obviously collected from the wild. I knew from
experience that it was impossible for gardeners to remove U.nelumbifolia if
they wanted to "clean" bromeliads for sale, since when you pluck a leaf, the
stolon stays behind, tightly packed sandwiched bromeliad leaves.
Anyways, since the discovery of hitchhiker U.nelumbifolia in
Rio, I've had the habit of looking inside all large bromeliads I see in
gardens -- out of pure whishful thinking. Never did see any more though
(except in the wild)... at least not until now. So as I examined the
bromeliad garden at the bank, I wasn't too surprised when I realised that
several of them were covered with the umbrella-like leaves of
U.nelumbifolia, sticking out like a miniature lotus garden from imbetween
the neatly trimmed bromeliad leaves around the base of the large rosettes.
I guess what most surprised (and saddened) me in this otherwise
most enjoyable moment, was the irrefutable proof that these beautiful
bromeliads (and probably most others I've been seeing all around) had
actually been collected from the wild. Of course it's illegal, but the law
is just not imposed too well unfortunately. My only comfort is that many of
the cliffs where V.imperialis and U.nelumbifolia grow naturally are simply
too inaccessible to be poached!
Unbelievable, huh?! I'll have to try and find the time to go
back and take a closer look and some pics -- maybe even get a few cuttings
if they allow me to jump the fence. There were no flowers unfortunately, but
still a very nice U.nelumbifolia patch!
Best Wishes and 'Till Late March!
Fernando Rivadavia
Sao Paulo, Brazil
P.S. For my friends in S.Paulo who wanna see this U.nelumbifolia patch
in our own "backyard": elas estao no banco Itau localizado na esquina da
Av.Reboucas com a Av.Brasil, do outro lado da rua do MacDonald's (na verdade
eh Reboucas). Nao poderia ser em local mais movimentado, incrivel nao?? Qtas
outras populacoes de U.nelumbifolia devem existir em SP e outras cidades por
ai..... ?? Sera que conseguimos convencer os guardas do Itau a nos deixar
pular a cerca pra ver as plantas de perto e coletar algumas? Sera que eles
vao acreditar que nao somos mesmo assaltantes??? :):)
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