Modified 7 April 2004

Herbarium Amboinense, 1741
Georg Eberhard Rumpf [1627-1702]
comments by Johannes Burman

Tulipa Javana.

Hic flos primum ex Batavia in Amboinam delatus est, qui ad Tulipae species refertur, licet hujus planta nondum flores producens adeo similis sit Amboinensi radici toxicariae, ut ejus angustifolia species haberetur. Caeterum Tulipae more crescit, ejus enim radix bulbus est rotundus, & regularis, pugno major, externe similibus extenuibus pelliculis, & interne ex crassiusculis, albis, & succosis lamellis compositus instar Cepae, atque in inferiore sua parte similes gerit crassas, & breves fibrillas, sique dissecetur, nauseosum praebet odorem, perfecte instar radicis toxicariae.
Ejus stipes semi pedem altus est, antequam in folia explicetur, annulis, seu nodis quibusdam distinctus, qui per decidua formantur folia, rotundus porro, binos tresve digitos crassus, immo in vetustioribus plantis crassior. Tumque sese extendit in sex octove longa folia, gladiformia, multoque majora quam in ulla Tulipa, sed minora quam in radice toxicaria. Suntque a binus cum dimidio ad tres pedes longa, transversalem palmam lata, magnum habentia nervum medium, qui digiti latitudinem habet, & infra protuberat, acute difenens, supra vero canalem format; folia autem haec colore glauco, & oris sinuosis cum illis Tulipae conveniunt, suntque per longitudinem striata, ac praeter subtiles venas unum alterumve habent crassiorem nervum, qui non ad apicem excurrunt, sed sensim disparent.
In hisce insulis rarissima suos profert flores, atque ultra annum nil nisi folia gerit. Saepe etiam sit, ut licet hic stipes pedis crassitiem obtineat, in superiore tamen parte putrescat, ac cuncta dejiciat folia, unde nil remanet quam tuber quoddam supra radicem, quod subsequentibus siccis mensibus novum emittit stipitem, qui annum requirit, antequam ejus foliaa perfecta sint. Hujus serotinae sterilatatis caussam puto esse copiosas pluvias, quae hic in Amboina cadunt, quales forte in naturali loco, seu patria non ita patitur.

Sin itaque Solo arenoso humido, ac Soli bene exposito locetur, tum sensim non ex plantae centro, sed ad latera e radice simplex rectusque excrescit caulis, tres pedes altus, pollicem crassus, ex rotundo parum compressus, ac planus, qui in vertice longam gerit vaginam, ex binis tenuibus, & ex viridi flavescentibus foliis compositam, quae sese aperiens flores exhibet non omnes simul, sed successive excrescentes, quorum quivis peculari insidet pedunculo, suntque ab octo ad duodecim numero, in binos tresve ordines distincti.
Flos ipse componitur ex petalis forma Liliorum alborum, color Tuliparum, apertus enim instar campanae extenditur, cujus nempe petala superius ample sunte extensa, inferius vero sensim, & acute angustata, atque hic non erectus pedunculo insidet, sed parum ad latera inclinat. Quodvis vero petalum ultra quatuor pollices longum ext, unum latum, crassiusculum, externe nervo medio, seu dorso notatum, ubi & ex purpureo rubet colore, ab utraque vero parte ad oras album est, quod quodammodo Tulipae petalum refert, externaque rubedo ad internam etiam transit partem, ubi magis purpurascit.
In floris centro sex firma adparent stamina in fundo lutea, in medio alba, ac summo purpurea, quodvis vero antheram gerit, uti in Liliis, sed ipsius forma magis incurva est, instar semi Lunae, quaeque obducitur farina crassa, flava, & viscosa. Atque haec stamina non laxe flori inposita sunt, sed quodvis inplantatur quasi peculiari suo petalo, septimum vero pistillum est nudum, quod erigitur, quum sex alia introrsum flexa sint. Ipsius odor dulcis, sed gravis est, accedens ad speciem quandam placentularum saccharatarum, quibus Anisum admixtum est, quaeque in [...]
Aperti hi flores, quorum modo bini tresve simul sese aperiunt, per multos dies continuos vigent, quum marcescunt, ac focils sortem relinquunt, quum prius per diucturnum vigorem priorem florendi tarditatem quasi refarciverint. Post florum lapsum, cuivis pedunculo, cui flos inpositus suit, increscit crassiuscuum tuber, quod in bulbos quasi seminales expicatur, qui formam fere habent eandem, quam radix toxicaria profert intus repleti similibus ossiculis, externe diu virentes, hisce vero in terris rari perfecti sunt.

