Maura Chamberlain

I am a Botanical Illustrator with a particular interest in endemic (native) species in their original locations. Since returning to live in lutruwita/Tasmania during 2020 I have been working on the beautiful flowering trees and shrubs growing on the slopes of kunyani/Mt Wellington many of which are endemic to the local area or southern Tasmania. 

In late 2020 I was awarded a special project from the Australian Antarctic Division  to record and highlight the endangered and endemic flora of Macquarie Island through botanical illustration and will travel to the island in the near future to see this special flora in person.

Since November 2020, I have been privileged to access the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Garden’s backup conservation collection of Subantarctic plants, supervised by  the curator, Lorraine Perrins. I have been familiarising myself with the collection by making initial drawing studies of Macquarie Island plants which have been propagated in the backup collection. I have been able to study a variety of plants from the larger plants, such as Carex trifida and Poa foliosa through to plants which have parts which can only be seen under a microscopes including Uncinia divirtica, Luzula crinita and Epilobium pendunculare. 

Most exciting of all has been to study and document the two tiny and endangered endemic orchids, Corybas sulcatus and Corybas dienemus, from Macquarie Island which have been successfully propagated at the Garden. Two monographs (black and white illustrations) were entered into the Margaret Flockton Award for Excellence in Botanical Illustration. The Corybas dienemus or Windswept Helmet Orchid illustration was chosen to be hung in the exhibition at the Calyx gallery at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.

During the 2021 spring I will begin a project recording the rare and threatened flora of Tasmanian lowland native grassland communities in the northern Midlands.

Acacia riceana

Rice's wattle

$1950

Watercolour & graphite

680 x 530 mm

A beautiful Tasmanian endemic found in wet forests in the south of the state. Grows as a small tree up to 10 metres high or a prostrate shrub with hanging branches.

Bedfordia salicina

$1350

Watercolour & graphite

760 x 605 mm

A Tasmanian endemic widespread across many vegetation types from wet eucalyptus forests to dry rocky dolerite slopes. Flowering in mid summer, this small tree grows up to 5 metres tall.

Olearia argophylla

$2750

Watercolour & graphite

715 x 590 mm

A south eastern Australian endemic found on the slopes of kunyani/Mt Wellington flowering in late spring. Occurring in wet eucalyptus forests and fern gullies, growing to 15 metres.

Richea dracophylla

Pineapple richea, dragon richea

$4250

Watercolour & graphite

805 x 600 mm

Richea dracophylla is a Tasmanian endemic growing on the higher slopes of kunyani/Mt Wellington. This iconic plant grows up to 5 metres tall and begins flowering in late winter and early spring. The fused petals form a small cap which falls off or is removed by fauna to reveal the mature stamens. Red fruits form and then mature into seeds which split when dry.