Botanica Magnifica

“With Botanica Magnifica, Jonathan Singer has captured some of the world’s most endangered flowers in remarkable detail and in a light that evokes the paintings of great Dutch masters. This magnificent work draws attention to the need for protecting its subjects and the ecosystems in which they grow. As a force for conservation, it belongs in the same category as the picture book that inspired it— John James Audubon’s Birds of America.”

—David Seideman, Editor-in-Chief, Audubon Magazine

nature /photography

Portraits of the World’s Most Extraordinary Flowers & Plants

“A marriage of art and science” — ­ CBS News Sunday Morning A bo u t the Photographer and A uthor s p h oto © maris s a s . s ing e r

Jonathan M. Singer’s double-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica is kept in the Cullman Rare Book Room at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Dr. Singer is a Contributing Photographer to the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. He was named a Hasselblad Laureate Award winner based on his “major contribution to fine art photography and to our perception and appreciation of the botanical world.”

W. John Kress is a Curator of Botany and Research Scientist at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution. He is the author of ­Abbeville’s The Weeping Goldsmith: Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar, and co-author of A Checklist of the Trees, Shrubs, Herbs, and Climbers of Myanmar and Plant Conservation: A Natural History Approach. He has also written many scholarly articles on botany.

Photographs by Jonathan Singer Text by W. John Kress and Marc Hachadourian

Singer Kress

B

Hachadourian

Portraits of the World’s Most Extraordinary Flowers & Plants

Marc Hachadourian is the Curator of Glasshouse Collections at the New York Botanical Garden. With over fifteen years of commercial and specialist horticultural experience, he supervises the care of the botanical collections and exhibition crops in the greenhouses. He specializes in orchids, aquatics, bulbs, and alpines and is particularly interested in public awareness of global plant conservation and the appreciation of plant biodiversity.

A lso available from Abbeville Press

Audubon’s Birds of America

The National Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio Text by Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson ISBN 978-1-55859-128-8 • $185.00

The Weeping Goldsmith

Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar

By W. John Kress ISBN 978-0-7892-1032-6 • $45.00

Wonders of the Indian Wilderness

Photographs by

By Erach Bharucha ISBN 978-0-7892-0999-3 • $185.00

Jonathan M. Singer

A bbeville P ress 137 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 1-800-A r t bo o k (in U.S. only) Available wherever fine books are sold Visit us at www.abbeville.com

Text by

Printed in China

W. John Kress Marc Hachadourian

otanica Magnifica features two hundred and fiftyone stunning photographs by Hasselblad Laureate Award winner Jonathan Singer, representing—in the words of an ARTnews critic—rare or exotic plants and flowers “in large scale and exquisite detail, emerging from the shadows in a manner evocative of Old Master paintings.”

Inspired by the work of the great botanical artists who came before him, Dr. Singer has developed a style of modern digital photography that possesses both the clarity and the artistry of traditional botanical illustration; through the lens of his camera, he captures not only a plant’s physical form, but its essence as well.

Indeed, many of these portraits reveal the delicate structures of the plants at a level of detail unachievable with brush and paint, giving us an entirely new appreciation of the complexity and individuality of these living beings.

The original edition of Botanica Magnifica, consisting of five lavishly hand-bound volumes, was limited to just ten copies, the first of which was recently donated to the Smithsonian Institution. The extra-large “doubleelephant” format of that edition was chosen in ­homage to the famous double-elephant folio of The Birds of America, and indeed, Botanica Magnifica is one of the few photographic works of natural history ever to rival Audubon’s magnum opus in its scope and artistry. In praise of the double-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica, the Smithsonian’s Chairman of Botany declared, “Everyone who has seen the photographs . . . has been tremendously impressed with the power, scale, and depth of the work.

Now Dr. Singer’s remarkable images are available to the public for the first time in this baby-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica. Like the larger edition, this volume is organized into five sections: (I) Orchidaceae, presenting the full diversity of orchids, one of the largest and most exquisite families of flowering plants; (II) Florilegium, portraying the complexity and beauty of flowers, which are masterpieces of evolution; (III) Proteus, named for the shape-changing sea god of Greek mythology, because it illustrates plant forms perfectly adapted for ­survival; (IV) Zingiberaceae, a tribute to the ginger family, whose members include both common tropical plants and rarities threatened with extinction; and (V) Botanicus, a selection of beautiful and bizarre specimens from the renowned botanical research collection of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian. The plants pictured in each section of Botanica Magnifica are largely ordered alphabetically by scientific name, and each one is accompanied by a clear and accessible description of its botany, geography, folklore, history, and conservation. Furthermore, each of the five sections is introduced by a gatefold page that displays one exceptional plant at a luxurious size.

