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D.capensis identification

Fryster

--Freedom Czar--
How can you tell if you have a narrow-leaf D.capensis or a broad-leaf D.capensis??

I have a D.capensis. But I don’t know which it is. I have nothing for comparison for its identification. And online photos aren't of much help either.

And what does the phrase, “D.capensis (typical)” classify anyway? Does the word “typical” classify narrow-leaf or broad-leaf?? I know that it’s just a matter of semantics but I’d like to know which I already have. I’d like to have one of each actually…

And are the Alba and All-Red classified as narrow-leaf as well??
 
typical usually means broad leaf, or somewhere in between narrow and broad. The Narrow leaf form has very narrow leaves, about 1/4 inch across. It also rarely makes stems and it doesn't tend to have a skirt of dead leaves at the bottom. A photo of your plant would probably allow us to tell you which form.
 
Typical usually indicates that the plant resembles wildtype characteristics and doesn't appear to fit with any particular cultivar or form. In my experience, true broad-leaf D. capensis have much wider, larger leaves than typical forms, while narrow-leaf D. capensis are noticably thinner. I think typicals are somewhere in between. My broad-leaf plants are just beginning to form stems, but my adult typicals do as well. The plants that display narrow leaves also form stems, but quickly topple over in my experience. The alba and all-red varieties occur with a range of leaf sizes, from the pictures I've seen, but I don't have any myself. One thing I have noticed is that certain growth features, particularly stem-forming, seem to be triggered by environmental cues. Deep pots seem espescially good at triggering characteristic morphology.
~Joe
 
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