'Cierlijk Boompje'. Lagerstroemia indica, Crape Myrtle, Titiwangsa Park, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This elegant shrub ('elegans arbuscula' in the Latin of the seventh volume of Rumphius's Herbal of 1755 or in the facing Dutch text: 'cierlijk boompje') was brought to great Linnaeus's attention by a director of the Swedish East-Indies Company, Magnus von Lagerström (1696-1759). Linnaeus described it already in 1759, a mere four years after the publication of the enormous herbal written by Rumphius. That collection wasn't published until long after the death of Rumphius (1627-1702) because its contents was regarded as privileged by the Dutch East-Indies Company. So a company secret: the information in it might be used in the competition for spices in the East.
Here in Kuala Lumpur this particular shrub graces the shoreline of Titiwangsa Lake.
'Cierlijk Boompje'. Lagerstroemia indica, Crape Myrtle, Titiwangsa Park, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This elegant shrub ('elegans arbuscula' in the Latin of the seventh volume of Rumphius's Herbal of 1755 or in the facing Dutch text: 'cierlijk boompje') was brought to great Linnaeus's attention by a director of the Swedish East-Indies Company, Magnus von Lagerström (1696-1759). Linnaeus described it already in 1759, a mere four years after the publication of the enormous herbal written by Rumphius. That collection wasn't published until long after the death of Rumphius (1627-1702) because its contents was regarded as privileged by the Dutch East-Indies Company. So a company secret: the information in it might be used in the competition for spices in the East.
Here in Kuala Lumpur this particular shrub graces the shoreline of Titiwangsa Lake.