Last weekend I went to San Francisco for the annual PSI conference. The president of the PSI asked that I write a review, so here it is with my personal pictures.
Annual Passiflora Society Meeting: 7 – 9 August 2015
San Francisco, California, USA
Although I’ve visited the San
Francisco Botanical Garden, also known as Strybing, in Golden Gate Park before
the 2015 annual society meeting and met in person a few of the most active and
friendly members in the Passiflora Society, International, I wasn’t prepared
for the fervor or generosity with which the collected members would share their
knowledge, experiences, and not least of all, plants at the annual meeting. A little
less than 50 individuals from North and South America united in San Francisco
to engage in some of the most specific, scientific, and terrific fun that I can
imagine a group of Passiflora enthusiasts having.
Not knowing what to expect and
being quite anxious to start the weekend early on a Friday, I was one of the
first to show up at the gates to Strybing. There, the President and Treasurer
of the PSI, Eric Wortman and Crystal Stone respectively, met me with open arms
and a name tag. We chatted briefly about who was expected, travel woes, and all
sorts of other general hob-knobbing while others homed in on the garden. I was
informed that the fantastic sunny and warm weather I was enjoying was somewhat
anomalous for San Francisco in August. It was a herald of the exuberant time
that I would experience all weekend long.
As soon as all were gathered, we
began our tour of the grounds. Eric and Crystal had performed two complete
walk-throughs the prior day to ensure that we wouldn’t miss a single Passiflora
plant on the grounds. And, we didn’t. We followed the curator, Don Mahoney,
dutifully from fence to fence gawking at the P. membranacea plants hanging like
little purple and white lantern-hewn strings 75 feet high in the trees; snapped
photos of common but very healthy and sprawling examples of P. x violacea
‘Eynsford Gem’, P. manicata, P. loefgrenii x P. caerulea, P. matthewsii ‘alba’,
P. actinia; and marveled with near reverence at P. parritae which was waning
with blooms, but still a rare treat for most of us.
It had been arranged with the kind
and very generous Carlos Rendon that we would have an exclusive Passiflora sale
near the end of our touring. I liken him to the famous pop culture icon Bob
Ross, who painted landscapes on American public access television for many
years and who seemed like your favorite uncle when he spoke softly to the
camera. After walking through the open ground nursery plot, we were all respectfully
clamoring to see what jewels Carlos had to share with us. There were many species
and hybrids like P. antioquiensis, P. ‘Mission Dolores’, P. macropoda, P.
gritensis, P. umbilicata, and not the least of all, P. parritae. Our horde
delighted over all the potential additions to our collections, and everyone
that came to purchase these left with a box full of happy little plants. The
ever perky Elizabeth Peters (Grassy Knoll) and genial Jim Nevers
(Passiflorista) were in our company, so one might expect these to be available
for purchase through their shops in the not too distant future.
With the day warming up, and
coming down from our Black Friday-like shopping spree, we ambled back toward
the front gate for some pizza and conversation. All fed; it was time to
disperse into the local shopping district and do some sight-seeing. Saturday would
have much more in store for us, and all of the PSI annual meeting greenhorns,
including myself, couldn’t appreciate all that it would entail.
The second day of the conference
was held in a hotel proximal to the SFO airport where many of us were staying
for the weekend. “Passiflora” was displayed on the lobby sign indicating that
the Presidential Hall was ours. Indeed, we made it our personal garden away
from home. Eric and Crystal would begin our day. First, we heard Eric’s
retelling of a piece that he had written years prior on all of the characters
that he had encountered at a PSI meeting. Many of whom were present in the room
once again. Each person was recalled fondly and with their proper quirks. We
also learned about the state of the PSI and the size of its membership.
Although the premium membership totaled only about 80, the free members equaled
more than 700. Many of the latter group patronize the seed bank, which we were
told was a significant contributor to the financial health of the PSI. In the 6
years since Eric and Crystal began their tenure, the PSI has doubled its
holdings to approximately $8k. In addition to the seed bank, the various cost
cutting and digital publications that were spearheaded have reduced operating
costs, thus putting the PSI further in the black. The questions were raised to
the audience: in what conservation efforts might the PSI begin to undertake?
And, who might lead them? They were questions without answers.
After the Sunday kickoff, we
heard from Dr. John MacDougal on the revisions to the taxonomic structure of the
Decaloba subgenus. Although I am not particularly enthralled by this subgenus,
I was transfixed by the amount of work that he and his team have invested in
the herbarium research, genetic analyses, and algorithm exercises that have
contributed significantly to our collective understanding of 300 species of
Passiflora. In addition, we saw excellent comparisons of the similar and often
confused species, examined the subgenus taxonomic tree with it various
confidence values based on a four gene evaluation, and marveled at some
recently discovered species including one that has morphology similar to a
grass! We were reminded of the monstrous
leaf diversity within Passiflora including the curiosities that are the egg
mimics. When I first became involved in the scene of Passiflora, it was John
MacDougal and the Ulmer’s book “Passiflora, Passionflowers of the World” that
largely guided my research, so meeting John and hearing his lecture were a
particular treat for me.
