Natural Meeting. Heliconius charithonia, Zebra Longwing, on Egyptian Starcluster, Pentas lanceolota, Butterfly House, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam
It's hard for us today to imagine that Yemen - country of horrible modern bloodshed - down through millennia until relatively recently was called Arabia Felix, l'Arabie heureuse, Blessed Arabia. Yet it was remote and exploratory voyages were first made relatively late. Albert Deflers (1841-1921), French botanist living in Egypt after 1881, in his exciting Voyage au Yemen (1889) in which he gives an account of his collecting excursion to Yemen in 1887 prefaces it with a discussion of earlier voyages of naturalist discovery. The first is the Danish expedition fitted out and financed by kings Frederick V and Christian VII in 1761-1764, to which he gives much attention.
The naturalist member of that expedition was Peter Forsskål (1732-1763), and he gave a first description of Pentas lanceolota under the marvelous name 'Ophiorrhiza lanceolota'. He'd seen it in the mountains of Al Hadie, southwest of Sana'a. Deflers for a number of reasons changed the name to Pentas lanceolota; mentioning Forsskål's finding place, Deflers remarks that he's seen our plant everywhere along the roads of Manakhah in the same general area. Apparently it's not only beautiful but also used by the local populace as an antidote to snake venom (at least in the times of Forsskål and Deflers).
Zebra Longwing, Heliconius charithonia, hails from the tropical Americas. But it seems to have no problem with Egyptian Starcluster in its natural meeting for succor. Regard that tongue!
Natural Meeting. Heliconius charithonia, Zebra Longwing, on Egyptian Starcluster, Pentas lanceolota, Butterfly House, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam
It's hard for us today to imagine that Yemen - country of horrible modern bloodshed - down through millennia until relatively recently was called Arabia Felix, l'Arabie heureuse, Blessed Arabia. Yet it was remote and exploratory voyages were first made relatively late. Albert Deflers (1841-1921), French botanist living in Egypt after 1881, in his exciting Voyage au Yemen (1889) in which he gives an account of his collecting excursion to Yemen in 1887 prefaces it with a discussion of earlier voyages of naturalist discovery. The first is the Danish expedition fitted out and financed by kings Frederick V and Christian VII in 1761-1764, to which he gives much attention.
The naturalist member of that expedition was Peter Forsskål (1732-1763), and he gave a first description of Pentas lanceolota under the marvelous name 'Ophiorrhiza lanceolota'. He'd seen it in the mountains of Al Hadie, southwest of Sana'a. Deflers for a number of reasons changed the name to Pentas lanceolota; mentioning Forsskål's finding place, Deflers remarks that he's seen our plant everywhere along the roads of Manakhah in the same general area. Apparently it's not only beautiful but also used by the local populace as an antidote to snake venom (at least in the times of Forsskål and Deflers).
Zebra Longwing, Heliconius charithonia, hails from the tropical Americas. But it seems to have no problem with Egyptian Starcluster in its natural meeting for succor. Regard that tongue!