Forgive me if I bark. For weeks I've been receiving email from self proclaimed "Anthurium, Philodendron, and aroid experts" from Indonesia, Europe and the United States who claim my information is bogus and I somehow misquote Dr. Croat and other recognized experts. I verify everything I post on my site in one of four of Dr. Croat's journals or via personal email. I also correspond regularly with botanist Pete Boyce in Singapore, Dr. Gonzalves in Brazil, Dr. Simon Mayo at the Kew, sometimes with Alistair Hay in Australia and others. I am simply very tired of people who have no degree or mastery of the subject telling me these people are "wrong"! My pages are read and verified by one of these honest to goodness experts! Not some nut case who claims to be one! And I do understand the technical scientific terms, and if not, I ask! I have never, ever said I am an aroid or plant expert! I simply read and quote the real experts. I do not make this stuff up and I don't fiddle with their quotes unless my computer finds a misspelled word. I would not wish to embarrass them in print. Now, this is Dr. Croat's direct quote on Anthurium balaoanum versus Anthurium guildingii, Anthurium guildingii "has narrowly cordate blades which are moderately coriaceous and have the collective veins arising from the first basal veins and rather remote from the margins." My words: The technical definition of "cordate" is "the leaf is rather wide and heart-shaped." Coriaceous means resembling leather. Below is a photo showing a collective vein and the exact plant Dr. Croat used for the information to ID my specimen. He even kept a cutting which I assume is in the MOBOT collection somewhere. And this is the link to the page: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Anthurium balaoanum pc.html The plant sample was seen by Dr. Croat and is Anthurium balaoanum. Tom says although it does have moderately leathery leaves, much of the rest of the leaf structure is wrong. (i.e. collective veins arising from the first basal veins) in Anthurium guildingii. The collective vein can be seen in the photo as a thin line running around the leaf blade near the edge of the leaf. You have to have some training to be able to see the details of that one! bvut it is there. As a result, it cannot be A. guildingii. All of this material was taken directly to his office in St. Louis, MO. Every single Anthurium in the world has a collective vein! It along with the geniculum are the two easiest ways to ID an Anthurium as to genus. And by the way to my friends in Indonesia. You certainly have a lot of Anthurium species growing in your country, but not one is native! Not one! The genus is neo-tropical and is only found in Central America, South America and some parts of the Caribbean. Any Anthurium found in Hawaii or any place else in the world was imported! Take that to the bank! It came from the world's top aroid expert! Now, if you have plants you would like an ID for, please send me the photos via email with as much information as to where the photos were taken as possible and as close as posible the size of the plant. I am seeing Tom one week from Friday and will print the photos along with your information and deliver it to him in person. I will respond with only what he says. I am simply very tired of "experts" telling me all these people includign Dr. Croat do not know what they are talking about! These are the top aroid experts in the world! Besides that, there are two people who keep spreading rumors on the internet that I am bogus or sending me blind email calling me an "idiot". What they don't know is I have the ability to track IP numbers via my website. I know the exact cities where both live! If one just happens to be reading this, I don't know who you are, but I do know where the email originates. "
Ok, Ed, we have those ones, but that one in the pic is not one of them. I'll keep my eyes peeled. Steve - no worries. I haven't spoken much English lately and it's grating on me.
I attempt to explain natural variation as it applies to Anthurium angamarcanum and other species here: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=40385 I have elected not to comment on variation within this thread at this time.
According to a personal message from Dr. Croat yesterday, Lorax (Beth) may have located a brand new and yet to be described species of Anthurium! Tom's eyes and ears certainly perked up when I forwarded the photo to his office. She is now in direct contact with Tom and I will certainly allow her to fill in the blanks. But what a wonderful thought to find something no one even knew existed!
And growing in a botanical garden, no less. How unexpected! I'll fill everybody in as I get new info.
