Contents of latest Issue

DECEMBER 2004  (Vol. 16 No.6)                        

THIS MONTH'S FEATURES:

FRONT COVER:

Masdevallia Midas Touch 'Golden Dynasty' FCC/AOC-TAS which was judged as the AOC Orchid Hybrid of the Year 2003.  (Photo by R Johnson)  

AOC Orchids of the Year 2003

This issue contains the announcement of those orchids awarded during the year 2003 chosen by the Judges across Australia to be recognized as

• Orchid Hybrid of the Year - Masd. Midas Touch 'Golden Dynasty' FCC/AOC-TAS, owned by Preston & Vivienne Ling;

• Orchid Species of the Year - Bulbophyllum graveolens 'Canecutter' AM/AOC-QLD, owned by Warrick Jarvis;

• Award of Distinction of the Year - Paph. Starr Ruby 'Tommy' AD/AOC-NSW, owned by P & R Orchids.

The owners of each have provided us with their story behind these beautiful orchids. Congratulations to each of them.

Cycnoches chlorochilon

Colin Jennings has provided some history on this species which is not commonly seen in collections.  His search was prompted by an AOC Award given in New South Wales to the plant Cycnoches chlorochilon 'Lisa' HCC/AOC, owned by John Keenan.  The award photograph by Garrie Bromley accompanies the article.

Report from the AOC Conservation Director

Alan Stephenson, the new Conservation Director for the Australian Orchid Council has provided some thoughts on conservation, its necessity, and what you can do as a person with an interest in orchids.

A Day in Dijon

With the next World Orchid Conference to be held in Dijon in March 2005, we have provided a mini tour of some of the places to see while attending the Conference. There are six photographs provided to whet your appetite.

Orchids as Floral Emblems

Colin Hamilton has used the resources of the Internet to search for orchids being used as floral emblems by various countries and states and has provided an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, list.

Paphs of Primary Importance - Degrees of Dominance

Gerald Lawless discusses the vexed question of which is the dominant parent - the pod parent or the pollen parent. Nine excellent photographs of species and hybrids accompany his dissertation.

Rockhampton's 50th Anniversary

Colin Hamilton provides a report on the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the Rockhampton Orchid Society, held in September.  The celebrations coincided with their annual Spring Show and over $2000 in prize money was on offer.  Other activities over the weekend included a meeting of the State Representative body (Orchids Queensland Inc.), a celebration dinner, publication of a history book, some bush house visits, and plenty of socialising.  Photos include Grand Champion Orchid, Best Specimen Orchid, and the Champion Display. (Photos by Peter Shelton and Jeff Glover)

Building that new Orchid House

Ron Boyd tells of the trials and tribulations encountered when he decided to move house - and his orchids, which were 'homeless' for a time.  Ron describes how he approached the decision to build both a new house and new orchid house and has provided plenty of tips and a few photographs of the latter under construction.

Registration of an Orchid Name

Colin Jennings details the requirements of the Royal Horticultural Society in order to register a new orchid hybrid and the processes to be followed.

The Name Game - Again

Trevor Jacobs looks at one section of problems associated with botanists and taxonomists changing nomenclature and classification of orchidaceae.  In particular he writes of problems with Zygopetalum and Colax - and discovers a real quandry.

Index 2004

We have provided an index of articles and images published in Orchids Australia in 2004

Spring Shows

Following the abundant number of Spring orchid shows, we have an extensive coverage of show reports and photographs of what is winning around the country.

Plus… 

All the regular features of: the very latest RHS Orchid Hybrid Registrations (our list is second only to the RHS publication) the latest list of Australian Orchid Council Awards; Computer Corner,  what's winning at Shows around the country, Cultural Notes for various parts of Australia, Orchid Show dates across Australia, and our list of forthcoming International orchid events through to 2008. There is also a surprise for some lucky Australian subscriber - Orchids Australia free for one year, provided it is claimed in 14 days.