2017 The Rhododendron

• Date: 20th February 2019

EDITORIAL
Many Society Members availed themselves of the opportunity to participate in the series of collection trips to North Queensland organised by the Australian Tropical Herbarium (ATH) for the project Saving the unique plants of Australia’s tropical mountaintops by understanding their threats. In all, 15 discrete expeditions were organised by ATH culminating in the recollection of R. viriosum and R. lochiae from nearly all known mountaintops. Funded by the Ian Potter Foundation, the Victorian Branch of the Australian Rhododendron Society and Simon and Marcia Begg, the project has been a huge success and provided a memorable experience for those Society members who participated in trips. Along with 10 other Society members, I was fortunate enough to participate in the trip organised in August last year where we visited Bell Peak North, Mt Lewis, Mt Spurgeon and the Windsor Tableland. The project and the expeditions were superbly organised by Professor Darren Crayn and Stuart Worboys of the Australian Tropical Herbarium, and on behalf of the Society, I would like to extend my thanks to Darren and Stuart for the opportunity to collaborate with them and for providing a truly memorable experience. Stuart Worboys has provided an article in this issue on the project and its findings, and Henry Hancock and I an article on our experience in participating on the trip to Mt Finnigan.

I’m delighted that this year’s journal offers an article from Wayne Takeuchi, a botanist who provides his perspectives and insights from many years of observing and collecting vireyas in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Wayne has made an extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the distribution and ecological aspects of vireyas in PNG...

CONTENTS
Editorial · Andrew Rouse ……………………………………………………………….3
Barry Stagoll · Simon Begg …………………………………………………………….5
President’s Report · Jeff Jenkinson ……………………………………………………7
Reports – Australian rhododendron groups ……………………………………..8
Vireyas in New Guinea · W. Takeuchi…………………………………………….. 13
The relevance of rhododendrons in the modern garden ·
James Pethybridge...............................32
A collaboration between vireya nurseries in Australia and Italy
Neil Puddey and Enrico Ciarrocchi………………………………………………….. 36
Rhododendrons at the limit – a journey through Qinghai
F.H.J. & P.K. Crome ……………………………………………………………………….42
The Australian Tropical Herbarium & ARS expedition to Mount
Finnigan, North Queensland · Andrew Rouse & Henry Hancock……….62
ARS Tour of Sabah and Mount Kinabalu, May–June 2018 ………………………..68
Botanical exploration of Australia’s tropical mountains · Stuart Worboys............…73
New registrations 2016–2017 · Lesley Eaton…………………………………….. 85
Australian Rhododendron Society contact information……………………. 88