Jump to content

Kimberley Stylidiums


Recommended Posts

Hi All,

OK, probably not carnivorous, but interesting anyhow. Here are some stylidiums we came across on a recent trip to the Kimberley in NW Western Australia. I've got no idea about stylidiums. Any suggestions as to their names would be most welcome.

IMG_2168.JPG

Very common species with a rosette of light green succulent broad leaves. Grows near waterfalls.

IMG_2248_zoom.jpg

Another broad-leafed species. Grows in swampy ground.

IMG_2275.JPG

Another broad-leafed species. Grows in open grassland.

IMG_2294.JPG

Small growing species with leaves similar to pine tree needles in a semi erect rosette. Grows on creek margins.

IMG_2304.JPG

Very small species with tiny leaves on caudate stem. Grows on moist creek margins.

IMG_2387.JPG

Small growing species with leaves similar to pine tree needles in a semi erect rosette. Grows on creek margins.

IMG_2387_back.JPG

Back of previous flower - note sticky glands alond stem.

IMG_2920.JPG

Intriguing large-growing species covered in sticky hairs (both flower stems and leaves). Similar leaves to byblis. Grows in moist ground along creeks. Cool black stylus!

Cheers,

Dan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry Dan, but I have no idea about most Stylidium either, particularly those which come from up north.

The sticky glanded species are very interesting. I meant to ask you if you saw any of these sticky forms. I have heard rumours that some botanists believe that some of these species may in fact be carnivorous. Considering the remote area that you visited, it is possible that some of the species that you saw have never been seen before.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like a great idea. Who wants to get bck up there and collect some samples for the research.

Dan, if you ever plan on heading back, there is a great reason for the government to let you back in the area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting method used there (and nice pictures earlier!), though I wonder how they can rationalise their observations against the inherent enzymatic activity of the yeast applied to the leaves - yeast produce all manner of digestive enzymes, not just for sugar break down, but proteases too (protease B, being one). Still, a nice bit of empiricism for the home laboratory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Dan,

very nice photos, thank you for sharing.

I’m also fascinated of Stylidium plants and I have a few in cultivation.

The second one looks similar to S. fimbriatum and the fifth could be S. uliginosum as it also has such tiny flowers. I have some photos on my website for comparison...

http://home.sdirekt-net.de/mwelge5/arten/S...dium_debile.htm

If you’re looking for more information just contact Douglas Darnowski, the famous author of the book about the genus. You also could have a look at www.triggerplants.org/ but the site is currently under construction.

Cheers,

Markus

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Sean,

An intersting test, but with concerns as raised by Stairs (and i'm not a chemist nor biologist, so have no idea).

With regards to access, the spot these plants grow is in the Mitchell River National Park, so no access permits required. However, it would take about 3 days to walk to the site from the nearest vehicle access point (Mitchell Falls Campsite). There's always helicopters to hire at hideous expence, but only in the dry. Who knows though - they might grow all over the place in the wet season...

As a matter of interest, here is an image of the plant:

sticky_styl_sm.JPG

...and a close up showing a bit of debris stuck to the leaves:

sticky_styl_crop_sm.JPG

Cheers,

Dan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very reminiscent of a Byblis. I wonder if anybody out there is performing any studies on these glandular species. From the image, it doesn't appear that there is any insects stuck to the leaves or stems. Do you remember seeing any? If this was a Byblis or Drosophyllum growing in a similar environment I would expect them to be covered in insects and their remains.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't remember any insects stuck onto the plants. That being said, a Byblis only about 10 m away didn't have anything stuck to it's leaves either.

See images near to the bottom of:

http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11126

So I'd say that it was possibly more a function of it being the dry season and there not being very many insects around. We were very lucky to see these plants in a small seep - eswhere all the ephemerals were long dead.

Cheers,

Dan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

If you want to look up those stylidiums you are probably better off looking them up on http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/, in particular, http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/search/qui...amp;x=0&y=0. As you can see, there are nearly 300 species :)

Doug's book is a great read, but he doesn't cover many species (how could he when many of the species are almost impossible to find, and are not interesting for cultivation).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi njh,

Actually, we were photographing plants for incorporation into the florabase database. They may have a lot of Stylidiacae in the database, but very few have accompanying images. only 3-4 of the Kimberley ones have images.

http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/search/adv...t=&type=sum

While a couple of our Kimblerley ones are common, most are not, and a couple may be new to science.

With regards to Dougs book, the tropical Stylidium section (one page) aint all that helpful either. Juliet Wedge (WA CALM's stylidium expert) suggested a few publications for me to look up, but i've not had time as yet.

Cheers,

Dan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...