With its marvelous reproductions and fascinating text, the baby-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica is one of the most impressive volumes of natural history photography ever published. Its creators hope that it will foster a greater awareness of the plant kingdom, and of the pressing need to preserve vanishing plant species.

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Portraits of the World's Most Extraordinary Flowers & Plants Photographs by

Jonathan M. Singer Text by

W. John Kress & Marc Hachadourian

Abbeville Press Publishers New York  London

Front cover: Musa laterita (‘Bronze Banana’). See plate 247 Back cover: Aristolochia ringens (Dutchman’s Pipe). See plate 214 Frontispiece: Canna liliiflora Abbeville Press Editor: Susan Costello Copyeditor: Amy K. Hughes Production Manager: Louise Kurtz Designer: Misha Beletsky Photographs copyright ©2009 Jonathan Singer. Text copyright ©2009 W. John Kress and Marc Hachadourian. Compilation—including selection of text and images—copyright ©2009 Abbeville Press. All rights ­reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. I­nquiries should be addressed to Abbeville Press, 137 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013. Printed and bound in China.

The text of this book was set in Rilke.

First Edition 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Singer, Jonathan, 1948– Botanica magnifica / photographs by Jonathan Singer ; text by W. John Kress & Marc Hachadourian. p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-7892-1033-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Photography of plants. 2. Orchids—Pictorial works. 3.

Flowers—Pictorial works. I. Kress, W. John. II. Hachadourian, Marc. III. Title.

TR724.S56 2009 779".343—dc22 2009008284 i s b n 978-0-7892-1003-6 (cloth) i s b n 978-0-7892-1034-0 (deluxe) For bulk and premium sales and for text adoption procedures, write to Customer Service Manager, Abbeville Press, 137 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 or call 1-800-Artbook

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Contents preface

by Jonathan M. Singer 7

introduction

by W. John Kress & Marc Hachadourian 9

I

Orchidaceae

The Secretive and Seductive Marvels of Orchids

by Marc Hachadourian 13 Plates 1­­­­–50

z

II

Florilegium

The Unseen Realm of Flowers

by Marc Hachadourian 81 Plates 51–100

III Proteus

Revealing the Hidden Architecture of Adaptations

by Marc Hachadourian 149 Plates 101–150

IV

Zingiberaceae

The Rich Biodiversity of Gingers

by W. John Kress 217 Plates 151–200

V

Botanicus

The Botanical World: A Compendium of Exceptional Species

by W. John Kress 285 Plates 201–251

index

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Preface

W

hat will be the role of the photographic artist in the natural sciences for the rest of the twenty-first century? Is it possible for an artist’s vision to complement scientific exploration? With every leap forward of technology and exploration, I have observed that the boundaries of science and art intersect. While it is the role of science to quantify and verify the new frontier, it is the artist who leads us into the unknown, illuminating nature from the shadows and revealing its wonders.

From the first cave artists who documented scenes of the hunt to the painters and photographers who accompanied the opening of the American West, it has often been the artist who embraces new technology, bringing to light the never-before seen. Innovative American artists specializing in the natural sciences have included John James Audubon, George Catlin, and Ansel Adams. It is my hope that Botanica Magnifica will also contribute to a deeper understanding of nature, as the works of these artists did in their time.

What makes my botanical photographs so different? With my photographs I try to transcend the medium and see the subject itself. My aim is to make the viewer forget he or she is looking at a photograph and begin a deeper journey into the botanical world. Just as some painters attempt to make their brushstrokes (hence their presence) invisible, I attempt to photograph my subjects with clarity and humility. The resulting images seem to strike an inner chord and resonate with unexpected emotion.

The limited, original edition of Botanica Magnifica, consisting of five hand-bound vol­ umes, was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. The extra-large “double-elephant” format of that edition was chosen in homage to the famous double-elephant folio of Audubon’s Birds of America, and indeed, Botanica Magnifica is one of the few works of natural history ever to rival Audubon’s magnum opus in its scope and artistry. Thus, Botanica Magnifica is at home both on the walls of art museums and shelved with reference books in scientific libraries for generations to come—hence the fusion of art and science.

I have had the privilege of working with two accomplished botanists—W. John Kress from the Smithsonian Institution and Marc Hachadourian at the New York Botanical Garden—without whose help Botanica would not have been started. They provide the scientific and anecdotal accounts of the unusual plants and flowers presented in these pages.

Dr. Kress has explored the world’s rain forests and has seen their destruction. That ongoing annihilation of these precious resources is why we have chosen to marry art with science in a unique way that compels us all to look again at our global ecosystems before there is nothing more to see. Maybe because of my images, people will rally to take action against the destruction of habitats. The question is how. I believe the answer lies with the great scientific institutions of the world coming together. With my efforts in both Botanica Magnifica and Tulipae Hortorum (residing in the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm), it is my aim to provide the art that will help the science understand the urgency to conserve the world’s biodiversity. That is my life’s mission.

