Vertigo Posted December 1, 2003 Report Share Posted December 1, 2003 Does anyone know what the average percentage for male/female variants in Nepenthes are? Is this normally also governed by stress levels? (ie. more stressed plant, more likely to be male) Has an account been documented, or even rumoured for a Nepenthes to develop into a hermaphroditic specimen? And one more...off the topic of genes and such, what exactly could GA3 do to a Nepenthes seed that would effect the outcome of whether or not it would be a male/female specimen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swords Posted December 2, 2003 Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 I beleive the sex of Nepenthes is randomly determined as pollination occurs or the seed is being formed. In this case simple GA3 won't have any effect on it. Colochline (sp?) is a mutative chemical that has the ability to change the plants DNA and is used with orchid propagation (assists with crossing species of different gene sequences). Also in marijuana growing! It is used to change the C. sativa and C. indica leaves from 7-9 rayed leaflets to 3 rayed leaflets in an attempt to disguise the leaves. This may or may not contribute to sexual abnormalities in the Nepenthes plant. don't know how toxic it is to use this chemical in your home. It may not be a good idea since it changes genes...! I have never read about, nor is it probable for a Nepenthes to flower both sexes on one plant or for the plant to change sex during it's lifetime. I think the ratio I saw for Nepenthes in cultivation was 70:30 male to female. I can't remember where I saw this, possibly Nepenthes of Sumatra & Peninsular Malaysia by C. Clarke in the cultivation chapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo Posted December 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2003 Hey Swords, Btw, ever get that PM? Interesting how the usage on one species led to a question about another and as an example you used the original. GA3 has actually been used (not exactly sure about the application process) on C. sativa to influence the chances of obtaining a female specimen from seed. I believe the ratio of male:female is about the same as with Nepenthes. Also it has been noted that the more stressed C.S. becomes, and shock it goes through during the developing stages of its growth, the higher a rate of obtaining a male is. On a side note, with Betta's and mating, the more stressful the habitat, the higher your chances of obtaining a male majority of population. I've definately heard of the uses of Colchine. Very bad stuff to even be in the same room with from what i've heard. But then again, in a fresh water master test kit you'll find chemicals that can cause reproductive toxicity, which I have no clue about but damn it sounds really really bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swords Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 geez, we're gonna sound like high times editors here... C. sativa is (unlike Nepenthes) physiologically able to "change sex" (through sporatic hermaphoroditism) due to various stressors during it's life cycle (as in Aroids). Hermaphorodites are common with C. sativa (and maybe the others) where there will be a plant full of female flowers and one branch with develop a clump of male flowers inexplicably. These male flowers can create pollen and impregnate the females on the same plant (and maybe other plants) and all seed produced will produce female or similarily hermaphoroditic plants. To my knowledge there isn't any record of hermaphoroditism Nepenthes. I will ask the nursery owners I'm in contact with who go on expeditions and see if they've ever seen anything like that in the wild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agustin franco Posted December 3, 2003 Report Share Posted December 3, 2003 Regarding Stress making the plants more males than females, it may just be pure nonsense. if such mechanism exists, then the nepenthes should have been extinct in the wild long time ago. The survival of the species depends on having both sexes so propagation continues...... GA3 or gibberellic acid is a substance known to break the dormancy of Byblis seeds and a couple of other species. I tried it myself on Nepenthes seeds without success. Gus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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