26th March 1922 - 28th April 2005

Louis Vogelpoel, as he would like to be remembered; in the habitat of Disa uniflora, atop the Hex River Mountains. Ca. 1980.

We mourn the passing of Louis - he was an institution in Cape botanical and horticultural circles for a great many years. His love of indigenous plants; notably the ericas, bulbs and orchids - especially disas was widely recognised.
Our sincerest condolences are extended to his loving wife of 54 years, Daphne and his family.
In his professional life he was a Specialist Physician of note, and in recent years, worked as a medico-legal specialist.
We are so fortunate that Louis was a capable, industrious author and has left behind a vast treasure-house of well-illustrated literature, much of which has that intellectual property which so characterised him. To this end, and in his memory, a bibliography listing all his works has been constructed, and can be seen below. Louis will always be with us, one just needs to refer to one of his pieces of writing.

Regarding the Tygerberg Orchid Group, He joined us in 1993 and over the years, entertained and informed us with his well-illustrated, well-conceived lectures on a number of occasions. Sadly, in January of this year, we received a note from him informing us of his resignation from the Group, due to ill-health.
Louis was a long-time member of the Cape Orchid Society, and it was his "home society", living as he did but a stone's-throw away from the meeting venue. He joined this society sometime in the mid-seventies, and although he was never active on the Committee, his contribution to the Society was enormous; in terms of lectures, beginner's corners, photography, judging, intellectual input, etc.
He was a founder member of the Disa Orchid Society of South Africa (DOSA); founded in 1982?, but only affiliating to the SAOC in 1994. Within this group, he was a judge, lecturer, grower, writer, breeder, photographer and intellectual, and published the booklet: Vogelpoel, L (1983) Disa uniflora - Its Propagation & Cultivation. Disa Orchid Society of S.A. Cape Town, under the auspices of this society. (A review by Ted Schelpe of this Disa booklet can be found in Veld & Flora 69(3): 131.) In 1988, DOSA organised the First Disa Symposium, and Louis was a major force here, leading to the success which this event and others proved to be.
Louis marketed seed of Disas in the 1980's and 1990's, particularly through the American Orchid Society Bulletin, trading as Nooitgedag Disa Nursery - thereby spreading the joy of these plants more widely.
Regarding the SA Orchid Council, he was a Director from 1989-1993 and Gold Medal recipient in 2002; see: Gersie, W. (2002) SAOC Gold Medal. ORCHIDS South Africa, 33: 23
He was a Judge of the SAOC, his name appearing for the first time on the 1990 Judges List. Prior to this he was already an experienced DOSA Judge.
Over his years of growing, he garnered many awards for his plants - here is a list of some of the more recent:
Masdevallia Harlequin 'Lynda-Jane' AM/SAOC 1992
Angraecum Lemforde White Beauty 'White Delight' AM/SAOC 1993
Masdevallia Machu Delight 'Pastel Delight' AM/SAOC 1995
Masdevallia Davina 'Conference 93' ?/SAOC 1995
Masdevallia Indian Summer 'Chris' AM/SAOC 1996
Phragmipedium besseae 'Louis' AM/SAOC 1997
(more will be added as time permits)

As can be seen from the above, he had a great interest in the genus Masdevallia, and he was the guest speaker at the Transvaal Orchid Society's 2nd Masdevallia Symposium in 1994, headlining with Marguerite Webb of J & L. His lecture was entitled "Masdevallias - Hairs and Stripes" and is recorded in the Proceedings of that Symposium.
Louis was a feature at many conferences, starting with the 1981 WOC held in Durban South Africa. At the 1985 International Centenary Orchid Conference in London, he presented the lecture "Disa Hybrids 1985"
A Photographer of note, for many years he was the official phototographer of the Cape Judging Region, the Disa Orchid Society and probably others.
Louis is commemorated in Herscheliodisa (now Disa) x vogelpoelii - a natural hybrid between Disa (Herschelianthe) graminifolia and D. ferruginea - the latter being a red-flowered Disa that produces flowers in the absence of foliage.
In 1993, Duckitts registered the hybrid Disa Louis Vogelpoel (Langleyense x Betty's Bay)
In 1990, Louis registered Disa Daphne Vogelpoel (Tricard x Diores), D. Tricard (tripetaloides x cardinalis) being an earlier Vogelpoel hybrid dating from 1984.
Other hybrids registered by Louis include:
D. Diorosa (Diores x racemosa) 1982
D. Carbett (cardinalis x Betty's Bay) 1983
D. Watbett (Watsonii x Betty's Bay) 1984
D. Kewpride (Kewensis x Kirstenbosch Pride) 1984
(more complete list will be supplied when available)

There is a Webpage regarding Louis Vogelpoel on Michael Gallagher's Disa site, which carries a whole host of pictures of different clones of Disa hians and D. lugens. The picture files on these webpages are of high quality and therefore very large, and you need to be warned that these pages take a long time to download fully, although you can also be sure that they are worth the wait

Below is a bibliography of all the articles on orchids written by Louis that I could trace:

