This is a fantasy plant, and is represented solely as an artistic, fantasy specimen. This is a hobby for me, and I enjoy making plants that don’t actually exist, but could.
Caladium Albofenestrata “1982”
Recolored interpretation of the previously single black & white photo that was recovered.
A soft-stemmed, perennial plant belonging to the Genus “Caladium”, related heavily to Caladium Lindenii, which was discovered in 1981 by botanist Jean Jules Linden. C. Albofenestrata was discovered roughly one year after C. Lindenii, but unfortunately before Linden could return a specimen to Belgium, the plant’s only known habitat was destroyed by logging practices in Panama.
This species was first encountered in the Chimán District of Panama in 1981 and again in 1982 in a very small locale. Due to habitat loss, this plant is not considered extinct, and there is no chance of recovering the lineage of this species
Now extinct, conservation efforts should continue to protect the delicate ecosystems that foster now-extinct species such as C. Albofenestrata. Protecting our rainforests is as important as ever to make sure plants like this make it into the future. Using AI, we can now interpret plants that may have existed but are now extinct, or could still be out there at risk or becoming one of the nearly 137 species that are driven to extinction every day.