Can anyone help me? I am a botanical artist (you can see some of my work on my website -
www.christinebattle.co.uk) and have been asked to paint a Hooker plant for a Joseph Hooker exhibition later this year, to celebrate his life and his collecting career. I trawled through the list of available plants (those which hadn’t yet been chosen by other artists) and looked them up on Google before deciding I’d love to paint P. hookeri. Having made my choice, I now realise that this plant is not as easy to get hold of as I originally imagined… however I am still hopeful that I may find a living specimen growing somewhere in the UK, even though I understand it is not considered of great merit! However I do rather love it’s curly, spiky leaves and its little white flowers, which I know will look very attractive when painted. Also, some of the photos online seem to show that it’s young leaves can have the most beautiful deep maroon colour as they emerge. I like also the fruiting body, held up above the rosette of leaves. If by any chance anyone is growing this plant, or know of someone who can provide me with one, or who can allow me to visit and sketch their specimen, I would be extremely grateful for any help.
