September 30, 2012

The Year of the Gasteranthus

We saw them in Seattle, and now in Delaware: Gasteranthus species.

You may have wondered about the big glass "jars" in yesterday's photo -- the plants with yellow flowers. That collection of Gasteranthus species was awarded Best Gesneriad in Show at the Mid Atlantic Regional. Exhibited by Nancy Kast, the judges' comments included "wow" and "incredible" -- these are beautifully grown and presented examples of five species. The judges also noted how well the collection illustrates the variety in the genus, including size, foliage forms/patterns, and flowers/flowering habit. Score: 96.

Gasteranthus collection

The back row from left to right are Gasteranthus tenellus and atratus. The front row from left to right are Gasteranthus villosus, delphinioides, and bilsaensis. These are species from Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama -- you can look up specifics at the World Checklist of Gesneriaceae. The Clark Lab's Image Library also has many photographs documenting each specie.

More photos of Gasteranthus tenellus:

Gasteranthus tenellus

Gasteranthus tenellus

Gasteranthus tenellus

Gasteranthus atratus:

Gasteranthus atratus

Gasteranthus atratus

Gasteranthus villosus:

Gasteranthus villosus

Gasteranthus villosus

September 29, 2012

Day One in Delaware

Day One of the Mid Atlantic Regional Gesneriad Show, Sale and Symposium was all about the Show. In the morning, exhibitors arrived and submitted their entries into the Show.  Each entry was placed in the correct Class in accordance with the show schedule.  In the afternoon, teams of judges reviewed each entry -- scoring, commenting, and awarding as appropriate.

This Show includes some stellar examples of the gesneriad family, and is open to the public from 10-4 on Sunday September 30, 2012, at Townsend Hall, 531 South College Avenue, University of Delaware, Newark, DE.

Judges in the show room, scoring and commenting on the entries:

Mid-Atlantic Regional Gesneriad Show

The sales table during setup:

Mid-Atlantic Regional Gesneriad Show

Partial view of the showroom:

showroom

Welcome To The Mid-Atlantic Gesneriad Show

by Kenneth Moore

We're here finishing setting up the first-ever Mid-Atlantic Region Gesneriad Show, Sale, and Symposium. The show, sale, and symposium are open to the public tomorrow--check here for schedule and details. "It looks like it's going to be an awesome show." --overheard from the entries table

September 26, 2012

Mid-Atlantic Regional symposium - September 30, 2012 in Delaware

The first ever Mid-Atlantic Regional Gesneriad Show, Sale & Symposium will take place this weekend in Newark, Delaware.  On Sunday, September 30, 2012, the event is open to the public: entrance to the show and sale are free, but registration is required for the two lectures. 

The event is jointly sponsored by the Delaware African Violet and Gesneriad Society, the National Capital Area Chapter (that's us) and the Liberty Bell Chapter of The Gesneriad Society.  The official announcement and details are on the Delaware African Violet and Gesneriad Society's website.  We would like to thank the staff of the University of Delaware Botanic Gardensfor their assistance in making this event possible.

Gesneriads Across the Globe: An International Family

When: open to the public on Sunday, September 30, 2012
(Show entries and judging take place on Saturday, September 29, 2012)
Location: Townsend Hall, 531 South College Avenue, University of Delaware
Newark, DE
Costs
Registration fee for symposium/lectures is $25.
Show and Sale are free.
Parking fee may apply.
(Exhibitors, volunteers, and judges: see the brochure for additional information. The entry form is here.)

Speakers

Featured Presentation (registration required): Searching for Gesneriads in Cuba
Sunday September 30, 2012, at 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
John L. Clark is an Associate Professor in The University of Alabama's Department of Biological Sciences. His research focuses on the diversification and taxonomy of the flower plant family Gesneriaceae in the New World Tropics. Since 2006, John has participated in eight expeditions to Cuba for ongoing research on the Flora of Cuba Project. His research has facilitated the rediscovery of plants that had not been documented since the 1800s, some of which have been recently introduced into the horticultural community. John will discuss recent taxonomic changes that affected the names of commonly grown Gesneriaceae from the Caribbean. Plan to attend his lecture to learn more about the natural history of Gesneriaceae and the ecosystems where they are native.

Featured Presentation (registration required): Rare and Unusual Gesneriads and How We Grow Them
Sunday September 30, 2012, at 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Bob and Dee Stewart live in Stowe, Massachusetts, where they maintain an extensive collection of exotic gesneriads in their greenhouse. Bob and Dee began growing gesneriads almost 25 years ago, starting on windows, moving to light, then to more elaborate lights, and then to the greenhouse. They grow a wide variety of species, including a lot of epiphytes and cool growers. Bob and Dee have won many awards for
their plants, and lectured on the greenhouse culture of gesneriads at the AGGS 1998 Convention. They have been members of AGGS (now The Gesneriad Society) for over 25 years. They recently constructed a new greenhouse. An informative article and photos of their project appeared in the February 2012 issue of Gleanings (direct link to PDF).


Schedule Details

Saturday, September 29, 2012 - Open to Exhibitors, Judges, Clerks and Volunteers Only
Location: Townsend Hall
8 a.m. - noon:  Entries
9 a.m. - 2 p.m:  Plants Accepted for Plant Sale
Noon - 1 p.m:  Judges/Clerks Luncheon/instructions
1 p.m. -  3 p.m:  Judging
3 p.m. - 5 p.m:  Sales and Shop Open to Exhibitors, Judges, Clerks and Volunteers
6:30 - 9:30 p.m:  Awards Dinner at Timothy’s of Newark

Sunday, September 30, 2012 - Open to the Public
Location: Townsend Hall
10 a.m. - 4 p.m:  Show and Sale open
Noon - 1 p.m:  Lunch for registrants
1 p.m. - 2 p.m:  Searching for Gesneriads in Cuba, a presentation by Dr. John L. Clark
2 - 2:30 p.m:  Break with Refreshments
2:30 - 3:30 p.m:  Rare and Unusual Gesneriads and How We Grow Them a presentation by Bob and Dee Stewart
4-5:30 p.m:  Dismantle Show

For more information, directions, registration form, etc., check out the brochure on the DAVS website

September 5, 2012

micro miniature Sinningia

I've posted this photo before, and I'm posting it again because this was such a wonderful exhibit. This is the educational entry by Irene Sobotincic at the 2011 Convention. At least, this is part of it - I didn't get a photo of the accompanying text. This case contains Sinningia muscicola, pusilla 'White Sprite', pusilla, concinna, 'Star Eyes', 'Bright Eyes', 'Little Wood Nymph' and 'Little Tiger'.

Educational display on miniature Sinningia

I wonder how many of each she was growing in order to ensure blooming plants for the Convention?

September 3, 2012

so very white...

Addendum: Digging back through my incomplete records, I believe these are F3 (or F4) from seeds obtained in circa 2003 from a plant shared via the National Capital Area Chapter (probably by John B.). All the flowers I've seen from this line up until these few have been pale pink/lavender. However, it seems pale/almost-white flowers are not that unusual, and Kartuz lists S. muscicola with a mostly-white flower and the description: "White flowers flushed light purple."

~ ~ ~

Three of my Sinningia muscicola (formerly known as sp. 'Rio das Pedras') are blooming with the whitest flowers I've ever seen on this species.  By the time I grabbed a camera the flowers had fallen, so here they are lying on the foliage.

odd blooming muscicola

odd blooming muscicola

These are seed grown, either from seed from my plants or from plants open-pollinated in a greenhouse.  I don't have any of the other plants from that round of seed-sowing so I can't compare with their siblings. So what do I have here?  Species or hybrid?