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The Field Photographs of Alain H. Liogier

Plants of HispaniolaDominican Republic

1968–1969

Brandy Watts

Bronx, New York

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Copyright © The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved.

© 2017 The New York Botanical GardenPublished by NYBG Press 2900 Southern BoulevardBronx, NY 10458-5126 USANYBGPress.org

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including electronic storage and retrieval systems, except by explicit, prior written permission of the publisher except for brief passages excerpted for review or critical purposes.

The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the National Standards for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Publications and Documents in Libraries and Archives, ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992.

Issued 10 February 2017ISBN 978-0-89327-554-9

Cover: Piptocoma dentata Liogier

Frontispiece: Alain H. Liogier at The New York Botanical Garden, c. 1954. Image courtesy of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of The New York Botanical Garden.



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Contents

Foreword 1

Introduction 4

Field Notes, Dominican Republic, 1968 9

Field Notes, Dominican Republic, 1969 12

Plates 17

Plate List 251



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Foreword

This collection consists of the field photographs of Alain H. Liogier, a botanist whose research primarily focused on the Caribbean region. Liogier took these photographs while he conducted field research in the Dominican Republic in 1968–1969. The photographs (2" x 3" Kodachrome prints) were sent by Liogier, along with plant specimens, from the Dominican Republic to the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) to be part of its collection. This is where the field photographs are currently held. Each photograph is affixed to an herbarium specimen that includes the original plant specimen and collection information on the label. Throughout the book, species names and collection information accompanying each photograph were taken directly from Liogier’s herbarium specimens; to preserve the historical context in which the specimens were collected, species’ names have not been updated to reflect present-day nomenclature. Typographical errors have been corrected for clarity.

Liogier had a certain comfort with the camera while out in the field. The particular way he moved in the moments before taking the photograph: pivoting, pausing, observing, seems evident in each image. Each plant appears both suspended and animated at once:

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Introduction

Dr. Henri Alain Liogier (1916–2009) was among the 20th century’s most prolific and knowledgeable botanists concerning the plants of the Caribbean region. In a career spanning more than five decades, he collected more than 120,000 specimens, discovered more than 300 species new to science, named 1,451 species of plants as new to science in the Greater Antilles1, and published hundreds of scholarly articles on Caribbean plants, including seminal reference works on the flora of three islands in the Greater Antilles – Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico.

Born in France, Alain Liogier moved to Cuba in 1935 as a member of the teaching order of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. In Cuba, he also began to pursue university studies in botany, culminating with his Ph.D. degree from the Universidad de la Habana in 1945. Dr. Liogier remained in Cuba 27 years, collecting more than 15,000 plant specimens for herbaria and describing more than 200 species as new to science. Together with a colleague, Brother León, he later collaborated

1 Pérez Guerra, Yrene. 2013. Biografías: Académicos Fundadores ACRD (Fallecidos y Activos). Santo Domingo: Academia de Ciencias de la República Domincana.

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Alain H. Liogier’s Field Notes, Dominican Republic, 1968English translation by Teresa Harwood

One afternoon in April, I left for San Cristóbal, Babi and Azua, located in the south of the island, on the Caribbean Sea. Later in the month, I moved to Santiago and made this town my operations center. The main reason for my move to Santiago was this was where my dear friend and colleague, Dr. José de Jesús Jiménez, medical doctor and first class botanist, resided. His extensive knowledge of the Dominican flora, the island’s geography, and local culture was most valuable.

At first, I thought there were not many places left to be explored. Later I found out that most botanists spend a large part of their time in Haiti. In fact, Erik L. Ekman spent five years in Haiti and just two in the Dominican Republic. Consequently, I was fortunate to be able to collect many rare and new species.

I traveled to the location where the Tavera Dam was being built wanting to collect specimens that would soon be under water. I was particularly impressed with the Sarcopilea domingensis, which grew on the rocks on the river banks.

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Plates



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57



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103



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