—Jonathan M. Singer

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The Secretive & Seductive Marvels of Orchids

T

he relationship humans have had with orchids has always been one of fascination, mystery, and misunderstanding. Long praised for their beauty, orchids have lured admirers with their exotic flowers and nearly endless diversity of form and color.

At times they have been worshiped, praised for their medicinal powers, and even used as aphrodisiacs. Their reputation has elevated orchids to legendary status as the seducers of the plant world. They seem to possess qualities and characteristics that place them beyond the scope of other plants, and are often described in terms reserved for members of the animal kingdom, as if they possess higher intelligence or even a consciousness. The vibrancy of their colors and the sheer marvel of their forms captivate onlookers with an almost supernatural charm. Often beautiful and frequently bizarre, the flowers of many species have developed fantastical shapes adorned with horns, hairs, and warts. It is easy to forget that they are just flowers—and we sometimes watch them cautiously, as if the blooms might start moving or take flight.

Until recently, the exact age of the orchid family was greatly debated among botanical scholars, because the biological/fossil record lacked any significant, incontestable fossil plants or pollen to mark the family’s existence in history. With their greatest diversity in tropical environments, the near absence of orchids in the fossil record is no surprise, as the heat and moisture of the tropics are not conducive to the processes that cause fossilization.

There were only a few fossils thought to be primitive orchids because of their superficial resemblance to modern orchid plants, but there was a lack of supporting evidence or flowers to prove the relationship. In the year 2000, however, a miraculous discovery appeared from the Dominican Republic, a bee encased in amber with a mass of orchid pollen attached to its body, the first definitive fossil for this family of plants. Using scientific techniques, botanists were able to calculate a more accurate approximation of the first appearance of the orchid family—nearly ninety million years ago—much earlier than originally thought.

It is still not known what the earliest orchids might have looked like, but there are plants alive today that give us possible insight into the origins of this famous family. Among these are curious plants like Neuwiedia and Apostasia, which share many of the same characteristics as modern orchids but have not evolved the elaborate flower structures and morphology of the rest of the family. Scientific research using the extraction and analysis of dna has helped unravel and elucidate many relationships in the botanical world that were once only hypothesized. Most botanists believed that orchids were closely related to lilies, family Liliaceae, and looking at the similarities in the flowers it is easy to understand why. Through dna analysis, scientists have now restructured the branch of the floral or botanical family tree that contained the orchid family, and the orchids are now placed in a position quite unrelated to lilies. In fact, the orchid family is from the same origins as the common asparagus. As shocking as this might seem, the botanical and genetic

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evidence supports this relationship without a doubt. From these origins the orchid family has evolved into a myriad of shapes, sizes, and forms.

For years the details of orchid biology—how the plants survived, how they reproduced, and the bizarre relationships they shared with their pollinators—remained hidden, the truth clouded by the myths surrounding the exotic flowers. In time, the mysteries of orchids were slowly unlocked. As scientists studied the intimate details of orchid biology, the truths discovered were as strange as the flowers themselves. Even the smallest or ­simplest-looking of orchids can be deceptively complex. The relationships that orchids have evolved with their environments and especially their pollinators seem more like creations of science fiction than of science itself. This fascinating biology and attendant floral diversity have made orchids into one of the most popular and coveted plant families in the world today.

The shared characteristics that unite all orchid species and make the family the most highly evolved group of monocots (one of two main flowering plant divisions) are quite diverse, and many combinations of visible characteristics can be found. The most spectacular evolution has occurred in the flowers. The morphology of orchid flowers is in some ways quite similar to that of many other plants, with colorful sepals and petals used to attract and entice pollinators. On an orchid, one of the petals is modified into a structure called the lip or labellum. Often highly patterned and colored, the lip is one of the most prominent features in orchid flowers and gives many of them their characteristic shape. This structure helps guide and attract the pollinator, whether it is a beetle, bird, or butterfly. Evolution has modified this lip into a menagerie of shapes, from simple to fantastic. Some orchids have even evolved flowers that mimic the female of an insect species and trick males into mating with the flowers, inadvertently pollinating them, in a process called pseudocopulation. The reproductive structures of orchids have evolved en suite with all the other structures of the flower. Both male and female parts are fused into a single structure called the column. The pollen is part of a specialized structure equipped with a sticky disk that aº xes it to the visiting insect, for greater success in the transfer of pollen from one plant to another.

