Michael, this is an interesting question. I think that just about
every person out where CP grow has collected at one time or another.
It is so easy to sit in front of a terminal and say what you should or
shouldn't do out in the field. But when you are actually out there,
ground squelching underfoot, and you come across some beautiful
plants, and a zillion seedlings right there...surely just one won't be
missed.... It takes quite a bit of moral fiber to stop and think about
the correctness of what you'll do next.
This is how I think of field collecting. If a single plant collected from
the wild is propagated into many other plants which are then distributed,
that is maybe ok. But if you are dealing with a firm in which each plant
from the wild goes into someone's collection, without such propagation,
that firm is acting inappropriately. With everyone you deal with, you have
to try to make an assessment of that person's reliability.
I know that John Hummer has field collected. I know that Don Schnell has
field collected. But these people collect, then propagate. I have some
_S.purp.purp. heterophylla_ from Don which are third generation in
cultivation. This is all morally grey, not black and white, but I think
it is very important that we think about these issues.
I think Lowrie does collect, and perhaps a bit more than I care for. I got
wind of this when I got some _D.petiolaris_ plants from him. So I tend
to stick with seed only.
I recently felt very burned when I traded with an east-coast guy. I asked
for some _S.flava_ and he sent me a big box filled with about 20 plants
of various sizes, obviously field collected. This really irritated me.
So I learned something about that person. My trading with him has....tailed
off.
Obviously you have touched a nerve with me. This is an issue near to my heart.
>Oh, Tom has said he'd be interested in getting Martynia/Proboscidea seed
>for the seed bank, if either of us have any surplus.
>--Oh, yeah, and if I forgot to mention, that rare Proboscidea from Texas
>which we were growing at the garden (Proboscidea scabulosa) DID turn out to
>be noticably more gladular than the local sp.
I have some of the usual _P. parviflora var. hohokamiana_ maturing
in the garden, and down the street in a vacant lot another species I haven't
yet keyed is flowering. I think I'll try to grow a few. But I don't think
I will send any _Proboscidea_ to Tom because I don't think they are really
CP. But if my _Martynia lutea_ produce seed... I've had 2 germinations from
3 seeds in 2 weeks! I have a meager 4 seeds left that I will try to
germinate in the spring. For now, I'll see if I can keep these initial
seedlings alive in the Greenhouse over the winter.
Barzai