Australian Premiere of �The Lost World�

Join us for the Australian Premiere of �The Lost World�. Hosted by film director/narrator Stewart McPherson and with Master of Ceremonies Dr Robyn Williams AM, Ambassador of the Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation

This documentary, which received input from Sir David Attenborough, focuses on the Guiana Highlands, some of the most spectacular yet least explored mountains of our world. The summits of these unique mountains have remained isolated for millions of years and today harbour plants, animals and landscapes that occur nowhere else on earth. The movie uses spectacular cinematography to examine the discovery and exploration of these remarkable mountains and enlightens the audience about the need to conserve the unique plants which endure atop of these mysterious lost worlds.

Proceeds from the night will support the Friends� PlantBank appeal to help create a world class plant conservation, research and education centre at the Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan.

Where: Chauvel Cinema, Oxford St, Paddington, Sydney
When: Wednesday 7 December 2011, 6.30 pm
Tickets: $20 per ticket, or $30 for a ticket and donation (including a $10 tax deductible PlantBank donation)
Bookings: Please call (02) 9231 8182 or download our booking form.

More information about The Lost World

by Stewart McPherson

viewfromabove FieldofPlants redwaterfall

In the Guiana Highlands, in the heart of South America, one hundred immense sandstone plateaus tower above the surrounding savannahs and rainforests and rise into the clouds above. Known locally as the tepuis, these colossal tablelands are skirted on all sizes by sheer vertical cliffs up to 1000 metres tall. The remote summits of these plateaus have remained isolated for millions of years, and today they harbour some of the most spectacular plants of the Americas …

The tepuis were first seen by Walter Raleigh at the end of the 16th century, and for two hundred and fifty years, successive explorers reached the base of these great plateaus, but were defeated by the mountains sheer vertical cliffsides, which are up to 1000 metres tall. Just when all hope of reaching the summits had been abandoned, a ledge was sighted up the towering cliffs of one of the tepuis was sighted, and 125 years ago, the first explorers reached the summit of that plateau and discovered a land that had never before been seen or visited by mankind. It was this story of discovery which inspired Arthur Conan Dole to write his classic adventure The Lost World exactly 100 years ago.

The first explorer who reached the summit of Mount Roraima wrote that 'probably no district of equally small size has yielded greater botanical results'. It is now clear that approximately 65% of the flora is found nowhere else. Shrubs of the genus Bonnetia are generally the tallest plants, and they usually grow as small gnarled bonsais and may live for hundreds of years.

The landscape is often carpeted with bromeliads, particularly of the genus Brocchinia, along with one of the greatest concentrations of orchids found anywhere in the world. At least 400 orchid species occur on the tepuis, of which, many are endemic. Due to the extremity of the climate on the tepuis, most grow rooted directly to bare rock and because of the scarcity of pollinators, many tepui orchids and other plants have been driven to evolve particularly spectacular flowers to attract the few insects that are present, and so paradoxically the most beautiful and exquisite of blooms often occur amidst the most bleak and desolate of tepui summit landscapes.

In response to the nutrient-poor conditions on top of the tepuis, an exceptionally high proportion of carnivorous plants species generally prevails. At least six genera occur on the tepui summits, including pitcher plants, sundews and bladderworts, and through killing and preying on insects and other small animals, they may grow in areas where regular (non-carnivorous) plants cannot survive. The most extraordinary adaptation of all tepui plants is that of a select few which produce iridescent, gleaming leaves that shine vibrant shades of blue and purple. Where many iridescent plants grow together, the landscape flickers electric blue as the leaves move gently in the wind.

Few plant collecting expeditions have been undertaken to the summits of these alluring mountains, especially in recent years. And for the time being, the botanical treasures of the tepuis remain inaccessible - much like the mysterious plateaus that they call home.