"Fifty years have passed since our colleague, Charles Schweinfurth, 

 initiated his productive career in Orchidology. Dean of the world's 

 orchidologists, like his predecessors Lindley, Rolfe, Reichenbach, 

 Schlechter, Kraenzlin, Smith and Ames, he has made invaluable contri- 

 butions to our knowledge of the systematics of the orchids of both the 

 Old and the New World. His great number of publications, his elucida- 

 tion of the intricate structures of orchid flowers, his augmentation to our 

 knowledge of the phytogeography of orchids, his acute powers of obser- 

 vation for minute details, his loyalty and his dedication to his chosen 

 field stand as an inspiration to both present and future students of 

 orchidology. In grateful recognition of these fifty years of service to 

 orchidology, we of the Botanical Museum of Harvard University, pre- 

 sent this scroll. " 



Although fully committed to the study of the orchids of the 

 Philippines, Ames was very much aware of the fact that the 

 understanding of the complexity of the orchid family cannot be 

 based upon a single, regional study. Therefore, studies on Cen- 

 tral American orchids had already commenced in 1908, on Bor- 

 nean orchids in 1918, a complete nomenclatorial revision of the 

 orchids of the United States and Canada was completed by 

 1924, and the orchid flora of Peru was started in 1922. To these 

 were added in the 1930's the orchids of Guatemala and the 

 orchids of Mexico as well as the monumental revision of the 

 genus Epidendrum in Central America. 



Such a broad scope of undertakings naturally requires the 

 joint efforts of many people. Professor Ames was fortunate to 

 have had a very profitable and most cordial relationship with the 

 elite of orchidology: Rolfe, Schlechter, Kraenzlin, J. J. Smith, 

 Ridley, Hayata and Summerhayes. Even a scanty excerpt from 

 the correspondence with these giants would easily amount to a 

 sumptuous volume. Yet the cumulative knowledge of all and the 

 ideas exchanged with each one of them together formed the 

 time-tested foundation upon which the Orchid Herbarium as an 

 institution proudly and firmly rests. 



When Schlechter was preparing his book orchidologiae 

 sino japonicae prodromus in 1918, at the end of World War I, 

 he immediately got in touch with Ames, who not only helped 

 him with much needed literature but also commenced to de- 

 scribe with him jointly several new species from China based on 

 material in the Ames Orchid Herbarium. This cooperation blos- 



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