Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 1] 
(Eakin, 1999). The IFGN was subdivided by Pittier into geographical, meteorological, 
and botanical sections (Eakin, 1999), of which only the last concerns us here. Pittier 
himself requested that several European colleagues come work with him at the IFGN. 
Over the course of the ensuing decade (1890s), Pittier conceived and realized the 
first systematic botanical exploration of Costa Rica. This landmark effort was accom- 
plished, with logistical assistance from the United Fruit Company (Eakin, 1999) and in 
collaboration with a number of his Swiss colleagues, especially IFGN botanist Adolphe 
(Adolfo) Tonduz (1862-1921), but also including Museo Nacional entomologist Paul 
(Pablo) Biolley (1862-1908). During these inventories, two specimens of each plant 
were gathered (Eakin, 1999), one for the 
IFGN and one to be sent to an appropriate 
specialist (usually in Baltimore, Brussels, 
Paris, or Geneva). The collecting agenda fea- 
tured several epic and well-chronicled expe- 
ditions, e.g., to the Rio Grande de Térraba 
region (Pittier, 1890; Tonduz, 1893) and the 
Caribbean slope of the Cordillera de Tala- 
manca (Tonduz, 1895). When all was said 
and done, the only significant portion of the 
country not visited by Pittier and his col- 
leagues was in the far north, from the Rio 
Sapoa east to the Rio Frio de San Carlos. 
The collections accumulated by the 
botanical section of the IFGN (more than 
10,000 specimens by 1895) became the Her- 
bario Nacional (Eakin, 1999). During Pit- 
tier’s tenure as IFGN director, the Herbario 
eventually swelled to ca. 20,000 numbers, 
about 60% of which can be credited to Ton- 
duz (Hasler & Baumann, 2000; see also Jiménez, 1971). Nearly 4000 species were added 
to the Costa Rican flora (building upon Alfaro’s list), yielding a total (by 1908) of more 
than 5000. In an effort to document this burgeoning diversity, Pittier sought to produce 
the first formal, botanical flora of Costa Rica, Primitiae florae costaricensis, in con- 
junction with a Belgian colleague, Théophile Alexis Durand (1855-1912). This am- 
bitious undertaking (which included even non-vascular cryptogams) appeared in three 
volumes and 12 fascicles, published from 1891 to 1905 (see Durand & Pittier, 189 1la— 
1896; Pittier, 1898-1900, 1901, 1904-1905). Foreshadowing modern tropical floras, 
all of the taxonomic treatments were contributed by non-resident specialists, mainly 
Swiss, Belgian, and German. The most important institutional collaborators (mainly for 
specimen identification) were the Royal Herbarium in Brussels, the Boissier Herbarium 
in Geneva, and the Paris Museum (Eakin, 1999). Unfortunately, the flora was never 
Paul Biolley (1862-1908) 
Courtesy Museo Nacional de Costa Rica 
