Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 08:58:36 -0400 From: Rand Nicholson <writserv@nbnet.nb.ca> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg804$foo@default> Subject: Re: Carnivorous Bromeliads
Hi Richard:
>Ok, first off, I apologize for what was perhaps a rather flippant
>previous post.
Not at all. I do realize that many CPers feel that this topic has been
beaten to death, while on certain Bromeliad lists it is almost taken for
granted that Brocchinia reducta and Catopsis are carnivorous.
>Brocchinia reducta produces a sweet smell that attracts ants and has a
>waxy cuticle that is difficult to grip. It produces no digestive enzymes
>but it does create an environment suitable for bacteria to break down
>insects into absorbable nutrients (namely the water cup in the center).
>It is capable of absorbing those nutrients. A lot of plants have waxy
>cuticles and as stated above are capable of absorbing nutrients. Dead
>insects are frequently found in the cup and experimentaly, plants "fed"
>insects grow faster than those that are not fed.
(Snip)
>Is this carnivorous enough to be carnivorous? If you ask enough experts
>I guarantee you will get answers on both sides. If Jan has not already
>replied I believe he is on the NO side. What do you think?
I believe that the Brocchinia has characteristics that support the
entrapment of insects and that it benefits nutritionally from the
decomposition of the insects. How is that for a weasel-worded response?
I will have a Brocchinia reducta this spring and I am going to place it
between my Nepenthes alata and a Quesnelia seideliana, another Brom.
Thank you for enclosing the Brocchinia reference in _The American Naturalist_.
Kind Regards,
Rand
Rand Nicholson
New Brunswick
Maritime Canada, Z 5b
<writserv@nbnet.nb.ca>
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