The specialized relationships between orchids and pollinators are believed to be the driving evolutionary force behind the creation of the spectacular floral diversity found in the family. Orchids have their greatest diversity in the tropics, but they occur on every continent of the world except Antarctica and have colonized every environment imaginable, from deserts to swamps. There are plants that complete their entire life cycle underground, in the Australian genus Rhizanthella, and orchids that have literally climbed the trees through their evolution in the tropics of the world. Taking advantage of the available light, water, and air movement in the canopy of the forest, most orchids occur as epiphytes on the branches and trunks of trees. Originally thought to be parasites, epiphytic orchids in fact are not—they just use the branches of their host as a foundation for their survival, while they absorb water and nutrients through their own plant tissue.

The destruction of orchid habitats is certainly the greatest threat to the plants’ survival, but their spectacular diversity contributes to another threat, as collectors plunder their numbers to satisfy the demand for the horticultural trade. Orchid devotees can seem possessed, even enslaved, by their spell, sometimes to the point of obsession. It would not be too much to say that in some people orchids inspire madness or delirium. In Victorian

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England many orchid flowers were thought to be too outrageous or suggestive for delicate eyes and were kept hidden from general view.

Despite international laws protecting orchids in the wild, there are still people exploiting natural populations to provide collectors with these irreplaceable natural treasures.

The demand for these exotic plants seems insatiable, their colorful histories still generating momentum that increases by the day. Orchid cultivation today is something quite different from what it was in its Victorian past. Then, collectors and nurserymen doting over plants in elaborate conservatories would take decades to build up stock of the choicest plants and then sell them for small fortunes. Propagating a choice orchid was once a slow process, but now, with advances in cultivation and modern scientific techniques, a single plant can become millions of identical plantlets in a matter of years through cloning. Advances in the understanding of orchid culture have even greatly reduced the time it takes to produce a mature, blooming orchid plant from seed, and what once took years or decades can now take place in a measure of months for some plants. Orchid cultivation is now a multimillion-dollar global industry, and all those falling under the spell of the exotic orchid can easily obtain one.

It would be impossible to illustrate the full diversity of this family of plants in a single volume, but the images speak for themselves. As science advances, our knowledge of the expanse and diversity of the orchid family has changed considerably. From the founding of the genus Epidendrum by Carl Linnaeus to contain all the known tropical epiphytic orchids—which in its early years was just a handful of species—to an estimated twentyfive thousand species now recorded and described by science, the accumulated knowledge about the orchid family is nothing less than astounding. Nonetheless, the taxonomy and evolution of the family is in many ways still as much a mystery as it was when the first orchids started populating the glass conservatories of Victorian England. With recent advances in the molecular research of plants and the use of dna as a resource to help delimit the boundaries of species and genera, a whole new wave of changes in the naming and classification of plants has begun. As a result, the names of many orchids have changed to reflect these findings. Many of the proposed changes have not been embraced by the scientific community, and the proper classification of many plants in the family is under active debate. As these changes are accepted they can make any reference outdated in a short period of time. Many of the names of the species selected for this volume to represent the sheer magnificence of the Orchidaceae have been left unchanged, so as to minimize confusion over the rapidly changing nomenclature. These changes in taxonomy may frustrate students of botany and horticulture, but they certainly do not change the irrefutable beauty of the plants contained within these pages.

The allure of the orchid family will continue indefinitely, as the history of this distinguished group of plants is as intimately connected to popular culture as it is to botanical science and horticulture. It is undeniable that orchids represent one of the most remarkable groups of plants found within the floral kingdom, embodying the exotic, the erotic, and the mysterious. The species and images chosen for this book tell the story and give credibility to the legends, the myths, and the mysteries that will always surround the beauty of the orchid.

—Marc Hachadourian

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I

Orchidaceae The full diversity of orchids, one of the largest and most exquisite families of flowering plants

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Plate 1 Maxillaria arachnites Rchb. f.

Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador Epiphytic or terrestrial herb to 12 in. (30 cm) tall, flower to 3 in. (7.5 cm) across Maxillaria is one of the largest genera of orchids found in the New World. Species range from miniatures to large plants that can reach over six feet (2 m) tall. They display a similarly large range of morphological diversity in flower and vegetative form. The species Maxillaria arachnites is native to northern South America and grows as an epiphyte in the moist rain forests of the Andes mountains. The species name arachnites refers to the profusion of spiderlike flowers the plant can produce. The thin segments of the numerous flowers give the strange impression of a mass of spiders crawling around the base of the plant.

Plate 3 Aerangis luteo-alba var. rhodosticta (Kraenzl.) J. Stewart Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Central Africa, including Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia Epiphytic herb to 4 in. (10 cm) across, flower to 1¼ in. (3 cm) long A genus of mostly white-flowered orchids found in Africa and Madagascar, Aerangis is closely related to Angraecum. Many Aerangis species produce pendant inflorescences (flower clusters) of numerous starry, white, night-fragrant flowers with long nectar spurs that are pollinated by long-tongued night-flying moths. This striking species, native to mountains from Kenya to Cameroon, is a small epiphyte, a plant that grows on other plants, often the branches of trees, and obtains moisture and nutrients from rain and air.

