Sansevierias:
Collection Dr. Horst Pfennig 
Introduction
Apart from his profession, my husband was
interested very early in the genus Sansevieria. When he discovered that there
was only very little literature about this kind of plants during the 1960’s he
decided to study them more closely and to collect them.
In the beginning, he managed this by contacts
to other collectors and botanical gardens (Pf 0001 – Pf 0247). From 1971 on, he
travelled to East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda und Ruanda) in order to collect these plants – as well as
other succulent plants and orchids – at their original locations (Pf 1001-Pf
1743):
|
09. 05. – 31. 05. 1971 |
Kenya |
Pf 1001 – Pf 1046 |
|
12. 03. – 03. 04. 1972 |
Kenya |
Pf 1047 – Pf 1086 |
|
01. 04. – 21. 04. 1973 |
Kenya |
Pf 1087 – Pf 1122 |
|
18. 03. – 30. 03. 1974 |
Kenya, Tanzania |
Pf 1123 – Pf 1173 |
|
31. 08. – 25. 09. 1975 |
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda |
Pf 1174 – Pf 1226 |
|
30. 08. – 14. 09. 1977 |
Uganda |
Pf 1241 – Pf 1340 |
|
25. 03. – 30. 03. 1978 |
Kenya |
Pf 1341 – Pf 1361 |
|
24. 10. – 09. 11. 1979 |
Ruanda, Kenya |
Pf 1362 – Pf 1404 |
|
24. 02. – 09. 03. 1981 |
Ruanda, Kenya |
Pf 1405 – Pf 1442 |
|
01. 06. – 14. 06. 1983 |
Kenya |
Pf 1443 – Pf 1490 |
|
23. 05. – 05. 06. 1984 |
Kenya |
Pf 1491 – Pf 1561 |
|
09. 06. – 23. 06. 1985 |
Kenya |
Pf 1562 – Pf 1637 |
|
20. 11. – 13. 12. 1985 |
Kenya |
Pf 1638 – Pf 1671 |
|
23. 08. – 11. 09. 1986 |
Kenya |
Pf 1672 – Pf 1718 |
|
20. 05. – 06. 06. 1988 |
Kenya |
Pf 1719 – Pf 1743 |
|
|
After my husband’s death in 1994 I continued
cultivating his collection (about 270 plants from different origins), hoping I
would find a Botanic Garden or a collector interested in it. Unfortunately,
lack of space as well as lack of money are problems in many botanical gardens.
Moreover, there is apparently only little interest in this kind of collection
in German botanic research.
So it was a lucky fate that Dr Schwerdtfeger,
curator of the Old Botanical Garden in Göttingen, approached me and offered me
to give them a new home in his Greenhouses. Of course, also for him it is
difficult to find enough space for them. I am very glad to know that the plants
are in good hands now.
Sometime ago I began to document my husband’s
work by computer. This includes slides, files and his documentation from his
travels to Africa. I wanted to give interested people the opportunity to access
his work. I do not mean to cause any more confusion about Sansevierias, since it
is already difficult enough to determine the correct species, but rather I
would like sustain his work. My husband only indicated the name of a plant in
his collection, if he was a hundred percent certain about it. He even
questioned the names he received from botanical gardens. Upon further
evaluating the documents of my husband, I will certainly find more information
that needs to be included here. Thus, the current documentation will
continually be updated.
In this documentation I regard all Pf-numbers,
even if the corresponding plants don’t exist anymore.
In order to distinguish my own results and efforts
from those of my husband I write my own texts in italics.
Doris Pfennig
Addendum 8.4.2019:
Many thanks to Dr. Michael Burkart and Maya Volck, who made it possible to retrace my husband's journeys on online maps.
You can access a map section of a journey under following links:
Pfennig. Kenia. 12.03-03.04.1972
Pfennig. Kenia (01.04.-21-04.1973)
Pfennig. Kenia/Tansania 18.3-30.03.1974
Pfennig. Kenia/Tansania/Uganda 31.8-25.9.1975
Pfennig. Uganda/Kenia 30.08.-14.09.1977
Pfennig. Kenia 25.03.78- 02.04.78
Pfennig. Kenia/Ruanda 24.10.-09.11.1979
Pfennig. Kenia 01. 06. – 14. 06. 1983
Pfennig. Kenia 23.05-05.06.84
Pfennig. Kenia 09.06- 23.06.1985
Pfennig. Kenia. 20.11.-13.12.1985
Pfennig. Kenia 23.08-11.09.1986
Pfennig. Kenia 20.05.-06.06.1988