Art by Alice Tangerini: Brodriguesia santosii Cowan

From Plant Press Vol. 17 no. 1, January 2014.

Endemic to Brazil and occurring in the coastal forests of Bahia and Sergipe states, Brodriguesia santosii was published as a new species in 1981 by Richard S. Cowan (Brittonia 33: 9-14). Brodriguesia, named for J. Barbosa Rodrigues, one of Brazil's most illustrious botanists, is similar to Intsia and Afzelia but it differs from both genera in the five subequal petals, the ten fertile stamens, and the minuscule annular aril around the hilum. The detail in the drawing made it a good example for showing techniques of shading leaves and the floral characters in botanical illustration classes that Alice Tangerini has since taught. The drawing was used in the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators’ "Technique Sheets" for the botanical pen and ink model which was distributed to members during the 1980s (pre-digital illustration days).