Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Australian Orchid Council Inc.
And the 15th Australian Orchid Conference & Show, Burnie, Tas.

Volume 12 No.4 - AUGUST 2000

CONTENTS

FRONT COVER: : Odontioda Glyndeborne Florestan 'Bibi' HCC/AOC-NSW. - This orchid, grown by Alan and Bibi Baker, is one of many featured this month in the Registrar General's Page, on the topic of Oncidiinae Hybrids. Here Colin Jennings writes of some of the recent awards by the Australian Orchid Council, illustrated with photos of nine spectacular orchids.

15th Australian Orchid Conference, October 2000. The Conference and associated Show will be held in Burnie, Tasmania from 8th to 15th October at the Burnie Civic Centre. Hosts are the Burnie Orchid Society with assistance from other societies in the island state. In this month's issue we feature a number of articles with a Tasmanian flavour.

VALE - Frank Slattery, O.A.M., F.A.O.C. - Australia's gentleman of orchids, Frank Slattery, passed away on 19th May. There are a number of tributes to this well known and respected orchid man. Frank was instrumental in the formation of the Australian Orchid Council in 1960. Unfortunately he did not live to see the 40th Anniversary celebrations planned for the AOC Conference in October.

Growing Orchids in Burnie. Preston and Vivienne Ling relate their experiences in growing orchids in Burnie, on the north west coast of Tasmania. They grow the cool growing orchids and one of the photos is of their plant of Masdevallia ignea 'Orange Fantasy' which received a Cultural Commendation.

A Selection of rare diminutive beauties. Nurseryman Rod Rice writes of the genus Gastrochilus, those small but brilliantly coloured orchids fron Central and South East Asia. Photos are by Gunnar Seidenfaden.

Sophronitis pygmaea. Chris Nicholas, Moonah, Tasmania, adds to the content from the island state with his story of acquiring and successfully growing and flowering this brilliant miniature. Chris used cork oak bark mounts as his medium. Excellent photographs.

Masdevallias - the beginning of a love affair. Not to be outdone, Phyl Nicholas, Chris' wife, recounts her experiences in growing Masdevallias in southern Tasmania. Great photos of the plants and a collection of plants growing outdoors on slatted benches.

Some of our favourite things. A few members of the Burnie Orchid Society have written of their favourite orchids and there is quite a range of genera covered.

Small flowered Filipino cymbidiums. Jim Cootes provides a small selection of these dainty tropical species. Jim has two loves - Filipino orchids and the Philippines. Through the pages of "Orchids Australia" he continues to share both with our readers.

Book Review: The Orchids of Tasmania. More on Tasmania, this time with Barry Dudman reviewing the latest book on the orchids of his home state. The book is by David Jones, Hans Wapstra, Peter Tonelli and Stephen Harris. A great guide book for bush walking during the Australian Orchid Conference in October!

Vanilla - the world's "flavourite" orchid. Our webmaster, Colin Hamilton, has received many enquiries about the Vanilla orchid, so he has researched the subject and come up with a fascinating piece on the history, the orchid, the harvesting and processing, some myths and some uses for the true Vanilla bean, including a recipe for a romantic evening. The article is reproduced here. Go to ConneXions>Reading.

The mystery surrounding Stanhopea ruckeri. Roger Kramer has written many articles for us over the years on the genus Stanhopea. This species is only relatively new in cultivation even though it was described in 1843. However, there seems to be some confusion as to what is and what is not Stanhopea ruckeri.

Computer Corner. Colin Hamilton, our former Editor, continues his association by providing this regular column on orchids and computers. He is also our Webmaster.

Other Things: There are details of the coming shows around Australia, workshops, new products, our usual departments such as Cultural Notes, Around the Shows, news snippets and more.

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