The small fans of foliage support comparatively long inflorescences of crystalline creamwhite flowers with a contrasting orange column (fused male and female reproductive parts).

This plant is relatively common in the moist forests of central Africa, where it is often found growing on coffee trees that are cultivated in the region.

Plate 2 Robiquetia cerina (Rchb. f.) Garay Orchidaceae, Orchid Family New Guinea and Philippines Pendant epiphytic herb with shoots to 6 ft. (2 m) long or more, inflorescence to 5 in. (12.5 cm) long, flower ¼ in. (8 mm) long A member of a closely related group of orchids known as the Vanda alliance, Robiquetia cerina is native to the tropical forests of New Guinea and the Philippines. The plants occur as epiphytes, with their growth hanging from the mossy branches of their host trees.

A single hanging inflorescence can contain dozens of small flowers, each with a small green bract (modified leaf) at its base and a spur filled with a droplet of sweet nectar. The spirally arranged flowers open successively over the month or more that the plant is in flower.

Plate 4 Amesiella monticola J. E. Cootes & D. P. Banks Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Philippines Epiphytic herb to 6 in. (15 cm) across, flower to 2 in. (5 cm) across Named after Oakes Ames, a famous twentieth-century botanist considered to be the father of American orchidology, Amesiella is a small genus distantly related to the Phalaenopsis genus. Amesiella was considered to be monotypic, consisting of only the species Amesiella philippinense, until the last few years, when the different forms of Amesiella philippinense were separated and described as four distinct species. A pure-white-flowered form was known to occur in the wet, montane regions of central Luzon in the Philippines. Found in a different habitat than the typical Amesiella philippinense, the plants of this form are also considerably larger, lack a yellow disk on the lip, and possess other features that were suºcient to distinguish the plant as its own species, Amesiella monticola. A four-inch-long (10 cm) nectar spur curves gracefully from the back of the flower, an unusual morphological feature that is shared by other related orchids. The flowers emit a strong perfume at night and, like those of the famed ghost orchid (Polyradicion lindenii), are pollinated by night-flying moths. Once considered a rarity, Amesiella monticola has been propagated to help preserve its place in cultivation and protect wild populations of the species from overcollection.

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Plate 5 Angraecum compactum Schltr.

Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Madagascar Epiphytic herb to 6 in. (15 cm) tall, flower to 2 in. (5 cm) across The Latin species name, given by Rudolf Schlechter in 1916, means “compact,” in reference to this plant’s small stature in comparison to other species in the genus Angraecum.

Popular in horticulture, this species is endemic (native to only one specific area) to Madagascar, where it is widespread on the island from the lower eastern slopes up into the drier forests of the central plateau. It grows epiphytically, on branches of trees, at elevations of 2,300 to 6,500 feet (700–2,000 m) in its native range. The fragrance, which is slightly mentholated and citrusy, was described by Fred Hillerman, a noted expert on the genus, as “spicy lime.”

Plate 7 Anguloa eburnea B. S. Williams Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru Epiphytic or terrestrial herb to 3 ft. (1 m) tall, flower to 4 in. (10 cm) long Closely related to their sister orchids in the genus Lycaste, the species of the genus Anguloa are sometimes called “tulip orchids” because of the resemblance of their chaliceshaped blooms to tulip flowers. Anguloa orchids are large, terrestrial to semi-epiphytic Andean species with pseudobulbs (aerial swollen stems used for water storage) up to eight inches (20 cm) tall topped by a pair of pleated leaves that can reach nearly three feet (1 m) long in some species. The foliage drops as the bulbs mature, leaving sharp, protective spines on the tip of the pseudobulb. As the plants resume growth after a period of rest, they produce several large, waxy blooms per new growth segment. The flowers of Anguloa eburnea are highly fragrant, containing many menthol-like compounds that attract euglossine bees, which pollinate the flowers. The lip of the flower, hidden in the interior of the bloom, has a hinge that will drop the visiting insect, when it is properly aligned, onto the sticky pollen mass.

Plate 6 Angraecum White Emblem (A. didieri × A. magdalenae) Orchidaceae, Orchid Family

Epiphytic herb to 6 in. (15 cm) tall, flower to 3 in. (7.5 cm) across The African orchid genus Angraecum has its greatest center of diversity in Madagascar, where it has evolved into a spectacular and varied group of species, many of which are endemic to the island. The species range from tiny twig epiphytes to large, coarse epiphytes over six feet (2 m) tall. Many of the orchids have night-fragrant white flowers that are pollinated by long-tongued moths able to reach the nectar at the base of the tube found on the back of the flower. The pollinators and the orchids have co-evolved specialized relationships with each other, with the nectar tube of the flower matching the length of the proboscis (sucking mouthpart) of its pollinating moth. The pollinator of one species, Angraecum sesquipedale, has a proboscis twelve to fourteen inches (30–35 cm) long, capable of reaching the nectar at the base of the flower’s very long nectar tube. It is surprising that hybridizers have taken only a passing interest in this group of orchids with their pristine white flowers and intoxicating fragrance.

