Journal Number 100
August 2006

FROM THE AUSTRALIAN GROUPS

Mackay and District Group of the
Australasian Native Orchid Society
By Jim Quinlan, President and Noeline Quinlan, Secretary / Treasurer

ANOS Mackay and District Group Inc. came into being in 1990 to cater for members who have a passion for our Australian native orchids. ANOS is a group that also has an interest in any orchids originating from the Australasian Plate for example, from Irian Jaya, Papua and New Guinea, and also Island groups to the East and South including New Zealand.

Our Patron is Mr. Bill Lavarack of Townsville. Bill is well known for his works on Australasian native orchids, having been on a number of orchid expeditions and also written a number of books in collaboration with other authors.

Dendrobium bowmanii is our group emblem which grows prolifically in this area. It grows up in the mountains down to sea level and dry areas to wet areas.

There are close to 100 species of orchids growing in our area, both epiphytic orchids and terrestrial orchids. We have lowland orchids, namely Den. discolour, Den. canaliculatum, Sac. armitii, some of the Habenarias, Geodorum densiflorum and Phaius tankervillae, some of which grow very close to the beach.

We have tropical rainforests where a different group of orchids grow, such as Den. speciosum var curvicaule (photo), Den. gracilicaule, Den. tetragonum, Den. aemulum, Den. monophyllum, Oberonias, Plecterhizas, Liparas, Bulbophyllums, Sarcochilus, Glossodia major, Caladenias, Thelymitras, Corybas and Pterostylis.

Out west the drier orchids, like Cym. canaliculatum, Cym. suave and Sarc. ceciliae will grow. Flowering season is all year round with a different species flowering every month.

Our area is also the only known area in the world where the famous Den. schneideri var. major is found. It grows high up in the Hoop Pines on the high ridges of the Eungella National Park and the Crediton State Forrest. There are two natural hybrids, X gracilimum and X ruppiosum, found in our area, however, to date only X gracilimum has been sighted by our group.

The Mackay District is unique in that it is surrounded by a dry area. This dry area starts south at about St Lawrence, then west to the Great Dividing Range and north to about Bowen. It would also seem that the gene pool here is unique as there are quite a number of orchids from this area winning shows and awards down south.

ANOS Mackay and District Group Inc. meets at least once a month when we bring in orchids in flower for a popular vote. Meetings are a very casual affair; business is done very quickly so we can get to the more important topic of discussing orchids. When the opportunity arises we have guest speakers, slides, demonstrations on caring for native orchids. We have 17 members in our group. A newsletter is sent to members prior to each meeting. Meetings second Thursday of the month at the Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens, Lagoon St, Mackay, 7.30pm.

Our group promotes the cultivation of native orchids for resale, thereby encouraging people to purchase these plants rather than take them from the wild. For this purpose members of our group propagate Australian native and Australasian native orchids. In the cooler months we like to go bush on the look out for new species of orchids, and to check on the ones we already know about.

We are working with the Mackay Regional Botanic gardens, teaching the staff how to care for native orchids in our area. We put up three orchid displays per year for the public and this is rewarded by the number of queries about the different orchids.