A New Breed of Begonia
Posted in Exhibitions, Science, The Orchid Show on March 1 2012, by Matt Newman
As we near the 10th anniversary opening of the NYBG‘s yearly Orchid Show, we begin looking at the work of French designer Patrick Blanc, the mind behind the elegant and awe-inspiring living architecture being raised for this year’s exhibition. Of course, his efforts in the botanical field extend well beyond the complex aesthetics of his world-famous “green wall” creations. As one of the most renowned plant hunters to have traveled abroad, his global gallivanting yields many an interesting result for the scientific community.
2011 brought with it an important milestone for Dr. Blanc: a plant named in his honor. Previous adventures into the Philippines had yielded rumors of an elusive, undescribed foliage growing in the jungles there, a plant that the local population had no name for. With a team of fellow researchers and a group of field guides, he set off on a journey to the sweltering jungles of the island province of Palawan to locate it, and discovered what was proven to be a begonia. Blanc’s background as a specialist in understory rainforest plants made this a particularly exciting discovery for the group.
Begonia blancii, as it has come to be known since being recognized as a new species, is a small plant in the Begoniaceae family found (in this case) setting its roots along the vertical surfaces of broken rocks. This makes it an epiphyte, as it gathers its moisture and nutrients from the air and the surface of its host structure rather than relying on soil to survive. The leaves of the plants discovered by Blanc and his team ranged in color from green to a near black-brown, with a variegated and mottled pattern appearing on some.
For 2011’s return trip, the good doctor and his colleagues were gracious enough to record their progress as they made their way through the forest to rediscover Begonia blancii. And while the exotic locales in the video below may seem out of reach for many ambitious plant hunters, the NYBG offers myriad opportunities to discover tropical plants here in New York. In conjunction with our tenth annual Orchid Show, visitors are encouraged to join us for the “History and Mystery of Orchids.” Blanc is set to kick off this exclusive series of lectures and workshops in which experts will explore the care, science, and historical significance behind the botanical world’s most admired flower.
The Orchid Show begins March 3. Be sure to reserve your tickets early! You won’t want to miss out on the verdant, climbing walls of lush flowers and foliage that spring from the imagination of Dr. Patrick Blanc.
Video and photograph copyright Patrick Blanc 2011.
