Chaguaramos in Caracas

[David Clulow]

Last week I gave a talk to the Venezuelan Palm Society (Avepalmas) on Adenium Hybrids (a bit off topic, but they also wanted to see some photos of my rarer palms). I had not visited Caracas for some years and took the opportunity to visit the Jardín Botánico. I somehow wished I hadn’t bothered. It was a disaster. Last time I visited, it was neat and tidy, this time it look abandoned. The greenhouses were mostly abandoned, everything dry and dead. However, someone obviously is a bromeliad fan as the bromeliad house was well looked after, but only that one. Weeds in the xerophitic garden were far higher than the plants. I was informed that the effect of our late president’s edict that no one could be sacked after three months work, without paying him or her around some $16,000 US, the some 40 gardeners there spent most of their time taxi driving and just coming in to the garden to collect their wages. Theft is rife, even huge bromeliads which would need a van to transport them have been stolen and no sign of any my rare gifts such as Medemia argun or Tahina spectabilis.

One of the main features of the garden is a grand avenue of Chaguaramos, Roystonea oleraceae. This avenue has had a problem with the leaves being eaten with caterpillars of the rather attractive butterfly Brassolis saphorae which eats most palm leaves but has a special liking for Roystonea sp. The garden used to have a special truck to allow the trees to be sprayed but this has obviously not been done for some time

Here is a photo of some of the tops

See how many of the trees are dying:

Forgive the photo quality, I did not want to take my big camera into Caracas as thefts with pistols are very common - since someone lost 100,000 pistols most of the unemployed youth now seem to have one and their sole occupation is to steal. The camera was new and I didn’t know that it was set, at factory, to the lowest resolution but the photos are understandable.

Edited June 12, 2013 by David Clulow

[realarch]

Sorry to hear of the current condition of the Jardin, a real sad story.

Tim

[bgl]

David,

That's a real shame and I'm so sorry to hear that!

Bo-Göraqn

[Cedric]

What an absolute tragic loss for the people of Caracas.

The catterpillar Brassolis saphorae seem to be eating right into the growth point of those. That would be a disaster if they spread outside of the country. Is brassolis saphorae widespread in Venezuela?