[Aroid-l] Philodendron x evansii/feral Aroids in the U.S.A.

From: ju-bo at msn.com (ju-bo at msn.com) on 2008.07.04 at 13:06:20(18067) ________________________________ > Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 07:43:33 -0700 > From: kalim1998 at yahoo.com > To: aroid-l at gizmoworks.com > Subject: [Aroid-l] Origins of Philodendron x evansii Dear Arlan, Good to see you on aroid-l again! I`m certain that Ron Weeks, Russ Hammer, ESPECIALLY John Banta, and Steve Lucas may be able to add information about the history of this Meconostigma Philodendron hybrid, and of Mr. Bill Evans, it`s creator. We have had several discussions about this Philo. hybrid. It is surmised that Mr. Evans may have used P. bipinnatifidium crossed to P. speciosum as the parents of P. x evansii, but this is not known for certain, it may have been P. mello-barettoanum instead of P. bipinnatifidium. We also do not know which species was used as the seed parent, and which one as the pollen parent. Also bear in mind that what is presently being called P. speciosum just may eventually be determined to consist of several distinct species, as the plants being called P. speciosum certainly present a broad range of sizes and leaf blade shapes! (to me that is!) We do not know which one (if any) of these were used by Mr. Evans. What I can add is that no species of Philodendron has established itself as a feral plant (escaped from cultivation) as a self sustaining species, as the pollinators (small scrab beetles) are not present, so sexual reproduction in the U.S.A. is not known to take place except by hand pollination. There are a few plants of climbing Philodendron sps. I sometimes see on a tree, most appear to have originated from trash thrown out and which somehow survive and climb and multiply vegetativly, but I have never seen a sizable colony of any Philodendron sp. anywhere, and certainly no Meconostigmas. The closest to this is a report I received of a large group of a smaller Meconostigma hybrid which might be a P. corcovadense X P. speciosum or P. paludicola cross. This large group of plants, all from vegetative divisions, was reportedly covering the base of a BIG Cypress tree in W. Florida. I have a plant from this colony, and it likes to scramle and climb (like P. corcovadense), and produces off-shoots quite re adly. A friend also told me of a no-longer existing ''hedge'' in the S. Miami area which consisted of a smaller Meconostigma Philodendron which was seemingly close to this one. Syngonium podophyllum (and possibly other species of Syngonium) have become established as a reproducing feral and invasive pest aroid species in S. Florida, the pollinators of this are PROBABLY fruit flies, and I have collected viable fruit and seed in a lot of areas of S. Florida, and the juicy fruit and large black seeds are probably distributed by native birds. Colocasia sp. and Xanthosoma sp. can be seen as invasive, VERY abundant plants in many areas of Florida, Colocasia more so than Xanthosoma. These colonies are all from vegetative reproduction/spread. All probably originated from discarded food leftovers consisting of peelings thrown out as trash, or plants put out by homeowners. No sexual reproduction/seed production has not been observed in these two genera, though blooms have been observed on both, which might result in seed production at some point. Large feral plants/colonies of Xanthosoma robustum (6'-8'+) might be mistaked for P. x evansii?? The Best, Julius +More >> Hi all, > I am reorganizing the meconostigma site so it has more articles (in english similar to the leafcutter ant site i maintain, because my malay is not deep enough to write very well in that language), and am hoping to put together a post in the meconostigma site about the origins of P. x evansii. > > Here's pics of that plant: > http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/p_x_evansii_1.htm > > Here is what I know, please correct me if i am wrong... > > This hybrid is from P. speciosum and P. bipinnatifidum. > > It was "discovered" or "created" by Bill Evans, one of the major historical figures in Disney history. > > I have heard rumors that this plant has become native in certain areas, which i doubt, but you never know. > > If anyone has anything top add, please chirp in, I'd appreciate it. Thanks...

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