Harold Koopowitz grew up in South Africa, where he attended university majoring in both Botany and Zoology. He completed a doctorate at UCLA in 1968.  A professor at UCI since graduating, he was also the Director of the UCI Arboretum for twenty years. He is now Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, where he still occasionally lectures.

Harold has done orchid research in the wild looking at Phragmipedium populations in both Ecuador and Peru, and has also worked in Zimbabwe for several years on Aerangis verdickii.  Dr. Koopowitz is author of several books and a large number of research papers. His most recent book is "Tropical Slipper Orchids" from Timber Press and he will be available to sign your book if you wish.

He is a member of the Species Survival Committee for Orchids, for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.  In addition, he is a member of the International Orchid Commission.  He is well known for his work on slipper orchids, both species and hybrids. Harold recently stepped down from being Editor in Chief of the Orchid Digest.

Click to see more information on OSSC's regular monthly meetings.

• OSSC NEEDS A RECORDING SECRETARY: [Submitted by OSSC Webmaster Ted Augustyn on June 19, 2009] Our new Recording Secretary, Shawn Maestretti, has decided to go back to school, and selling his orchid collection was part of that plan. As a result, Shawn has resigned as our Recording Secretary, and the position is once again open. Any OSSC member interested in giving a little back to the society is encouraged to contact our President about assuming this position. The task of taking minutes at board meetings, the main responsibility of this office, is made much easier by the use of the society's digital voice recorder, and all responsibilities are documented in detail. For a copy of this document, contact this site's Webmaster.
• NEW FEATURE ON WEBSITE: [Submitted by OSSC Webmaster Ted Augustyn on May 15, 2009]  I've added a new page to this website called "Orchids We Grow" that features all those wonderful photos found in the OSSC flickr group, showcasing the most "interesting" photos up front. Be sure to check out these beautiful photos taken by Southern California orchid enthusiasts. My thanks goes to OSSC Publicity Chair Carlos Cruz for the code that accesses the flickr API that makes the page possible.
• 2009 ROSTER AVAILABLE: [Submitted by OSSC Webmaster Ted Augustyn on May 15, 2009] The 2009 OSSC Roster has been distributed, first sent to all members with email addresses, and then finally in printed form to all other members beginning at the July meeting. Members needing a printed roster can get one from Membership Chair Larry Freeman.

• OSSC MEMBER WINS BIG IN SANTA BARBARA: [Submitted by OSSC Webmaster Ted Augustyn on April 6, 2009]. OSSC member Art Mendoza came back from the 2009 Santa Barbara International Orchid Show with a trio of plaques, listed below. Way to grow, Art!

  • Best Miniature Cymbidium: Ruby Turner 'Black Diamond' (Black Forest x Ruby Eyes)

  • Best Pendulous Cymbidium: Miniatures Delight 'Stonehurst' (Touchstone x Clarissa)

  •  Cymbidium Beauty Trophy, Boopedoop 'Calga' (Miretta x Tongariro)

• NEW FLICKR PHOTO CONTEST ANNOUNCED: [Submitted by OSSC Publicity Chair Carlos Cruz on March 24, 2009] Members of the Orchid Society of Southern California are formally invited to participate in a flickr orchid photo contest.  The primary goal of this contest is to promote our society by displaying our orchid photos on the most popular photo sharing website.  The secondary goal is to share our orchid photos with each other.

  Rules and Regulations

  • Only photos uploaded during the contest can be entered.
  • You can enter as many photos as you like.
  • To enter this contest you must be a member of the OSSC.
  • You can only enter photos that you have taken.
  • Orchid photos do not have to be of your own orchid.
  • Photos should be relevant to orchids and/or the orchid society.

  Prizes

  The top three winners will be able to select from among several quality orchids:
  • A specimen size Cattleya intermedia alba (donated by Charles Boco)
  • Cymbidium Lucky Shamrock 'Green Glenn' (large plant in a 2 gallon pot)   (donated by Alfred Hockenmaier)
  • Cymbidium Formby Geyserland x Kirby Lesh 'Spots'  (large plant in a 2 gallon pot) (donated by Alfred Hockenmaier)
  The 1st place winner will have first choice, the 2nd place winner will have second choice and the 3rd place winner will have third choice.

  Start Date

  The contest will start on April 20, 2009.

  End Date

  The contest will end on June 20, 2009.

  How to Enter

  Create a free flickr account and upload your orchid related photos once the contest has started.  When you upload the photo, tag it with "OSSCSpring09".  Tags can also be added at any time after the photo has been uploaded.  To increase the amount of views your photos receive be sure to include as many other relevant tags that you can think of.  You can add up to 75 tags per photo. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about using flickr!

  For additional information please visit http://outdoororchids.com/societies/Flickr-Contest2.html

• OSSC FLICKR PHOTO CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED: [Submitted by OSSC Publicity Chair Carlos Cruz on February 12, 2009] Congratulations to Charles Boco! He is the winner of the first OSSC Flickr Photo Contest. Here is one of his beautiful photos: Encyclia mariae. Please visit his Flickr page to see more of his wonderful photos. Thanks to all the people who participated in the contest. To see some of the outstanding entries please visit this page. If you would like to participate in the next contest please sign up to flickr (it's free!) and join the OSSC group…http://flickr.com/groups/ossc/  If you have any orchid related questions please post them in the group forums and I’m sure one of our resident orchid experts will be happy to help answer your question.

(Most recent articles listed first.)

• Phragmipedium manzurii, a.k.a. the discovery orchid
• American Orchid Society closes doors to public
• Burma’s Vanishing Orchids
• Orchids Through Darwin's Eyes
• December floods cost orchid farm millions of dollars
• Taranaki couple to play part in Obama's big day
• It’s a Corsage Nightmare: An Orchid as Big as a Car
• Orchids: nature's sexy sirens
• A few words about Coelogyne by past OSSC speaker David Banks
• Sexually deceived by orchids? Well I never!
• Hoosier Orchid Co. closing in August
• Tracing Tahitian vanilla
• Ted’s keen nose catches out rare orchid thief
• Bee Prefers Sex With Orchid Over Females
• Orchid sexual deceit has male wasps in a loved-up frenzy
• Orchid Species Now Extinct in Burma

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