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Drosera whittakerii ssp. aberrans forms


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Had a day off today and the weather was sunny and mild for a change so I decided to take my daughter for a quick trip to see how the Drosera whittakerii ssp. aberrans were going in a State Park close by. This is the first area I always check each season as the forms of Drosera whittakerii ssp. aberrans are many and varied. As it turned out, they were looking fantastic. The main reason for this was that they hadn't been rained on for quite a while allowing the rosettes to be clean and free of dirt and other debris.

Anyway, here are a "few" shots. Sorry to those with dial-up.

Firstly, a pinkish form growing under low Eucalyptus scrub-

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A couple of shots of the pinkish form showing the density of the colony. The entire area of the 2nd shot is covered by Drosera-

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A large greenish form growing very close to the previous form. The largest rosettes were about 7cms in diameter-

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A more open area that had recently been burnt was home to a much smaller form which had an intense red colouration. Plants were about 2cms across-

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A shot of my daughter Alannah pulling a silly face sitting next to a colony-

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An orangey coloured plant-

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A nice patch found on the side of a rocky, sandy loam track. These plants had a salmony colouration and were a medium size, approximately 4cms in diameter-

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I found another large form while heading back to the car. This was quite a dense colony with plants over 7cms across. They were very light green.

A shot of the colony-

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A little closer-

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Closer again-

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and again-

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And finally, a few habitat shots.

Looking into the bushland with grasstrees (Xanthorrhoea australis) dominating the understorey-

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Another view with less grasstrees-

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A single grasstree-

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Sorry if that was a bit monotonous. Thanks for your time. I hope you enjoyed them.

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Thanks, Sean, great pics, great plants, and what a landscape!

Oh, and a nice daughter of course! Hope you`ll bring her into the cp hobby, then you will have the absolute majority, and maybe can occupy the windowsills at home for your plants too :shock:

Regards

Martin

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Guest Aidan

Outstanding!

I wonder it the plants really are all different forms, or if differences in microclimate, soil content/structure etc could account for the differences?

Not that I would encourage you to do so, but it would be an interesting experiment to collect each variation and grow them all under identical conditions.

Maybe when seed season comes around...

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Very interesting!

Outstanding!

I wonder it the plants really are all different forms, or if differences in microclimate, soil content/structure etc could account for the differences?

Not that I would encourage you to do so, but it would be an interesting experiment to collect each variation and grow them all under identical conditions.

Maybe when seed season comes around...

A similar thougt crossed my mind when I saw the reddish plants in full sun.

Cheers,

Dieter

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Thanks for all the kind comments.

The effect of the environmental conditions on the colouration of the different forms is very difficult to determine. For instance, the salmony coloured plants from the side of the path grow in identical conditions to the smaller deep red form. These two groups grow a matter of metres from each other, in the same soil types with the same amount of sun exposure.

Generally the greener coloured plants grow in more heavily shaded areas, but in amongst these populations you can also find deep red colonies of plants too. The deep red plants are never as large as the green ones. It seems that size is affected by the soil conditions as the larger green plants are found in substrate with a much higher percentage of organic matter. The smaller red plants for example have little or no visible detritus whereas the larger green plants grow in a spongy layer of decaying Eucalyptus leaves and bark. Having said that, the really large plants exist in only a couple of colonies, while much smaller plants grow all around them.

Collecting seeds is difficult in itself as these plants seem to only be rarely pollinated. I've never managed to find any seed at this location. Another problem is germinating the seed should you manage to get hold of any. I have found seed of this species extremely difficult to germinate and extremely slow to grow when it does.

I have a friend who was forced to grow his plants outside in full sun due to a recent house move. He has found that in these exposed situations the plants he has obtained as green ones remain green while those obtained as red forms have turned an intense red. Until now this has not been as evident as he has grown his plants in much shadier conditions. The red plants have however always exhibited at least some degree of red colouration in the shadier environment. These plants are all grown in the same substrate.

Among other things I didn't realise they grew so densely. I do think that salmony form looks great.

In some areas it is amazing how dense the colonies are. It is literally impossible to step in any direction without crushing them. It was very difficult to prevent my daughter from trampling all over them.

The salmony form was in my opinion the nicest colour variation I saw. The dew almost looked like little ice crystals forming on the leaves. The plants seemed to glow in the sunlight.

Oh, and a nice daughter of course! Hope you`ll bring her into the cp hobby, then you will have the absolute majority, and maybe can occupy the windowsills at home for your plants too :D

I'm trying Martin believe me :D . Unfortunately in my new house there are no suitable windows to grow any plants on- my wife can rest easy. Outside under the pergola is a different matter though. :D

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Magnificent photos of some lovely plants Sean, and a very interesting account of the variation in your last post too - thanks! :D

Your daughter will probably grow up to be a botanist!

(Love the Grass Trees as well!)

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Fantastic shots. Nice red and green plants. :) Also the Xanthorrehoea's are fantastic too. :)

Some nicer forms can be found in your local area though. Have you ever tried to locate any of them?

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Nah, I havn't, but some members of the club went spotting last weekend and found lots of bright red ones and some other stuff. We have been a bit short on rain over this way, but apparently there is still plenty of stuff to see. :)

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Fantastic area!! Maybe an idea to visit Australia next year! :D

Great pictures and it is only your first checked place!!

Keep them coming...

Iggy

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