Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 22:54:52 +0000 From: <mrwu@cello.qnet.com> (Howard J. Wu L.Ac) To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg66$foo@default> Subject: More comments on U. longifolia
More comments on U. longifolia:
>U. longifolia doesn't have tubers either. Does it loose all it's
>leaves
>>>when it goes dormant?
>> Nor is U.longifolia epiphytic.......
>> Nor does it go dormant........
>> Nor is it exactly tropical (it grows on cool
>highlands)........
>
>Oops! But it is listed as a tropical epiphyte in "The Savage Garden"...
>though the intro to the list mentions some of these being highland
>tropicals [epiphytes].
>Is the "dry winter rest period" at least true?
>
>Marianne
Who said the tropics must be hot and humid. This was the mistake
that Victorian orchid grower orginally assumed putting their poor plants in
hot steamy houses. Then one day somebody opened a window, let some fresh
air in and these frail plants prove themselve hardy and easier to care for.
Also Rain forest have many different microclimates depending on where in
the canopy you are. Near the equator they don't get summer and winter
seasons but may have dry and wet seasons. Never been there, but that is
what I'm told.
I would love to learn more specifics about U. longifolia's ecological
niche. If it doesn't grow on trees (epiphyte), how does it grow? For just
big leaves it sure has tiny traps. Lack of tubers suggest to me that it
doesn't come from a region with a prolonged dry season. My U. longifolia
doesn't appreciate low humidity when growing at all. But when well
established perhaps it could tolerate it. Maybe this is why it hasn't
bloomed for me. Producing seeds sounds like a good strategy for surviving
an occasional drought.
By the way, does anyone know where one can pick up a copy of Peter
Taylor's Monograph on Utricularia? I know it is out of print. Seen a
friend copy and I must have one for my very own!!
Howard J. Wu
Bishop Ca.
mrwu@qnet.com
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