"He's hung out of helicopters and been dropped into shark-infested waters. .. he's a botanist. Peter de Lange performed the death-defying stunts as part of his mission to save New Zealand native plants.
"Being a botanist is not a dry, boring subject," he says. "It's very important to our economy and our culture. "I promise one of these days to write a book about botanists. We're very eccentric people." The 40-year-old has been rewarded with the New Zealand Botanical Society's Allan Mere award for outstanding contribution. He says he earned it with the support of botanists from around the world. ... a threatened plant scientist with the Conservation Department. His job involves categorising new species of flora and preserving threatened plants. ... helped write a book categorising threatened native plants. ... He spent two years scouring the Waikato wetlands trying to find the swamp helmet orchid [Corybas carsei (Cheeseman) Hatch], which was believed to be extinct. He found the rare plant - when he sat on it during a lunch break. "For some reason, a botanist sitting on an orchid made international headlines." He says Kiwis need to take more interest in their native plants. "We all need to become more aware of how unique our flora is and advocate for effective legislation to protect it," he says. ... de Lange gets to name and categorise new plant species." article URL : http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/3937857a6497.html photo : [caption : Being recognised by his peers is an honour for botanist Peter de Lange.] http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/275964.jpg *************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
