February 2018 – Andrew Cameron

Andrew CameronAndrew CameronOur society is happy to welcome Andy Cameron, Ph.D., from California Institute of Technology.  Andy will be speaking to us on the importance of genes and chromosomes in orchids. The title of his talk is "Steamy Stories:  How Genes and Chromosomes Do Their Dance." In the present era of genomics, concepts involving DNA, genes and chromosomes are offered to explain many of the everyday processes that we, as orchidists, find fascinating. How do genes affect the shape and colors of orchid flowers? What can the number of chromosomes tell us about our favorite cymbidium hybrids? The relevance of these questions to our understanding of the growth and hybridization of cymbidiums emerges from stories about the way the genetic material behaves during plant growth and form.  His talk will take place in the Lake San Marcos conference center which is located near the pavilion.

Andy is a semi-retired member of the research faculty at the California Institute of Technology. He studies how the  genomes of marine creatures like sea urchins and sea stars dictate the form of these animals. He is past president of the San Gabriel Valley Branch of the Cymbidium Society of America and an Associate Judge for the CSA. He writes the Duffer's Corner column for the CSA Journal. He also tries to convince cymbidiums and other cool-growing orchids that Pasadena is a good place to live. One of his major goals is to introduce orchid hobbyists to the wonderful body of biological information that underlies their pursuits.

Andy's visit is co-sponsored by POS and SDCOS, thus, Andy also will be speaking to SDCOS on Tuesday, February 6 at Balboa Park on orchid flower genes.  Andy will be providing the plant table consisting of plants of Tony Velardi crosses from Mariposa Gardens and some of his own cymbidium back bulbs.

Date: 
Wed, 02/07/2018 - 6:30pm - 9:30pm