Small division from Jay Vannini's plant. 'Hechicera' is Jay's modern answer to the 'Mike's Goliath' / 'Circus Peanuts' aesthetic — orbicular dark velvet leaves — built from his own provenance material rather than the 1970s Selby hybrid stock that defined the category. In correspondence on the cross, Jay characterized it as a hybrid aimed at the Mike's Goliath / Circus Peanuts crowd, and, as expected, more orbicular in leaf than 'Curandero.'
Historical context: 'Circus Peanuts' (AKA 'Mike's Goliath') was Michael Bush's A. dressleri × A. versicolor made at Selby Botanical Garden in the late 1970s/early 1980s — a foundational orbicular-leaf hybrid in section Cardiolonchium and the plant that spawned a category of collector demand. Hechicera revisits that design brief with current genetics.
Taxonomic status: Undescribed. "aff. rimachii" is the working placeholder until publication is confirmed. Habit:Upright, erect. Leaf shape: Giant triangular blades. Leaf surface: Adaxial blade glossier than typical velvet-section material. This is where Hechicera picks up its comparative forgiveness in cultivation — reads more like a house-plant posture than a tent-dependent specimen.
Source: F2 generation from Jay's controlled breeding of the Río Guanche line. Why F2 matters: Hybrid vigor and generational selection yield prettier material than typical F1 dressleri — without compromising provenance. This is still JV's controlled sample, not ambiguous market material. The genetic baseline remains Río Guanche dressleri sensu strictoper Croat & Vannini (2010). See also: The 'Voodoo Child' listing for full A. dressleri type description, habitat notes, and section placement.
Another information transfer from the neotropical operating system into our collections. Where 'Voodoo Child' stacks the fickleness of both parents into a demanding paradox, 'Hechicera' inverts the calculus: the upright, glossy aff. rimachiicontributes a more domestic growth habit, while the F2 dressleri maintains the darkness and Río Guanche lineage that give the hybrid its weight. More orbicular in leaf than 'Curandero.' The hybrid is, in effect, JV's version of the Circus Peanuts silhouette run through his own genepool — same visual register, better sourcing.
Standard GT Culture (the protocol I run on everything in the velvet register, starting with 'Voodoo Child') — coco coir chunks, NZ tree fern fiber, small and medium orchid bark, medium horticultural charcoal, gypsum and dolomitic lime, pumice or perlite. RO water. Rotating nutrient schedule of CalMag, kelp, chelated iron, MaxSea, and K-Lite MSU. Intermediate LED, medium light. Substrate built to last years; repot on verifiable root-out or lockout.
Hechicera handles wet feet but not soaked. Easier in cultivation than 'Voodoo Child' — the aff. rimachii side of the family forgives more than the pure velvet section typically does. I'm running this division on the same regime as my Voodoo succession, and the growth posture is already reading more upright and domestic than its sibling cross.
Small division from Jay Vannini's plant. 'Hechicera' is Jay's modern answer to the 'Mike's Goliath' / 'Circus Peanuts' aesthetic — orbicular dark velvet leaves — built from his own provenance material rather than the 1970s Selby hybrid stock that defined the category. In correspondence on the cross, Jay characterized it as a hybrid aimed at the Mike's Goliath / Circus Peanuts crowd, and, as expected, more orbicular in leaf than 'Curandero.'
Historical context: 'Circus Peanuts' (AKA 'Mike's Goliath') was Michael Bush's A. dressleri × A. versicolor made at Selby Botanical Garden in the late 1970s/early 1980s — a foundational orbicular-leaf hybrid in section Cardiolonchium and the plant that spawned a category of collector demand. Hechicera revisits that design brief with current genetics.
Taxonomic status: Undescribed. "aff. rimachii" is the working placeholder until publication is confirmed. Habit:Upright, erect. Leaf shape: Giant triangular blades. Leaf surface: Adaxial blade glossier than typical velvet-section material. This is where Hechicera picks up its comparative forgiveness in cultivation — reads more like a house-plant posture than a tent-dependent specimen.
Source: F2 generation from Jay's controlled breeding of the Río Guanche line. Why F2 matters: Hybrid vigor and generational selection yield prettier material than typical F1 dressleri — without compromising provenance. This is still JV's controlled sample, not ambiguous market material. The genetic baseline remains Río Guanche dressleri sensu strictoper Croat & Vannini (2010). See also: The 'Voodoo Child' listing for full A. dressleri type description, habitat notes, and section placement.
Another information transfer from the neotropical operating system into our collections. Where 'Voodoo Child' stacks the fickleness of both parents into a demanding paradox, 'Hechicera' inverts the calculus: the upright, glossy aff. rimachiicontributes a more domestic growth habit, while the F2 dressleri maintains the darkness and Río Guanche lineage that give the hybrid its weight. More orbicular in leaf than 'Curandero.' The hybrid is, in effect, JV's version of the Circus Peanuts silhouette run through his own genepool — same visual register, better sourcing.
Standard GT Culture (the protocol I run on everything in the velvet register, starting with 'Voodoo Child') — coco coir chunks, NZ tree fern fiber, small and medium orchid bark, medium horticultural charcoal, gypsum and dolomitic lime, pumice or perlite. RO water. Rotating nutrient schedule of CalMag, kelp, chelated iron, MaxSea, and K-Lite MSU. Intermediate LED, medium light. Substrate built to last years; repot on verifiable root-out or lockout.
Hechicera handles wet feet but not soaked. Easier in cultivation than 'Voodoo Child' — the aff. rimachii side of the family forgives more than the pure velvet section typically does. I'm running this division on the same regime as my Voodoo succession, and the growth posture is already reading more upright and domestic than its sibling cross.
