Around the World in Pursuit of Tropical Plants

There is a map of the world on the wall in Alfred Byrd Graf's New Jersey home that is peppered with pin dots -- red ones, blue ones, and green ones. Few countries are "dotless." Each pin represents a trip made by this noted botanist in search of plants. Travels took him to tiny islands and big countries. Red dots represent repeat trips, blue is for Mr. Graf and his wife, Lieselotte' took together and green represents some of the early trips Mr. Graf took alone.

Alfred B. Graf belongs to that very special fraternity -- the plant hunters-- who go to the farthest reaches of the earth to discover plants that might be introduced to horticulture. He is recognized as one of the worlds authorities on tropical and sub-tropical plants. If while on his travels, Mr. Graf spots a plant he has never seen before, chances are he collects it as something that might be developed commercially. Or at least if he does not recognize it, he might take a leaf and jot down descriptive notes to search out its identity in his vast library at home.

Through his keen eyes, the horticultural world is richer by at least 120 plants. Indoor growers can thank him for selections of Chinese evergreens, narrow-leaved dracaena, begonia Exotica, two selections of sansevieria from Ceylon and the first white African violet. Another 150 or so plants have been bought back primarily to be observed by serious plant collectors. "Many friends have asked me when am I going to the moon, but i tell them there are no tropical plants up there," said Mr. Graf, in a response typical of his enthusiasm.

Mr. Graf has had many "close calls" on his world travels in search of plants. The most adventurous trip he can recall was the one: we took to northeastern New Guinea in 1960. We were in a botanically unexplored region, cannibal country," he recalled. "There were three whites and 60 bearers on the journey. We had to change bearers each time we got to a new village. We paid them with salt, which was hard for inland tribes to get in those days, and newspapers which they used to make cigarettes. The trip had flown into a high valley in the Finisteere Mountains to look for new medicinal plants, tropical fruit trees and ornamental plants. The mountains were so steep, damp and slippery; we had to crawl up them on four legs. While there we also found the New Guinea impatiens and were the first plant expedition to bring them out to Sydney, Australia. The flowers were not so impressive but the foliage was beautiful.”

Other memorable trips included plant hunts in East Africa, the mountains of the moon in Uganda, the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro where the giant lobelias and begonias grow. Then there were trips to Sikkim the land of rhododendrons, azaleas and orchids. He has made three trips to mainland China and was especially intrigued with the bamboos growing there because they are so important to the economy. Mr. Graf has high admiration for the Chinese interest in ornamental horticulture.

Rooms in the Graf home are devoted to the career of this man. One contains a vast library where plants are researched “well into the midnight hours” to track down the identity, nomenclature or factual material about a particular plant. “I read everything from everybody these days. Just keeping up is what gives me my gray hairs,” he said.

Other rooms contain box after box of picture negatives, each filed according to its proper category. Everywhere there are touches of worldwide travels – rugs, ornaments, furniture, paintings, each memento with a special significance.

Although many gardeners grow some of the plants this man introduced to commerce, they may recognize his name more as the author of encyclopedias on cultivated tropical plants. His first book started out as a catalogue for a large commercial grower of tropical plants – Julius Roehrs Company, now located in Farmingdale N.J. where Mr. Graf became the superintendent in the early Thirties.
This book expanded and grew and is now an enormous two-volume pictorial encyclopedia, “Exotica 4” in its 12th edition. It has 2,606 pages and contains 16,300 photographs. Mr. Graf is particularly keen that the plant nomenclature is as accurate as possible and he maintains an active dialogue with specialists and recent changes. The 1985 edition of this pictorial encyclopedia contains more than 1,000 nomenclature updates. “They always seem to be changing plant names, Alfred Graf lamented, “every time you turn around.”

Ever increasing knowledge and an accumulation of color pictures of tropical plants led to another book called “Tropica,” a weighty tome in its third edition. This one is 1,154 pages with 7,000 color illustrations. The pages contain virtually all of the important cultivated plants originating in tropical and subtropical climates. The books are published by Roehrs Publishing Company, in East Rutherford N.J. which is a split off of the Julius Roehrs Company, the greenhouse division now located in Farmingdale N.J. and founded in 1869.
Mr. Graf is not one to rest on his laurels. Born in Nuremberg, Germany 85 years ago, this enthusiastic plants man is working on a new book. “This one will be on hardy plants,” he beamed. “It is to be called ‘Hortica’ and will include all the ornamental plants of the world.” His teammate and wife, whom he calls Liese, is an enormous help to her famous husband and is “one of the best proof readers I’ve ever seen” he said.
The new book will reach out further and cover plants grown in gardens where there are frigid winters. The plants will be grouped into 15 selections and will feature a global survey of genera and species from widely differentiating climates.
The Graf books have generated an extensive worldwide correspondence. Mrs. Graf has saved stamps glued on the letters they received. What started out as a simple collection of foreign stamps has grown into two volumes where page after page of colorful issues are arranged alphabetically by country. “Some of the letters contain orders for the books, or others challenge nomenclature or points, in the book. I answer them all,” Mr. Graf said.

A native of Germany where his father had a large range of greenhouses, Mr. Graf attributes his love for plants to the cold dank climate of his youth. “I longed to see the tropical lands and see and feel the plants that grew there,” he related. When he first saw the flora of these warmer tropical lands, his eyes were opened and thus began a lifelong love for these plants.
His first job in this country was with a California orchid grower. He then went to the Julius Roehrs Company where he became the superintendent. At one time, it was one of the largest growers of individual pot plants. Many were imported from Belgium, Holland, Germany and England including Kentia palms, azaleas, orchids, begonias, hydrangeas and roses and grown for the gift plant market sales.
When an importing quarantine for plants in soil was imposed, Mr. Graf realized the company would have to start growing its own plants if it were to survive. He went out into the world to search for them. First stops were Puerto Rico. His first loves were orchids and the Araceae Family (Arums) which include many tropical plants such as philodendrons, dieffenbachia, pothos and spathiphyllums.

Alfred Byrd Graf has received many honors from the horticultural world including the Gold Medal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the Tercentenary Medallion of the State of New Jersey and the Liberty Hyde Bailey Medal, the highest award of the American Horticultural Society. He is also a member of most major plant societies and botanic gardens and a charter member of the invitational Hortus Club of New York.
“I’ve learned a lot from the world,” Mr. Graf concluded. “I’m not just interested in plants, but I want to learn about the history, the beauty, the arts of the people, too.”

From: NY Times / Leisure Sunday Feb. 9, 1986 author: Joann Lee Faust