Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 11:16:54 -0500 (EST) From: PTemple001@aol.com To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1219$foo@default> Subject: After the Expedition - Dominicana
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Rather obviously, I'm back. (In case you don't care that I ever left, just
think how much longer videogate could have continued had I stayed. And then
there was that word! Oh how I could have contributed!!!) But alas I was
away.
And now I'm not. So attached (I hope - if not' I'll retry) is my
description of my hunting in the Dominican Republic.
Regards
Paul
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I may have already briefly described an earlier trip to the Dominican Rep=
ublic, hereafter called Dominica. But i'll start the description of my =
third trip by recounting a part of the first, as I doubt I described much=
then. Some non-botanical descriptions are included.
=0D
In approximately March of 1996 I first went to the Dominican Republic, th=
e larger part of the Island of Hispaniola, shared with Haiti and close to=
(East of) Cuba in the Caribbean. The aim was to find and photograph Ping=
uicula casabitoana, an endemic butterwort known of by few and seen by sti=
ll fewer, and hopefully introduce it into cultivation. =
=0D
The Type location was visited, namely Mount Casabito. This lay in a prot=
ected scientific preserve or Ecological Park and I soon located the entra=
nce and started the long climb up the mountain. The signs at the base we=
re unthreatening and if anything helpful. The base of the mountain is of=
no interest to CP hunters but contains a reasonable selection of Bromeli=
ads and Orchids plus other plants of interest to general botanisers, such=
as the beautiful tree ferns. Other ferns are of no interest as they com=
prise mostly a single species which has escaped after introduction into g=
ardens; it now smothers many of the mountains. It took about an hour to =
climb from the already high base (land that supports a tropical scrub flo=
ra with many trees and reasonable numbers of epiphytes), to near the summ=
it where there is a sudden change. The mountain suddenly climbs upward a=
t 45 degrees or more and very suddenly it's clear that the area is now a =
cloud forest. Excitement rose as I climbed this barrier, sweat literally=
pouring off me (the day time can be in the high twenties (celcius) which=
may not sound much until you recall this is cloud forest and humidity ap=
proached 100%! I was so hot I could not focus through my camera as the e=
yepiece simply steamed up continuously. But at last, the summit. And peo=
ple. And guns. And the local army guard wasted no time in warning me th=
at without a written permit I was not allowed in so would I please leave =
rapidly. (The "please" is added by me for decorum, the soldier avoided us=
e of the word, in fact he didn't say much at all, but I understood his us=
e of the gun.) To add insult to injury, on the long one hour walk down (=
already exhaused), the cloud forest demomnstrated it's ready ability to b=
ecome a rain forest.
=0D
It proved impossible to gain permission to enter the park or to revisit i=
t again that March so I left Dominica without seeing the plant. A second=
visit in November allowed me to make many friends in the area but I was =
otherwise distracted by another flower and failed to search out the Pingu=
icula. My new friends proved very enthusiastic distractions and I offere=
d very little resistance. So what's wrong with that? I happend to like M=
erengue (which, for the benefit of those with limited language skills, is=
not a food made from baked egg whites!!!). =
=0D
Then, in March 1997, I returned again. My purpose this time to be amply =
distracted but hoping also to find time for the plant. I was distracted,=
I'm pleased to say. Those who know me best will know that I was seekin=
g to secure for the future a different and singular flower, but more of t=
hat success another time. Back in the countryside I searched the entire=
mountain area as much as one can by car and foot in two weeks and found =
no sign of any Pinguicula outside the park. Clearly it was relatively dr=
y everywhere compared with the cloud forest, even where daily rain was ob=
viously the norm! However I enjoyed discovering remnants of old dead and=
now collapsed tree palms, known as palo de camaron or palo de muneco, an=
d known to all orchid growers and others as probably the best material in=
the world on which to grow epiphytes. I brought several pieces home as =
it's so expensive to buy. =
=0D
Now my earlier trips payed off. First, I got more opportunities to savou=
r the Machata and Merengue dancing (see, told you it's not egg white). B=
ut then, through useful friends that I'd cultivated over three visits and=
with lots of negotiating, I got the magic letter permitting me to enter =
the park. This time, ever willing to learn from experience, I used a mou=
ntain bike (no sweaty hike this time) to help get to the top of Mount Cas=
abito, above 1300m. With a friend, we walked deep into the cloud forest =
and clearly this was very different, much much darker and for the first t=
ime a smell of decaying wood everywhere. There were several endemics, a =
tree with leaves that shivered even in the complete absence of any breeze=
, a new Ilex discovered within the last two years and endemic to the clou=
d forest, and several other plants of interest. =
=0D
And then I saw it. My first Pinguicula casabitoana (I think - for what e=
lse could it be!!!). It was just a single plant lying at chest height on=
a dead looking bare twig. And then there was a group of three growing n=
earby at shoulder height on a vertical bare twig. It was hard to see man=
y more but we searched. And then we saw where they were, high up in the =
upper branches of the tree, not in bright light but presumably benefittin=
g from slightly better light though no direct sunlight. The plants grew =
in clumps or singly, always on bare wood and at every conceivable angle, =
lying above, below or to the side of horizontal or vertical branches or =
twigs. Having seen the plants in numbers, I now revisited the nearby and=
very few low level plants. These were the exceptions but easy to see. =
And I found some that were flowering! Each flower white with a dark mark=
ing at the very tip of the blunt spur. The whole plant was able to sit o=
n the palm of a hand and the flower stem was no taller than the plant's d=
iameter.