Vogelpoel, L (1980) Disa uniflora - its propagation and cultivation. Amer. Orch. Soc. Bull. 49 (9): 961-972
Vogelpoel, L (1980) Disa species and their hybrids. Amer. Orch. Soc. Bull. 49 (10): 1084-1092
Vogelpoel, L (1981) Disa hybrids 1981. Pages 65-71 in J. Stewart & C.N. van der Merwe (Eds.) Proc. 10th World Orchid Conference, SA Orchid Council, Johannesburg.
Orchard, E.R. & Vogelpoel, L (1982) Disa marlothii - A New Introduction. SA Orchid Journal, 13 (3): 66-68
Vogelpoel, L (1985) x Herscheliodisa vogelpoelii - A New Natural Intergeneric Hybrid from Table Mountain, Cape Town. SA Orchid Journal, 16 (3): 98-101
Vogelpoel, L (1985) Disa hybrids 1985. Pages 70-71 in E. Napier (Ed.) Report of the International Centenary Orchid Conference, 1985, London, RHS.
Vogelpoel, L., van der Merwe, D.W. & Anderson, B.D. (1985) A white form of Disa racemosa - a Rare Mutant with a Great Future. Amer. Orch. Soc. Bull. 54 (1):47-51
Vogelpoel, L (1985) Recent Disa hybrids - 1 Parent Species and Interspecific Breeding. Amer. Orch. Soc. Bull. 54 (3): 294-305
Vogelpoel, L (1985) Recent Disa hybrids - 2 Disa uniflora x Disa racemosa. Amer. Orch. Soc. Bull. 54 (4): 449-454
Vogelpoel, L (1985) Recent Disa hybrids - 3. Amer. Orch. Soc. Bull. 54 (5): 588-593
Vogelpoel, L (1985) Recent Disa hybrids - 4. Amer. Orch. Soc. Bull. 54 (6): 739-745
Vogelpoel, L (1985) Recent Disa hybrids - 5 Inter-Line Breeding. Amer. Orch. Soc. Bull. 54 (7): 855-858
Vogelpoel, L (1986) Flower Colour - An Appreciation. SA Orchid Journal, 17 (3): 109-114
Cywes, S., Cywes, M. &Vogelpoel, L (1987) Disa Veitchii 'Golden Petals' and 'Ted Schelpe'. - Clue to the Genetic Transmission of Yellow Pigments. Veld & Flora. 73 (): 53-56
Vogelpoel, L (1987) New Horizons in Disa Breeding - The parent species and their culture: Part 1. Orchid Review. 95 1124): 176-181
Vogelpoel, L (1987) New Horizons in Disa Breeding- The parent species and their culture: Part 2. Orchid Review. 95 (1125): 229-235
Vogelpoel, L (1987) New Horizons in Disa Breeding- The parent species and their culture: Part 3. Orchid Review. 95 (1126): 262-260
Vogelpoel, L (1988) New Horizons in Disa Breeding - Disa uniflora x Disa racemosa: Part 1. Orchid Review. 96 (1131): 4-10
Vogelpoel, L (1988) New Horizons in Disa Breeding - Disa uniflora x Disa racemosa: Part 1. Orchid Review. 96 (1132): 54-58
Vogelpoel, L (1988) New Horizons in Disa Breeding - Disa uniflora x Disa tripetaloides hybrids: Part 1. Orchid Review. 96 (1134): 108-110
Vogelpoel, L (1988) New Horizons in Disa Breeding- Disa uniflora x Disa tripetaloides hybrids: Part 2. Orchid Review. 96 (1135): 155-157
Vogelpoel, L (1988) New Horizons in Disa Breeding- Disa uniflora x Disa cardinalis hybrids. Orchid Review. 96 (1138): 244-248
Vogelpoel, L (1989) New Horizons in Disa Breeding - Some old some new. Orchid Review. 97 (1146): 105-112
Vogelpoel, L (1989) New Horizons in Disa Breeding - Inter-line breeding. Orchid Review. 97 (1148): 176-181
Vogelpoel, L (1989) New Horizons in Disa Breeding. Orchid Review. 97 (1149): 213-218
Vogelpoel, L (1990) Orchid Award Photography. SA Orchid Journal, 21 (): 55-60
Vogelpoel, L (1990) Flower Colour — An Appreciation. Orchid Digest 54 (2):
Vogelpoel, L (1991) Disa Hybridisation in the Western Cape - Current status and future prospects: Part1 - General perspective. SA Orchid Journal, 22 (4): 74-81 (December 1991)
Vogelpoel, L (1992) Disa Hybridisation in the Western Cape - Current status and future prospects: Part 2 - The hybridisation potential of Disa racemosa. SA Orchid Journal, 23 (1): 4-8 (March 1992)
Vogelpoel, L (1992) Disa Hybridisation in the Western Cape - Current status and future prospects:Part 3 -The hybridisation potential of Disa tripetaloides. SA Orchid Journal, 23 (2): 29-34 (June 1992)
Vogelpoel, L (1992) Disa Hybridisation in the Western Cape - Current status and future prospects: Part 4 -The hybridisation potential of Disa cardinalis. SA Orchid Journal, 23 (3): 65-68 (September 1992)
