Pretty Thickstem. Pelargonium crassicaule, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
In the service of the famous Kew Gardens were, of course, many botanists and horticulturalists, many of whom traveled and collected plants 'round the Globe. But also engaged were non-academic collectors who often were sent on hazardous expeditions on behalf of Dame Flora. Such a one was Anton Pantalaeon Hove (or: Hoveau) (fl.1785-1829) of Poland. He'd been the only applicant for an advertised job to find plants in India.
On his way there Hove collected wherever his ship made landfall. And so in 1786 on the northern coast of what today is Namibia (at Angra Fria, just below the Angolan border; that place has not infrequently been conflated with the Bay of Angra on the Azores) Hove found 17 Pelargoniums. Of those 17 only three - among which Our Plant - survived the voyage back to Kew.
It is said to flower in July - if that's July in Namibia it's the chilly season, and it would seem fitting for it to blossom here in Amsterdam just now...
Pretty Thickstem. Pelargonium crassicaule, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
In the service of the famous Kew Gardens were, of course, many botanists and horticulturalists, many of whom traveled and collected plants 'round the Globe. But also engaged were non-academic collectors who often were sent on hazardous expeditions on behalf of Dame Flora. Such a one was Anton Pantalaeon Hove (or: Hoveau) (fl.1785-1829) of Poland. He'd been the only applicant for an advertised job to find plants in India.
On his way there Hove collected wherever his ship made landfall. And so in 1786 on the northern coast of what today is Namibia (at Angra Fria, just below the Angolan border; that place has not infrequently been conflated with the Bay of Angra on the Azores) Hove found 17 Pelargoniums. Of those 17 only three - among which Our Plant - survived the voyage back to Kew.
It is said to flower in July - if that's July in Namibia it's the chilly season, and it would seem fitting for it to blossom here in Amsterdam just now...