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| Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet Olof Nylander’s 100-year-old Christmas Cactus will be housed with his likeness at the Nylander Museum/Chamber of Commerce in Caribou. Caring for the plant will be museum volunteers like Jonathan McEndarfer, back left, and Director of the Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce Jenny Coon. |
By Donna DeLong
Special to the Aroostook Republican
CARIBOU — If you haven’t had the chance to visit the Nylander Museum to experience the rich culture of our heritage than there is one more reason to stop by. On display is a Christmas Cactus that is over 100 years old. This cactus, much like our heritage, is more like a family tree than a plant.
Olof Nylander, for which the museum is named after, was a self taught naturalist from Oremella, Sweden. Born in 1864, Nylander spent his spare time collecting fossils and mineral specimens. After moving to the United States, Nylander worked as a painter in Massachusetts, Florida and Rhode Island, but in his free time continued his passion for the natural sciences.
It is never too late to follow your dream and Nylander worked with the U.S. Geological Survey as a field collector. He was also sought after and worked for the Canadian government and numerous colleges and universities to do research and guide.
Nylander was very knowledgeable in flora and fauna and particularly the mollusca of Aroostook County and Canada. He was frequently called professor or doctor. He didn’t have the degree, but he had the passion for nature. In 1938 he was awarded an honorary master of science degree from the University of Maine at Orono because of the numerous scientific papers that he wrote and his community service and significant contributions to scientific exploration.
The following year the Nylander Museum was officially dedicated and became part of a department of the city government of Caribou. Nylander was hired as the museum’s first curator/director and donated all his collections to the city upon his death in 1943. Museums such as the Smithsonian and the National Museum of Canada have wanted his collections, but the collection remains intact.
The Christmas cactus belonged to Whelamina Nylander, Olof’s wife. She must have had some of his passion for plants because she cared for the plant for many years. The cactus was then passed on to their daughter Eldena Ketch, the grandmother of Alton Ketch of Madawaska Lake. His wife Brenda has been the plant’s caretaker for 30 years.
“I can remember the plant being in the old farm house in Woodland for years and when my grandmother became older I would go upstairs to water the plant for her,” Alton said.
| Facts about Christmas cactus |
| The following facts about the Christmas cactus were found at the website www.theflowerexpert.com. • Cacti are believed to have evolved in the last 30 to 40 million years ago. • Known as Schlumbergerabridgessii, the Christmas cactus has pointed lobed leaves and is also called True cactus. • Like many tropical cacti, Christmas cactus is also an epiphyte. • The flowers are available in a wide variety of colors including red, purple, orange, pink, fuschia, cream, etc. • The Christmas cactus is a member of a group sold as holiday cacti that also include the Thanksgiving cactus and the Easter cactus. • The green, flattened, leaf-like structures that make up the majority of a Christmas cactus are actually modified stem segments called cladodes. In most cacti, the leaves have been modified into spines which have many different functions for the plant. In the Christmas cactus, the leaves and the spines are absent. • Various plant species require cues from the environment to regulate the timing of certain events, like flowering. This mechanism called photoperiodism occurs when plants initiate flowering or other activities in response to relative lengths of daylight and darkness. |
The cactus is a hearty plant and grows well with lots of sunlight in a south-facing room.
This plant has been cared for and loved by many hands. Its long leaves seem to reach out to the next family keeping the memory of Whelamina and Olof Nylander alive and with us today.
“This is a very forgiving plant and easy to grow and always rewards you with beautiful bright pink blossoms in the fall,” Brenda said.
There are so many wonderful things that can be seen and appreciated at the Nylander Museum. Many people go to other cities and visit their places of interest and forget to visit their own. Stop by and say hello to Jeanie McGowan the executive director of the museum. You’ll be glad you did.