Vogelpoel, L (1992) Disa Hybridisation in the Western Cape - Current status and future prospects: Part 5 -The hybridisation potential of Disa venosa and Disa caulescens, and future trends. SA Orchid Journal, 23 (4): 82-87 (December 1992)
Vogelpoel, L (1993) A Cultural Calendar for Disas based on Seasonal Bio-rhythms. SA Orchid Journal, 24 (2): 37-40
Vogelpoel, L (1993) The Blue Disas. part I. The Blue Disas. SA Orchid Journal, 24 (3): 66-
Vogelpoel, L (1993) The Blue Disas. part II. The Blue Herschelianthes. SA Orchid Journal, 24 (4): 98-104
Vogelpoel, L (1994) Herschelianthe spathulata - and its Successful Conservation by a Landowner. SA Orchid Journal, 25 (1): 9-13
Vogelpoel, L (1994) Growing Herschelianthes. SA Orchid Journal, 25(2): 62-65
Vogelpoel, L (1994) Meneris tulbaghia - The Exclusive Pollinator and Breeder of Disa uniflora and Disa ferruginea. SA Orchid Journal, 25(3): 85-90
Vogelpoel, L (1995) Green, Yellow, White and Black Colours in Orchid Flowers. Part 1 - Some observations on Pigments of Plastid origin. SA Orchid Journal, 26(2): 55-59
Vogelpoel, L (1995) Green, Yellow, White and Black Colours in Orchid Flowers. Part 1 - Some observations on Pigments of Plastid origin (continued). SA Orchid Journal, 26(3): 87-90
Vogelpoel, L (1995) Green, Yellow, White and Black Colours in Orchid Flowers. Part 2 - Judging Colour Quality. SA Orchid Journal, 26(4): 142-145
Vogelpoel, L (1995) Obituary - Helmut Meyer. SA Orchid Journal, 26(4): 123
Vogelpoel, L (1996) Epidendrum melanoporphyreum Hagsater. SA Orchid Journal, 27(3): 74-76
Vogelpoel, L (1996) Masdevallia - hairs and stripes: part 1. Hairs. Orchids Australia, 8(1): 34-38
Vogelpoel, L. (1996) Masdevallia - hairs and stripes: part 2. Stripes. Orchids Australia, 8(2): 38-43
Vogelpoel, L (1997) The Disa draconis Complex with Special Reference to Pollination by Long-proboscid Flies and the Horticultural Potential of Disa harveiana. SA Orchid Journal, 28(4): 77-85
Johnson, S. D., Steiner, K. E., Whitehead V. B. & Vogelpoel, L. (1998) Pollination ecology and maintenance of species integrity in co-occurring Disa racemosa L.f. and Disa venosa SW. (Orchidaceae) in South Africa. Annals of the Missouri Botanic Gardens 85: 231-241.
Vogelpoel, L. & Cywes, Prof. S. (1998) Green, Yellow, White and Black Colours in Orchid Flowers. Part 3 - The Role of Anthocyanin Albinism in Yellow Disa uniflora and other Yellow Flowers. SA Orchid Journal, 29(2): 36-44
Vogelpoel, L., Cywes, Prof. S. & Mrs. M. & Pauw A. (1999) Alien Disa hybrids on Table Mountain - Implications for Conservation. ORCHIDS South Africa, 30: 26-33
Vogelpoel, L (1998) Book Review - Growing South African Indigenous Orchids. SA Orchid Journal, 29 (1): 7
2000 - Louis Vogelpoel contributed toward Volume 2 of Genera Orchidacearum - that volume dealing with the subfamily Orchidoideae.
Vogelpoel, L (2001) Disa Breeding in the Western Cape, South Africa. Orchid Digest 65 (2):
Vogelpoel, L (2001) Disa Breeding in the Western Cape, South Africa. Orchid Digest 65 (3):
Vogelpoel, L. (2002) Angraecum Longiscott & Dendrobium Kuranda Classic - How to judge an orchid hybrid unknown to the judging panel. ORCHIDS South Africa, 33: 24-31
He made a great contribution to Karsten Wodrich's Growing South African Indigenous Orchids (Rotterdam, A.A. Balkema, 1997), both in terms of information supplied, as well as superb photographs
Vogelpoel, L. (1977) Erica - Jewel of the Cape. SA Garden & Home. pp. 110-115 (Aug 1977)
Many photos and a section on culture provided by Louis can be found in Linder & Kurzweil's Orchids of Southern Africa, Rotterdam, A.A. Balkema (1999).

Truly, a giant among us has fallen.

Greig Russell for the Tygerberg Orchid Group.

With thanks to Pedro Ortiz Valdivieso, a Jesuit priest, who is also an expert in Colombian orchids, for help with the Latin, and Viateur Boutot of Montreal for connecting me to Pedro Ortiz.