Murdoch Branch July 2026 Guest Speaker.
Terry Macfarlane – Trithuria, an obscure but scientifically important group of aquatic plants, most diverse in WA
Growing up in the midst of the Karri forest at Pemberton was a good start for a career in botany for Terry Macfarlane, most of it as a researcher at the Western Australian Herbarium.
Along the way there were three years teaching at the University of WA, a year at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and a number of years based at Manjimup.
Terry has studied a variety of plant groups, mostly monocots, including the showy fringe lilies (Thysanotus) and the not so showy grasses and the subject of this talk, Trithuria.
Trithuria is a mainly Australasian genus of only 14 species that, apart from being obscurely small plants, have also been little-known and scientifically obscure until recent years when they have come into the scientific limelight.
This talk will tell the story of the early discoveries of Trithuria through to their achievement of fame and hopefully making them better known in WA, home to the greatest number of the species.
