Named in honour of Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, Calathea burle-marxii was scientifically named and described in 1982 by an Honorary Research Associate of UBC, Dr. Helen Kennedy. At the time, Dr. Kennedy was at the University of Manitoba. This would mean that while she was working on publishing this, about one hundred kilometres away I was a child playing in forests and ponds. Thirty-four years later, I photograph plants of the species at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, and a year beyond that, I learn that the species was named by Dr. Kennedy while writing this entry.
Calathea burle-marxii is native to southeastern Brazil. This species had been in cultivation for at least a decade before being named by Dr. Kennedy (see: Kennedy, H. Calathea burle-marxii and Ctenanthe burle-marxii (Marantaceae): two new cultivated species from Brazil. Canadian Journal of Botany. 1982. 60(11): 2365-2370, 10.1139/b82-289 ). In fact, this is one of the relatively rare instances where the species is named and described from cultivated material rather than plants from the wild. In the horticultural trade, the plants from today’s photographs may be sold under the cultivar name ‘Blue Ice’ or ‘Ice Blue’. These cultivar names were established before the naming of the species, so it becomes a bit of a taxonomic decision-making to determine whether these horticulturally-named kinds are within the normal range of the species variation or something distinct and/or special. The cultivars originate from the artificial self-fertilization of plants, which could possibly be a common occurrence in natural populations.
In cultivation, this requires shady environments in tropical climates. You can read more about the species from Hawaiian Plants and Tropical Flowers: Calathea burle-marxii and the Flora and Fauna blog: Calathea burle-marxii.
I took a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii last summer and top of my to do, was to visit Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. I took my sister and my mother and we had a wonderful time. The garden is located just outside of Hilo and is worth every penny. Mahalo for sharing the image of Calathea burle-marxii
Thank you Daniel! Wonderful to have you back … i still remember your indian paintbursh photo displayed at the UW Miller Library. Great that you have so many fans!
So good to see this long lost UBC Botanical Garden site back up and running again.
I am sure plant enthusiasts around the globe will be delighted.
Well done Daniel
Ditto. It was like a late Christmas present to see the link in my inbox.
Daniel, It is wonderful to have you back.
So glad to have you and the lovely photos and write-ups back!
Welcome back!
Daniel,
Receiving your email made my day! So happy to have you back!!
A welcome return.
Ah! You have made my day! I’m so glad you’re back! You were missed by me, and many biology students!
A treasure each day! Thank you!
I’m so glad you are back ! I missed you awfully.
Hurrah! Daniel and Botany Photo of the Day have returned.
Wow! We’ve missed you, and your discoveries – I’ll pass on the news to friends at the San Francisco Botanical Garden!
Yay! You’re back! And…is there some way for us to post a pic? I was at that same garden in 2012. Wonderful to stroll around and see the many heliconias, gingers, bromeliads, et. al. And a view of the ocean!
Yes, you should be able to post attachments now.
Okay here we go…Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, 2012
Hwi Trop Bot Gdn, Hilo 2012
OK one more….blue ginger!
Missed you and your posts….. your photos and posts are a welcome counterpoint to the chaos. Somewhere there is beauty and order in the world.
When something disappears, it’s often then we discover how much it was valued.
Welcome back and thanks so much for enlightening me on the wonderful
Kingdom of Plants.
Yay!
Thank you for the touch of the tropics in the mid-winter! Good to see you back.
Horray and welcome back! you are making things great again (in the right way!)
What a wonderful surprise to see this in my inbox. Realize that life gets in the way sometimes but so glad to see beautiful and interesting pictures again. So glad you posted.
Oh, this just makes my day! Possibly my month. Thanks for coming back
Thanks:Botany Photo of the day! I had missed it. I enter the featured species name (in hand writing) intoa notebook with my
own comments of familiarity of the pla nt and what I am learning about it.
BOTANY always wins for me including lichens and fungi.
Sincerely A L I C E Jensen. from Middle TN
Happy to see these beautiful plant photos again. They always make me smile. Thanks!
Oui, c’est un grand plaisir de vous retrouver et voir ces photos magnifiques. merci
So good to get your email after so long! Welcome back!
Excellent! BPD is back, my mornings will be enhanced!
Missed this so much!
Thank you! You have been missed.
Thank you, Daniel Mosquin!
You were missed by me, too. It was wunderful to see this new entry, And I hope they will again accompany me day after day.
What a lovely surprise to have BPotD back in my inbox! Welcome back! Thank you for the work you do to share your love of plants with those of us who feel the same.
Sue V Yea! You are back!
THANK YOU!
I agree with everyone who loves getting these emails again 🙂
Hooray, you’re back! Will look forward to a daily plant geek input…
Daniel! Wherever you have been and whatever the reasons for your absence, WELCOME most truly back!
I was so thrilled to see this email, this morning!! I work with someone who will be visiting the Botanical Garden, in a couple of weeks! Your plants and info, make my day!
“Welcome back!”
I was happy to see this post today. I have missed them also. Thank you.
Grateful for your return that never fails to brighten my day, and to join in welcoming you back with the appreciative community of the Friends of BPotD. Shouting out to you from Sudbury Ontario.
Max
What a welcome surprise on a gray winter day. Thank you!
Welcome back, Daniel! I have missed you.
Wonderful to see this entry – I’ve missed BPOTD – Thank you!
So pleased to see you back again. I thought you might be lost for good.
Your post really brightened the day!
When I retired from my university position I thought that I was somehow automatically removed from your list. I am so pleased to see that I can expect more beautiful images of plants from around the world in my in-box. Keep up the good work.
like seeing an old friend ..nice surprise.
Absolutely delighted to have you back! This just made my day.
So happy so see this in my inbox!
Daniel! Thank you so very much for the wonderful surprise of seeing your emails in my in-box yesterday. Then it happened again today! You remind me why I started in botany so many decades ago, and that beauty is still ours if we will only look. This truly gladdens my heart.
What a joy to see these wonderful plants again. You have quite the fan club! We have missed you indeed.
We have missed you. I feel as though I just discovered a lost treasure!
A most welcome email today! Thought I missed a step and lost you. Thank you and welcome home!
Huzzah! I agree with all of the other happy replies
Wonderful to see BOTD again! Thanks Daniel et al.
Thank you for coming back. I have missed Botany photo of the day, so much.
Welcome back, it’s great to see BPOTD pop up again…Thank you!
So pleased to see your email. Glad you are back Daniel!
Welcome back!
It’s SO nice to receive these posts again. Thank you Daniel!
so excited to see this site all of a sudden pop up again! made my day!
I was delighted to see Botany Photo of the Day in my inbox again! Thank you!!
It’s great to have BPOD again, and it’s great to see so many comments in support! The photos and write-ups are a most welcome reminder that the real world is outside waiting for us to appreciate it. Thanks to everyone who has helped bring BPOD back.
Wonderful to have this back in my inbox again. Thank you for all you do.
So happy to have you back. In these parlous times, it is good to regroup, reground and rejoice in the natural world, so beautifully presented here.
Oh, yes, welcome back, Botany PoTD! Have missed the pictures, write-ups, and comments. Thank you!
I can only echo the myriad of replies above mine and say THANK YOU for bringing back BotanyPOTD. It made my day to turn on my work computer and see the familiar name in my inbox. In this crazy world I find such solace in the beauty of our earth’s amazing flora.
So happy to see Botany Photo of the Day after a long gap.Thank you !!!