Volume 9 No.5 October 1997

CONTENTS

Australian Orchid Council's Orchids of the Year 1996
Here is the cream of the crop from the AOC Awards made last year. The nominations were made by each state judging panel and the final selections circulated to every regional panel for voting.

The results:
Hybrid of the Year: Opts. Suree 'Sees' FCC/AOC-NSW - Noel & June Heyden;
Species of the Year: Laelia briegeri AM/AOC-QOS - Des Neuendorff
Award of Distinction of the Year: Odcdm. Bitter Sweet 'Roll of Honour' AM-AD/AOC-QOS - Des Neuendorff.

All of these are featured in full colour, including a single flower of Laelia briegeri on our front cover.

RHS Orchid Registration Advisory Committee Report (August) gives details of new hybrid genera entering registration, their new computer system, Web site and e-mail details.

Orchid Garden Retreat for Hospital Patients. Horsham and District Orchid Society members have established an orchid garden at their local hospital adjacent to the Radiology section. It is maintained by members with permanent plants and some just placed there while in flower. This community spirited effort has been applauded by patients, staff and the community at large.

Dendrobium loddigesii is Peter Taylor's Selected Species article for this issue. As ususal it is full of interesting history, facts and growing tips, together with an excellent photograph.

The Cymbidium Page, a regular feature by Julian Coker, this month continues on the subject of mericloning - its advantages and its pitfalls.

A New Form of Epipactis atrorubens. Rik Neirynck of Belgium stumbled across a new form of this orchid in Romania and called it 'var. sirneensis after the area in which it was discovered, a meadow in Sirnea. The new form is compared with photographs of other varieties.

Ira Butler and Bill Murdoch Trophies - last call for nominations for these prestigious awards for 1997.

Book Review - Orchidees Culture et Protection. Colin Hamilton reviews this French journal which contains details of the newly discovered Paphiopedilum gigantifolium from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Found in January 1997, it has been described by Guido Braem, Charles Baker and Margaret Baker.

Orchid Conservaion '97. Ruth Rudkin reports on her trip to Sarasota, USA, for this conference earlier this year, and summarised some of the lectures and their objectives.

Computer Corner returns this issue and includes some interesting facts and a very amusing story of a conversation between two orchid growers, one a computer internet user and the other who is computer illiterate.

Australian Hybrid Gains AQ/AOS. When I contacted her, June Page of Sydney was completely unaware of the success in the USA of one of her Masdevallia hybrids which gained an Award of Quality - Masd. Southern Sun. The hybrid had also received an AM and two HCC's.

Some Sanctuaries for Sri Lanka's Wild Orchids. Rohan Wickramasinghe writes about the protected areas on this island country and the native orchids found there. Some, like Vanda tessellata are well known, while others such as Cottonia peduncularis are not.

Australian Orchid Council Logo. Ever wondered about how the logo came about? It has an interesting history and philosophy behind it, and the designer, Gerald McCraith, tells us all.

AOC Award of Distinction. The AOC Registrar General, Colin Jennings, has written previously on other quality awards. Now we print some details and photographs of more recent AD's.

Utilising Scarce Space. Philip Altmann of Warrnambool Orchids, Victoria, writes ahandy piece for anyone comtemplating a new orchid house or renovations to an old one - especially if space is a problem. There are some tips of how to best utilise the space you have, and is illistrated with photographs and diagrams.

Some Species of the Sub-Genus Gongora. Rod Rice provides his first article for us on one of his specialities - Gongora. Excellent information and nice photographs of most of this sub-genus.

7th International Orchid Exhibition, Shah Alam, Malaysia. Editor, Colin Hamilton, visited Malaysia for this unusual orchid show held in a park in tropical Shah Alam, which is about one hour from Kuala Lumpur. Lots of photographs. Here is a sneak preview of the way Malaysians stage their shows and a long range look at what might be in store for the World Orchid Conference in 2002.

Plus…
All the regular features of what's winning at Shows around the country, Cultural Notes for various parts of Australia, and our list of upcoming International orchid events through to 1999.

Revised October 1998

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