[If one reads the original description of this species, there is no mention of a Consul - Baron Quisumbing. The only Quisumbing mentioned is Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing, who supplied Williams with the specimens used to describe this species. One can then safely assume that the plant was named for Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing.

The authority for my little story is Arthur Swinson , author of the book "Sander , the Orchid King" - which is a biography of Fred Sander who ran an enormous empire - with large nurseries in England and Belgium, and several collectors roaming the world, importing millions of orchids from all over the world around a hundred years ago.

Of course I don't have any personal knowledge - although ancient, I am not quite that old ! But clearly we have got the right man - and as to whether he was a Baron or not I don't know. Some of these titles are purely honorary , not inherited . ( Sander was really into royalty , said to be a personal friend of the King of France, ditto Belgium, etc - and one has to remember that at that time only royalty or very, very rich men could afford to grow orchids - a plant of Aerides lawrenceana was sold for the sum of 22000 pounds sterling which equals (say) 33000 US dollars , and in 1870 would have been the equivalent of a quarter of a million...) And as to being Consul - well that too is sometimes an honorary and temporry post - not a thing to put on your cv.


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