Plate 8 Brassavola cucullata R. Br. Orchidaceae, Orchid Family West Indies and Mexico to northern South America Epiphytic herb with shoots to 18 in. (45 cm) long, flower to 6 in. (15 cm) long This strange, wiry-leaved epiphyte found throughout the West Indies and northern South America to Mexico has one of the widest distributions of any species in its genus.

Brassavola cucullata produces its ethereal spidery blooms in the late summer to early fall. The history of this plant is a long one, with many name changes along the way. First recorded in the late 1600s, the plant received its formal description in the early 1700s during the infancy of orchid taxonomy. It was classified as an Epidendrum along with all other known orchids at the time; Carl Linnaeus gave it the name Epidendrum cucullatum, changing it from the previous name, “Satyrium Parasiticum bulbosum, foliis fere gramineis, labio inferiore fimbriato.” Linnaeus’s introduction of the binomial system—the use of two names to categorize all living things—created a brilliant simplification of the natural world. As knowledge of the orchid flora of the world expanded, Brassavola cucullata later became the founding member of its genus, named after an Italian dignitary and physician.

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Plate 9 Brassia Edvah Loo ‘Nishida’

Plate 10 Brassolaeliocattleya Ports of Paradise ‘Emerald Isle’

(B. longissima × B. gireoudiana) Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Epiphytic herb with shoots to 18 in. (45 cm) tall, ​flower to 16 in. (40 cm) long from petal tips to sepal tips

(Blc. Fortune × Rhyncholaelia digbyana) Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Epiphytic herb with shoots to 18 in. (45 cm) tall, ​flower to 6 in. (15 cm) across

Brassia is a genus of orchids native from southern Florida through the Caribbean into South America. The species are characterized by inflorescences of many large, spidery flowers, sometimes with individual sepals reaching nearly a foot (30 cm) in length. The flowers are produced in the summer months, and the plants are popular among orchid collectors for their unusual and graceful blooms. Brassias are pollinated by female wasps that hunt and immobilize spiders to provide food for their young. The orchid has taken advantage of this behavior by evolving flowers that mimic spiders; when attempting to catch and sting this “prey,” the wasp inadvertently pollinates the orchid bloom. Brassia Edvah Loo ‘Nishida’ is a remarkable hybrid that combines the long petals of Brassia longissima and the stature of Brassia gireoudiana to make a vigorous plant with flowers much larger and showier than in either species.

Plate 11 Brassolaeliocattleya Sanyung Ruby ‘Guanlong’ (Blc. Waianae Coast × Blc. Chia Lin) Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Epiphytic herb with shoots to 18 in. (45 cm) tall, ​flower to 7 in. (18 cm) across In the early part of the twentieth century, most of the world’s hybridizing in the genus Cattleya was performed in the United States at historic firms such as Lager and Hurrell, H. Patterson and Sons, and Armacost and Royston. As the global popularity of Cattley a as a potted plant and cut flower grew, interest in hybridization of this group of orchids increased throughout the world as well. Today Taiwan has become one of the great centers of orchid hybridization, and active breeding on all types of orchids occurs there. A ­descendent of Blc. Oconee ‘Mendenhall’, one of the great American Cattleya hybrids, Blc. Sanyung Ruby ‘Guanlong’ is considered to be one of the finest examples of modern red Cattleya breeding.

Brassolaeliocattleya is a three-genus hybrid of Brassavola, Laelia, and Cattleya; it is often abbreviated as “Blc.” Many orchid hybridizers have worked to produce standard Cattleya blooms with a green color. Several species in the genus Cattleya and related genera have been used to achieve this elusive result. Perhaps the most successful species used to produce green Cattleya hybrids is the related Rhyncholaelia digbyana, with its large, true green, Cattleya-like flowers bearing a heavily fringed lip. The hybrid Blc. Ports of Paradise was created by pairing the green-flowered Rhyncholaelia digbyana with the famed golden-yellow breeder Blc. Fortune. The result successfully produced a portion of offspring that captured the desired green color; the individual clone ‘Emerald Isle’ was selected for its superior form, intense green color, and all of the powerful citrus fragrance of its Rhyncholaelia parent.

