POLLINIA - January 2015 Volume 13, Issue Two

Cumann Magairlíní na hÉireann Volume 13, Issue 2

An Geimhreadh

January 2015

2

IOS Committee - Membership Details

THE IRISH ORCHID SOCIETY Chairman: Vacant Treasurer : Mary Bradshaw Secretary: Vacant Editor: Laurence T. May Committee: Úna Breathnach Marina Andreeva Lisa Coffey Deirdre McGrane Laurence T. May

IOS MEMBERSHIP DETAILS ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS (renewable in June of each year) Adult Single €20.00 Family €30.00 OAP/Student* €15.00 (*Confirmation of student status required)   

Please make cheques or PO payable to: The Irish Orchid Society

Applications and other society communications should be made to the Secretary: Secretary (pol-LIN-ee-uh) Irish Orchid Society A pollinium, (plural, pollinia) is the c/o National Botanic Gardens specific, pollen-bearing structure of Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland Orchidaceae which is extracted by pollinators from a flower and transported for pollination to another flower.

It is a mass of pollen grains fused by means of their wavy texture or fine threads, It originate from a single anther.

This mass sticks together and during pollination is transported as a single unit.

Pollinia contain the male reproductive cells.

EDITORIAL INFORMATION The Editorial Staff reserve the right to edit and/or amend articles submitted to the Newsletter.

The views or comments published within this Newsletter are not necessarily views shared by either the Editorial Staff or the Irish Orchid Society. © 2014-2015 Contributions of articles, pictures or comments should be sent by email to: editor@pollinia.org or by post to: Laurence T. May, Bellarush, Castlebaldwin, Co. Sligo, Ireland

▲

A pair of pollinia. The typical pollen-bearing structure of the Asclepiadaceae and Orchidaceae families.

Copyrights for the photographers’ and artists’ images belong to their respective owners.

The Irish Orchid Society

ISSN 1649-1173

Cumann Magairlíní na hÉireann

January 2015

3

Calendar of Events - January to March 2015

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: Please check the Society website for changes and updates. http://www.irishorchidsociety.org January 2015 No Meeting.

Athbhliain faoi mhaise dhaoibh

JAN

1

2015

February 2nd 8pm Our ever popular potting demonstration will take place again this year

FEB

2

2015

February 14th. 11:30 am Brendan Sayers, Glasshouse Foreman at the National Botanic Garden and well-known orchid specialist will give a demonstration on growing and re-potting orchids.

FEB

14 2015

This demonstration is open to the public and numbers must be limited.

Cost â‚Ź15p/p. Cheques made payable to Irish Orchid Society to be received before January 30th 2015.

Please contact Irish Orchid Society for further details info@irishorchidsociety.org

March 2nd 8pm

MAR

2

2015

January 2015 Su

M

Tu W Th Fri Sa 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Pollinia

March 2015

February 2015 Su

M

1

2

Tu W Th Fri Sa 3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

Bon Natali

Su

M

1

2

Tu W Th Fri Sa 3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Volume 13, Issue 2

4

Where Did All the Flowers Come From?

T

hroughout his life, Charles Darwin surrounded himself with flowers. When he was 10, he wrote down each time a peony bloomed in his father’s garden.

When he bought a house to raise his own family, he turned the grounds into a botanical field station where he experimented on flowers until his death. But despite his intimate familiarity with flowers, Darwin once wrote that their evolution was “an abominable mystery.”

Darwin could see for himself how successful flowering plants had become. They make up the majority of living plant species, and they dominate many of the world’s ecosystems, from rain forests to grasslands. They also dominate our farms. Out of flowers come most of the calories humans consume, in the form of foods like corn, rice and wheat. Flowers are also impressive in their sheer diversity of forms and colors, from lush, fullbodied roses to spiderlike orchids to calla lilies shaped like urns.

WHERE DID ALL THE FLOWERS COME FROM?

The fossil record, however, offered Darwin little enlightenment about the early evolution of flowers. At the time, the oldest fossils of flowering plants came from rocks that had formed from 100 million to 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.

Paleontologists found a diversity of forms, not a few primitive forerunners.

Long after Darwin’s death in 1882, the history of flowers continued to vex scientists. But talk to experts today, and there is a note of guarded optimism. “There’s an energy that I haven’t seen in my lifetime,” said William Friedman, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The discovery of new fossils is one source of that new excitement. But scientists are also finding a wealth of clues in living flowers and their genes. They are teasing apart the recipes encoded in plant DNA for building different kinds of flowers. Their research indicates that flowers evolved into their marvelous diversity in much the same way as eyes and limbs have: through the recycling of old genes for new jobs.

Until recently, scientists were divided over how flowers were related to other plants. Thanks to studies on plant

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

5

Where Did All the Flowers Come From?

RARE PLANT Amborella trichopoda, a small shrub found only on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, represents the oldest living lineage of flowering plants.

DNA, their kinship is clearer. “There was every kind of idea out there, and a lot of them have been refuted,” said James A. Doyle, a paleobotanist at the University of California, Davis.

which produce seeds in structures that look faintly like flowers. But the most intriguing fossils are also the most fragmentary, leaving paleobotanists deeply divided over which of them might be closely related to flowers. “There’s no It is now clear, for example, that the consensus,” Dr. Doyle said. closest living relatives to flowers are flowerless species that produce seeds, a But there is a consensus when it comes to group that includes pine trees and the early evolution of flowers gingkos. Unfortunately, the plants are all themselves. By studying the DNA of closely related to one another, and none many flowering plants, scientists have is more closely related to flowers than found that a handful of species represent any of the others. the oldest lineages alive today. The oldest branch of all is represented by just The plants that might document the early one species: a shrub called Amborella stages in the emergence of the flower that is found only on the island of New apparently became extinct millions of Caledonia in the South Pacific. Water years ago. “The only way to find them is lilies and star anise represent the two through the fossils,” Dr. Doyle said. next-oldest lineages alive today.

