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Wanted: D.meristocaulis update


Fernando Rivadavia

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Hello all,

I haven't heard any news lately from people cultivating D.meristocaulis. I'm very curious, considering that 3 years have now passed since seeds were germinated and one year(?) since plants flowered. Are plants flowering? Are seeds being produced?

Best Wishes,

Fernando Rivadavia

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Guest Ivan Snyder

Hi Fernando,

My original three plants are still looking great and keep growing. I tried reproducing one plant by taking a pup off and potting it by itself. It died :cry:

I guess I'm the only person to get the plant to flower from seed? --three times :lol:

Ivan

Hello all,

I haven't heard any news lately from people cultivating D.meristocaulis. I'm very curious, considering that 3 years have now passed since seeds were germinated and one year(?) since plants flowered. Are plants flowering? Are seeds being produced?

Best Wishes,

Fernando Rivadavia

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hmmm. Best carnivorous plants has them for 25 euros. is that right?! i would have expected them to be MUCH highter in price.

D. meristocaulis {north west plateaus of Cerro Neblina, border Brazil/Venezuela} / EUR 25(Adult plants able to flower!)
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Hey Glider,

I'm surprised as well! They must have been very successful with the plants in tissue culture. In fact, I think I remember one of the guys there also got it to flower. I remember seeing a pic of a flowering plant in TC from the Czech Republic...

Best Wishes,

Fernando Rivadavia

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I'm surprised as well! They must have been very successful with the plants in tissue culture. In fact, I think I remember one of the guys there also got it to flower. I remember seeing a pic of a flowering plant in TC from the Czech Republic...

Hey Fernie,

When I received seeds many years back I put them into TC also. I have masses of the little blighters in culture and they do extremely well, multiplying madly, even without hormones. They are normal happy little plants. They respond really well in vitro and I even noticed that they will often form new plantlets from the roots adventiously. My plants that I planted out are still under lights and have not flowered for me, though I suspect if I made the effort to grow them in the glasshouse they would. I should do that and also take some photos.

Regards

Quinn

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I have everything but the ms media then I can tissue culture I even got the PPM biocide as a sample so I think my chances are high,I am thinking about putting my peltata seeds in vitro but I would like to try other more common things like some of my sundew leaves. I don't think I need BAP for seeds or easy drosera leaves. What temps can D.pelata handle?

I was thinking in the day it could go into the 45 fahrenheit fridge then under grow lights at night because of the high temperatures.

Rather than hijack the thread, perhaps you should create one of your own. This is not relevant to the topic at hand.

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Wow its been that long? 3 years wow...time does fly! It feels just like yesterday that seeds were being offered here of this new and exciting species.

I hope this species becomes more available soon, as I really like the look of it. :) Good grwoing everyone!

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Guest Ivan Snyder

Hey Fernando,

As you know, I did not get any seed from my 3 flowers. I'm sure they got pollinated as I helped. You told me you thought my plants were not healthy or something, but I still think it's most likely they need cross pollination. Our friend Ed saw my flowers and felt they just needed stronger light to open all the way. I don't think the plants could get any more healthy than mine. Did Gert or Andreas get any seed?

Ivan

Hey Ivan,

At least two other people have gotten it to flower: Gert in Holland and Andreas F. in Germany (but only Andreas from seed).

Congrats,

Fernando Rivadavia

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Hey Ivan,

Your plants not healthy?? Far from that! They're are over-healthy if anything! :)

I simply have this hypothesis that they are not self-incompatible based on their ecology and flower type.

I can't say what happened with your plants however... I suspected something to do with light & humidity maybe not making conditions right for pollinization.

Luckily your plants are producing pups! ;)

Andreas and Gert have not reported seed production, but I'm not sure they were paying attention...

Take Care,

Fernando Rivadavia

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Hello Fernando

I bought some seeds from Gert in Holland, I received them the 29/11/2005.

They germinate fast (one month).

They grow very slowly, but i'm not sure to have good conditions (I suppose they don't like hot températures!!).

In spring, automn and summer I keep them outside, and in winter they are in a greenhouse with 6° min.

I think they are far from making flower.

