1997 The Rhododendron

• Date: 22nd January 2016

There are many reasons why people travel to different parts of the world, not
the least of which are adventure and the rare opportunity to search for and to
see vireya rhododendron in the wild. The trip to the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia
was made for both of these reasons.

This expedition was unique in several ways. Neither John nor Hank were
experts in the field of vireya rhododendrons. John had only a passing
acquaintance with these plants and Hank little more, having done limited
research on this subgenera. John was familiar with Sulawesi and knew some
Indonesian, while Hank had never been to Indonesia and knew no Indonesian.
Neither John nor Hank had previously climbed to elevations exceeding 6,500
ft (1,980 m).

John had made a previous trip to Sulawesi in the spring of 1996 with
Keith Adams. Several vireya rhododendrons were found in southwest and north
Sulawesi but a number of very promising areas had been left unexplored. John
wanted to return to take up where they had left off. By October of 1996, he
had convinced Hank that a trip to Sulawesi would be both fascinating and
fun. He didn’t mention that it would also be hot, humid, often difficult, and
occasionally dangerous. There was also the prospect of finding several species
of vireya which have only been collected once, have not been photographed
and are not in cultivation. Although vireyas make up over one third of the
more than eight hundred rhododendron species, few plant hunting trips are
made to search for them…excerpt of article A Rhododendron Expedition to Sulawesi by J. Farbarik & H. Helm page 15

CONTENTS
Branch Information ................................................................................... 2
President’s Report John Schutz .......................................................... 3
Annual Report for the Year 1996–97 Barry Stagoll ................................. 4
Rhododendrons in Chinese Gardens Peter Valder ................................... 6
A Rhododendron Expedition to Sulawesi John Farbarik
and Henry R. (Hank) Helm ........................................................... 15
The Azalea Project Alan Kepert ......................................................... 26
The Large Leaf Project Ken Cathie .................................................... 30
The Road to ‘Teddy’s Best’ Geraldine Roelink ...................................... 37
Vireyas: the Not-So-Tropical Rhododendron Graham Snell .................. 40
Tasmanian rhododendron companions from Gondwanaland Ken Gillanders .. 47
Fragrant rhododendrons in Christchurch Brian Coker ........................... 56
Vireyas by John Kenyon and Jacqueline Walker reviewed by Richard Francis . 58
New Registrations 1996–97 Graeme Eaton ......................................... 59
Victorian Branch Report 1996–97 Lionel Marshall ............................... 65
The Society’s Annual Accounts ................................................................ 66