In the past few years scientists have pushed back the fossil record of flowers to about 136 million years ago. They have also found a number of fossils of mysterious extinct seed plants, some of

Pollinia

If you could travel back to 130 million years ago, you might not be impressed with the earliest flowers. “They didn’t look like they were going anywhere,” Dr. Doyle said.

Linksmų Kalėdų

Volume 13, Issue 2

6

Where Did All the Flowers Come From?

Those early flowers were small and rare, living in the shadows of far more successful nonflowering plants. It took many millions of years for flowers to hit their stride. Around 120 million years ago, a new branch of flowers evolved that came to dominate many forests and explode in diversity. That lineage includes 99 percent of all species of flowering plants on Earth today, ranging from magnolias to dandelions to pumpkins. That explosion in diversity also produced the burst of flower fossils that so puzzled Darwin.

All flowers, from Amborella on, have the same basic anatomy. Just about all of them have petals or petal-like structures that surround male and female organs.

The first flowers were probably small and simple, like modern Amborella flowers.

Later, in six lineages, flowers became more complicated. They evolved an inner ring of petals that became big and showy, and an outer ring of usually green, leaflike growths called sepals, which protect young flowers as they bud.

It would seem, based on this recent discovery, that a petal is not a petal is not a petal. The flowers of, say, the paw-paw tree grow petals that evolved independently from the petals on a rose.

But the genes that build flowers hint that there is more to the story.

transformed the inner circle of petals into sepals. And still other mutations turned sepals into leaves.

The discovery was a remarkable echo of ideas first put forward by the German poet Goethe, who not only wrote “Faust” but was also a careful observer of plants.

In 1790, Goethe wrote a visionary essay called The Morphology of Plants, in which he argued that all plant organs, including flowers, started out as leaves.

“From first to last,” he wrote, “the plant is nothing but a leaf.”

Two centuries later, scientists discovered that mutations to genes could cause radical transformations like those Goethe envisioned. In the past two decades, scientists have investigated how the genes revealed through such mutations work in normal flowers. The genes encode proteins that can switch on other genes, which in turn can turn other genes on or off. Together, the genes can set off the development of a petal or any other part of an Arabidopsis flower.

Scientists are studying those genes to figure out how new flowers evolved.

They have found versions of the genes that build Arabidopsis flowers in other species, including Amborella. In many cases, the genes have been accidentally duplicated in different lineages.

In the late 1980s, scientists discovered Finding those flower-building genes, the first genes that guide the development however, does not automatically tell of flowers. They were studying a small scientists what their function is in a growing flower. To answer that question, plant called Arabidopsis, a botanical lab scientists need to tinker with plant genes. rat, when they observed that mutations Unfortunately, no plant is as easy to could set off grotesque changes. Some tinker with as Arabidopsis, so answers mutations caused petals to grow where are only beginning to emerge. there should have been stamens, the flower’s male organs. Other mutations

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

7

Where Did All the Flowers Come From?

Vivian Irish, an evolutionary biologist at Yale, and her colleagues are learning how to manipulate poppies because, Dr. Irish points out, “poppies evolved petals independently.”

those different limbs.

She and her colleagues have identified flower-building genes by shutting some of them down and producing monstrous flowers as a result.

Dr. Irish said, however, that her studies of petals were only part of the story.

“Lots of things happened when the flower arose,” she said. Flowers evolved a new arrangement of sex organs, for example. “A pine tree has male cones and female cones,” she said, “but flowers have male and female organs on the same axis.”

“I think it is pretty cool that animals and plants have used similar strategies,” Dr. Irish said, “albeit with different genes.”

The genes, it turns out, are related to the genes that build Arabidopsis flowers. In Arabidopsis, for example, a gene called AP3 is required to build petals and stamens. Poppies have two copies of a related version of the gene, called Once the sex organs were gathered paleoAP3. together, they underwent a change invisible to the naked eye that might have But Dr. Irish and her colleagues found driven flowers to their dominant place in that the two genes produced different the plant world. effects. Shutting down one gene transforms petals. The other transforms When a pollen grain fertilizes an egg, it stamens. provides two sets of DNA. While one set fertilizes the egg, the other is destined for The results, Dr. Irish said, show that the sac that surrounds the egg. The sac early flowers evolved a basic tool kit of fills with endosperm, a starchy material genes that marked off different regions of that fuels the growth of an egg into a a stem. Those geography genes made seed. It also fuels our own growth when proteins that could then switch on other we eat corn, rice or other grains. genes involved in making different structures. Over time, the genes could In the first flowers, the endosperm ended switch control from one set of genes to up with one set of genes from the male another, giving rise to new flowers. parent and another set from the female parent. But after early lineages like Thus, the petals on a poppy evolved Amborella and water lilies branched off, independently from the petals on flowers bulked up their endosperm with Arabidopsis, but both flowers use the two sets of genes from the mother and same kinds of genes to control their one from the father. growth.

Dr. Friedman, of the University of If Dr. Irish is right, flowers have evolved Colorado, Boulder, has documented the in much the same way our own anatomy transition and does not think it was a evolved. Our legs, for example, evolved coincidence that flowering plants independently from the legs of flies, but underwent an evolutionary explosion many of the same ancient appendage- after gaining an extra set of genes in their building genes were enlisted to build endosperm.

Pollinia

Glædelig Jul

Volume 13, Issue 2

8

Where Did All the Flowers Come From?

It is possible, for example, that with extra genes, the endosperm could make more proteins.

“It’s like having a bigger engine,” Dr. Friedman said.

Other experts agree that the transition took place, but they are not sure it is the secret to flowers’ success. “I don’t know why it should be so great,” Dr. Doyle said.

As Dr. Friedman has studied how the extra set of genes evolved in flowers, he has once again been drawn to Goethe’s vision of simple sources and complex results.

Flowers with a single set of female DNA in their endosperm, like water lilies, start out with a single nucleus at one end of the embryo sac. It divides, and one nucleus moves to the middle of the sac to become part of the endosperm.

