Christmas is over. We've survived the floods (not nearly as bad as in Aceh and Johor), and telecoms are slowly being restored after the earthquake ... so it is time to sit back and take stock of the events of the last week.
This year I received a gift that will get repeated use over many years ... a copy of Volume 4 in the "Orchids of New Guinea" CD-Rom series, by Andre Schuiteman & Ed de Vogel. The subtitle (Genera Kuhlhasseltia to Ophioglossa) suggests something totally obscure (I've never seen either of these genera), but the inside is a real treat. It covers all the PNG species (410 species entries in the "Contents" list) in a number of major genera, including Liparis, Malaxis (following the broad definition of the genus) and Oberonia. It gives a similar all-encompassing treatment to the New Guinea representatives of a number of smaller genera of horticultural interest, such as Mediocalcar, Macodes, and Malleola. I loaded the CD-Rom onto my PC (easy and problem-free) and spent part of a day happily browsing through the photos. There must be thousands of them, contributed by top orchid photographers. Then I started playing in earnest ... typing a species name into the search engine, and viewing a summary of all known data on that species. This includes synonyms, a comprehensive description, maps showing recorded distribution in New Guinea, cultivation notes, references, and (clicking the "Multimedia" button), a range of photos and drawings (where available). There is an amazing amount of linked cross-referencing present ... eg, if you don't know what "furfuraceous" means, a click on the word opens up the right place in the "Glossary". The Generic keys will be extremely useful to anyone trying to identify New Guinea orchids... the "Text Key" uses the standard branching pathway system, but many of the choices are illustrated ... so if you're not clear what is meant by "lateral inflorescence", there is a picture to help you. In the "Identify It" key, you keep on selecting features that match your specimen until it is identified. Brilliant ! And, when used in conjunction with the earlier 3 volumes ... indispensable ! If only all orchid information was this easy !!!! According to Ed de Vogel, the CDs in this series are Euro 59 plus postage, with 10% discount when two or more are purchased at the same time. They can be ordered through [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Ed mentioned something to look forward to in the future.... they are going to start including Peter Jongejan's stereo photos in Volumes 5 and 6 of this CD-Rom series. This is a truly tantalizing prospect.... if you've never seen the work of Peter Jongejan, you can have no appreciation of just how astonishing an orchid photo can be. As a straight photographer he would be in a league of his own (makes me look like a beginner), but he did it in stereo ! Jongejan specialised in New Guinea Bulbophyllums, so most of his photos (hundreds of them) will appear in Volume 6 (Bulbophyllum). Apparently the photos are fantastic when viewed in stereo using a Loreo lite 3D viewer, which can be bought very cheaply via the web. Peter O'Byrne in saturated Singapore _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
