Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 07:00:04 -0800 (PST) From: bruce dudley <bddudley@yahoo.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg4005$foo@default> Subject: Re: "giant" forms of pitcher plants
I question other plants with a
> designation of "giant" as
> well, such as S. psittacina...if I place both the
> typical and so called
> "giant" forms of psittacina in the same sphagnum
> moss/high humidity
> environment, they end up looking exactly the
> same...
> Michael Catalani
>
To Michael and others, it is important that you
understand how you grow the plants and the origins of
their parentage. S. psittacina and S. minor will have
true larger forms that can be differentiated by
pitcher size when compared to the smaller, "regular"
forms. Granted, many people have "created" giant forms
by lowering light, or feeding growth hormones or
fertilizers (not recommended!), but, there are strong
indications that, when conditions are EXACTLY created,
S. psittacina and S. minor do have varieties which
will produce pitchers maybe twice the size of regular
forms found in neighboring wild populations. I've not
seen any studies linking these traits to exclusively
genetic or environmental conditions therefore I am not
making any clarifications to that matter! However,
please do not generalize that these varients' traits
can be reversed by simply growing the plants
side-by-side. Doing so could definitely help us
understand the plants better, but only when done under
significant scientific scrutiny! Vague
generalizations do not explain--they only create
further misunderstandings. Thanks to anyone who has
grown these varieties for extended lengths of time and
can shed better understanding on these Sarracenia
variations for us... BTW: are the larger varieties
hardier than the regular ones? Hardier could be
defined as surviving drier and/or colder conditions
for longer periods than the regular forms.
Bruce
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