I post 2 photos of the plants (they are now a little bigger)

dmeristocaulis1cs9.th.jpg

dmeristocaulis2rr9.th.jpg

by.

jp

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Guest Ivan Snyder

Hey Fernando,

I suppose it is possible the conditions are not quite right. But I've never had any sundew that is growing so well not produce seed, except when self incompatible as with many pygmy species and all petiolaris. Anyway, I am glad to hear that others are having success growing the plant. It's a real beauty and grows well in captivity once it gets established. Mine have always been indoors under artificial light with no terrarium. Good luck to the rest of you.

-Ivan

Hey Ivan,

Your plants not healthy?? Far from that! They're are over-healthy if anything! :)

I simply have this hypothesis that they are not self-incompatible based on their ecology and flower type.

I can't say what happened with your plants however... I suspected something to do with light & humidity maybe not making conditions right for pollinization.

Luckily your plants are producing pups! ;)

Andreas and Gert have not reported seed production, but I'm not sure they were paying attention...

Take Care,

Fernando Rivadavia

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Hello,

I had just one flower in one of my D. meristocaulis so far. Unfortunately, I never saw that flower. The flower was still in bud in mid august 2006, before I left to Sierra Leone. When I came back home 3 weeks later, the only thing I found left of that flower where dried remains ;).

Like Ivan, I did not get any seed from that spent flower.

As I did not have the chance to pollinate that flower by hand, I cannot say whether D. meristocaulis is self-incompatible (chasmogamous) or just not selfing (autogamous).

BTW, did anyone of you notice that the additional aerial roots are not growing straigt downwards (like in D. scorpioides for example), but are descending at an angle of about 30-45° ? All of my big plantlets (i.e. having stems more than 3 cm tall) have at least one of these support roots (like little carnivorous Pandanus trees ;))

I try to post photographs later on.

All the best,

Andreas

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello,

As I promised, here are some photographs of my Drosera meristocaulis.

I hope you enjoy them:

Drosera_meristocaulis1.jpg

And here are 2 photos to illustrate the strange support roots I have mentioned in my previous post.

Drosera_meristocaulis2.jpg

Drosera_meristocaulis3.jpg

Even in small plants of D. meristocaulis, you can observe the yellowish-translucent non-sticky glands on the upper surface of the petioles:

Drosera_meristocaulis4.jpg

These non-carnivorous glands occur in a few species of Drosera (sometimes only in a few forms of on species), scattered all across the genus:

Among the pygmy Drosera, I observes these "petiole glands" in all subspecies of D. nitidula. I noticed them in some forms of D. indica (especially those originating from Queensland) and in some D. burmannii.

In section Drosera, I first noticed them in D. graminifolia from Caraça (very obvious in this one!). I had a closer look at various other South American Drosera and found them in D. chrysolepis, D. camporupestris and D. montana var. schwackei, too. Well, actually it was Fernando who was pointing out the presence of those kind of glands in var. schwackei to me ;). Thanks, as this species is maybe the most poorly growing Drosera for me! My plants are over 3 years old now, they are still only about 1-1.5 cm in diameter and never had more than 2 active, sticky leaves for me. D. montana var. montana would have flowered at least 3 times within 3 years from seedling on under the same growing conditions. I really have to apporve my growing conditions for var. schwackei. Too bad Fernando did not take any notes on wind speed or temperature at Diamantina ;) ;).

All the best,

Andreas

PS: In case my photographs are not visible to anyone again, please feel free to change the link to any of your homepages. Christian? Bob? ;) Thanks a lot in advance!

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PS: In case my photographs are not visible to anyone again, please feel free to change the link to any of your homepages. Christian? Bob? ;) Thanks a lot in advance!
Pics are visible, beautiful, and illustrative of the points you mention. Very interesting species of Drosera. I look forward to the day when seed is widely available. :shock:

Thanks for sharing!

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Hello Andreas!

Very interesting photos! My guess is that these roots are an adaptation to very windy conditions on those high plateaus of Neblina. Or else to hold the plants in place during occasional water overflow along streams, where I often saw them growing (although they were more common on sandstone outcrops far from streams).

Thanks again!

Fernando Rivadavia

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