Big fan of your videos! If you take requests, I would love to see a video explaining chimeric variegation. There's a lot of misinformation in the community regarding variegation in general and most influencers vaguely chalk it up to "genetics" and "mutation" without really knowing the molecular biology they are talking about. I think you would do a great job of making this sort of research digestable to the general public, and also help dispel some common myths on how to induce variegation and why it occurs in the first place.
This is a great request! TBH I haven’t done it yet, because I currently don’t know the difference… BUT that’s what research is for! Will add it to the list 😊
She has conflicting accounts regarding the acquisition of the plant she took from the wild which she eventually named after herself. That's a liar, a thief, and a narcissist!
Sad to see how we are contributing to poaching and destruction of nature due to our voracious appetite for rare and new houseplants. But glad to see the positives of tissue culture - being that we can reproduce this plant without damage to nature. Ty for the great and insightful video! I never knew the backstory
It's too bad poaching happens, but it's been going on for ever. Animals minerals and flora. It would be smart for tissue culture labs to become more accessible to these areas where we've been ravaging the natural resources forever. I remember getting my first species paphiopedilum, then doing some research and I found out they had started in cultivation due to poaching from limestone cliffs in Java....I was devastated.
You’re totally right. We gather things from the natural world, and we usually don’t do it in a clean/safe/sustainable way. I’m starting to see TC labs open in more remote areas 😄
YESSSS, I have been talking about this plant voraciously for a few months now and how little is known about it and the fact that it was circulated in horticulture for years because of poachers and even grown by big box growers like costa farms before it even got to be given a binomial nomenclature. amazing plant and sad story. So happy to see it properly described to science last month! Great videos brother! and thank you for your amazing content and insight on these matters!
This sort of thing is rampant in the isopod keeping community. Majority of exotic species in the hobby like cubaris sp. "Rubber ducky" have still not been given a proper name. Half are part of totally undescribed genus' and have sketchy unconfirmed stories on how they entered the hobby.
So this is what plant drama looks like. 😂 BUT.....BUT plucking to near extinction isnt cool ! I kinda would like to buy one, but not knowing i would be contributing to this kind of problem.
This legal setting would explain why there are so many new alocasias coming from Indonesia (esp. from Borneo) to the market in the last years (e.g. A. baginda, Azlanii etc.). I wonder if all of these were originally poached, or simply taken out of their natural habitat perhaps in compliance with the local laws (or in absence of any law enforcement), but destroying a lot of the species/significantly reducing the natural population, which I personally consider same as poaching (ethically given the damage caused).
Yes from what I can tell all the Alocasia coming from Borneo is collected from the wild. But as long as it’s not from protected lands it’s legal.. but again this is where the ethical lines get blurry….
If you want some SPICY lore look into the Nepenthes hobby and Red Leaf Exotics. It's basically an open secret that Dominik Gravine likely stole plants from Sunbelle Exotics and kickstarted his hobby that way. Also EP and Dom pushing the narrative that N. robcantleyi is a hybrid because they think the very use of the name is advertisement for their main rival Robert Cantley from Borneo Exotics. The Nepenthes community abounds with drama about poaching, seedgrown plants, inflated prices and personal rivalries.
Another excellent video. I’m glad to hear this wasn’t originally poached. At least for me, it makes me feel better when I see Jacklyn. But why did you have to show me the variegated Tandarusa! Im usually not a fan of variegated alocasia, bar the Frydek, as most look more like bird poop on the leaves or an illness vs beautiful variegation. This one may change that. Another positive effect of TC.
@@prettyingreen Definitely. I've also heard of a cactus that went extinct from it's native area in Mexico. Anold Italian man happened to have this cactus as a houseplant. They could succesfully bring the cactus back to it's native area. Global cactus traffickers are unfortunately cleaning out the deserts. It's a tragedy. NY Times wrote an article about it.
What perfect timing, I just got my kitchen table setup for repotting several plants (including my Alocasia Tandurusa, coincidentally!) and was looking for something to play in the background whilst repotting 😊🙃
Wow, I've always been fascinated by the beauty of these rare plants! I have 3 Thai Constellations that I grew from tissue culture - it was a lot of work! As someone who loves plants but can't always afford the real thing, I've started creating tutorials on how to create realistic plant sculptures from play dough or clay or paper, and it's been a game-changer!
Love these deep dives! Would love one on Dom Gravine from red leaf exotics with alleged involvement is greenhouse burglaries and theft. Along with his alleged involvement with the variegated PSS and rare carnivorous ones.
These videos make me feel so guilty for even having these plants in my home. Things always start off with the best intentions but it always ends up tainted. Let’s hope tissue culture reduces this problem.
I feel the same way sometimes. But like most natural things, we can gather a small sampling of genetics from nature without destroying the habitat, then mass replicate it. That’s the beauty in tissue culture
So excited to see a new video in this series drop!! Love ur videos and content and appreciate you honest and straightforward approach to houseplants. I live in socal so hope to be able to come out and buy some plants from you soon! Ty again for the great content!!
Very interesting! This alocasia has been on my wishlist for quite sometime! I finally got one this past week and unfortunately, it’s in horrible condition. I hoping I’ll be able to nurse it back to health!
Thank you for this video! I was actually trying to get to the bottom of this myself but looking through older facebook posts can only lead you so far and with more questions than answers. It's impressive that you got a hold of her and some other knowledgeable people. I will not be honoring the name that was given to it by the poacher, and I hope other influencers eventually stop using the name as well
Great video, very informative, thanks for sharing. I really like these kind of videos you are making, they are very eye opening! I really like this alocasia but haven't got it yet. However knowing what I know now, don't want to contribute to these kind of poaching from the wild! The story is quite sad that some people poaching for their own profit. Thanks for sharing and happy growing.
It's so riveting when you interview the ground-zero person. It's not like solving a mystery that's decades old and the people involved have since passed or disappeared. I really thought you were going to push her some more to clarify the discrepancy between her initial finding of the plant in the village vs her youtube re-enactment. Who knew the scammers, scandals, and fakers of the plant world could be so ubiquitous!
Her story about finding it in the forest is super sketchy. When you confronted her about it on the phone she started rambling and not making sense, definitely seems like she’s lying 🤥
