PHILODENDRON 'TEXAS JOSE BUONO'

PARENTAGE:

Not recorded. The registry records a hybrid of unrecorded parentage.

ORIGIN:

Joe Tocquigny; a hybrid of unrecorded parentage, released 1960; accepted by the IAS Aroid Cultivar Registry

CULTIVAR DESCRIPTION:

A climbing, hemiepiphytic Philodendron with rigid, elongated, glossy, arrowhead-shaped leaves with yellow variegation. The spathe shares the variegation of the foliage, green with splashes of aurea and white, and is lined red inside. The spadix is partially variegated and produces a red resin. The fruit ripens to a light orange and produces small black seeds. The thick, rigid, aurea leaves keep their vibrant color for many leaves, unlike the more common ‘Jose Buono’, which has dark green foliage with splotches of lighter green variegation.¹

NOTES:

STATUS - Accepted by the International Aroid Society’s Aroid Cultivar Registry.

1. Philodendron ‘Texas Jose Buono’ is recorded by the registry as a hybrid of unrecorded parentage, originated by Joe Tocquigny and named by Elise Tocquigny; the registry records its release as 1960.¹

2. It is thought to be a lost cultivar of the 1960s that thrived at Green Gate nursery in Texas. Joe Tocquigny, described as the original owner, was said to have grown it underneath the greenhouse benches as a ground cover.¹

3. According to the registry’s account, Joe Tocquigny was not particularly fond of the plant and made a point of cutting it back when it became unruly; he considered such plants weeds. His daughter, Elise Tocquigny, thought it a gorgeous addition to her collection and kept a few individuals at her personal greenhouse; the registry notes that she has recently passed. Her collector mindset led the plant to flourish and make its way into hundreds of collections across the world. One of those collections is that of Anthony M. Garcia and his partner Saji Mathai of Nirvana Tropicals, who created hybrids from this original stock and provided detailed photographs of the fruit and infructescence. James Pease is now the steward of Elise’s collection and continues to propagate the cultivar, carrying on part of her legacy.¹

4. Compared with the more common ‘Jose Buono’, which has dark green foliage with splotches of lighter green variegation, it has thick, rigid aurea leaves that keep their vibrant color for many leaves.¹

REFERENCES:

1. International Aroid Society Aroid Cultivar Registry: Philodendron 'Texas Jose Buono'

Photographs submitted to the IAS Aroid Cultivar Registry by Joshua Torres on behalf of James Pease