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Drosera rubrafolia

A recent conversation has sparked my interest in this South African taxon. I've never grown it and am curious regarding it. It was discovered and named by Paul Debbert in 1991 but subsequent review reduced it to synonymous with Drosera cistiflora. I'm curious: is this caulescent like other Drosera cistiflora or does it remain a flat rosette?
 
Hi William,

do you mean Drosera rubrifolia or Drosera rubripetala (both from Debbert)? From your comparison with Drosera cistiflora i think you are refering to Drosera rubripetala.

As i have never seen a plant nor have grown one, i cannot really comment on this plant other than telling what is written in the description. The description says, that this plant has leafs on the flower stalk. My very first impression is, that this seems to be just a red flowered form of D. cistiflora. Does anyone here know more about this plant or are there even any pictures around?

Christian
 
Thanks Christian for the input. The CP database has Drosera rubraflora as synonomous with Drosera cistiflora. I have never heard of Drosera rubripetala. I asked about D, rubriflora because the rosettes I've seen appear to have little in common with Drosera cistiflora and am confused by Dr. Schlauer's determination listed under thiat entry. Time to dig deeper into this mystery I think!
!

---------- Post added at 09:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:26 AM ----------

This was my mistake, I see now that Drosera rubrifolia is listed as syn. with Drosera aliciae, but with undivided styles which is a lot wasier to believe. I'd welcome photos of either taxa if anyone has such.

---------- Post added at 09:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:34 AM ----------

After reviewing photo's on the internet, I find it hard to believe this is anything much like Drosera aliciae. But whatever it IS, it for sure is a fascinating and distinct taxa, and judging from the photo examples out there it appears to be a difficult grower.
 
Hi,

i am growing this plant and you can see some pictures here:

http://utricularia.net/drosera/rubrifolia1.php

It is really a nice plant and not harder to cultivate than D. aliciae or D. slackii. Saddly i missed an open flower for the second year now, so i cannot provide a picture of it. I should take picture of the seeds soon. I also think, that this plant is a distinct species. One of my favourite from the evergreen Drosera from South Africa ;)

regards,
Christian
 
Thanks for those photos Christian! If this is Drosera aliciae then I am a frog. I see a vague resemblance to Drosera slackii, and I do mean vague. The stipules remind me of Drosera natalensis though more than anything else, and nothing like D. slackii stipules obviously. I would suggest some of the cultivation difficulties may be due to complications from fungal attack and pure live milled sphagnum might solve that. I see some opportunistic mosses growing around the plant which always indicated a less than desirable amount of nutrients in the mix in my experience. You probably know I recommend the rinsing of the peat used in the mix as runoff water can test at nearly 1000 PPM via a TDS meter from rinsed peat, bad medicine for Drosera! Fungal involvement often produces that withered look I see in your (and many other grower's) plants. Just my 2 cents worth. I would love to see the flower and seeds if you ever do get the photos of them!

---------- Post added at 01:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:44 AM ----------

I just wanted to add that at the gut level I would opt for a Drosera slackii x D. burkeana relationship. Something about the rosette reminds me of D. burkeana, but it is a gestalt thing.
 
Hi,

here you can see some flower pictures of that plant:

http://www-cp.stech.co.jp/cp/dro/d-rubrifolia_e.html

Personally i have never had good succes with using sphagnum as substrats for Drosera. I usually use just a mix of perlite and peat, that's all. For pygmy drosera as well as other winter growing plants i use a peat/sand mix. So far i had no problems with this. You won't be able to prevent moss growing in your pots if you have an outside greenhouse. The only thing, that helps is to cover the substrat with a thick layer of sand.

regards,
Christian
 
Chistian
may I ask the origin of your plant? I received mine from BCP
It looks very similar maybe a little smaller
the flower stalk on mine only had 2 blossoms on each stalk
didn't observe the petals carefully or take any pictures of it
Thanx for the pics

Tamlin
still trying to digest all the info you sent to me
 
Hi,

my plants are from a non commercial source. I have sown them from seeds i got some years ago. Most likely all plants in cultivation are from the same collection. I doubt, that this plant has been collected too often.

Christian
 
Thanx for the info
I agree that it seems to be extremely rare in collections
Lois
 
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