Peter O'Byrne, in his last email on this digest, pointed readers to his discovery of a new Vanda species, documented on the following website:
http://www.orchidspng.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?6/5960 He went on to say "To put this discovery in context, there have only been 3 other new Vanda species discovered since 1930, and none in the last 20 years!" Here is the excerpt from that website (minus the two photos) "I've just returned from a trip to a remote part of Sulawesi, where I found a Vanda species growing in huge numbers on trees in 2 mountain valleys. I am fairly certain it is an undescribed species. When I have finished doing drawings & a full description, I'll circulate it around various experts and see it they concur. If no-one can suggest a prior name for the species, then I'll publish it in this year's MOR, probably as Vanda jennae or Vanda jennaiana. If anybody has any information about this species, please contact me. A few details: the largest plant I saw had a stem that was 175 cm long, and had leaves on the upper 80cm. Leaves are up to 34 cm x 42 mm; leaf apex is bilobed, truncated, but rather variable in shape. The largest inflorescence was 21 cm long with 8 flowers. The flowers are ~45 mm wide, lightly fragrant and have a highly mobile lip with a very short spur." The photos are very impressive, and certainly evidence of a species I have never seen before. Peter is to be congratulated on this discovery of such a horticulturally attractive species (if it is proved to be undescribed and new to science). My only disappointment was that Peter flagged its new "name" before all the taxonomic formalities have been conducted and validly published. This could open the door for "someone else" to name this species before the publication date of the next issue of the "Malayan Orchid Review". Personally, I feel such "manuscript names" be kept private until publication...to avoid a needless expansion of an already huge list of orchid synonyms. Whilst it has been mentioned (more than once) that Peter is not a "trained taxonomist", I personally value his taxonomic determinations and knowledge of Southeast Asian orchids a lot more than many with those "important letters" after their name. Peter also studies these plants in the wild, and is enthusiastic and passionate about his topic. I have never met Peter in person, and have only ever corresponded with him by email, and he has always answered my questions quickly and with a lot of supporting evidence. I value his orchid-related opinions. He has written two major books - "Lowland Orchids of Papua New Guinea" (which also includes many of Peter's colour photographs and line drawings depicting the species represented. Most of the orchid taxonomists and hobbyists I know use this book as a key reference work for the orchids of New Guinea. Not bad for an amateur! His other work the "A to Z of South East Asian Orchid Species" is a great introductory field guide to the vast numbers of orchids in this region. There are many species illustrated in this book that I have not seen published elsewhere. Certainly, a "must have" book. Peter's popularity in Singapore is so popular that he has to even go shopping in disguise, to avoid recognition! (See photo on the back cover of the book!). He has also written numerous articles and has described a number of new orchid species in the "Malayan Orchid Review". Then Peter later on wrote... "So, Andy (Easton), please enlighten us all ..... what has your most significant contribution to serious orchidology been ? Other than playing politics at AOS (yawn) and using the web to rubbish people you've never met?" Well, really the personal orchid interest of Peter and Andy couldn't be further apart. Peter is into species, especially miniatures (his email address features Oberonia) and botanicals. I've never heard Peter mention the word "hybrid". So that is why Andy is probably unaware of what Peter's contribution to orchid literature is. On the other hand, Peter (being the species nut that he is) probably only he ard of Andy Easton in very recent times (like since email became so fashionable). Andy has been (and still is) a world leader in breeding first class orchids, proven over many decades. His foresight and ingenuity kept him a generation or two ahead of his contemporaries, and he revolutionised the way tetraploid orchids were used in breeding. The showbenches and award tables have been overflowing with Easton-bred cymbidiums, in miniatures, intermediates and novelties as well as standards. How many times have we seen the name 'Geyserland' as a cultivar name used for choice orchids? Andy's prowess is certainly no limited to his main interest in cymbidiums. He has bred outstanding lines with the Odontoglossum alliance, and pioneered work on the tetraploid lines of Maudiae-type paphiopedilums as well as the classic, complex slipper orchids, especially in the greens and autumn tones. I have known Andy for many years, and used to catch up with him when he regularly travelled to Australia (once or twice a year), that's when he was living in New Zealand. I visited his nursery at Rotorua, NZ a few years back, and was stunned by the variety and sheer quality of his cymbidiums (and other orchids). He also did quite a bit of work line-breeding desirable (and marketable) orchid species. I do remember Andy not being that pleased with me as I returned late (in his vehicle!) before we had to go to an orchid meeting that evening. I was late because I had been looking at (and photographing) terrestrial orchids along the way home. He said something along the lines of "why did you waste time looking at those weeds when you could look at some real orchids here"! Hopefully Andy and I will again cross paths sometime in the near future. So, in a nut shell, both gentlemen have made major significant contributions to orchids, but in very different capacities, with very different motives, and interests (and intense knowledge) in orchids that are poles apart. ******************************************** David P. Banks (Hills District Orchids) 39 Carole Street, Seven Hills NSW 2147 Australia Phone (02) 9674-4720 Editor "Australian Orchid Review" www.australianorchidreview.com
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