Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 10:16:34 -0700 From: Ivan Snyder <bioexp@juno.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2325$foo@default> Subject: D. burmanii --Ant Catcher?
Hi all,
>What are your favorite Drosera? In terms of looks, flowers, and the
"fun
>factor" (i.e. how they capture their prey).
Drosera burmanii is not actually my favorite sundew of all, but is a good
one to grow now during the hot summer months when some of my others are
not fairing so well. D. burmanii is especially neat with its fast
tentacles and ability to capture relatively large insects. I noticed last
summer my plant was catching those pesky Argentine Ants that get in the
house. It was fun to watch as the ants were picked up by the long outer
tentacles, which lay on the ground, and were quickly carried to the leaf
center where the ants could not escape. Maybe this species is designed to
capture mainly ants in nature? I remember one cheerful day when my window
plant had caught a big green bottle fly, I hate those buggers, the plant
digested that fly's butt off!
You may have seen the sundew D. burmanii, Beerwah Queensland going around
for some time. This plant is my prize from a most memorable trip to
Australia in 1991. Here is a little more info. Beerwah (yes, that's
correct Beer-wah!) is a town in the Brisbane area. I found the plant
growing along some train tracks in sand as white as sugar. I learned that
this is one plant here which benefits from the activities of man; the
strip along the tracks is kept clear of vegetation creating space for the
sundews. The glittering green or pretty pink rosettes looked like fallen
flowers stewn upon the ground in stark contrast to the white sand. My pot
plants can get to 5 centimeters in diameter when I feed them well. That's
about the size I saw them in nature.
Ivan Snyder
Hermosa Beach
California
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