Anthurium jenmanii, What in the world is going on?

[photopro]

Don't know if anyone has checked eBay lately but a plant formerly often sold for $20, Anthurium jenmanii , is now going for over $390 because it has a spathe about to form. There is ZERO guarantee that spathe will produce viable seeds!.

I receive a multitude of requests daily to sell Anthurium species to collectors in Indonesia. The craze over there is wild! Sorry, I don't sell plants! Or seeds!

For some very odd reason Anthurium jenmanii is one of the most highly sought after of all specimens in SE Asia. Nice plant, but it appears someone over there has convinced them Anthurium jenmanii is rare. According to experts in South America, it isn't. This is considered neither a rare nor common Anthurium species from Trinidad, Tobago, The Guiana Shield, Suriname, Venezuela and the far northern portion of Brazil's Amazon basin. According to Dutch naturalist Joep Moonen, who lives in French Guiana, is is just a normal species. Its interesting, but hardly rare.

A couple of sellers have told me personally they have had to refund cash once they learned the seller was from Indonesia and then the "buyer" left a negative feedback. And there were notices in the offering the seller would not ship to Asia!

I've been meaning to put up this page for some time:
http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Anth...niii%20pc.html

Its now up, but please, if you are from Indonesia and read this, I don't sell plants and can't ship to Indonesia or Asia.

You will want to read this entire thread!! Later you will read what I found to be an amazing post which indictes the plant being sold as Anthurium jenmanii is actually another species! That information came in an email from America's top aroid botanst, Dr. Tom Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Read the entire thread! But you may want to be prepared to write some new tags for your plants!

As a result of this post, some have come to the conclussion I am attempting to call sellers who elect to use the name Anthurium jenmanii "frauds". You'll find that later in this thread. I have never intended to call anyone a fraud or accuse them of purposely misleading anyone. But some have taken great offense at some of the things I have posted. For that, I am truly sorry. I just prefer to keep an open mind on the "correct" names of plants. I've changed the names on some of my plant tags many times. If you don't wish to do so, please don't! Along with reading this thread you may want to read the thread noted below. When you read both, hopefully you will understand why I elected to change the name on my own plants. But I would never demand anyone do so.

http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/fo...ad.php?t=33119

[photopro]

With an hour still to go the Anthurium jenmanii on eBay is up to almost $500!

[edleigh7]

What ridiculous prices!!! Lets hope it is just a passing phase and doesn't reflect on the prices over here in the nurseries, although by the sounds of it, I doubt it somehow. In fact I haven't seen any "birdsnest" Anthuriums in nurseries, now that I come to think of it...

Ed

[photopro]

Maybe you should get a "phyto" certificate and put it up for sale on eBay! You might get $100,000! But wait until is is producing a spathe. Someone how that seems to be the trigger. No telling what the Indonesians would pay for one as big as your plant with a spathe!

[photopro]

Crazy auction ended at $510.00! The same seller sold one a week ago for over $300.00! Hang on to your Anthurium plants.

[raymikematt]

Wow, I guess now is a good time to start selling off some Anthuriums...lol! I think I could find a few birds-nest types in bloom that I wouldnt miss...lol.
That was crazy!

[photopro]

I think you just stated an "understatement". I received this note of explanation from Leland Miyano in Hawaii just a few minutes ago. Makes sense, well, if you are from Indonesia! Leland wrote, "I do not know all the economic forces which drive the demand and prices of plants. One man's treasure... I would say that I often see common plants fetching extraordinary prices. With Hawaii's recent real estate boom, common trees have seen their values skyrocket on the high end market. This is the free market system and right now the Asians are flush with cash....and many Americans are taking advantage of the opportunity. Regarding Anthurium jenmanii, through the years I have seen swings in availability and recently, it was not been grown much due to lack of sales. This Asian interest is a good thing unless you want to buy a plant at low prices. It will balance out. A similar situation happens with all popular plants...the red Aglaonemas are commanding large prices...but this will drop in time. I do know of plant brokers that seek out material for their clients...and price is not the paramount issue...obtaining the plant is."

But I'm with you. I've got maybe 30 birds nest forms, many mature. Wonder if they'll come pick them up?

