Date: Mon, 20 Jan 1997 18:55:26 +0900 (JST) From: Fernando Rivadavia <ss69615@ecc-xs09.hongo.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg274$foo@default> Subject: Re: G.aurea
Dear A.Griesser,
>Could some one clue me in on how to grow Genlisea aurea?
>I have two tiny seedlings (about 2 mm tall) that have not
>grown in months. They are in a mix of peat, long fiber
>sphagnum, and sand. I keep it very moist. They are on a
>window sill in an eastern exposure at about 70F.
HA! I didn't even know the seeds of this species were capable of
germinating! You're the first lucky one I hear of who has carried out
this miracle. I was never able to germinate G.aurea seeds I brought back
from the wild, but I can't say I tried much either. After all, why worry
about seeds when you have the actual plants. Especially if you're already
spending too much time worrying about how to keep the plants themselves
alive. So I would send out almost all the seeds I could lay my hands on
(the seeds you got most likely came to you indirectly from one of my
collections in the wild), especially because it was not often that I'd
find flowering plants in the wild, much less seeds, although it is a very
common and widespread species.
G.aurea must be one of the most difficult CPs to cultivate and I
think the secret to doing so is to either own a piece land where it grows
naturally in some distant highland of Brazil or you need to have special
superpowers. Seriously though, it would usually be the first species to
croak for me after being brought into cultivation from the wild. Often
they never even made it back home or died in less than a week! I think
the maximum I've been able to keep a plant in cultivation was one year,
but if they survived the first month it was already something worth
commemorating. Only once, I believe, was I able to get one to actually
flower in cultivation.
G.aurea has beautiful, large, golden-yellow flowers, which are
probably the largest in the genus. It probably is also the record holder
in this genus in regards to number of leaves per rosette (the longest
leaves are probably found in G.guianensis while G.uncinata most likely
has the DAMEND longest + thickest flower scapes and largest traps). The
leaves of G.aurea are very thin and up to 5cm long. Usually only the tips
of the leaves are visible at soil level and these are so numerous that
they form circles around 5cm in diameter. Each rosette is composed of
dozens, maybe hundreds of leaves. Each leaf is coated with a thick, clear
gelatinous substance of dubious function. Wildfire protection? Pest
protection?
G.aurea is native to highlands in Brazil, S of the Amazon Basin,
from 500-2500m altitude (quick estimate from the top of my head). It
prefers growing around wet spots like seepages or streams which are
perennially wet. I have seen a few rare sites which dried up in the winter
(dry season), but in this case the plants suffered very much. In one case,
all died off during a very dry winter and none were found the following
season. There is usually a thin film of water flowing over and through the
soil where these plants are found, sometimes there are even several
centimeters of water above the rosettes. The soil is usually a black
humus, often with some sand.
The water in its marshy habitats is usually very cold, keeping the
plants cool even during very hot weather. Although I do know one site (in
W Brazil, same place where I first found U.biovularioides growing among
aquatic D.communis, mentioned in my CPN article) where the water
temperature was always warm, if not actually hot, when the sun was out.
I've visited that spot several times and it was always like that. So water
temperature may no be too important, as long as it's constantly flowing.
Well, hope this helps! Good luck!!
Best Wishes,
Fernando Rivadavia
Tokyo, Japan
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