Later, a variation evolved. In a rose or a poppy, a single nucleus starts out at one end of the sac. But when the nucleus divides, one nucleus makes its way to the other end of the sac. The two nuclei each divide, and then one of the nuclei from each end of the sac moves to the middle.

Duplication, a simple process, led to greater complexity and a major change in flowers.

“Nature just doesn’t invent things out of whole cloth,” Dr. Friedman said. “It creates novelty in very simple ways. They’re not radical or mysterious. Goethe already had this figured out.” ●

THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

9

Galway Transplants

FIELD TO BE TRANSPLANTED – DOWN THE ROAD In what is thought to be a first in Ireland, a group of conservationists are saving a field resplendent with orchids and wildflowers from being buried beneath a new motorway.

The field near Ardrahan which boasts 300 individual wild orchids of five different species and a host of other plants synonymous with a limestone environment, is being moved sod by sod to a new picturesque site overlooking Rinville Bay outside Oranmore, Dan Clabby, one of the volunteers leading the project, said: “This was such a wonderful site, ten miles away. you could not believe the amount of species growing here, you wouldn’t believe it wasn’t man made."

Dubbed Operation Orchid, the project is the brainchild of the Galway Conservation Volunteers after they decided to investigate the area being swallowed up by the Gort-toTuam motorway.

It was Peter Butler who came upon the field early in the Spring festooned with the Early Purple orchids. No sooner had these flowers died, another species of orchid, the Common Spotted, emerged to replace them.

Over the summer other species such as O’Kelly’s Orchid, the Fragrant Orchid and the Twayblade Orchid have been growing. Other plants noted at the site include Blue Gentians, Catspaw and Scabious.

“It really does show what can happen when nature is left to its own devices. This is all 100% natural, it was all undisturbed, only for the grazing of a few goats, horses and cattle, which is actually good for the species as it removes the rough grass.”

Stephen Lally in the parks department of Galway County Council offered them a site in Rinville Park which proved to be an ideal match for the Ardrahan landscape. It is in a gravelly patch beside the carpark adjacent to the sea but protected by a low stone wall to ensure it will not be accidentally mowed down.

“We are looking for as many volunteers as possible to help with Operation Orchid.

We haven’t transported stuff from A to B before. I doubt it’s ever been done here.

When word got out about the project we got all sorts of emails from around the country but our focus has been on getting a location to save this habitat,” explained Dan. Volunteers should phone 087 668 1327 for details DENISE MCNAMARA GALWAY CITY TRIBUNE

Pollinia

Frohe Weihnachten

Volume 13, Issue 2

10

Recently in flower in the National Botanic Gardens

RECENTLY IN FLOWER AT THE NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS

Encyclia faustum or more correctly Anacheilium faustum Synonyms: Encyclia fausta (Rchb. f. ex Cogn.) Pabst 1972; Epidendrum faustum Rchb. f. ex Cogn. 1900; Hormidium faustum (Rchb. f. ex Cogn.) Brieger 1960; Prosthechea fausta [Rchb.f ex cogn.] Higgins 1997 The common name is the Luxurious Anacheilium.

“Faustus” refers to a medieval magician who traded his soul for fame and fortune.

Anacheilium faustum is a native of southern Brazilian, found in humid montane forests at elevations around 700 meters; it is therefore considered a cool growing epiphyte. In cultivation it will tolerate as cold as 7° C. This orchid has closely spaced, spindleshaped pseudobulbs carrying two, apical, narrow, strap shaped leaves and blooms.

The inflorescence stem is erect 5" [12 cm] long, holding several [4-10] fragrant flowers on each stem.

The flower size is approximately 2" [5 cm] and flowers in the Brazilian summer and fall but in cultivation in can be free flowering throughout the year.

A. faustum prefers moderate bright light approx. 1500-2500 foot-candles or in other words indirect light with definite shadowing. With each flower lasting on average 20 days this is a popular plant in cultivation.

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

Recently in flower in the National Botanic Gardens

11

A. faustum grows best mounted on tree-fern or in baskets of chopped tree-fern and sphagnum. Water while growing 3-5 times per week, apply less water during the weather months and remember, as with nearly all orchids, feed weekly and weakly.

I recently saw plants for sale on an American website for $35.

MARIE HOURIGAN CHRISTMAS WILDFLOWERS AT THE NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDEN Sunday 14 December 2014, National Botanic Gar dens, Glasnevin, Dublin 9 Spread some Christmas cheer with wildflower expert ZoĂŤ Devlin who will have books and framed prints of her wildflower photos for sale at the annual Christmas fair hosted by the National Botanic Gardens. From noon.

This year, she will be joined by her husband Pete (with framed prints of his bird drawings) and their daughter Petra (who will bring along handmade jewellery).

Profits from both stalls will go to the Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust.

Pollinia

‘S Rozhdestvom khristovym

Volume 13, Issue 2

12

Orange Phalenopsis

RESEARCHERS DEVELOP NEW ORANGE PHALENOPSIS

A sprig of the “Orange Lover” variety of moth orchid developed by the Council of Agriculture’s Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station.

Using methods of distant hybridization and embryo rescue, Taiwan’s Greater Kaohsiung’s Agricultural Research and Extension Station introduced an orange-color gene from Vanda orchids into moth orchids, and has developed new varieties of pure orange colored moth orchids.

The station has already developed more than 50 combinations by hybridizing moth orchids with the orange color genes from vanda orchids.

With the developed variety “Orange Lover” successfully registered at the Royal Horticultural Society in 2012, three other types of orange moth orchids — the “Orange Girl,” the “Orange Cinderella” and the “Orange Venus” — have recently been approved by the organization, marking the start of a new chapter for Taiwan as “moth orchid kingdom,” the station said.

Station researcher Tsai Chi-chu (蔡奇助) said the moth orchid is one of the nation’s most important agricultural export products, with exports worth more than NT$100 million (US$3.33 million) a year since 2012.

Taiwan faces competition from Europe, China and Southeast Asia. especially with the Netherlands expanding efforts to collect and cross breed over the past decade, he said, adding that the Netherlands’ advanced cultivating skills and comprehensive

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

13

All-Ireland Pollinator Action Plan

marketing strategy has allowed it to become the largest moth orchid sprout producer in the world.

