Ian Abineri among some of his tropical plants
Have you ever seen a flower that mimics a butterfly or a plant that produces pastel pink leaves, or come face-to-face with a living fossil? Around the region, enthusiasts seek rare plants, hoping to find varieties with jaw-dropping colors, massive foliage or even unusual growing habits.
For the past decade, Brookland Park resident Ian Abineri has amassed a collection of tropical and subtropical species that numbers in the hundreds and celebrates the incredible genetic diversity of plants. He recently branched out to succulents, which led him to the Welwitschia mirabilis.
A tree tumbo
An ancient, nonflowering plant also known as the tree tumbo, Welwitschia isn’t a true succulent but is very similar and often placed in the group. “It only has two leaves its entire life that keep growing,” Abineri says. “It looks like a weird desert tumbleweed.”
One of the oldest and most enduring plants in the world, Welwitschia can live for more than 1,000 years. Its leaves can grow to 13 feet long and often split into segments, making it appear to have more than just two. It’s dioecious, meaning each plant is strictly male or female. Both grow reddish cones for reproduction; the male plant’s pollen cones are thin and round, while the female’s seed cones are larger and resemble pinecones.
Native to the coastal deserts of Angola and Namibia, the strange plant is considered regionally vulnerable due to climate change. As with many endangered or vulnerable plants, growing it outside its native habitat can help preserve the species. However, Abineri notes, collecting these types of plants requires delicacy. “It’s a balancing act between collectors and keeping those wild spaces safe,” he says. “In Virginia, I don’t feel like I’m saving [plants, but] I feel like I’m doing my part, I guess, with trying to be responsible with how and where I’m getting things.”
Karen Gage holds an Alocasia in her greenhouse.
Karen Gage is also passionate about plants with far-out foliage. At The Gage Greenhouse, her rare and tropical houseplant boutique in Henrico, she grows aroids that are so vibrant they seem almost artificial.
Among them are two especially unusual Alocasias. Gage’s nobilis pink variegated Alocasia has sharp-edged, arrow-like leaves coated in idiosyncratic pastel pink patterns, while her pink dragon albo grows on bubblegum-tinted stalks and unfurls creamy pink heart-shaped leaves. “Usually these plants have green leaves, so genetics or mutations that occur make some of those leaves pop a very bright pink color,” Gage says.
The colors can develop in areas that lack chlorophyll when white tissues and red anthocyanins (plant pigments) collide. The more intense and widespread the coloration, the more expensive the Alocasias can be. “We really do curate and look for very specific patterns to propagate and sell,” Gage says.
Also a portrait photographer, Gage keeps her plants in a quaint greenhouse. She originally built the structure during the COVID-19 pandemic as additional studio space, but it has since evolved into a cozy botanical paradise. She says the greenhouse is especially useful during the summer, when it creates the perfect rainforest-like atmosphere for her humidity-loving plants, which are native to tropical and subtropical Asia and Australia.
Like many collectors, Gage is happy to share her knowledge of Alocasias; her greenhouse is available to visit by appointment. Look for both Gage and Abineri at the periodic shows and swaps organized by RVA Tropical and Exotic Plants.
Ron Geraci with his orchids
While foliage draws some collectors, others focus on plants with uncommon blooms or history. Ron Geraci of Woodland Heights has been collecting orchids since 1973 and currently cares for 75 plants, including one that’s almost 50 years old. However, this connoisseur says his Psychopsis Mendenhall, or butterfly orchid, is perhaps his most extraordinary specimen.
The nickname stems from the blossoms’ antennae-like spikes and broad petals, which together create the illusion of a yellow-orange butterfly resting on a thin stalk. “I think most people think about flowers being like tulips or daisies, … but [this orchid] is just different. It has such a unique shape, which I find lots of fun,” Geraci says. “Sadly, it has no fragrance, like one might get with Cattleyas … but I have enough flowers to not look for smell.”
Geraci’s orchid is a modern hybrid of Psychopsis papilio. The historic species, native to Central and South America, helped spark the Victorian era’s “orchidelirium” — a 19th-century collecting craze akin to the earlier Dutch tulip mania — when it was displayed in London’s groundbreaking Crystal Palace at the first world’s fair in 1851.
The history makes this orchid especially alluring to Geraci, a retired architect. He purchased his Psychopsis Mendenhall two years ago at the annual Virginia Orchid Society show. (The show and monthly VOS meetings take place at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.) It has finally developed its first bud, and Geraci eagerly awaits its transformation into a butterfly-like bloom.
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