April 11, 2017

​​Chuck McCartney - Chuck's family moved to southern Dade County in 1918. He was raised in Homestead and became familiar with orchids because his uncle was a hobby grower and friend of legendary orchid grower/explorer Freddie Fuchs. There families have been friends across three generations. Chuck graduated high school with Robert Fuchs, now of the world-famous R.F. Orchids, and they remain friends to this day.
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​In 1984, Chuck joined the staff of the American Orchid Society as assistant editor of the societies publications. He eventually became editor of the AOS Bulletin and the AWARDS QUATERLY. In 1990, Chuck was hired as a copy editor with the Miami Herald. Chuck retired in 2009 and continues to live in Hollywood.

​Chuck's special interest is in the native orchids of south Florida. For more than 20 years he has explored the pinelands, hammocks, swamps, and mangrove forests of the Keys, Everglades National Park, and the Big Cypress Swamp in search of native orchids. He has found and photographed most of the 60 species reported to be native to the southern end of the state. while doing so, he also photographed many beautiful, and sometimes not so beautiful wildflowers.

Chuck has also studied orchids and other wildflowers in the mountains of western North Carolina, and he has written about the orchids of the region.

​In addition to his magazine articles, Chuck frequently speaks to orchid societies, native plant societies, garden clubs, and natural history groups. his lectures have taken him to 16 Florida counties and three other states.

​Chuck is a longtime member of both the American Orchid Society and the Florida Native Plant Society, and he recently joined the Fort Lauderdale Orchid Society.