Moreover, Tsai said the pure orange-colored moth orchid is a cross-bred variety made through the station’s “orchid cross-breeding technique service platform,” and the platform is expected to also assist the industry to overcome obstacles in the process of hybridizing to develop new, unique moth orchid varieties.

The genome complexity of these varieties is high and they are difficult to breed using traditional hybridization methods, so there is no fear that companies in the Netherlands can produce similar varieties, he said.

Tsai added that the new varieties are expected to be unique in the market, and unlikely to suffer price competition. ● THE TAIPEI TIMES

AN ALL-IRELAND POLLINATOR ACTION PLAN 2015-2020 is currently being developed. It is being led by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and the Pollination Ecology Research Group in TCD. The Action Plan provides an important framework to bring together pollinator initiatives across the island of Ireland, and is the start of a process by which we can collectively take positive steps to protect Irish pollinators and the service they provide into the future. The plan outlines actions necessary under a number of keys areas: data needs, research needs, policy needs, education and communication needs, and site based actions. A steering group, representative of key stakeholders, will oversee publication and implementation of the plan which will go out for a two month public consultation phase in JanuaryFebruary 2015. A one-day All-Ireland Pollinator Symposium will be held in Waterford on the 17 February 2015. This meeting will present the plan and provide opportunity for public engagement. There will also be a series of talks on how best to move forward on specific actions. It is hoped that all those with an interest in Irish pollinators and their conservation will attend.

To register, please visit the National Biodiversity Data Centre event page ( http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/home-page/event-registration/ ) The registration fee is €10 FRONT COVER: Dendrobium Bohemian Rhapsody (pierardii x loddigesii)

Pollinia

Prettige Kerstfeest

Volume 13, Issue 2

14 RARE AUSTRALIAN ORCHID SENT TO THE NETHERLANDS FOR GENETIC TESTING Is a plant really a plant if it has no leaves, no roots and grows underground?

Samples of Rhizanthella slateri, a rare breed of orchid found in only a handful of locations in Australia’s New South Wales, have been sent to the Netherlands for genetic testing to determine the plant's uniqueness.

The eastern underground orchid is one of a very small number of plants found around the world which cannot photosynthesise.

"The vulnerable NSW orchid does not get its energy from the sun, lacks roots and leaves, and instead relies on fungus to act as its substitute root system and to provide it with food," said Greg Steenbeeke, the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage senior threatened species officer.

Sequencing the plant's genetic blueprint will help botanists compare it with other non-photosynthesising plants to understand how they evolved and moved across the world, Mr Steenbeeke said.

Once sequenced, the plant's genetic code would be included in a global database, called Genbank, where sequences from other eastern underground orchids may be added in the future and used to map the variation between individual plants.

That plant species maintain the genetic differences they already have is necessary for their survival as the globe warms.

Plant evolutionary biologist Angela Moles said there were two ways plants could adapt to climate change, they could migrate to stay within their preferred climate zone at the moment, or they can adapt to their new environment.

"From paleo records, it looks like adapting in situ is the main thing species do, [which means] maintaining genetic variation is essential to have that ability to adapt," said Professor Moles, from the University of NSW. Genetic research helps unlock the natural genetic diversity of plants and identify the populations best able to cope with changing climate conditions.

A principal research scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Maurizio Rossetto, said people were starting to understand the potential of genetics in plant conservation.

Advances in technology, including next generation sequencing, had made this research faster and cheaper than previously thought possible, said Dr Rossetto.

NICKY PHILLIPS

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

15

THE EASTERN UNDERGROUND ORCHID - Rhizanthella slateri

Rhizanthella slateri is the lesser known of the two underground orchid species found in Australia (4). Unlike the western underground orchid (R. gardneri), which never emerges from the soil, the small purple flowers of this species do break through and can be visible amongst the leaf litter on the forest floor .

THE DUBLIN ORCHID FAIR Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th April 2015 The Irish Orchid Society invites all to attend Dublin’s 2015 Orchid Fair.

This annual event is hosted by the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin and will take place in the Teak House from 10-5pm on both days; there is no admission charge.

Burnham Nurseries and Ray Creek Orchids will have a huge variety of orchids available to purchase as well as various sundries such as potting materials and orchid food. Both suppliers will accept pre-orders – please see www.orchids.uk.com and www.raycreekorchids.com Members of the Irish Orchid Society who grow these plants in Irish conditions, will be present on both days to answer any questions and provide advice on how best to care for your orchids.

Please call to our stand for more information about the IOS, membership benefits and the chance to win an orchid.

Free events will include talks and a tour: Saturday 1.30pm “Potting Basics” Sunday 1.30pm “Orchids for Beginners” Sunday 3pm Tour of the Orchid Collection of the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin

Pollinia

Sretan Božić

Volume 13, Issue 2

16

Bletilla ochracea

BLETILLA OCHRACEA, GROUND ORCHID

THE

YELLOW

FLOWER

CHINESE

The only yellow flowered member of the genus Bletilla, Bletilla ochracea, hails from south-central China. Described nearly a century ago (Schlechter, 1913) it remained essentially unknown to western garden enthusiasts until the early 1990s when plants began to circulate in the growing export trade from that country. At first it sounded too good to be true, a pure yellow flowered Bletilla species, and the lurid yellow photos that started popping up on recently created world wide web looked too good to be true. Indeed, most were over saturated to near ridiculous shades. In time plants became more distributed and the reality of this flower became less legend, and more real. Growers found themselves not with brilliant deep yellow flowered plants, but rather soft pastel ones. Nevertheless, B. ochracea remains a novelty in this genus of otherwise purple-violet flowered plants.

Bletilla ochracea is a perennial, deciduous terrestrial orchid. It’s long grass-like leaves number between 4 to 8 and grow alternately from a thick stem, with a total height of 30 to 50 centimeters. The highly pleated leaves are bright green in color, but in some clones the newly emerging growths can be suffused with dark purplered, which turn green when fully mature.

