Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 09:42:00 From: SCHLAUER@chemie.uni-wuerzburg.de To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1054$foo@default> Subject: Re: Devil's Claws
Dear Ivan,
> And anyway, I now grow one which my friend Ed Read brought
> back from Mexico that doesn't stink.
Is this an already known species? I suppose it is a _Proboscidea_.
Little has been published in recent times regarding Martyniaceae
taxonomy, and these might be a rewarding topic for those cp
enthusiasts who are tired of "normal" cps.
Anyway, if it is a non-stinking growth form of a described species
and if this trait is constant and inheritable, it might warrant
description as a cultivar, because this would IMHO be a *significant*
horticultural advantage (NB: remember that the ICPS is the IRA
also for Martyniaceae, which comprise 0 registered cultivars so
far!).
> Then all you strict CPers might be more respectful of this stinking
> plant.
Right on! I at least have not lost the respect for these plants. I
just did not like the series of uncritical speculation that was
exclusively based on a single, unreliable, early 20th century
observation and that was finally knocked down by Barry's and Jon &
al.'s experiments. - And I did indeed not like the aroma of these
plants!
> In part II tomorrow, read more exciting facts about different kinds of
> Devil's Claws and where to get them.
How about a short note for CPN (optionally containing your cultivar
description)? Perhaps this could save the lives of some not really
carnivorous but still quite interesting plants that are at least
closely related to cps.
NB: In talking about affinities with _Pinguicula_, do not forget the
obstinate borderline-dweller _Byblis_; it likewise belongs to
Scrophulariales! Have you ever considered that the global (native)
ranges of _Pinguicula_, _Ibicella_, and _Byblis_ are mutually
exclusive (and that the gap remaining in S Africa would be closed by
the non-Scrophulariales-but-still-sympetalous _Roridula_)?
The more perfectly carnivorous the plants become in the series
_Roridula_>_Ibicella_>_Byblis_>_Pinguicula_, the more widespread they
are. Carnivory-related evolutionary advantages? An admittedly very
"wild" but still amusing thought. (This can of course not be a
phylogenetic series because there are 1. a huge gap between
_Roridula_ and Scrophulariales and 2. lots of species outside
_Ibicella_ in Martyniaceae not considered here for the sake of
scientifically illegitimate but illustrative oversimplification.)
Kind regards
Jan
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