APRIL S SPEAKER WES HIGGINS The Genus Prosthechea sensu lato

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1 April 2009 The COALITION for ORCHID SPECIES PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Dear COS members: at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens Old Cutler Road Miami, Florida Meets every third Monday at 7:30 p.m. by Eduardo Marcellini We are still in the best part of the year for enjoying our orchids in bloom. Personally, I like species and I always have. When I see one of my orchids flourishing, somehow I feel connected to that part of the jungle or country of origin. My collection is mostly mounted on live trees, in other words, they are all over my yard. There is nothing like walking around and seeing these beauties in flower and sometimes having the great surprise of an orchid where I had missed the bud. There it is enjoying the morning breeze and laughing at my astonished face. Changing the subject, I would like to thank Mirta and her group of volunteers for setting up a recruiting table at the Fairchild Orchid Show. Because of that we have some new members that I would like to officially welcome to our club. I m assuming that you made this event, but if you didn t, you are probably the only one, because it seemed that everyone (continued on page 2) APRIL S SPEAKER WES HIGGINS The Genus Prosthechea sensu lato Wesley E. Higgins, Ph.D., is the head of Systematics at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. He coordinates the Nomenclatural Notes column in AOS Orchids as a member of the publications committee. Wes is coauthor of The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Illustrated Dictionary of Orchid Genera. He has been a member of AOS since 1972 and is an accredited AOS judge in the Florida North-Central Judging Center. Higgins was also the recipient of an AOS fellowship and research grant. The genus Prosthechea has only recently (1997; published in 1998) been reestablished by W. E. Higgins as a distinct genus, but some species were later transferred to Euchile by Withner (1998). Previously, the species had been included in different genera : Anacheilium, Encyclia, Epidendrum, Euchile, Hormidium and Pollardia. The status as genus was confirmed by recent data, based on molecular evidence and plastid DNA sequence data. (W. E. Higgins et al. 2003) This a neotropical epiphytic genus, occurring from Florida and Mexico to tropical America. Source:

2 Coal i t i on f or Orchid Species A pril Page 2 Continued from page 1 from South Florida was there. The weather couldn t have been better and the vendors all over the gardens made a great spectacle. Now we have to get ready for one of the best, if not the best, The Redland International Orchid Festival. This is a must see event and I m counting the days to the opening. I also wonder how it is going to be now that the park has an almost three acre lake with a huge water fall. At the last board meeting, Lou Lodyga, our event coordinator, reported that he has nearly all the speakers secured for this year s symposium. And Carlos Segrera is putting together a trip next year to the orchid show in Costa Rica. I m in! See if you can make it, too! I hope I see you at this meeting and as always, bring all your friends along! Eduardo Marcellini Thanks to the following folks who have volunteered to bring in the goodies for our COS meeting this month: Berta Prado, Rafael Toledo, Katria Whitfield, and Cindy Langdon. Coalition for Orchid Species Bus Trip Saturday, June 6, 2009 We will leave the Kendall area at 6:45 am; and return by 11:00 pm. We will visit three orchid nurseries including Canaima Orchids, (specializes in Cattleyas) Palmer Orchids (we visited last year) and one more? All nurseries will have special sales and/or discounts for buyers The trip includes a round-trip in a comfortable air-conditioned bus with recliner seats, TV and toilet. Snack, lunch and drinks included, and entertainment! $45.00 (COS member), $50.00 (non- member) Make your reservations with a $20.00 deposit; reservations must be paid in full by May 25, 2009; Guests are welcome! For more information, see Mirta Russis-Heineman at the next COS meeting! COS s annual Fairchild Botanic Garden private tour will take place on Saturday, May 30, at 11:00 am. We have reservations to ride the tram for a garden tour exclusively for COS members and their guests. The Garden entrance and tour are free. Lunch box is optional. But you must make reservations at the next COS meeting! For more info, Mirta at mrussis@bellsouth.net.