[daunhijau]

Hello All, I'm from Indonesia and I actually in part in the bidding of that jenmanii, but I loose cause I'm sleepy in the last minutes, sigh, The cause of the high price was likely the fact the plant offered was about to produce a spathe and spadix, that's not true at all, for jenmanii of that size in Indonesia, I can sell it for a minimum $2000 in just a minute, the hype of anthurium plants in Indonesia especially the three main species Jenmanii, Hookerii and Plowmanii is way beyond imagination. I can sell Jenmanii seed $15 EACH, so can you imagine how ridiculous we are???? I think this condition is abnormal and just a temporal situation created by some plants mafia in my country that they always create hype issue about several anthurium species. Before Jenmanii Crazy, our trend is Plowmanii, but because there are so many Plowmanii right now and the price is drop, the mafia create another issue that Jenmanii is the rarest and must buy Anthurium. Usually they make a transaction ( don't know if it fakes or not ) with super irregular price, like Jenmanii Kobra ( Indonesian named of usual jenmanii that shaped like cobra ) sold for $50,000, then again Jenmanii this, Jenmanii that with another irregular crazy prices. Than the effect follow, every nursery start to search Jenmanii like crazy, most people in my country that in less educated condition also search jenmanii because they think with this plant you can turn into rich for a second!!!! You can laugh on the floor when read in our newspaper that in certain city, the jail is full of theft that got caught when they try to steal Jenmanii. I still have many stories about Anthurium in my country that I believe right now is the most insane country about anthurium, we'll discuss it later.

[daunhijau]

Originally Posted by photopro

But I'm with you. I've got maybe 30 birds nest forms, many mature. Wonder if they'll come pick them up?

May I??? :)

[photopro]

One seller was quite displeased with your description of sellers as the "plants mafia". Since sellers who grow these plants commercially are making a handsome profit on species such as this that individual felt the term inferred they were doing something illegal. Obviously, if the demand is high the price goes up as well. And I certainly don't blame sellers who have ample supplies of the species for making a profit.

At any rate, I wish you luck with find the plants you desire!

[daunhijau]

Originally Posted by photopro

If you wish to come to pick them up I can arrange to deliver a great number! But you are correct, the trend in your country is a bit crazy right now.

By the way, there is no such plant known to science as Anthurium jenmanii cobra. It is one of several things. 1) This plant species is known to have variable forms, this may simply be a natural variation but hardly rare. 2) It may be a hybrid variation. That may be interesting, but hardly worth the price your friends are willing to pay. 3) This is simply a hype created by your plant "mafia".

At any rate, I wish you luck with find the plants you desire!

Yes, you're right, those jenmanii is just a regular one but because there are many nurseries that try to make their own hybrid variation, their results plants always given a unique "local name" to differentiate their jenmanii from another nursery's jenmanii, here is a local ridiculous Jenmanii name that is veeery popular in Indonesia:

A. Jenmanii Kobra ( shaped like cobra head, the most expensive one, another mafia game I guess )
A. Jenmanii Sawi ( vegetable name )
A. Jenmani Jaipong ( just because the edge is a little curly like plowmanii they named it with a popular dance name in Indonesia )
A. Jenmanii Sendok or A. Jenmanii Spoon
A. Jenmanii Mangkok or A. Jenmanii Bowl
A. Jenmanii Naga or A. Jenmanii Dragon
A. Jenmanii Lidah Naga or A. Jenmanii Dragon's Tongue
A. Jenmanii Ancient or A. Jenmanii Purba
A. Jenmanii Lemon ( shaped like a lemon leaf )
A. Jenmanii Air Mata Bunda or A. Jenmanii Mother's tears ( because it wet in evening)
A. Jenmanii Air Mata Leak or A. Jenmanii Monster Tears ( stupid name )
A. Jenmanii Supernova ( the owner claimed this jenmanii handcarried from Latin America and asked a super duper fantastic irregular price for it's seed, THAT's $100 PER SEED )
A. Jenmanii Innova
A. Jenmanii Superboy ( maybe will become Superman in another few years )
A. Jenmanii Mawar or A. Jenmanii Rose
and there are still huge varieties of name just for A. Jenmanii itself.

[photopro]

Interesting bunch of hybrid names. But this one:

A. Jenmanii Supernova ( the owner claimed this jenmanii handcarried from Latin America and asked a super duper fantastic irregular price for it's seed, THAT's $100 PER SEED )

That one is the most interesting of all since [i]Anthurium jenmanii doesn't grow in the Latin American portion of South America with the exception of Venezuela. It is primarily found in Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean Islands), The Guiana Shield (largely French) and a small portion of the extreme northern portion of Brazil (Portuguese). I think someone may have told a little fib on that one! Besides, regardless of where it originated, it is still the same species!

[raymikematt]

Just a question guys. I know we take many of the birdsnest types for granted here in the states because they are fairly common and are easy as hell to grow, but whats with the fascination with them in SE Asia? They are beautiful plants (arent all Aroids...;)?) but commanding such high prices seems unreal for me for some of these plants??? Man I wish I would have known a few years ago A. plowmannii was a hot item in SE Asia, I had access to hundreds of seeds from plants being grown at a local nursery. They dozen or so I grew from seed I've just used as trade plants.

