Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 12:01:06 -0500 From: "Mellard, David" <dam7@cdc.gov> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg149$foo@default> Subject: drosera morphology
I'm growing several Drosera montana v tomentosa (gawd, I hope I spelled it
right) via Fernando (thanks) and noticed that the flower stalk has dew on
the flower bracts and for a short distance just below the flowers. No dew
is present on the lower portion of the stalk. The fascinating part of this
is that the dew on the flower bracts has managed to catch some gnats.
Hopefully the same would not happen to the insect pollinator of choice in
its native Brazil. Would anyone like to offer an evolutionary explanation
for why this would evolve. A nearby Drosera brevifolia, which produces dew
on the entire flower stalk, has not caught any insects on the flower stalk.
Another observations for Drosera gramunifolia "spiralis" (again thanks to
Fernando) is that the tip of blade-like leaf curls over when it catches an
insect. I tried to trigger this activity with a broom straw the other day
and after several minutes grew tired of waiting for the leaf to curl. When
I was checking the leaves the following day, though, it was curled -- around
nothing.
As Jan pointed out, Drosera are quite fascinating; and, I'm having a great
deal of fun just wondering around their pots with my eyes, watching,
waiting, seeing, and learning. I'm finding out they have many intriguing,
little quirks, just like people <gr>
David
Atlanta
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