Plate 12 Bulbophyllum carunculatum Garay, Hamer & Siegerist Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Philippines Epiphytic herb with shoots to 16 in. (40 cm) long, ​flower to 3 in. (7.5 cm) long The genus Bulbophyllum is one of the largest genera of orchids known. Species are found throughout the tropics of the world on all continents. Among them are some of the smallest orchids in the world, such as Bulbophyllum minutissimum, which has pseudobulbs only a few millimeters in diameter and flowers no larger than the head of a pin. The range of flower form and appearance in the genus encompasses a veritable menagerie of shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns, and many of the flowers are covered in spots, hairs, and warts. Species frequently have an unpleasant fragrance, such as Bulbophyllum beccarii, the odor of which has been likened to a herd of dead elephants. Bulbophyllum carunculatum is a member of a group of species in the section Lepidorhiza native to the Philippines. The large, golden-yellow flowers are produced successively over many months.

The plant attracts the flies that pollinate its blooms by means of an unpleasant odor and its motile, black bobbing lip.

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Plate 13 Cattleya mooreana Withner, Allison & A. Guenard Moore’s Cattleya Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Peru Epiphytic herb to 14½ in. (37 cm) tall, ​flower to 2 in. (4.5 cm) across Cattleya mooreana is a member of a group of closely related, smaller, yellow-flowered species, including Cattleya iricolor and Cattleya luteola, all found in the Peruvian Andes. The species was named for Lee Moore, a well-known orchid collector who has traveled widely and collected in Peru. The plants are found on large trees in wet mountain forests, often near rivers. The orchids produce a small flower with narrow, light green petals and burgundy markings on the lip. The description and naming of this species was stalled, because after the original specimen flowered, the plant was unable to be preserved by Carl Withner, a famed authority on the Cattleya alliance. In his possession was only a photograph to prove its existence, and he was unable to formally describe the species. It took over twenty years for another plant to be found, taken into cultivation, and brought to flower, so the species could be named for the orchid collector who first found it in Peru.

Plate 15 Cirrhopetalum Elizabeth Ann ‘Jean’ (C. longissimum × C. rothschildianum) Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Epiphytic herb to 7 in. (18 cm) tall, ​flower to 9 in. (23 cm) long Within the Bulbophyllum alliance, a group of closely related orchid genera, there are a staggering number of naturally occurring species. One such group, often separated into its own genus, is Cirrhopetalum, primarily from Asia and the Pacific. Surprisingly, for such a large and diverse group of ornamental orchids, there have been very few man-made hybrids created with these species, because hybridizers have chosen to focus their efforts on the large, showy blooms of Cattleya or Phalaenopsis. One of the few, but extremely successful, Cirrhopetalum hybrids, Elizabeth Ann is a hybrid of what are considered two of the showiest species in the genus, Cirrhopetalum longissimum and rothschildianum.

The result is a colorful and floriferous hybrid intermediate between the parent species that has now become a favorite in orchid collections around the world.

Plate 14 Cattleya mossiae var. coerulea Cogn.

Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Venezuela Epiphytic herb to 18 in. (45 cm) tall, ​flower to 8 in. (20 cm) across Cattleya mossiae is considered by many to be the most spectacular orchid of its genus.

The species is often called the Easter orchid, because its peak flowering is spring, and it is prized in its native Venezuela as the flor de Mayo (flower of May). It is no surprise that the plant caused a sensation when it first flowered in cultivation in the collection of a Mrs. Moss in England in 1836, producing its characteristic enormous lavender blooms, which can reach over eight inches (20 cm) across. Shortly afterward, the plant was collected en masse and exported to Europe to satisfy the demand for it. Victorian collectors describe scenes in which nearly the entire canopy of large forest trees was obscured by blooms of Cattleya mossiae. This orchid and its resulting hybrids were the foundation for the orchid cut-flower industry that flourished in the mid-1900s. The so-called coerulea (also caerulea), or blue-flowered, forms of Cattleya species are rarely found in nature and are highly prized and sought after by orchid collectors.

Plate 16 Cleisocentron merrillianum (Ames) Christenson Orchidaceae, Orchid Family Borneo Epiphytic herb to 6 ft. (2 m) long, ​flower about ½ in.

(1 cm) across The tropical island of Borneo has long been known to biologists for its tremendous biodiversity. In addition to bizarre climbing pitcher plants (Nepenthes) and tropical rhododendrons, the more than fifteen thousand flowering plants include an incredible orchid flora. Many of the species that exist there are endemic to the island, including the beautiful Cleisocentron merrillianum. Long known to science but a rarity in cultivation outside of its native range, this species is an unusual member of the Vanda alliance of orchids, with striking two-inch (5 cm) clusters of sparkling blue flowers—a color rarely encountered in the orchid kingdom. The long, hanging stems bear grasslike leaves and are dotted with the clusters of unusual-colored flowers, each with a small nectar spur containing a droplet of nectar to reward an unknown pollinator.

