Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 22:30:47 BST From: loyd.wix@talk21.com To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1286$foo@default> Subject: U.volubilis
Dear List,
After 8 years of growing U.volubilis I have finally managed to get the
plant to flower. This species is a peculiar affixed aquatic plant from
Western Australia with long grass like leaves, some of which possess
bladder traps at the tips.
I have been growing the plants in 3 circa 8cm plant pots containing a
peat/sand mix, placed into a cut down spring water bottle so that there
is normally a few cms of water covering the pots. Over time the plants
have grown out of the drainage holes of the pots to colonise the bottom
of the water container where there is a layer of sediment and also a
sedge plant.
The flower was formed from the material inhabiting the sediment layer on
the bottom of the water container. The flower stalk then travelled
upwards, parallel to the leaves of the sedge plant, and once it emerged
from the water and became more influenced by gravity, it stared its
anti-clockwise twine up the sedge leaves. The flower has opened once
reaching the top of the sedge leaves.
The plant has flowered in a water depth of circa 14cms, which may go
some way to explain why the plants in the pots (covered by just a couple
of cms) have never flowered. I remember Terry Bertozzi sending me an
article from the ACPS Journal describing this species flowering in 1
meter deep water. Another possible explanation for the flowering is the
proximity of the Utricularia to the sedge plant. For such a twining
species, the absence of a suitable companion plant for the flower stalk
to climb would be essential. Thus to form a flower without something to
climb would be a wasted effort by the plant as with nothing to support
stalk, this and the flower would simply lie on the water with no chance
of being pollinated. The flower stalk has reached a height of 52cms
with the flower 2cm in width and 1cm from the lower to the upper corolla
lobe. The lower corolla lobe is mauve in colour with the smaller upper
lobe being much paler with some darker purple veining. The raised
palate!
!
!
ridges are a pale lemon yellow.
Now I have finally got this species to flower, I hope this will become
an annual occurrence. This species grows best over the cooler parts of
the year becoming almost dormant during mid summer. It would have been
nice to take this along to the UKCPS AGM at Wisley this coming weekend,
but the aquatic nature of the plant makes this out of the question.
Regarding Wisley, weather permitting I hope to make the meeting and have
prepared a bowl full of temperate Pinguicula to donate for the societies
auction.
Cheers
Loyd
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