The plant looks much like a young palm tree seedling when out of flower. The thick rhizome has flattened, bulb-like internodes and a vigorous root system.

Overall, the plant looks very similar to the well known Bletilla striata, but is a bit more gracile in appearance.

Bletilla ochracea is the only member of the genus that sports yellow flowers.

The flower stalk can be quite long and hold up to 10 or more flowers in robust specimens (mine never seem to have more than just a handful per stalk). The flowers bloom sequentially, and are typical sized for the genus, around 6 cm across. They have a classic “orchid flower” look, with a broad, highly ruffled lip. What makes the flower unique is its light yellow color, which can range from a pale pastel yellow to almost white. The most intensely colored part of the flower is the lip, which has a deep orange-yellow base color that is streaked with purple and red patches.

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

17

Bletilla ochracea

The elongated, pale yellow column extends over its uppermost part, adding to the beauty of the flower. Flowering typically commences three or more weeks after Bletilla striata – in nature, from June to August.

The plant is reported to grow in a variety of habitats and elevations in south central China and northern Vietnam. It is said to be at home in both evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forest, grasslands, coniferous forest, in gullies in the shade, and thickets.

Plants can be found from 300-2400 meter elevations in a wide area of China from southeast Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, southern Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan. There is a an odd and erroneous web based reference that this species is also from west Africa – something not substantiated in any literature I’ve come across.

Bletilla ochracea flowers later than B. striata. This clone flowers for me a full month after, in late June and early July.

The flowers of this species seem at least somewhat variable in color depending on the clone and also environmental conditions. Plants grown in full sun tend to have redbrown pigmentation on the sepals and petals, particularly on the dorsal surfaces.

This seems to be a reaction to increased light levels. Plants in shadier areas tend to be more pale yellow. Much has been made about “red flowered” plants, as well as “alba flowered” plants. To my knowledge these are not true varieties, but rather reflect the range of genotypes (combined with environmental conditions) that exist. I’ve even seen a picture of a plant claimed to be a “pink” version – clearly not this species, but more likely a hybrid.

Pollinia

Wesołych Świąt

Volume 13, Issue 2

18

Bletilla ochracea

I have two different plants of B. ochracea – one that starts flowering early, usually a couple weeks after the bulk of my B. striata (but with lots of overlap) – and another clone that waits another couple weeks . In my area in southern Japan that translates into B. striata starting in mid May, the early clone of B. ochracea in late May, and the late clone in mid to late June. The early clone also flushes its growths a deep purplered, while the later clone flushes green. I was told the early flowered clone is from Yunnan, but I don’t know the origin of the other plant.

A number of hybrids have been made between B. ochracea and other members of the genus, with B. Brigantes (the cross with B. striata) being one of the more famous ones (registered in1994 by R.G. & A. Evenden). I’ve grown this lovely flower which is highly reminiscent of B. ochracea except for its overall bright violet-pink color and more elongated flower segments. Not surprisingly my plant seems to commence flowering between its two parent species.

A comparison shot of B. Brigantes (left) and B. ochracea (right).

The cultivation of this plant is fairly straightforward, yet it seems to be a bit more sensitive than the more vigorous B. striata, and also a bit slower to increase in size. I have a small pot full of B. ochracea now with multiple flowering stems, but it 5 years to grow the plant to that size. A plant of B. striata ‘Murasaki Shikibu’ bought alongside it has 5 times the number of flowering stems and I’ve divided it a number of times.

Still, it can be grown similar to B. striata, from bright shade to full on sun, however in hotter climates I’d give some protection from midday sun (I do with my plants). Any good free draining compost will do, from a sandy humus to a well structured garden

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

19

Bletilla ochracea

loam with a pH in the 5-7 range. Water well while in growth, but keep it a bit drier in winter – wet conditions in dormancy is a hazard to this plant. Drainage should remain sharp year round, even when in growth.

This lovely display of Bletilla ochracea is my reward after growing this plant for 5 years. B. ochracea is quite a bit slower to increase compared to B. striata.

In terms of cold hardiness, this species is probably similar to B. striata, though a number of folks have said it is a bit more tender. Some sources indicate a hardiness range of USDA cold hardiness zones 6b-9a, though I’d expect that zones 7-8 would be more optimal. In colder areas a thick mulch in winter is advisable, and still may not be enough to carry them through. In yet colder regions growers will be forced to keep them in pots, overwintering in a frost free garage or the like. Ron Burch (The Gardens at Post Hill) digs his up in November and puts them in freezer bags in the fridge for winter.

This lovely yellow flowered Bletilla is a novel and rewarding addition to any suitable garden. Luckily nowadays they are available to growers the world over.

BOTANYBOY.ORG IRISH ORCHID SOCIETY www.irishorchidsociety.org • POLLINIA www.pollinia.org Back issues of POLLINIA are available in PDF format on the website.

Pollinia

Merry Christmas

Volume 13, Issue 2

20

Ginkgo biloba

NIGHT OF THE GINKGO Today in New York—November 13th—leaves are falling, drifting, skittering everywhere. But there is one striking exception: the fan-shaped leaves of the ginkgo are still firmly attached to their branches, even though many of them have turned a luminous gold. One sees why this beautiful tree has been revered since ancient times.

Carefully preserved for millennia in the temple gardens of China, ginkgoes are almost extinct in the wild, but they have an extraordinary ability to survive the heat, the snows, the hurricanes, the diesel fumes, and the other charms of New York City, and there are thousands of them here, mature ones bearing a hundred thousand leaves or more—tough, heavy Mesozoic leaves such as the dinosaurs ate. The ginkgo family has been around since before the dinosaurs, and its only remaining member, Ginkgo biloba, is a living fossil, basically unchanged in two hundred million years.