=0D
Unfortunately, this was obviously the start of the flowering period as no=
seed pods could be seen. But the seeds do appear to be long lived as I =
found several (though very few) seedlings with only two or three juvenile=
leaves, presumably only a couple of weeks old at best and therefore pres=
umably of last season's seed stock. We searched on and found only one ot=
her Pinguicula site (though i now know of a third distinct site at a sign=
ificant distance, though still within the park). And each site was limite=
d to a single large tree and those smaller trees or twiggy shrubs within =
its shadow, clearly offering some type of minute microclimate. =
=0D
Well, as with all good things, my time on the mountain had to end so we d=
escended. But the answer to your question is "yes". With my fortunate s=
tatus as the UK National Collection Holder for Pinguicula (see, it does h=
ave it's benefits!!!) and a few other plus points on my side (such as thr=
ee visits, taking much time to make important contacts and including the =
fact I could negotiate my permits in Spanish) I was allowed to remove s=
everal live specimens! I took only 6 and of these, none were removed fro=
m their natural position of twigs or branches in the trees. I found all =
of these after several hours of very sweaty searching (whilst being scrat=
ched by branches and bitten by mosquitoes) and all 6 were plants on twigs=
that had rotted and fallen to the ground or into other levels of the for=
est flora. Had I not removed them, these plants were doomed anyway.
=0D
The experience of then trying to keep these 6 plants alive taught me one =
thing. This is not an easy plant to keep. In less than a week I lost th=
ree plants despite reasonable experience with Pings. This species abhore=
s too much water around it's neck or roots, it seems to dislike too much =
heat, it probably can not withstand direct sunlight (at least not tropica=
l sunlight) and it's fairly intolerant of drought. Basically it needs a =
warn humid day and a cool cloud forest at night. But I have three health=
y plants now in the UK. As with earlier species encountered elsewhere, i=
f they survive I will endevour to distribute plants or seed, with the int=
ention of getting the plant into all the main geographies where CP enthus=
iasts are concentrated. But I expect this one will prove even slower tha=
n the Cuban species to cultivate and propogate, if I can succeed at all!
=0D
And one more thing. Despite the opinions that P. casabitoana (syn P. cla=
dophila) may be similar to P. lignicola (aCuban epiphytic species), the p=
lants simply do not look alike in size or form. Casper groups both speci=
es in Section Discoradix (I assume using specifics such as flower structu=
re?) as the only two members of the Section, and I'd appreciate Jan or an=
y other systematics expert explaining why the two are so categorised toge=
ther (based on what common features) as my Latin isn't too hot!!!
=0D
Despite my elation at finding the plant, I did manage to find time for on=
e more trip. This was still higher, above 1700m. And with high rainfall =
this had created a natural area of bog called Pantano. I searched the ar=
ea well and found nothing in a massive area save a beatiful bird known lo=
cally as a Barancoli (a beautifully coloured insect eater which lives in =
hollows in cliff sides or earth walls and shows off continuously to its m=
ate) and an interesting amerindian site where cave pictures had been carv=
ed. In one tiny location I also found a single species of Utricularia. =
Yellow flowered, leaves about 1mm wide and 5-7 mm long, scapes about 5-7 =
cm tall. I'll get help with an ID once I can propogate the plant and wit=
h the aid of any photos I succeeded with!
=0D
Ah well, not much to report on this time but maybe it will have been of i=
nterest to a few of you. I enjoyed it anyway. Next stop Cuba del este i=
n June!!!
=0D
Regards
=0D
Paul=
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