NOTICE: Hard copies of the Australian New Crops Newsletter are available from the publisher, Dr Rob Fletcher. Details of availability are included in the
Advice on Publications Available.Ornamental Plant Collections Association Inc.
In 1983-84 the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne carried out a survey of plant cultivars growing in Victoria. As part of the survey a list was made of tree and shrub cultivars from Victorian nursery catalogues since 1855. This list contained dramati cally more plants than are now available. Reasons for the decline include changes in fashion, difficulty of propagation and the disappearance of poor cultivars.
In England, the National Council for Preservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG) started the National Collections movement to bring together comprehensive reference collections of important groups of plants in order to conserve the wealth of cultivated plant material in existence and to make decisions about priorities for plant preservation.
Concerned about the loss of significant cultivated plants in Victoria, the Royal Botanic Gardens established an Ornamental Plant Collections Association (OPCA), based on the model of the NCCPG. The OPCA hope to promote the exchange of information betwe en professional botanists and horti-culturalists and those plant collectors and gardeners who are devoted to the study of particular groups of plants.
The inaugural meeting was held in August 1986, with six initial collections. In 1996, the Associations reached nearly seventy collections of both introduced and native genera. These are mainly located in Victoria bit increasing interest has been shown from interstate.
The genera include Abutilon, Acer, Agapanthus, Betula, Boronia, Bouvardia, Calluna, Camellia, Cistus, Clematis, Cornus, Correa, Crocus, Darwinia, Epacris, Escallonia, Eucalyptus, Gladiolus, Hakea, Heli-anthemum, Helleborus, Hydrangea, Iris, Lachenal ia, Lavendula, Liquidambar, Magnolia, Malus, Melaleuca, Nelumbo, Nymphaea, Olearia, Paeonia, Pelargonium, Populus, Primula, Prunus, Quercus, Rhododendron, Robinia, Rosa, Salvia, Schizophragma, Tasmannia, Telopea, Viburnum, Viola, Wisteria, Zieria.
The Association, and the names and addresses of those holding these collections, can be contacted at:
Royal Botanic Gardens,Any claims made by authors in the Australian New Crops Newsletter are presented by the Editors in good faith. Readers would be wise to critically examine the circumstances associated with any claims to determine the applicability of such claims to their specific set of circumstances. This material can be reproduced, with the provision that the source and the author (or editors, if applicable) are acknowledged and the use is for information or educational purposes. Contact with the original author is probably wise since the material may require updating or amendment if used in other publications. Material sourced from the Australian New Crops Newsletter cannot be used out of context or for commercial purposes not related to its original purpose in the newsletter
Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College, 4345; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email:
r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au[
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GK; latest update 6 June 1999 by: RF