IAS Show/continuing saga of Croat and Boyce

From: BASSPROF at aol.com on 1997.09.29 at 01:51:40(1351) Hello All, A typical Florida tropical depression didn't phase the aroid crew. Despite previously posted perils, Tom Croat and Peter Boyce showed up in Miami. As usual, Tom, and now Peter good-naturedly identified plants for everyone as we were setting up and on through the sale. My friend Murline Lydon and I have been making this pilgrimage for 5 or 6 years and each time, it is pure pleasure!! The exhibition plants were beautifully grown specimen plants not normally seen outside large botanical gardens. Among the plants for sale were countless species and hybrids that one never sees for sale. The sale was a feeding frenzy!! Saturday, after lunch, Dewey Fisk held an open house at his place. His collection is quite amazing in quantity and quality. There was so much that we'd not seen before--many rare genera and species, also hybrids made by John Banta. There was so much that it was impossible for us to take it all in. Very beautiful!! I hope some of you will one day have a chance to see his collection. +More Sat. night was the banquet/auction. The 50-60 attending enjoyed a wonderful Cuban buffet. Tom introduced Peter Boyce who did a super overview of 3 tribes of Araceae. Peter is a wonderful speaker(and a very nice, down-to-earth person!!) but merely skimmed the surface of his marvelous new book, "The Genera of Araceae". It was selling like hot cakes!! This was Peter and Jill's first visit to the US and they've developed a taste for American biscuits should you have some recipes hanging around. The auction was full of big plants and some big prices!! I came home with a beautiful hybrid made by Julius Boos--Urospatha sagittifolia x U. grandis. Couldn't resist!! It was all great fun and though Murline and I didn't get to bed until 12:30am, we made it to the Aroid-L breakfast at 7:30am, in Coconut Grove. It was such a pleasure to have that time with Tom and Peter and some of those responsible for this marvelous learning-tool we've been given--Don Burns and Dick Mansell. Afterward, Tricia Frank, who has contributed so much to IAS, invited all of us over to her beautiful aroid-heaven. Her lovely home is surrounded by walls of cascading aroids and paths lined with aroids. It's all in rock pit near Fairchild Gardens and is quite remarkable!! I so hope that some of you can make it down next year. It's an exceptional experience for the aroid lover. Well worth the trip!! Lynn Hannon

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