Rosenstrom, Gustav (Gus)   (1868 - 1949)

Born 25th of August 1868 in Sala, Sweden; died on 10 July 1949 in Mossman, north Queensland.

His father was a bank clerk in the small town of Sala in Sweden.

Gus emigrated to Australia with his cousin in the autumn of 1888. He split up with his cousin on arrival and the family later lost track of him.

Gus became a bushman, orchid and ornamental plant collector who lived just north of Mossman, north Queensland, in the first half of the 20th century.

He was a correspondent of F.M.Bailey, J.F.bailey and C.T.White at the Queensland Herbarium from around 1906 to around 1936.

As a talented amateur botanist he collected exclusively from the area between the Mossman, Stuart and Daintree Rivers and collected the types of Phalaenopsis rosenstromii, Fagraea rosenstromii (= Fagraea berteroana) and Zeuxine oblonga.

He worked at or was associated with the Mossman Sugar Mill, the Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade and the Mossman School of the Arts.

He is buried in the Mossman Cemetery.

Gus Rosenstrom discovered this amazing orchid species, Phalaenopsis rosenstromii, the Native Moth Orchid, (named in his honour by F.M. Bailey), in the 1930's near Daintree but following a frenzy of collecting for its beautiful flowers this species became locally very rare.

Source: Extracted from:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146001529/gus-rosenstrom
Pers. Comm. Jan Tallmark, family member, Sweden (2024)
Pers. Comm. Frank Zich, Cairns (2024)
Portrait Photo: 1888, Melbourne, courtesy Jan Tallmark, family member, Sweden.

Collecting localities for 'Rosenstrom, G.' from AVH (2024)

Data from 33 specimens