3 Coal i t i on f or Orchid Species A pril Page 3 Bits and Pieces for April by Mirta Russis- Jorge Leno, our COS member who does the monthly raffle, had a heart attack this month. He was in the hospital for few days but is doing very well back at home. We are happy to know that he is recuperating so quickly. Our prayers for a fast recovery have been with him. Volunteers for the Fairchild Orchid Sales and Show The Coalition for Orchid Species won 1 st Place with a beautiful Double Table Top display at the Fairchild Orchid Show. Susana Ortiz designed and set up a beautiful display with the help of Katria Whitfield and Vivian Waddel. We thank the following COS members who helped out with the show, and who lent us their beautiful orchids for our display: Erna Maxwell, Betty Eber, Jim Lindberg, Ernie Barham, Jean Wilson, Larry Cox, Bob Watson, and Mirta R. Heineman. We also thank those COS members who helped at the COS recruiting table: Katria Whitfield, Rolando Armenteros, Eduardo Marcellini, Eric Gottlieb, Mirta R. Heineman, and Carlos Segrera! We recruited five new members., and we welcome them to COS! Sue Eber Masson, Maribel and Rafael Toledo, Robert Riefer, and Jorge Casaudoumecq! We hope to see you at our monthly meetings! Awards received by COS members at the Fairchild Show Our Coalition for Orchid Species trophy was won by Jim Lindberg. We are very proud of our Trophy winner! These were our additional winners: Best in Show Species won by Bulbophyllum leysianum grower, Jim Lindberg; Best in Show Paphipedulum, for his Paph. Lady Isabel, Ernie Barham; and Best in Show Seedling First Time Blooming was won by grower Betty Eber, for her Phal. lerucorrhada! Congratulations to all of our COS winners! SILENT AUCTION! Each month, in addition to the raffle, COS has a silent auction of plants that COS members have brought in to share. This is a great way to acquire new plants and benefit COS at the same time. So clear off your orchid benches and bring in your offshoots, keikis, and divisions! Cynthia White runs the silent auction at each meeting, and will kindly provide you with everything you need to auction your plants! Listen for the auction call! GET SOME CULTURE WITH BETTY EBER! Betty Eber will continue her informative and entertaining orchid culture series this month with her class on The Care and Culture of Cattleyas. Class begins promptly at 7:00 pm.! Bring a guest, your curiosity and questions!

4 Coal i t i on f or Orchid Species A pril Page 4 GET GROWING! Rhyncholaelia digbyana by Lou Lodyga I can remember the first time I ran across Rhyncolaelia digbyana (previously known as Brassavola digbyana) while collecting orchids in Honduras. The area was hot, sunny, with many tall cactus plants scattered throughout the area. Despite the oppressive heat and dryness, there it was in full bloom on the top of one of the cactus plants. The leaves were almost white (a protective covering like powder), beautiful strong growths with 8 large green flowers. I did manage to collect the plant, but not without getting some cactus spines in my hands. This is an easy orchid to grow, and does well in very bright light to full sun. They do well mounted on cork, driftwood, on a tree, or in a pot. Since they can take dryness, pot them in a course media which allows them to dry out fast. The fringed lip is particularly stunning, and it is for that reason it was used frequently in Cattleya hybrids. The flowers range in color from creamy white to green, with the green forms being the most desirable. Every collection should have this outstanding species! Cattleya of the Month Cattleya schroederae by Mirta Russis-Heineman This cattleya is originally from the northern part of Brazil. The plants are found along the Amazon River. They also grow along the Rio Negro near Manaus to the borders of Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. They grow high in trees of hot humid lowlands. Flowers are one to four, sweetly fragrant, and are usually white with a pale rose tint and a golden throat.

