Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 16:49:00 +0900 From: ss66428 <ss66428@hongo.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2693$foo@default> Subject: Brazilian expedition 9
To all,
I've just come to the conclusion that I have to tell the 'tales of
Brazil' in fewer details or else I'll never finish. Sorry for those who like
it the way it was, but I'm planning another big trip for this summer and I
would like to get this saga over with before I begin another one. Thus I won't
go into the non CP details like getting 2 flat tires in Itacambira, a village
so small and distant from the rest of the world that I could not even buy a
new tire to substitute the one that was ripped open by the guy who was
supposed to be fixing it....
So let's go to the CPs. As I'd said, this was my second time in
Itacambira and on the previous trip I had already noticed the high variety of
species, being a transition area of the species being found further north and
those further south in the Diamantina area. I had also found that CPs were
extremely abundant in that area, with several large sites packed with plants.
I started out with one of these sites the next day, after having a few
delays because of the flat tire problems. This was a site right by the road a
few km from the village, which I had already noticed was very spectacular site
on my previous trip, but hadn't really explored it that well. This time I did,
and discovered that it is probably THE biggest CP site I know in Brazil, as
well as one of the best! Not only are there many CP species spread around a
huge seepage area (which once again I didn't have time to explore completely
and it might be even bigger), but they are also very densely packed, forming
extensive carpets of Drosera, Utrics, and Genlisea. And best of all, this area
contains some of the largest and most beautiful CP specimens I have ever seen!!
So all in one you get quantity, variety, and quality!
The species found in this bog were: D.graminifolia, D.montana
var.tomentosa, D.sp.'Emas', the hybrid between the latter two, G.aurea,
G.repens, G.sp.'giant violacea', U.nana, U.trichophylla, U.hispida,
U.purpureocaerula, U.amethystina, U.subulata, and maybe more Utrics.
The most amazing in this bog are the Drosera, all of which for some
reason are gigantic here, as well as very numerous and densely packed. It was
here that I found the largest D.sp.'Emas' a few years ago, with a stem 28cm
long, the largest I've ever seen. It seems like fires never reach this bog in
the dry season (probably the main reason why the CPs are all so big) and
D.sp.'E' just loves all the high Sphagnum mounds amidst the grasses. But this
species is very delicate and has small leaves, so is pretty inconspicuous.
On the other hand D.montana var.tomentosa with its flat purple-red
rosettes up to 4cm in diameter coating the ground are a scream at this site
and are inevitably stepped on constantly because of their abundance. This was
also the case of the hybrid D.m.tom.X D.sp.'E' which is very similar to the
1st parent, but with narrower leaves. In fact, I found one specimen of this
hybrid with a flower scape 36cm high!! This is longer than any specimen I've
ever seen of either parent! Many specimens of the 2 parents were also found
in flower at this site.
D.graminifolia was not in flower, and I can't imagine what the site
looks like when they do flower around September. I wish I could be there. First
of all, I should explain that these plants are of a larger form, native to
these northern mountains. But these plants were even larger than normal. OK, I
had already seen a specimen further north at Grao Mogol which had leaves 35cm
and scapes 50cm high, but I don't think the plants themselves were as big
or as beautiful as these.
The leaves were SO thick!!! they were also very wide, with the
petiole bases up to 7mm in width!! Imagine a D.filiformis with wider,
thicker, longer yellow-green leaves covered with deep-red tentacles, and
arising from stems up to 1.5cm thick and often several cm long, the leaves a
yellow-green covered with red tentacles! Another cool detail is that the leaves
are not erect as in D.filiformis, but ascending, arising in a long curve from
the base, giving the plant the appearance of a large spider. A truly amazing
species, especially this northern form.
And when if flower..... The scapes are also gigantic and thick,
covered with glandular hairs, often bifurcating at the apex, having abundant
flowers like D.capensis. And in this northern form the flowers are also
larger, more beautifully colored, with wider petals... it's amazing!!!
Searching around, I found those green larvae on their leaves again, but
this time I also found them on the other Drosera species present, although in
fewer numbers. This was the first time I saw these larvae on species other than
D.graminifolia and D.graomogolensis.
Another interesting CP at this site was G.sp.'giant violacea', a
probable new species found in these northern mountains. It is a perennial,
while G.violacea is usually annual in the wild. And it has larger leaves as
well as longer scapes. I was overwhelmed to discover that same day G.violacea
growing not far away in large quantities. I hadn't found this on my previous
trip because I had gone in the early wet season, too early to see it. Anyways,
I had never seen this species further north than Diamantina and nor have I ever
seen G.sp.'giant violacea' anywhere further south than Itacambira. So this was
the first time I saw both growing in the same area. I wonder if they're capable
of hybridizing? And to make matters worse, taxonomically speaking, I also found
some of the giant G.unicinata-like species from the S.do Cipo with the thick
scapes! The borders between these 3 taxa are not at all very clear to me yet
and I suspect there may have truly been hybridization at Itacambira between the
3.
To be continued.... (with the fantastic D.graomogolensis next and albino
U.purpureocaerulea, and ....)
Fernando Rivadavia
Tokyo, Japan
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