Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 18:34:07 -0400 From: "Dave Evans" <dpevans@rci.rutgers.edu> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2685$foo@default> Subject: Re: Sarracenia flowering
Dear John,
> One of the interesting things that Phil Wilson came up with was the
> observation that wild Sarras can also flower in the autumn.
> Why would they do this? Do they set seed in the wild at this time? What
> advantage does the plant gain by doing this (and please don't suggest that
> they do it because they want to!!!!! :)
No, but it's an honest mistake! Usually, the last thing a winter
dormant plant does before going to sleep, is make a flower bud. However, if
the temps are too high, the plant can't properly fall asleep. And so the
flower bud starts to grow. But the plant is still receiving messages from
the day length indicating it's time to sleep, so the flower will probably be
all messed up and dysfunctional.
Of course it wastes energy, but sometimes you'll have weather out of
sync with the season or have a plant population that hasn't evolved enough
yet to closely match the local conditions.
Watch out for other perennials that usually flower in the spring. You
ought to be able to find some that are flowering now, or that might flower
in the following weeks.
Dave Evans
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