Drosera peltata
Frank Udovicic (franku@pican.pi.csiro.au)
Tue, 7 Nov 95 12:03:44 EST
John Taylor rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.edu.au writes:
>D. auriculata is very common in Victoria but D. peltata seems much less so.
>I have only seen a few peltata plants in the Grampians (they were growing
>on an exposed ridge-top in sandy, dry conditions) - I can't seem to not
>find auriculata here (they seem to tolerate a wide range of conditions
>from wet swampy areas (which do dry out) to more exposed, drier areas).
Hi all,
Being an Aussie I thought I'd add my observations of _D. peltata_.
_Drosera peltata_ grew near my previous home in Sunshine, Victoria (this is
about 12km directly West of Melbourne). The soil there is a very heavy grey
clay over basalt. It tends to be water logged in winter/spring and dries
out completely in summer, becoming rock hard and cracking. It was a
grassland with a few daisies and other herbs. I only found _D. peltata_ in
a couple of small patches amongst basalt rocks. I did not see any _D.
auriculata_ in that area. The _D. peltata_ there was only about 12cm high,
with white flowers. I have had this form in cultivation for about 6 years
now and it still retains its short stature. I grow it in a 2 peat: 1 sand
mix, in tubs with other cps as a mixed collection, and it is currently still
flowering, but will probably stop soon and die down. It seeds freely and
has come up in some of my other pots. I don't give them any special
treatment, in fact, because they are in pots with other cps (eg Sarracenias)
they get much more water in summer than they do in winter! This suggests
that dormancy is controlled by factors other than water.
Last month I went on a field trip to South Australia (for
Rhamnaceae, not CPs). I saw both _D. auriculata_ and _D. peltata_;
auriculata had green foliage with pink flowers (glabrous sepals) and peltata
had yellow-green foliage with white flowers (hairy sepals). In most places
they were fairly scattered, often occurring with other Droseras, eg.
pygmaea, glanduligera, whittakeri and macrantha. However, at Kaiser Stuhl
Conservation Park in the Barossa Valley (famous wine-growing area) there
were huge expanses of _D. peltata_. It occurred on damp low-lying ground
that was a grey sandy loam. From a distance the ground looked almost
yellow because of the pure stands of _D. peltata_. These plants were
probably between 15 and 20 cm tall. If any of you ever go to the Barossa
Valley to visit the wineries, it is definitely worth visiting Kaiser Stuhl
Conservation Park for the Droseras and other plants too.
Cheers,
Frank Udovicic (Canberra, Australia)