2. Thrixspermum cootesti Suarez sp. 
nov. 
Plantae parvo; caules erecto-patens, 
non ramificans; floralis bracteae acumi- 
nato, fere setaceo; flores albi, indumento 
ad limitato labello margines. 
Type: Cultivated in the author’s private 
orchid collection in Mabitac, Laguna, with 
flowering observed on 24 January 2008. 
Provenance: Plants were collected in the 
mangrove swamps of Pola, Oriental 
Mindoro, Mindoro, Philippines. Holotype 
WS 773443 (NSW) 
Thrixspermum 
cootesii 
(flower of 
TYPE speci- 
men) 
Description: 
Stems: more or less erect, non-branch- 
ing, 20cm high by 3mm in diameter; roots 
produced from almost the entire length of 
the stem. Leaves: elliptic-ligulate, coria- 
ceous, 6.6cm long by 1.2 to 1.7cm wide; 
apices either obtuse or unequally lobed. 
Inflorescences: appear from opposite the 
leaf axils; peduncle to 12.5cm long with a 
single sterile bract; rachis 1.3cm long with 
acuminate, almost bristle-like floral bracts 
to 4mm long. Flowers: opening one at a 
time, to 8.5mm across by 9mm high; peri- 
anth segments white, labellum white with 
rust-brown spots on the inside; scent spicy. 
Dorsal sepal: spathulate, 3.5 to 4mm long 
by 2mm wide. Petals: narrowly spathulate, 
4mm long by 1.5 to 2mm wide. Lateral 
sepals: obliquely spathulate, 4 to 4.5mm 
long by 2mm wide. Labellum: three-lobed, 
margins hairy; lateral lobes broadly trian- 
gular-falcate, 2mm wide by 3mm long; 
midlobe broadly triangular, 2.5mm wide 
by 3mm long; callus low, fleshy, glabrous, 
slightly lunate from above; spur obtuse, 
moderately flattened dorsally. Column: 
rather thick, lacking any ornaments. 
Habitat: 
Epiphytic on twigs and branches of 
Barringtonia_ pterita and Rhizophora 
species in mangrove swamps in filtered 
light at sea level. 
Recognition: 
Thrixspermum cootesii Suarez can be 
recognised from its relatives by the rela- 
tively smaller stature of the plants, its 
acuminate, bristle-like floral bracts, small 
white flowers (most members of the sec- 
tion have yellow flowers), and labellum 
hairs which are confined only to the mar- 
gins. 
Etymology: 
Iam pleased to name this new species in 
34 
Cathy Jane Mansergh 
25/6/1943 — 
Not many of our readers would know Cathy. 
Cathy, who passed away in Sydney at 65, was the friendly voice 
at the end of the phone when people rang the Australian Orchid 
Review. 
Those people who at one time or another have had the occasion 
to contact the Australian Orchid Review, Cathy would have been 
the voice on the other end of the telephone — the conduit between 
the outside world and the publishers. 
Cathy was one of those rare people, especially these days, 
whose working life was dedicated to providing impeccable ser- 
vice. It didn’t matter whether you were ordering a subscription, 
purchasing books, or had an advertising query, Cathy would han- 
dle the lot with a touch of grace and ease. 
15/3/2009 
She was the person who, for a great many years, took care of all the administrative office 
work behind the scenes: minding the subscription database and keeping it up-to-date, notify- 
ing subscribers of renewal and expiry dates, invoicing, answering queries and directing callers 
to other relevant sources of information, magazine distribution and mailing, and the thousand 
and one other things that freed up the time which enabled the editor and production staff to 
carry out their respective tasks. 
The stalwart in the background without whom the magazine would never have reached the 
audience it currently enjoys, Cathy had a great sense of humour and an incredible way with 
people. In essence, Cathy was the nerve centre of the AOR. 
A quiet person who kept family and work as separate entities — she will surely be missed. 
Our sincere sympathy go to all of Cathy’s family and friends.- MH & BB | 
honour of my good friend Jim 
Cootes, who has done so much 
to increase the awareness of 
some of the more obscure 
Philippine orchid species. He 
found the first recorded plants 
of this new species in the man- 
grove swamps not too far from 
his property in Pola, Oriental 
Mindoro, a few years back. 
Acknowledgements: 
The author would like to sin- 
cerely thank Jim  Cootes 
(Sydney) and Dr. Peter Weston 
(NSW) for willingly assisting and provid- 
ing some very useful information pertinent 
to the completion of this paper. 
References: 
Agoo E.M.G., Schuiteman A. and de Vogel E.F. 
2003. Flora Malesiana: Orchids of the Philippines 
Vol. 1 World Biodiversity Database CD-ROM Series. 
ETI/National Herbarium of the Netherlands. 
Ames O. 1915. Studies in the Family Orchidaceae 
Fasc. V. The Merrymount Press, Boston 
Comber J.B. 1990. Orchids of Java Bentham- 
Moxon Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 
Comber J.B. 2001. Orchids of Sumatra Natural 
History Publications (Borneo) 
Cootes J. 2001. The Orchids of the Philippines 
Times Editions, Singapore 
Handoyo Frankie and Ramadani Prasetya. 2006. 
Native Orchids of Indonesia — Indonesian Orchid 
Society of Jakarta. 
Lewis B. and Cribb P. 1989. Orchids of Vanuatu — 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 
Lewis B. and Cribb P. 1991. Orchids of the 
Solomon Islands and Bougainville — Royal Botanic 
Gardens, Kew. 
Lin Tsan-Piao. 1975. Native Orchids of Taiwan 
Vol. 1 — Southern Materials Center, Taipei, R.O.C. 
Lin Tsan-Piao. 1987. Native Orchids of Taiwan 
Vol. 2 — Southern Materials Center, Taipei, R.O.C. 
Lin Tsan-Piao. 1988. Native Orchids of Taiwan 
Thrixspermum cootesii 
Vol. 3 — Southern Materials Center, Taipei, R.O.C, 
O'Byrne P. 1994. Lowland Orchids of Papua New 
Guinea SNP Publishers Singapore. 
O'Byrne P. 2001. A - Z of South East Asian Orchid 
Species Orchid Society of South East 
Asia/Singapore. 
Raulerson L. and Rinehart A. 1992. Ferns and 
Orchids of the Mariana Islands. 
Schlechter R. 1982. The Orchidaceae of German 
New Guinea (English Translation) - The Australian 
Orchid Foundation, Melbourne. 
Seidenfaden G. 1985. Orchid Genera in Thailand 
XIV. Fifty-nine Vandoid Genera. Opera Botanica 95 
Seidenfaden G. and Wood J.J. 1992. The Orchids 
of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore — Olsen and 
Olsen, Fredensborg. 
Shih-Wen Chung 2008. Orchids of Taiwan 
(Vol. 1) 
Smith J.J. 1984. (Reprint) Die Orchideen von 
Java. Figuren Atlas. — Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal 
Singh, India. 
Smith J.J. 1905. Die Orchideen von Java. EJ. , 
Brill Leiden ' 
Valmayor H.L. 1984. Orchidiana Philippiniana — 
Eugenio Lopez Foundation, Inc. Manila, 
Philippines. | 
Wally Suarez 
Mabitac, Laguna, Philippines 
Email: ayi_boy12@yahoo.com 
The Australian Orchid Review, June/July 2009 