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“With Botanica Magnifica, Jonathan Singer has captured some of the world’s most endangered flowers in remarkable detail and in a light that evokes the paintings of great Dutch masters. This magnificent work draws attention to the need for protecting its subjects and the ecosystems in which they grow. As a force for conservation, it belongs in the same category as the picture book that inspired it— John James Audubon’s Birds of America.”

—David Seideman, Editor-in-Chief, Audubon Magazine

nature /photography

Portraits of the World’s Most Extraordinary Flowers & Plants

Singer

A bo u t the Photographer and Authors

Kress

p h oto © j an p re s s

“A marriage of art and science” — ­ CBS News Sunday Morning

Jonathan M. Singer’s double-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica is kept in the Cullman Rare Book Room at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Dr. Singer is a Contributing Photographer to the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. He was named a Hasselblad Laureate Award winner based on his “major contribution to fine art photography and to our perception and appreciation of the botanical world.”

W. John Kress is a Curator of Botany and Research Scientist at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution. He is the author of ­Abbeville’s The Weeping Goldsmith: Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar, and co-author of A Checklist of the Trees, Shrubs, Herbs, and Climbers of Myanmar and Plant Conservation: A Natural History Approach. He has also written many scholarly articles on botany.

Photographs by Jonathan Singer Text by W. John Kress and Marc Hachadourian

B

Hachadourian

Portraits of the World’s Most Extraordinary Flowers & Plants

Marc Hachadourian is the Curator of Glasshouse Collections at the New York Botanical Garden. With over fifteen years of commercial and specialist horticultural experience, he supervises the care of the botanical collections and exhibition crops in the greenhouses. He specializes in orchids, aquatics, bulbs, and alpines and is particularly interested in public awareness of global plant conservation and the appreciation of plant biodiversity.

A lso available from Abbeville Press

Audubon’s Birds of America

The National Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio Text by Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson ISBN 978-1-55859-128-8 • $185.00

The Weeping Goldsmith

Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar

By W. John Kress ISBN 978-0-7892-1032-6 • $45.00

Wonders of the Indian Wilderness

Photographs by

By Erach Bharucha ISBN 978-0-7892-0999-3 • $185.00

Jonathan M. Singer

Abbeville Press 137 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 1-800-A r t bo ok (in U.S. only) Available wherever fine books are sold Visit us at www.abbeville.com

Text by

Printed in China

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W. John Kress Marc Hachadourian

otanica Magnifica features two hundred and fiftyone stunning photographs by Hasselblad Laureate Award winner Jonathan Singer, representing—in the words of an ARTnews critic—rare or exotic plants and flowers “in large scale and exquisite detail, emerging from the shadows in a manner evocative of Old Master paintings.”

Inspired by the work of the great botanical artists who came before him, Dr. Singer has developed a style of modern digital photography that possesses both the clarity and the artistry of traditional botanical illustration; through the lens of his camera, he captures not only a plant’s physical form, but its essence as well.

Indeed, many of these portraits reveal the delicate structures of the plants at a level of detail unachievable with brush and paint, giving us an entirely new appreciation of the complexity and individuality of these living beings.

The original edition of Botanica Magnifica, consisting of five lavishly hand-bound volumes, was limited to just ten copies, the first of which was recently donated to the Smithsonian Institution. The extra-large “doubleelephant” format of that edition was chosen in ­homage to the famous double-elephant folio of The Birds of America, and indeed, Botanica Magnifica is one of the few photographic works of natural history ever to rival Audubon’s magnum opus in its scope and artistry. In praise of the double-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica, the Smithsonian’s Chairman of Botany declared, “Everyone who has seen the photographs . . . has been tremendously impressed with the power, scale, and depth of the work.”

Now Dr. Singer’s remarkable images are available to the public for the first time in this baby-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica. Like the larger edition, this volume is organized into five sections: (I) Orchidaceae, presenting the full diversity of orchids, one of the largest and most exquisite families of flowering plants; (II) Florilegium, portraying the complexity and beauty of flowers, which are masterpieces of evolution; (III) Proteus, named for the shape-changing sea god of Greek mythology, because it illustrates plant forms perfectly adapted for ­survival; (IV) Zingiberaceae, a tribute to the ginger family, whose members include both common tropical plants and rarities threatened with extinction; and (V) Botanicus, a selection of beautiful and bizarre specimens from the renowned botanical research collection of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian. The plants pictured in each section of Botanica Magnifica are largely ordered alphabetically by scientific name, and each one is accompanied by a clear and accessible description of its botany, geography, folklore, history, and conservation. Furthermore, each of the five sections is introduced by a gatefold page that displays one exceptional plant at a luxurious size.

With its marvelous reproductions and fascinating text, the baby-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica is one of the most impressive volumes of natural history photography ever published. Its creators hope that it will foster a greater awareness of the plant kingdom, and of the pressing need to preserve vanishing plant species.

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