Re: Byblis - tuning forks and pollen.

Glenn Rankin (rankin@saiph.hpl.hp.com)
Mon, 07 Oct 1996 9:36:07 PDT

Last summer I germinated some B. gigantea seeds using gibberellic
acid. This summer, two surviving plants (one Perth, one Eneabba)
flowered, so I wanted to try my hand at producing seeds. Wishing to
save myself the trouble of obtaining a tuning fork, I tried a
different method that has worked reasonably well.

When a flower opened, I plucked out the stamens and put them in a small
bottle that went into the freezer. When the next flower on the same
plant bloomed and the stigma was ready (the "fingers" on the end
spread) the yellow part of the stamens from the previous flower was
ripped open with some good tweezers. The pollen is on the inside and
all you have to do is open the "container" and then brush it up
against the receptive stigma.

I've gotten enough seeds to replace plants that didn't make it through
the summer. I have yet to find the soil and other growing conditions
under which they thrive. (In other words, I can't spare any seeds.
Maybe next year.)

Glenn Rankin
rankin@hpl.hp.com