Aung San Suu Kyi, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Abraham Lincoln, and Nelson Mandela have all changed the world in one way or another. And from Cymbidium Margaret Thatcher to Phalaenopsis Aung San Suu Kyi, these leaders have been forever immortalized in the botanical world as well. Having an orchid named … Continue reading
Author Archives: Brandon Tam
Mimosas All Around!
Mimosas all around! No, not the one you drink! The Mimosa I’m talking about is Mimosa pudica, “The Sensitive Plant” that is growing in The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science. Some may refer to this plant as “The Humble Plant” or even as “The Shame Plant” because of … Continue reading
ORCHID COLLECTION | The Star of Bethlehem Discovered!
Astronomers throughout history have searched the skies in hopes of locating the Star of Bethlehem, the famed star of scripture. Meanwhile botanists have found their very own “Star of Bethlehem” among the Orchid family. Angraecum sesquipedale, also known as the Star of Bethlehem to orchid collectors, was first discovered by … Continue reading
ORCHID COLLECTION | An Album of Albums
Finding a rare and endangered plant species in the wild is hard enough. What is even more difficult is spotting an albino form of that flower! By definition, albinism is the absence of any pigmentation or coloration in a person, animal, or plant. For the most part, any living thing … Continue reading
ORCHID COLLECTION | Gotta See ’Em Catasetum
It’s a bird…. It’s a plane…. It’s orchid pollen? Pollen has been flying at the information desk in The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science this past month! Lucky visitors who were in the Conservatory at the right place and at the right time were able to witness the … Continue reading
ORCHID COLLECTION | Orchid See, Orchid Do!
Dracula simia has been monkeying around in the cloud forests of Ecuador and Peru since its discovery to humans in 1978. Despite more than 130 known species of Dracula so far, many more varieties of this genus are yet to come. Dracula simia was first discovered by Carlyle A. Luer, … Continue reading
ORCHID COLLECTION | Demystifying Orchids
The Southland Orchid Show is coming! In an attempt to educate the public on the strange and mysterious side of orchids, the Southland Orchid Show committee has named this year’s show “Orchid Mystique.” From orchid displays to vendors from all around the world, this is a show you do not … Continue reading
ORCHID COLLECTION | Weltz Legacy Still Lives On!
Even though S. Robert Weltz is no longer with us today, he is still receiving awards on his prestigious orchid collection that his family donated after his passing in March 2010. The most recent awards came from the American Orchid Society (AOS) at the 10th Annual Orchid Digest Speaker’s Day … Continue reading
ORCHID COLLECTION | The Huntington visits the San Diego Zoo
Forget the tigers; it is all about the tigrinums. During a visit of Huntington staff and volunteers to the San Diego Zoo in May, the zoo’s Janette Gerrity, senior orchid specialist, and Michael Bostwick, curator of horticulture, donated three Paphiopedilum tigrinum plants to The Huntington. These P. tigrinum plants are not … Continue reading
ORCHID COLLECTION | Making a Bid for a Local Orchid Auction
The San Gabriel Valley Orchid Hobbyists will be hosting their annual auction on Thursday, May 17, at the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden. The Huntington will be donating orchids, including specimens from the recently acquired S. Robert Weltz Orchid Collection. Donations will also come from orchid hobbyists and nurseries … Continue reading