Members and guests were treated to a magical journey at our meeting last night, discovering the diverse flora of Southwest Australia. Speaker Ron Long shared photos and stories from his seven-week visit that covered 4,500 miles, and where he viewed some of the over 13,000 native plants.
The photos Ron shared during the meeting were truly amazing and many looked very much like the item for which they were named. Photos following include: Bee Orchid (Diuris laxiflora), Bird Orchid (Pterostylis barbata), Cossack Dancer (Calendenia dorianii), King in his Carriage (Drakaea glyptodon), and Flying Duck (Paracaleana nigrita).
If anyone is planning a visit to view the flora, Ron suggests doing so in September or October. He recommends venturing off the main display areas (and sometimes just alongside the road!), obtaining a copy of ‘Western Australia’s Wildflower Guide’ (see www.wildflowerswa.com), and visiting the local tourism offices that were often staffed by passionate volunteers that were very keen to help visitors. He mentioned that the area between Mullewa and Morawa was particularly plant laden, as well Sterling Range National Park and the towns of Ongerup and Wongon Hills.
Cautions from Ron include: Everything in Australia pricks, sticks or bites! and many of the small towns don’t have tourist accommodation… but they do have campgrounds. Ronald traveled in a rented motorhome.
A huge thank you to Ron for such a wonderful talk about such fascinating and foreign-to-us botanics.
