Australian drosera

[Seandew]

Hi everyone,

A couple of days ago I payed a visit to one of my favourite CP spots to check out how the Drosera were coming along.

The place is found near the small town of Anglesea which is on the coast in the far south east corner of Australia. The area is a large tract of Eucalypt heathland vegetation which is renowned for its extensive populations of CPs and orchids.

Thought that I'd share a few photos of my day out.

Firstly, a photo of a beautifully colored Drosera glanduligera. The plant was growing in full sun on the side of a shallow depression. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day and the flowers weren't open-

Next, a small colony of Drosera pygmaea plants growing very close to the D. glanduligera. You can see small plants growing from this seasons gemmae up the top of the image. If you look closely you can also see flowerscapes appearing on a couple of the plants- particularly the one on the right-

Drosera auriculata was found growing and flowering absolutely everywhere. This is one of the plants with an open flower-

Finally, a shot of Drosera peltata growing in a mowed area on the side of the road beside Eucalypt heathland-

.

And for anybody who's interested I've included a shot of one of the bizarre native orchids (Pterostylis plumosa) that grew with many of the CPs-

Not a bad day at all.

Regards,

Sean.

 

[Tom]

Not a bad day?! I wish to have a day like that lol! Every field trip I make with a new discovery is a REALLY happy day, but a fieldtrip in Australian Outback looking for plants or herborizing would be heaven!

You should have seen me when I first found Pinguicula vulgaris in the wild the summer, for the first time... Never been happier for all the summer! But if I had saw such beauties that are on your pics, I would dance like crazy

.

Very nice shots!

 

[Seandew]

Hey Tom,

I guess I take for granted the opportunity to see CP species throughout the year down here in Australia. I tell you what though, I'd kill to see a Pinguicula species in the wild some day- I reckon I would be dancing myself!

Regards,

Sean.

 

[YtK]

Cool. No wonder they are considerd the most beautiful. Ive been looking for a while for some Tuberous Sundews. Does any one have any seeds or bulbs for trade? Does any one know of a good source for seed or tubers (in the northern hemisphere)?
Very Beautiful pictures..

YtK

 

[LOs Angels Traphole]

Very cool pictures. I know we all appreciate sooooo much the time and effort you take to go out looking for those beautiful plants and sharing your pics.

That orchid is strange, I would have never guessed it was an orchid. Is that a picture of the flower or leaves? Is the flower open?

I love Eucalyptus trees we have some species all over the place here in Los Angeles. My favorite is the species with circular leaves, I call them silver dollars. I also love bottle brush trees, those feathery, red (flowers?) are fantastic.

Thanx again for the pics, please don't stop sharing.

 

[PlantAKiss]

That is such a bizarre thought...peltata growing along a roadside like a weed.  lol  Well, I guess it is a weed.  A highly desirable weed!  

Sean...with plants that are considered "rare", at least by people who live in areas where they don't grow (like the U.S.), is poaching a big problem?  You see those plants growing along a roadside and my thought would be, how many people would jump out of their cars and dig them up?  Either to grow or sell.  To me its an amazing sight and it looks like it would be so easy for someone to take them.

How DO people react to seeing that?  Do they drive by because they don't know what it is or do people in Australia generally know its Sundew Heaven and recognize the species?

Thats not something I can grasp in my head...I've never seen a wild CP of any sort.  

BTW...beautiful trees!

Suzanne

 

[LOs Angels Traphole]

Is glanduligera a pygmy sundew?

 

[CP2k]

D.glanduligera is not a pygmy drosera.

 

[Seandew]

Hi guys,

I've got a couple of questions to answer here.

Firstly for LA Trapholes questions. The shot of the orchid is an open flower. This species has a bizarre way of achieving pollination. It actually catches insects before releasing them to carry the pollen away. If you look at the top of the flower you'll see a yellow blob. This is the pollen. Flying insects land on the feathery plume poking out the front of the plant and travel inside the flower to get nectar. The flower is very similar to a S. psittacina, D. californica or C. follicularis in that it has areoles which allow light to shine through. The insects head up for the light and pass into a one way tunnel that traps them. As they push their way through they collect the blob of pollen on their back. They then exit through a small hole at the top which you can't quite see. The next flower they visit and pass through gets pollinated. Not quite as good an ending as being devoured by a pitcher plant but a remarkable adaptation none the less.