In Auctuario haec adduntur.

Fructus ejus plerumque unus alterve, raro tres uno in caule perfecti sunt, in quibus nulla inveniuntur ossicula, sed sicca, & albida caro, ex magnis segmetis composita, & sibi nexa. Inveni etiam quosdam Limonis Nipis magnitudinem habentes, ad unam partem rotundos, & gibbosos, ad alteram concavos, ac variis tuberculis auctos, externe autem obducti erant tenui, & viridi pellicula. Caro autem horum interna solida erat, & integra, in nulla segmenta distincta, vel divisibilis.

Tabula Centesima Quinta

In Tulipam exhibet Javanum cum ejus fructibus AA Separatis.

OBSERVATIO
comments by Johannes Burman
Genus hoc hodie Amaryllis vocatur, estque Amaryllis spatha multiflora, corollis campanulatis aequalibus, genitalibus declinatis H. Cliffort. p. 135. Huicque plantae proximum est Lilium Americanum puniceo flore Bella donna dictum Herman. Parad. p. 194. ubi icon, sed cujus flores non tam profunde dissecti, & oblongiores sunt, unde sorte ejus varietas. Dit geslagt werd hedendangs Amaryllis genaamt, en is de Amaryllis met een veel bloemige knop, en gelyke klokvormige bloem-kranzen, met afwykende voorteelzels, of afzettingen, in de H. Cliffort. p. 135, met deze plant komt het naast overeen de Americaanische Lelie, met een purpere bloem Bella donna genaamt van Herman. Parad. p. 194. alwaar ook deszelfs Figuur is, doch wiens bloemen niet zoo diep ingesneeden zyn, en lankwerpiger, waarom mogelyk hier van een verandering is.


Here (1741) we see that Burman chose Hermann's "Bella donna" as representative of the newly described genus Amaryllis L. Burman and Linnaeus corresponded regarding descriptions and names for plants of Ceylon and Africa. Clearly, Burman understood which plant was described in Hort. Cliff.

It is interesting to note that Burman translated Hermann's Latin "puniceo" as Dutch "purpere". Similarly, Philip Miller described the scarlet flowers of Rosa foetida bicolor (Cornut's Rosa punicea) as "purple". I have not yet learned how "puniceo" (and "phoeniceo") became associated with bright orange, but it is plausible that the adjective referred to the brilliant orange-red flowers of the pomegranate (Punica granatum), just as "roseo" and "rosea" refer to the color of some Rosa species.

Buc'hoz (Histoire du Regne Vegetal, 1774-1775) reproduced Rumph's plate labeled "Amaryllis spatha multiflora, corollis campanulatis aequalibus, genitalibus declinatis h. Cliff."; "Tulipa javana Rumph"; and "Belledame". As we see above, Burman discussed the similarities as well as differences of the two species. Buc'hoz missed the point, assuming that the two were the same.


An interpretation of Rumphius's Herbarium Amboinense p. 141
E. D. Merrill (1917)

Crinum zeylanicum Linn. Syst. ed. 12. (1767) 236.
Amaryllis zeylanica Linn. Sp. Pl. (1753) 293.
Amaryllis lineata Lam. Encycl. 1 (1783) 123.
Tulipa javana Rumph. Herb. Amb. 5: 306, t. 105.

This species is not represented in our Amboina collections, although doubtless it is still cultivated in Amboina as it is in other parts of Malaya. Rumphius states that it was introduced into Amboina from Java about 1670. The figure is an excellent representation of Crinum zeylanicum Linn. It was first reduced by Linnaeus to Amaryllis zeylanica Linn., in Stickman Herb. Amb. (1754) 22, Amoen. Acad. (1759) 131, Syst. ed. 10 (1759) 977, Sp. Pl. ed. 2 (1762) 421, which as Crinum zeylanicum Linn. has very generally been accepted as the correct disposition of Tulipa javana Rumph.


Radix Toxicaria
comments by Johannes Burman

OBSERVATIO

Radix haec Toxicaria, Crini, seu Lilio asphodell videtur esse species, proximeque convenit cum lilo, qui est Lilio asphodelus Americanus, semper virens, maximus, & minor. Commel. rar. pl. fig. 14 & 15. & H. Cliff. pag. 127. & Dillen. H. Eltham. pag. 194. Tab. 161. ubi vide reliqua.