[photopro]

This one has turned out to be a hot potatoe for me. I've received less than happy emails from two aroiders who are having success selling this plant in Asia. I wish them only well in their efforts but somehow they seemed to feel my information saying the plant was common in Trinidad and the NE portion of South America was infringing on their sales. So, I best keep my mouth shut on this one!

Leland Miyano and a Central American grower both cautioned me we should be glad there is a good market right now for those who make a living selling the plants. I certainly would not wish to cause any of them to loose money.

[blankolo]

Well, before Anthurium the trend in Indonesia was Euphorbia (with prices currently dropping), before that it was Aglaonema (with prices down). The next thing IMO will be Philodendron.
Of course it is a certain well-known publisher "promoting" certain plants, but equally important is the "inner need" of rich Indonesians to show-off their wealth. Those guys, believe me, do know close to nothing about plants, it is just status.

[photopro]

You are absolutely right. I'm already receiving requests for Philodendron seed. The crazy part is Philodendron seed is harder to produce than Anthurium seed! Many Philodendron require s specific beetle to do the work of pollination!

[edleigh7]

Wow!! What a journey this story is!! How ironic that my 2 Anthurium's I got was from someone who wanted to build a shed on their garden and were going to throw them to the dump!! I got 2 ute (small truck) loads, of various plants for a bottle of bourbon. Maybe I should ring her up and go around and see if she has anymore Anthuriums...

Interesting indeed

Maybe I should get a "phyto"...............

Ed

[photopro]

As close as you are to Indonesia I'd certainly get a file folder filled with "phytos"!

I have an article on my site explaining why the people in Indonesia are having difficulty buying all the seeds they seem to think should be so easy to buy. Some want 10,000 seeds at a time of a single species! Since the average spadix might produce 200 berries (400 seeds), that would be all the fruit from at least 25 adult plants! It would take an enormous amount of space to grow 25 adult Anthurium! All the berries don't ripen at once, they ripen a few each day. And by the time the last berries are ripe the first seeds are likely worthless due to the limited viability of the seeds. Despite how many times I explain this, they still ask massive numbers of seeds! They think just because someone paid $500 for a single plant they can sell 10,000 plants for that amount. I don't think some (most) understand the law of price and demand.

[edleigh7]

Originally Posted by photopro

As close as you are to Indonesia I'd certainly get a file folder filled with "phytos"!

Do I just approach Customs or someone like that?

Ed

[photopro]

In the US, the "phytos" are issued by the US Department of Agriculture. I'd check with your local similar department for their rules.

[rumahpohon]

Yes this is Happend in My Country. Mafia have propagated the Plant, some years a go One Leaf of Aglaonema called Dona Carmen abt 30USD now is dropp very deep until 1 leaf for 0.1USD.

Now, The Trend is about Anthurium.
My friend have ever sell for Anthurium seed in one day she can sell abt 10.000 seeds. and per seed about 0.50 USD!

Many Jobless indonesian now have New JOB! Anthurium Hunter! some of them can get profit until 7000USD per DAY.

I am just thinking that this TREND help my country to grow... give job for jobless... and this rich peoples who love to spend alot of money for their Hobby can share their money to the poor. LOL

Thats why I enter to this business. I just want to give Job to the jobless around of my house, minimalize the criminal, and make the world more beautiful.

So, If you have anthurium sell them now... coz today they can make much money. Tomorow maybe Philodendron, maybe caladium, maybe alocasia, maybe back to my favorite indoor plant : it is Aglaonema.

Trims.

Regards,

Dina & Lirim

[photopro]

I'm uncertain how anyone can make money collecting Anthurium seed in Indonesia. This genus is not native to SE Asia. It is found (natively) in only Mexico, Central American, South America and portions of the Caribbean. But I understand plants have been set free in your country, so perhaps that is possible.

[blankolo]

Halo teman!
Tidak ada keberlanjutan!
There is no sustainability in this kind of buisiness modell! There would be if the nurseries were growing their on varieties / hybrids despite of short term market fluctuations (like very few do in Bali for example).
Another trend may be orchids, and THEN Indonesia will have a problem because many are native already close to extinction (Paphipedilium e.g.). Hmmm... not really a problem, because Cattleya hybrids might get en vogue.

[rumahpohon]

Anyone Anthurium Lovers in U. State. I would like to buy this kind of Anthurium if you have in your Garden or if you know one who has this.
:D

see on the attachment.

[rumahpohon]

Contact me at lirimibraimi@yahoo.de