Tag: Western Australian orchids

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We are very excited to be joined by Professor Stephen D. Hopper AC as our guest speaker for the November webinar!

Professor Hopper will summarise close to 60 years of visiting the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge, and focuses on rare plant surveys conducted in the 1980s when substantial components of the flora were undescribed. For example, of the 50 species of Caladenia (Orchidaceae) now known in the Augusta Margaret River Shire, about half were named by Prof Hopper and colleagues, notably Andrew Brown. Local endemics are a feature of the Ridge. Rare communities include those of inland granite outcrops, each with their own mix of rock outcrop and gnamma (rock pool) species. Also some rare hybrids are known. The fire ephemeral Eremosyne pectinata is from an ancient lineage allied to rainforest shrubs and trees of eastern Australia and South America. Discoveries of new weeds is still occurring. Lastly, a completely fresh perspective on the flora emerges from walking together with Wadandi people, the Webb family in particular.

Did you want a printable poster of this event to display?
No worries! Just email conservation@wildflowersocietywa.org.au and ask for one and we can send it through for you to pass on to others who you think will be interested!

PLEASE READ, IMPORTANT INFO:

This webinar will require you to enter your first and last name, and email address to allow you to join the webinar. This simply allows us to ensure only ticket holding emails can attend due to limited spaces. We recommend allowing yourself five minutes prior to the webinar to register (through the usual webinar link) so you don’t miss out on the start. Thanks for your understanding!

One ticket = One webinar link (needed for one device). The number of tickets you require is based on the number of devices that will be used to join the webinar, not the number of people attending.

I.e. If multiple people will be attending the webinar on the same device (laptop, T.V. screen, computer, phone, etc.) then only one ticket must be reserved.

This webinar will require you to enter your first and last name, and email address to allow you to join the webinar. This simply allows us to ensure only ticket holding emails can attend due to limited spaces. We recommend allowing yourself five minutes prior to the webinar to register (through the usual webinar link) so you don’t miss out on the start. Thanks for your understanding!

Guest Speaker: Andrew Brown – Recently Discovered Orchids

Prior to retirement in 2017 I worked as a Conservation Biologist and Taxonomist at the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions where I coordinated research and recovery programs aimed at enhancing the conservation of threatened flora and prepared taxonomic treatments in the Orchidaceae, Colchicaceae and Scrophulariaceae. I am currently a Research Associate at the Western Australian Herbarium where I continue my taxonomic studies. I am the author/co-author of some 170 journal publications and 13 books and have collaborated in the formal descriptions of over 180 new Western Australian orchid species, 21 new Eremophila species and a range of new species in other genera. I am a life member of the Western Australian Native Orchid Study and Conservation Group, a member of the Australian Orchid Foundation and a member of the IUCN Orchid Specialist Group. My current current interests include ongoing taxonomic research and the preparation of articles, papers and books on the Western Australian flora.

Talk – Recently discovered, currently undescribed orchids in Western Australia

Two hundred years ago, Archibald Menzies, surgeon and naturalist aboard the HMS Discovery, was the first European to make collections of Western Australian orchids. Jump forward 120 years and by the time time the first book on Western Australian orchids was published in 1930 an additional 120 orchid species had been named. Jump forward another 64 years and when the first edition of Orchids of South West Australia was published in 1984, 133 species were known, just 10 more than in 1930. However, a resurgence in orchid naming then took place with the number of formally described species rising to 394 in 2021, a three fold increase in the number of recognised species. Despite the large number of Western Australian Orchids that have now been formally named, new species are still being discovered. As at October 2021 there are an estimated 60 undescribed Western Australian orchid species and in this talk I will cover a selection of them.