5 Coal i t i on f or Orchid Species A pril Page 5 THE AMERICAN ORCHID SOCIETY Public Garden Committee & South Florida Leadership Council You are Invited to the AOS Tropical Orchid Garden for WINE & JAZZ April 16, :30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. The AOS Public Garden Committee and the South Florida Leadership Council invite all to enjoy the orchids in bloom, great jazz, wine and appetizers on April 16, Stroll through the gardens and greenhouse and enjoy the beautiful orchids in bloom as the sun sets. Tasty treats will be served along with a great deal of fun as South Florida celebrates the beginning of spring at the glorious American Orchid Society Botanic Gardens. Say goodbye to the 2008 tax deadline in style! A silent auction will raise money for the AOS! Photography from Greg Alikas and Brian Monk will be auctioned along with full licenses of OrchidWiz! Internationally noted author Dr. Alec Pridgeon will be on hand to sign books! This is a also great opportunity to see the 7th annual quilt show that will be held at the American Orchid Society! This juried show will display orchid motif quilts, wall hangings and wearable art. For more information contact Susan Wayman at (561) ORCHID ADVENTURE EXPEDITION TO PERU INCLUDING MACCHU PICHU 10 July thru 21 July, 2009 Under $2,500 You have the opportunity to visit ancient Cuzco and the big stones of Sacsayhuaman and Ollantaytambo as well as a night in Macchu Pichu and the orchid botanical garden there. This will be an exciting adventure for all. We will drive over the Andes to the jungle area of Quillabamba and the Urubamba River and observe many species of orchids and other tropicals growing in the wild. You will have the opportunity to purchase orchids at less than wholesale prices from my nursery with CITES documents. Only 10 members are accepted on these tours; Four people are already registered. There is space for only 6 more available for this trip. The trip price is an estimate and should be under that amount. Everyone pays their own airfares, food and lodging. Let me know ASAP if you are interested so I can make the proper reservations. Details will be given to you on how to make payments for the air travel etc when you register. Everything will be paid for before we leave except for the food and lodging. See my website for more information - Lee Moore, The Adventurer

6 Coal i t i on f or Orchid Species A pril Page 6 Coalition for Orchid Species Programs for the year 2009 April Meeting May Meeting May May 30 June 6 June Meeting July tba July Meeting August 2 August Meeting September Mtg October 7-9 October 19 November Mtg November December Wes Higgins, from Selby Gardens - Encyclias Greg Butler, from Oak Hill Gardens (program TBA) Redland Festival Private Tour at Fairchild Bus Trip to visit Orchid Nurseries in Florida George Carr- The Genus Cycnoches (the swan orchid) Walk at the Fakahachee Swamp The Orchids of Cuba- Betty Eber 3 rd Annual COS Symposium Nina Rach- The genus Sobralia COS Anniversary and Open House, Armando Betancourt? - Venezuelan Orchids East Everglades Orchid Society Show Annual Species Auction The Best of Madagascar (AOS slide program) Ramble at Fairchild Famous COS Holiday Party denotes that the Society will set up a display of members orchids the Society will donate Our COS Trophy to the Best Orchid Species in Show For more information contact Mirta Russis Heineman At mrussis@bellsouth.net Angraecum sesquipedale, by Melanie Trexler 2009 COS BOARD President: Eduardo Marcellini Vice President: Lou Lodyga Treasurer: Tom De Mello Secretary: Melana Davison Board Members: Betty Eber, Cindy Langdon, Melanie Trexler, Carlos Segrera Membership: Vivian Wadell Education Committee: Lou Lodyga Conservation Committee: Katria Whitfield Newsletter Editor: Melanie Trexler Special Events Chair: Mirta R-Heineman 2007 President: Mirta Russis-Heineman 2008 President: Katria Whitfield

7 Coalition for Orchid Species WHAT S IN BLOOM! April 2009 Photos by Melanie Trexler, Jim Lindberg COS s Fairchild Orchid Show Tabletop Display Cattleya intermedia - Melana Davison Bulbo. picturatum -- Sue Samuels Page 7

8 Coalition for Orchid Species More of WHAT S IN BLOOM! April 2009 Page 8 Photos by Melanie Trexler, Jim Lindberg Phal. equestris --Betty Eber Den. Senile -- Eric Gottlieb Cattleya aurantiaca --Melana Davison Bulbo. Echinolabium - Sue Samuels

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