ARS Victoria Newsletter – February 2017

• Date: 13th February 2017
• author: Andrew Rouse

REPORT ON THE ARS EXPEDITION TO NORTH QUEENSLAND

In August 2016, nine members of the Australian Rhododendron Society spent an enjoyable (and wet!) week in North Queensland, to assist the Australian Tropical Herbarium (ATH) with collecting specimens of R. lochiae and R. viriosum for reestablishment in cultivation. The trip provided the Society members with the opportunity of seeing our native Rhododendron in the wild across a number of different sites.

The project, funded by the Ian Potter Foundation and led by Professor Darren Crayn, Australian Tropical Herbarium, has three objectives: to collect herbarium specimens of R. lochiae and R. viriosum from a range of different locales; to establish (or re-establish) in cultivation R. lochiae and R. viriosum from each locale including a number or specimens from each population; and to undertake DNA analysis to compare the genetic variation within and between populations of R. lochiae and R. viriosum.

To read more on the NQ trip and other interesting articles see the newsletter!