Re: Plants at the US BOtanical Garden
ALEXANDER SALOMON (salomona@medlib.iaims.georgetown.edu)
Mon, 15 Jan 1996 12:43:03 -0500 (EST)
Hello all. I just wanted to add my comments to the messages about the
state of the collection at the US Botanical Gardens in Washington, DC.
As Perry has said, the collection is neither paltry nor in a sad state.
Granted, many of the plants are unavailable for viewing as they are
tucked away at the production facilities. There are, however, several
very nice specimens on display in a large custom terrarium including
Nepenthes maxima, alata, macfarlaneii, eymai, x Ted Payne, X ventrata
and others. Contrary to Perry's message, however, there are a few
species in the New World Bromeliad room. These are in poorer shape as
the humidity is not terribly high due to the opening and closing of the
sliding doors and the vents. During the summer, I saw the doors left
completely open and the humidity was low. There are a total of three
plants in that room including N.burkeii and two hybrids, one of which
currently has a an inflorescence. As for the bog garden, it is quite
handsome and well tended. There are repesentative species of all the
Sarracenia including S.alabamensis, S.jonesii and S.oreophila. Some of
these plants are truly fine specimens at that. I think that the current
display is quite nice. It is not in fact as nice as the display in
Atlanta, but even there, the finest specimens are confined to the
production greenhouses. If you want a good reference point with which
to compare, try Longwood gardens-which has a fabled history of CP
propagation. I think the National Collection at the Botanic Gardens is
substantially better, at least in terms of what is on display. At
Longwood, there are a few Nepenthes-mostly hybrids in hanging baskets
and a few small planters with Sarracenia. There too, the best specimens
are behind the scenes. -alex