While the leaves of the more modern angiosperms—maples, oaks, beeches, what have you—are shed over a period of weeks after turning dry and brown, the ginkgo, a gymnosperm, drops its leaves all at once. The botanist Peter Crane, in his book “Ginkgo,” writes that, in relation to a very large ginkgo in Michigan, “for many years there was a competition to guess the date on which the leaves would fall.” In general, Crane says, it happens with “eerie synchronicity.,” and he quotes the poet Howard Nemerov: Late in November, on a single night Not even near to freezing, the ginkgo trees That stand along the walk drop all their leaves In one consent, and neither to rain nor to wind But as though to time alone: the golden and green Leaves litter the lawn today, that yesterday Had spread aloft their fluttering fans of light.

Are the ginkgoes responding to some external signal, such as the change of temperature or light? Or to some internal, genetically programmed signal? No one knows what lies behind this synchronicity, but it is surely related to the antiquity of the ginkgo, which has evolved along a very different path from that of more modern trees.

Will it be November 20th, 25th, 30th? Whenever it is, each tree will have its own Night of the Ginkgo. Few people will see this—most of us will be asleep—but in the morning the ground beneath the ginkgo will be carpeted with thousands of heavy, golden, fan-shaped leaves.

OLIVER SACKS THE NEW YORKER

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

21

Plant Communication

PLANTS 'TALK' TO EACH OTHER Roots exchange information at a molecular level, study reveals Plants use a newly discovered 'language' to 'speak' to each other, research has revealed.

The finding opens the door to a new area of science that explores how plants communicate with each other on a molecular level.

It could also give scientists new insights into how to fight parasitic weeds that devastate food crops in some of the poorest parts of the world.

Professor James Westwood, an expert in plant pathology, physiology and weed science at Virginia Tech, said: 'The discovery of this novel form of inter-organism communication shows that this is happening a lot more than any one has previously realised.

'Now that we have found that they are sharing all this information, the next question is, "What exactly are they telling each other?"'

Professor Westwood examined the relationship between a parasitic plant called dodder (Cuscuta pentagona,) and two host plants, Arabidopsis and tomatoes In order to suck the moisture and nutrients out of the host plants, dodder uses a rootlike appendage called a haustorium to penetrate the plant. Professor Westwood has previously discovered that during this parasitic interaction, there is a transport of RNA between the two species. It was thought that mRNA was very fragile and shortlived, so transferring it between species was impossible Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a family of large biological molecules that code and decode information passed down from its DNA. His new work expands the scope of this exchange and examines the mRNA, or messenger RNA, which sends messages within cells telling them which actions to take, such as which proteins to code.

But Professor Westwood found that during this parasitic relationship, thousands upon thousands of mRNA molecules were being exchanged between both plants, creating an open dialogue between the species that allows them to freely communicate.

Through this exchange, the parasitic plants may be instructing the host plant to lower its defences so that they can more easily attack it.

Professor Westwood's hopes to discover precisely what the mRNA are 'saying'.

His findings, published in the journal, Science, will be able to examine if other organisms such a bacteria and fungi also exchange information in a similar fashion.

They could also help solve issues of food scarcity.

Pollinia

Feliz Natal

Volume 13, Issue 2

22

Plant Communication

Commenting on the research, in which she was not involved, Julie Scholes, a professor at Sheffield University, said: 'Parasitic plants such as witchweed and broomrape are serious problems for legumes and other crops that help feed some of the poorest regions in Africa and elsewhere.

'In addition to shedding new light on genetic interactions, Professor Westwood's findings have exciting implications for the design of novel control strategies. For example, armed with this new knowledge, scientists could engineer plants that could combat against the mRNA information that the parasite uses to disrupt its host.'

Professor Westwood added: 'The beauty of this discovery is that this mRNA could be the Achilles heel for parasites. 'This is all really exciting because there are so many potential implications surrounding this new information.'

SARAH GRIFFITHS

HOW DO THE PLANTS COMMUNICATE? 

Plants use a newly discovered 'language' to 'speak' to each other.



A parasitic plant called dodder which uses a root-like appendage called a haustorium to penetrate ‘host’ plant.



When this happens RNA passes between the two species and sends messages within cells telling them which actions to take, such as which proteins to code.



Through this exchange, the parasitic plants may be dictating what the host plant should do, such as lowering its defences so that the parasitic plant can more easily attack it.

More information and data are available at ppgp.huck.psu.edu

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

23

Invasive Species

TURNING TO DARWIN: THE MYSTERY OF INVASIVE SPECIES

An invasive ice plant growing on and killing a native Coprosma shrub on the coast of New Zealand. Credit Jason Fridley

Invasive species are both a fact of life and a scientific puzzle. Humans transport animals and plants thousands of miles from where they first evolved — sometimes accidentally, sometimes intentionally. Many of those species die off in their new homes. Some barely eke out an existence.

But some become ecological nightmares. In the US Northeast, emerald ash borers are destroying ash trees, while Japanese barberry is blanketing forest floors, outcompeting native plants. Scientists aren’t certain why species like these are proving superior so far from home.

“If natives are adapted to their environment and exotics are from somewhere else, why are they able to invade?” asked Dov F. Sax, an ecologist at Brown University.

A big part of the answer may be found in the habitats in which invasive species evolve. Many alien species in the northeastern United States, including the emerald ash borer and Japanese barberry, invaded from East Asia. But the opposite is not true.

Few species from the northeastern United States have become problems in East Asia.

In a new study published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, Dr. Sax and Jason D. Fridley, a biologist at Syracuse University, argue that this is not a

Pollinia

Nollag Shona

Volume 13, Issue 2

24

Invasive Species

coincidence. They offer evidence that some parts of the world have been evolutionary incubators, producing superior competitors primed to thrive in other environments.

“I don’t believe that all species are created equally,” said Dr. Sax. Until recently, ecologists trying to solve the mystery of invasive species paid relatively little attention to their origins, focusing instead on factors that might be helping them in their new homes. The invaders, for example, may benefit from leaving behind their enemies: without the parasites and predators adapted to killing them, they’re free to multiply with abandon.

Or a newly arrived species may thrive because humans have made the new ecosystems vulnerable to invasion. Cutting a forest into fragments or loading a lake with fertilizer tears apart the ecological web, making it easier for new species to slip into the gaps.

