Port Moresby botanic gardens orchids

While in Port Moresby recently I made a point of visiting the National Capital Botanical Gardens. They have a large collection of orchids and do a lot of hybridising work. Their orchid houses are huge. Most of the plants seem to be dendrobiums, and many of those 'antelopes'. I like orchids but don't know a lot in great detail about them. So the following images are some of the photos taken while walking through. There weren't any name tags evident and any coded numbering was beyond me.

Photo 01 is part of one of the orchid houses.

Photo 02

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Photo 29

Last one for now.

Photo 30

Very pretty Tropicbreeze. I enjoyed viewing;-)

Rachel

A very impressive display! Did they mention how many varieties they are growing?

Dave, I never saw any numbers being quoted anywhere. They appear to be limiting themselves to the local market. Initially the gardens were started off as a nursery to provide landscaping plants for the University of Papua New Guinea. Later, after some ups and downs, they ramped it up into a botanic garden. I think it's still attached to the university and is used for research and study purposes. They've done a lot of work in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney.

Apart from plants they also have the impressive Hornbills, a Bird of Paradise, Crowned Pigeons, Cassowaries and some parrots (the name eclectic comes to mind but it's a similar sounding word). Not to forget the Tree Kangaroos. It's used a lot for school excursions. Unfortunately I found they didn't worry about labelling anything so I got photos of plenty of plants but, like the orchids, no names.

I LOVE Antelopes! Unfortunately, when I searched recently, the only ones that I could find for sale on the internet started at $150 and zoomed into the sky prices from there.

Orchids sort of grow here, but with our dry season they are sometimes difficult to keep happy.

Oh, me, oh, my, Now I want to move there, again! Rascals and all.

Thanks for the photos!

Melissa

Loved the photots, each one is a beauty. Thanks for posting. ^_^

Thanks so much for the tour! I'm really enjoying the beautiful orchid photo's. I don't know much about orchids either, I have maybe 15 -18 orchids and they seem to do well. I Love the one in your photo #18, very different and so pretty. Pretty Catt's also in photo's 19 & 23! And, that very last photo is Amazing! I would never have known it was an orchid ... beautiful!

Ok, gotta go google for Antelope Orchids, never heard of them! Also gotta look up Tree Kangaroos to see what they are! So many interesting flora, fauna ... and unusual critters in this world!

Was the parrot you referred to possibly the Electus: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=electus+parrot&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=LhY9SpjBLZSEtweA6skD&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title Beautiful bird!

Melissa, don't see a lot of antelope orchids around but last time I did they were around the $20 - $25 mark. They would have been the common varieties no doubt. I'd have thought with the 'island' climate orchids would do well there. The trick with rascals is to learn to run faster than them. But Madang would be the place to go, forget places like Port Moresby and Lae.

Braveheartsmom, there's always that something special with orchids.

Plantladylin, I like orchids but don't know a real lot about them. The trouble here is the heat and then my water (bore water) doesn't go down well with them. The native ones are perfect, don't have to do anything at all for them - Dendrobium affine, D. canalicullatum, Cymbidium canalicullatum, and a number of ground orchids.

Thanks for the parrot name - Eclectus.

Gorgeous pictures. Thanks for posting them!

I have quite a few of these dendrobiums, and a cat or two...but I'm with Lin...what is an antelope? Never heard of it. Not that I am a name connosiour (or much of a speller!), but that one I only associate with gazelles and such like.

#30 is magnificent!!!

Yokwe,
Shari

I think that antelope are the ones with the "horns" - is # 9 an antelope? It sure is pretty!

Of course, Jenny! That makes perfect sense! Thanks. And you're right, it sure is pretty.

Yokwe,
Shari