There was a nice turn out at the last meeting on Sunday, November 9, at Windy Hill Gardens in Labadie. Members enjoyed visiting a working greenhouse that is managed by one person. A bunch of orchids were purchased and the flowers will be coming to the meetings in the future!

The next meeting will be Sunday, December 14, 3:00 p.m. Howard has graciously invited us to meet at his house. There will be a great door prize, in preparation of the January meeting. Howard will have some nice orchids in bloom for everyone to look at. The program will be to share ideas on how to put more plants into a limited space. Please bring examples or pictures to share. Don't forget to bring your best holiday yummies!

Directions to Howard's:
4301 Red Rock Rd. If you get lost, call 874-1772 for directions. Car pooling is encouraged since the trip is 30 minutes from Columbia.

The safest directions are as follows; Go North on 63 to 124 West (left toward Harrisburg) Turn left (South) on YY (at Dibbens Store), Go to the end of YY, Turn left on Red Rock Rd, follow around the corner and down the hill, Black mail box 4301 on left.

The world's first and only genetically modified bioluminescent orchid has been successfully developed by Prof. Chia Tet Fatt from the National Institute of Education (NIE). To create the bioluminescent orchid, Prof. Chia transformed tissues from orchids (the Dendrobium genus) using the firefly luciferase gene. Using a method called "particle bombardment", biologically active DNA from the firefly gene was delivered into orchid tissues. Transformed cells were identified by their bioluminescence trait. These transformed tissues were propagated and used to generate transgenic plants (plants with a foreign gene incorporated). This process was repeated several times, and the bioluminescent trait was present in all transgenic plants. This confirms that the firefly luciferase gene has been integrated into the orchid. Unlike the fluorescent traits which store and re-emit light energy, the bioluminescent trait of the orchid uses its own energy to create light. These bioluminescent orchids will produce constant light, visible to the human eye, for up to 5 hours in a stretch. This greenish-white light is emitted from the whole orchid, including roots, stem, leaves and petals. The intensity of light produced varies across the different parts, ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 photons per second. Genetic transformation can help supplement traditional breeding of orchids to create orchids with desirable traits, such as novel colours, longer shelf life and increased resistance to pests and diseases. It is also possible that this procedure can be used for the transformation of other species.
(From http://www.hybridorchids.com/details.html)