But as far back as the 19th century, some scientists saw a role for evolution. In “The Origin of Species,” Charles Darwin wrote that we shouldn’t be surprised by native species “being beaten and supplanted by the naturalised productions from another land.”

Darwin reasoned that these victories were inevitable. Different species might adapt to a particular ecological niche in different parts of the world. Put them in the same place, in the same niche, and one might well outcompete the other because it has evolved superior attributes.

Before Dr. Fridley and Dr. Sax met in 2007, each had become convinced that Darwin might be right. When they discovered they shared the same belief, they joined forces to test Darwin’s idea. Their approach was two-pronged.

First, they looked at the places where invasive plant species tend to originate, examining the number of plant families in various regions. Invasive plants, they found, were more likely to have evolved in habitats with a great diversity of competing species. Darwin was right: Some plants have evolved to be fighters.

“We were both kind of gobsmacked,” said Dr. Fridley.

In the second test, Dr. Fridley and Dr. Sax looked at the role that canals have played in helping some species become invasive. Sometimes, humans have dug canals that linked ecosystems with an equal diversity of species. But in other instances, canals have connected regions with low diversity to those with great variety of species.

The scientists predicted that invasive fish and mollusks would tend to come from places with high diversity and would have used canals to establish themselves in habitats with low diversity.

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

25

Invasive Species

“It’s not a perfect experiment,” said Dr. Sax. “But it’s still a pretty good unplanned experiment.”

In 1825, the Erie Canal joined the Great Lakes to the Hudson River. The two ecosystems orginally had about the same diversity of fish and mollusk species, the ecologists found, and species from each side became invasive on the opposite side in roughly the same proportions.

The story of the Suez Canal was very different. On one side was the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, a huge, stable ecosystem with a deep diversity of fish and mollusks.

On the other side was the Mediterranean, a relatively young habitat without nearly as much species diversity.

Dr. Fridley and Dr. Sax found the Mediterranean was overwhelmed with invasive species from the other side of the canal, while hardly any from the Mediterranean took up residence in the Red Sea. Dr. Fridley speculated that a similar imbalance could explain why the Northeast gets so many invasive species from East Asia. Today both regions have a similar climate.

But the United States was buried by glaciers during the Ice Ages, while East Asia was spared. Its species continued to grow more diverse, to evolve and eventually to become superior competitors — ready to invade, once humans started acting as their chauffeurs.

Jay Stachowicz, an ecologist at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study, praised the researchers for finding a way to investigate Darwin’s idea. “They’re probably the first to test it in a meaningful way,” he said.

David Tilman, an ecologist the University of Minnesota, called the study “a wonderful extension of Darwin’s hypothesis.” But he cautioned that the work raises a paradox. While predators and pathogens can wipe out native species, it’s rare for an invasive competitor to do so.

“The most common outcome is coexistence,” said Dr. Tilman. The new hypothesis doesn’t explain why.

The evolutionary imbalance hypothesis, as Dr. Sax and Dr. Fridley call their hypothesis, could have a grim implication for conservation biologists trying to preserve native species: They may be fighting millions of years of evolution.

“If that’s true, the phrase, ‘Resistance is futile’ comes to mind,” said Dr. Stachowicz.

CARL ZIMMER THE NEW YORK TIMES

Pollinia

Веселого Різдва

Volume 13, Issue 2

26

Forgetfulness

FORGETFULNESS The name of the author is the first to go followed obediently by the title, the plot, the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of, as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain, to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag, and even now as you memorize the order of the planets, something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps, the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember, it is not poised on the tip of your tongue, not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall, well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.

No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.

BILLY COLLINS

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

27

Review: The Wild Orchids of the Algarve

WILD ORCHIDS OF THE ALGARVE HOW, WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

By Sue Parker: ISBN: 978-0-9560544-8-7; 128 pages, full colour, Hardback £18.50 Despite its small geographical area, Portugal’s Algarve region is home to at least 1500 native wildflower species including more than 30 wild orchids. For tourists and residents alike these are major attractions of the very varied Algarve countryside.

For newcomers in particular, wild orchids can be hard to find and even harder to identify. Wild Orchids of the Algarve solves these problems, providing easy-to-follow introductions to the biology and habitats of orchids, and explaining in non-scientific language why the Algarve is such a special place.

More than 200 colour photographs of the orchids, both in their natural settings and as stunning close-up pictures of their flowers, ensure that readers will be able to identify the orchids they find on countryside rambles.

Born in Tenby in South Wales, after living in many other countries and travelling the world as an essential part of her job as director of a media marketing company, Sue now shares her time between her homes in Wales and in the Algarve as well as travelling, mainly in Europe, to see, photograph and learn more about wild terrestrial orchids.

Sue Parker's passion for wild orchids dates back to her childhood in the Far East, where epiphytic orchids grew on the fence at the bottom of her garden, and the tropical countryside abounded with orchids as well as many other beautiful exotic flowers. To date Sue has written eight books about wildflowers, including three that are devoted to terrestrial orchids. She has also made radio and television programmes about orchids and continues to contribute articles to countryside magazines.

PRE-LAUNCH SPECIAL OFFER - author-signed copy PLUS another orchid book FREE. (Contact Sue through her website, below)

The ideal orchid guide for tourists and residents alike. Wild orchids can be hard to find and even harder to identify. This book solves these problems, providing easy-to-follow introductions to the biology and habitats of orchids, and explaining in non-scientific terms why the Algarve is so special for orchids www.algarvewildlife.com/

Pollinia

Feliz Natal

Volume 13, Issue 2

28

Energy Management

ORCHID NURSERY REDUCES ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY 27 PER CENT Burnham Nurseries has invested in its environmental policy and reduced its energy consumption by 27 per cent, saving over â‚Ź7,000 in the process. It has joined forces with Vickers Energy Group to install its energy management system which control the gas heaters throughout the Devon-based nursery after the company decided it wanted to control the rising cost of its energy bills and increase the priority of environmental issues within the business.