If anyone is interested here is a photo of the whole plant-

I love Eucalyptus species too. There are some stunning species that rarely get grown but definitaly deserve to.

I'll answer PlantAKiss's question in my next post.

Regards,

Sean.

 

[Seandew]

Now to answer your question Suzanne,

Poaching of native Drosera in my part of the country is very rare. Drosera are not very well known by many people in Australia and are grown by very few. The fact that many of the species are tuberous and die down for much of the year has meant that they are generally not dug up for sale at nurseries or the like.

Most species of Drosera that grow near to where I live certainly could not be considered rare. As you said they almost grow like weeds in some areas, sometimes covering paddocks and roadsides by the thousands. I wouldn't call them a weed myself though as there are plenty of other weed species that are taking over many of their habitats. Many European and South African species really love the Australian climate.

I think that very few people see them growing on the side of roads and stop to dig them up. 99 percent of the population would not even know what they were. It would be very easy for anyone to take them but it rarely happens. They don't have the same appeal as some of your Sarracenias. I have rarely ever seen any tuberous Drosera for sale at a nursery or market stall. It's quite strange though that many of the CP growers I know aren't particularly interested in Drosera and probably wouldn't even recognise the species themselves- a bit sad really.

When I see a field full of Drosera peltata I don't really give it a second thought. I guess I have seen this so many times that I probably don't appreciate them as much as an outsider would. I guess we are a bit spoiled down here. I'd love to take an international visitor out one day and show them some of my favourite CP spots just to see their reaction. That would probably give me a greater feeling of satifaction than seeing them myself.

So if any of you are ever down here, give me a call.

Regards,

Sean.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

I swear I am coming to see you Sean! We could make each others day I think! I was sent a tuber of D. peltata that made a fine plant, and it was like a myth come true for me. I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Phill Mann's video CD of his expidition into the Northern part of Australia: driving through brush fires and puddles (we call those "ponds" here&#33

. It was an amazing, amazing visual account. Phill's camera work was excellent, and I was amazed at how he could spot these species apparently from a good distance away. Hopefully this CD will be on the market in the near future since Phill wants to take the proceeds and produce an even better video. Stay tuned for future details.

 

[JanW]

Wow! Great news! I would really love to see the video, too. And of course I will visit Sean, if I ever get to Australia...

Jan

 

[Seandew]

I can't wait for the video myself! The northern part of Australia really is an awesome area for CP's.

Sean.

 

[Copper]

Sean or Tamlin, this is off subject, but I am getting seeds for tuberous sundews. Do you germinate the seeds in the same manner as seeds from non-tuber plants?

 

[Seandew]

Hi Copper,

It can depend upon which species you have seed of. Species like D. peltata, auriculata, stricyticaulis and a few others germnate readily sown the same as more common species like spatulata and capensis.

Other species can require pre treatment with smoke water or GA3 to ensure good germination.

It is also a good idea to sow the seed at the right time of year. Just at the end of summer is probably ideal because you give the seed a full growing season in the cool before they become dormant in summer. Obviously the longer you give them to grow the bigger the tubers will end up and the greater chence they will have coming up the following year.

Which species of seed have you got?

Regards,

Sean.

 

[Copper]

D.gigantea and D. macrantha. I am hoping that they will germinate within a few months so as to give them time to grow prior to dormancy.

 

[Seandew]

I have never grown D. gigantea from seed before but know those who have. They have sown the seed the same as you would a spatulata or similar with no pre-treatment and germination rates are generally excellent.

The D. macrantha will depend upon which subspecies you have as to how easily it will germinate. The ssp. planchonii from eastern Australia germinates very quickly and easily without pre-treatment. The other ssp. from WA (ie- ssp. macrantha & ssp. eremaea) can take quite a while to germinate and probably will have a greater germination rate with a pre-treatment such as GA3.

Hope this helps and good luck,

Sean.

 

[Copper]

Do the seeds need cold strat? or can I sow them and let 'em go?

Thanks again
Rose

The seeds just came in.

 

[Seandew]

Just sow them and let them go. GA3 can be helpful with many tuberous species in increasing the germination rate but the 2 species you mention should do OK without. They can take a while to germinate though so be patient.

Sean.