Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 02:40:20 -0700 (PDT) From: steve steve <stevesteve@rocketmail.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3037$foo@default> Subject: A few more thoughts on the Cephalotus/mycorrhizae question.
Dear All,
I have been off the list for a while due to the
arrival of our first baby. Sophie is now 6 weeks old
and has already collected a C. follicularis!
In the UK there are series of TV programmes that are
transmitted at night for people doing
distance-learning courses at the Open University. The
idea is that you can tape these and then watch them
when convenient. However it just so happens that
having been up since 04:30 (see note about baby
above!) I watched a program about the uptake of
Caesium from the Chernobyl accident by plants in the
UK.
So how is this relevant to Cephs?
The program discussed the uptake of nutrients by
plants using mycorrhizae. The 'upland' plants such as
_Erica_ have endomycorrhizae with fungal hyphae
within the structure of the roots. These were noted
as being especially important to plants in the
following conditions:
Low soil pH
Poor nutrient levels
Peaty organic-rich soil
This sounds very like the media that most CPs are
grown in!
In Schulze et al 1997 they investigated the source of
nitrogen in several carnivorous plants. They
compared the amount N derived from captured insects
as a percentage of the total N using the ratio of
15N/14N (I wouldn't mind hearing the explanation of
this technique if anyone knows it but the results are
interesting anyway).
Their results showed that Darlngtonia californica had
a mean %N from insects of 76.4% +- 8.4% (range
57-90%) and Nepenthes mirabilis had a mean %N from
insects of 61.5% +- 7.6% (range 0-71%).
Cephalotus follicularis had a mean %N from insects of
26.1% +-5.9% (range 19-30%). This value was derived
from the largest three plants as some of the smaller
specimens did not have pitchers. That value is
considerably lower than the other genera. Might that
add some credibility to the hypothesis that the other
73.9% derived from the soil may have been aided by
fungal activity, if it is growing in poor soil?
I dont have access to thin sectioning equipment at
the moment, so has anyone access to a lab where they
can try sectioning some Cephalotus roots stained to
show the hyphae in contrast to the root cells?
Cheers,
Steve
Schulze W., Schulze E. D., Pate J. S. and Gillison A.
N. 1997. The nitrogen supply from soils and insects
during growth of the pitcher plants Nepenthes
mirabilis, Cephalotus follicularis and Darlingtonia
californica. Oecologica 112. pp464-471
>> > At least it could
>> > explain the good germination, although it is
more difficult to
>> > explain why cuttings also root better.
Mycorrhizae are very common
>> > in almost all plants, but up to now the only
plants I know which
>> > really depend on it for germination are orchids,
some lower-plant
>> > spores (e.g. Lycopodium-prothalli) and Pyrolaceae.
>> ================================================
>>
>> This would be an excellent area to do some
research in. I've considered
>> this to be a possibility before, but never pursued
it since I didn't
>> have the lab/funds at my disposal. I've written
Charles about his post
>> regarding Ceph cuttings which root at a higher
rate when stuck in media
>> containing mature plants(Charles, are you getting
my email?) and believe
>> that some type of bioloical/chemical phenomenon is
at work here which
>> will remain a mystery until controlled studies are
completed. Any Botany
>> or Horticulture PhD candidates out there looking
for thesis material?
>> Doug
> Hey guys, anyone else notice how much Cephalotus
hates being
>transplanted? Well I have and I have been taking
mental notes on
>the subject. I have seen that they respond better
if some of their
>old soil is included in the new pot. Infact, they
tend to die if
>I don't include at least some old soil. My friend,
Tom Hayes, likes
>to recycle his "used" soil into the new pots and I
wonder if he and
>anyone else out there have noticed any such pattern
between plants
>in 100% new soil and those with some old soil.
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