With the conclusion of the
extensive Q & A session that followed John’s lecture, we were able to
purchase tickets for the raffle. This resulted in many highly contested donated
items whose sources were identified and applauded. The items included P.
antioquiensis and P. gracilis seeds donated by Dave Hermeyer and Eric/Crystal
respectively, a large and healthy P. ‘Mission Dolores’ plant from Strybing, a
bottle of wine with a passion flower on the label from Eric and Crystal,
extended premium PSI memberships, gift certificates to Grassy Knoll and
Passiflorista, and perhaps the most sought after: a large P. caerulea print
brilliantly painted by attendee and scientific illustrator, Mattias Lanas. The
trading began during this first break, but continued throughout the day.
However, to call it “trading” is somewhat of a misnomer as it generally
resulted in many cuttings and seeds being offered freely. I found myself loaded
down as if I were going to build a primitive shelter of vines and sow my own
fields for sustenance. This attitude exhibited by the group was nothing short
of pure generosity resulting from a sense of community and pure enthusiasm for
the genus.
We resumed the presentations with
Hal Love’s excellent discussion on polyploidy and genetics. I had only a
cursory knowledge in this arena and was again riveted while learning about the
motivation and various chemicals used to produce tetraploids, the effects of
crossing tets with diploids and the various potential results found in their
progeny (or lack thereof), and the message to “try everything” because
sometimes conventional logic only extends so far. I enjoyed the photographic
examples of various crossings using P. incarnata and its many hybrids which
effectively illustrated Hal’s genetic lessons.
The rest of the afternoon was a
blur of plant and seed trading sessions, presentations on the personal collections
in Chile given by Mariana Acuna-Retemar and Jim Nevers’ slideshow of
Passiflorista’s offerings; Jorge Ochoa’s South American Passiflora hunting
expeditions and fruit tastings delivered at great speed; Dr. Shawn Mattison’s
game which pitted each side of the room against the other to guess the parentage
of some newly registered hybrids.
Embedded in these were workshops
which taught grafting, rooting, and generation of inexpensive rooting gel. The
grafting workshops were taught by Crystal and Kevin Pryzbyla. Many rootstocks
of P. ‘Betty Myles Young’ were donated along with ample cuttings from Rick and
Michelle McCain for grafting and rooting. Two similar methods for grafting were
demonstrated, and each person that participated went back for seconds or thirds
with ample materials available at the end. I overhead many people say that they
would be practicing immediately once they returned home. Randy Story taught a
rooting workshop with a bucket of wet perlite, some powered hormone, packing
tape, and a few transparent drinking cups. Being one that generally uses an
aeroponic propagator, I was anxious to learn all of his tips and tricks for all
of the species that I have a difficult time with in the cloner. Finally, Tim Skimina
showed us how to create a batch of relatively inexpensive rooting gel using a
liquid hormone, water, and hair gel!
As the second day wound down, the
final tickets for the remaining raffle items were drawn. The last was the
botanical print of P. caerulea. A ticket was pulled from the ballot box, the
number read, and John MacDougal jumped to his feet exclaiming “Yes!” to
everyone’s simultaneous dismay and pleasure. Without realizing it, I had become
very tired. The travels, the walking in the gardens of Strybing, and the
unblinking attention devoted to the excellent program arranged for us had
drained me. It was time to refill at the restaurant and bar inside the hotel
with my current and new friends until we all agreed that it was late enough to
succumb to the sandman.
With the formal events concluded,
some of the attendees returned home or continued their vacations elsewhere.
Others elected to meet at the University of California at Berkeley Botanical
Garden. There, Shawn Mattison and the lovely volunteers at UCBG; Carolyn
Edmunds, Mary Yoder, and Patti Morrison; who had been with us for the prior two
days, showed us the garden grounds and located all of the Passiflora growing
there. Again, generously several cuttings were offe
red of P. manicata and P.
trisecta and potted Passiflora were available for sale. The mood on this third
day was that of relaxation; having gorged ourselves on both plants and
information offered on Friday and Saturday. After our tour, more of us departed
for home, including me, while others continued to Annie’s Annuals.
The whole weekend had
reinvigorated my zeal for these plants. I was anxious to return home with my
new additions, try out some of the techniques I had learned at the workshops,
and tell my “normal” friends about the pilgrimage that I had just made. Only
the Passiflora people would really understand the mania and community we
experience at the annual meeting, so I feared that I would founder in trying to
relay the experience. But, Mattias Lanas had adeptly noted that the whole event
was like Comic Con for Passiflora, and that’s now how I describe the annual
meeting to those who are curious enough to ask about my entanglement in
Passiflora.
One thing that I do not believe I
can accurately relate in this account is the monumental effort that both Eric
and Crystal impart on the annual meeting and in general on behalf of the PSI on
a frequent basis. I do think the majority of the active members appreciate
their devotion and commitment to the non-profit, but I would like to take the
opportunity to encourage all members of the PSI to demonstrate their
appreciation for Eric and Crystal’s efforts. Certainly public or private words
are appropriate, but becoming actively and regularly involved in the PSI is a
greater display of gratitude. Please consider donating your skills and time and
as always your articles and seeds. It’s true that without the members the PSI
does not exist, but consider that without devotion of its leadership it will
also dissolve and so may too many of the opportunities that the PSI provides.
P. suberosa at University of California at Berkeley Botanical Garden
P. manicata at Strybing
P. mathewsii at Strybing
P. membranacea at Strybing
P. membranacea at Strybing
P. parritae at Strybing
P. loefgrenii x P. caerulea at Strybing
P. actinia at Strybing
P. x violacea 'Eynsford Gem' at Strybing