The advanced energy management system regulates and monitors the temperature throughout the various buildings at the nursery by using highly accurate digital air sensors, which ensures the heaters work to their optimum efficiency. Within the first year of installation the family run business has seen huge saving in CO2 emissions of 28 tonnes and the overall gas reduction stands at 152,906 kWh. David Hilton from Vickers Energy said: "The carbon footprint of nurseries can be huge and our team worked closely with Burnham Nurseries to ensure that all the demands placed on the business were met. The savings are a testament to the system and that it can help address even the most unusual of situations."

Sara Rittershausen from Burnham Nurseries said: "As an orchid nursery the heating issues we face in our greenhouses are on a large scale. We wanted to save money but it was a daunting prospect trying to tackle the constantly rising energy bills.

"We have improved our environmental policy within the business and an energy management system has been a big step forward in this process. Installing the Vickers system has been a huge help and made the task of addressing our bills simple. It’s effective, low maintenance and we’re really happy with the results in the first year without compromising on the quality of the orchids we grow."

MATTHEW APPLEBY

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

29

IOS Member Focus

MEMBER FOCUS The Questionnaire included with the mailing of the January 2013 issue of Pollinia invited Irish Orchid Society Members to share their orchid growing experiences and orchid interests with other Members.

Peter, from Germany, continues the series, a regular feature in future issues.

Members who have not completed the Questionnaire may continue to send them to: Marie Hourigan, Secretary, Irish Orchid Society, National Botanic Gardens Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland

Peter, your Interest in orchids began why and when? ~ c.a.1985. Garden Book: My Beautiful Garden, 4 pages of Paphiopedilum hybrids What was your first plant? ~ Paphiopedilum How many plants are in your collection? ~ Maybe 500 Where did you purchase them? ~ Greenhouse Nurseries Where do you grow them? ~ Greenhouse What is your favourite orchid species/hybrid/genus? ~ Cattleyas, Laelias, Paphiopedilum, Vanda How often do you repot plants? ~ Every 2 years Which type of potting mix do you use? ~ Pine, stryofoam, coconut Which group are you most successful with?

~ Cattleyas Which group do you continually fail with? ~ (Not answered) Which are the oldest specimens and how old are they? ~ Schomburgkia thomsoniana

Pollinia

Feliz Navidad

Volume 13, Issue 2

30

IOS Member Focus

~ Do you use insecticides or fungicides? if so which ones ~ (Not answered) ~ Which fertilisers do you use and do you use tap water or rainwater? ~ Rainwater ~ Which orchid would be your dream plant/group to grow? ~ Cattleyas

●

ORCHID RESEARCH NEWSLETTER NO. 64

What began as the germ of an idea hatched by Phillip Cribb and Gren Lucas (Keeper of the Herbarium at Kew) in the late 1990s blossomed into a 15-year orchid project that was produced chiefly at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, but involved more than 200 contributors throughout the world when everyone is taken into account – systematists, anatomists, palynologists, cytogeneticists, ecologists, artists, photographers, growers, and hybridizers.

In the sixth and final volume of Genera Orchidacearum published on 6 February of this year, 28 experts provided up-to-date information on nomenclature, derivation of name, description, distribution (with maps), anatomy, palynology, cytogenetics, phytochemistry, phylogenetics, ecology, pollination, uses, and cultivation for 140 genera in tribes Dendrobieae and Vandeae. Both tribes were difficult to treat because of the sheer number of species (Dendrobieae with about 3650 and Vandeae about 2200) as well as the dearth of reliable morphological synapomorphies for them; consequently, much of what we know about their relationships had to be drawn from phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences. An Addendum updates a few generic accounts published in past volumes. A cumulative glossary, list of generic synonyms with their equivalents, and list of all series contributors round out the volume.

17TH EUROPEAN ORCHID CONFERENCE The 17th European Orchid Conference and RHS London Orchid Show, scheduled for 8-12 April 2015, will be hosted by the Royal Horticultural Society in London in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. On 8–9 April there be a two-day scientific symposium at the Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; one day will focus on ‘After Genera Orchidacearum’ and another day devoted to orchid conservation. With the international orchid show at the RHS halls there will follow two days of horticultural lectures at Vincent Square in London on 10 April and 11 April, one dedicated to hardy orchids and another to general orchid horticulture and travel. For further information visit: http://goo.gl/hOKWX1

17th European Orchid Show and Conference London 2015 European Orchid Show - 9–12 April 2015, Conference opens 8 April when the Preview Evening will also be held.

The Irish Orchid Society

January 2015

31

Advertisement

The wren, the wren, the king of all birds, On St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze, Although he is little, his family is great, I pray you, good lady, give us a treat.

My box would speak, if it had but a tongue, And two or three shillings, would do it no wrong, Sing holly, sing ivy - sing ivy, sing holly, A drop just to drink, it would drown melancholy.

And if you draw it of the best, I hope in heaven your soul will rest; But if you draw it of the small, It won't agree with these wren boys at all.

Are pleased to be regular visitors to the Dublin Orchid Fair!

For a wide range of unusual species and popular hybrids please ask for our colour brochure.

For an even wider and more up to date list of plants, books, sundries, gifts etc., visit our web site www.orchids.uk.com We will be pleased to ship to Ireland, contact us for a quote or get together with your orchid friends to share the cost of delivery.

Forches Cross, Newton Abbot, Devon, England, TQ12 6PZ. Tel: +44 1626 352233 mail@orchids.uk.com Pollinia

聖誕快樂

Volume 13, Issue 2

ISSN 1649-1173

IN THIS ISSUE Page 3: Calendar/Events Page 4: Origin of Flowers Page 9: Galway Tranplants Page 10: NBGarden Page 12: Orange Phalenopsis Page 13: Pollinator Action Plan Page 14: Rhizanthella slateri

Page Page Page Page Page Page Page

16: Bletilla ochrea 20: Ginkgo biloba 21: Plant Communications 23: Invasive Species 25: Forgetfulness 27: Orchids of the Algarve 29: Member Focus