Utricularia humboldtii (was Re: The Private Life...)

Andreas Wistuba (A.Wistuba@DKFZ-Heidelberg.DE)
Wed, 11 Oct 1995 17:50:44 GMT+1

> I was also amazed by the panning time lapse shots. I almost missed some of
> the narration as I tried to figure out how they did it so smoothly. The
> Utric on Mt. Roraima that feeds inside bromeliad pools was probably one of
> the most fascinating bits for me last night (aside from several dozen other
> fascinating bits :-)). Has anyone seen any other references to this habit
> in the literature?

Brocchinea tatei is the natural habitat of Utricularia humboldtii.
However sometimes they can also bew found growing in swampy soil or -
Joacim, Peter Harbarth and myself found one individual growing in
Heliamphora ionasii (!!!!!!!).
It's very interesting to see how they continuously move inside
(otherwise they would continuously be "grown out" by producing
Strawberry-like runners.

> How does the utric find the pool? Is there some kind
> of chemical cue to direct the growth of the utric or is it just a chance
> association? I wonder if they also feed inside the Heliamphora pitchers.
> Barry - any ideas?

See above.
In cultivation U. humboldtii can either be grown in peat, Sphagnum,
in a water tray or - inside natural water trays.
I grow one in a Brocchinea tatei:-).

Bye,

Andreas

Andreas Wistuba; Mudauer Ring 227; 68259 Mannheim; Germany
E-Mail: andreas.wistuba@rhein-neckar.de
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