Brazilian Expedition 6

From: ss66428 (ss66428@hongo.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp)
Date: Fri Jun 13 1997 - 01:58:50 PDT


Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 17:58:50 +0900 (JST)
From: ss66428 <ss66428@hongo.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg2315$foo@default>
Subject: Brazilian Expedition 6


        I forgot to mention that on our second day at Diamantina, we went to
an area which had been and was being completely turned over on its head by
diamond mining. Amidst all the eroded streamsides, which looked more like a
miniature version of the Grand Canyon, we found lots of D.communis in the
reddish lateritic soil.
        We also found D.villosa, which I had only seen once in the Diamantina
region (2 or 3 plants on a rock). I even found one D.villosa which was in
flower, although in the place of petals and stamens, each flower had 5 small
glandular leaves!! It was very interesting! Anyways, this D.villosa is much
more similar to what is generally known as D.villosa, the one showed in CP
books anyhow. The type D.villosa are twice as big and have fewer, almost
linear leaves. The Diamantina region is the type location for what the
botanist Saint Hilaire described as D.ascendens, which in my opinion better
represents what most CPers know as D.villosa.
        Another Drosera found in that area was a new species I call
D.sp."Emas" which is widespread in Brazil. It has short, almost linear
leaves spread along a delicate stem (like a small D.madagascariensis)
which is usually only a few cm long, but may reach almost 30cm. I had never
seen it in the Diamantina region either, but I knew it grew there because
Thomas Carow had also seen and photographed this species when he was in
Diamantina 10 years before.

        To be continued (sorry, have to hurry and will spend a week away...)

Fernando Rivadavia
Tokyo, Japan



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