Location information

[Arachnophobe]

Hey all,

I have some D. spatulata setting seed at the moment, they're from plants I collected with permission from where they grow in the wild. Is this location information important to be kept with the seed? Also, does location information make them more desirable?

Matt

 

[Cthulhu138]

I think it's always important to keep location data whenever possible. With the amount of habitat loss that occurs, those plants you collected could end up being the only relics of the species from that area. Many growers are also fanatical about obtaining locality specific plants especially when trying to create community mini-bogs or other displays of plants indigenous to a specific region.

 

[mylesG]

not important to me in the least but as stated, some love to have that info

 

[Cthulhu138]

Also many species from different localities often exhibit characteristics unique to the location. You'll often see several listings of a particular species on vendors lists listing individual locales. I can think of examples of this in just about every genera of carnivorous plant. Some examples of this would be Sarracenia leucophylla from Hurricane Creek which tend to be much whiter than other populations, Nepenthes fusca from the Crocker Range which have distinctly narrower pitchers, there is (or rather was) a population of Drosera rotundifolia from Skagitt Co. WA which are notably larger than your average rotundifolia plants from elsewhere and a population of Utricularia macrohiza from a single lake in NH which have white flowers instead of yellow.

 

[ramdacc]

Hey all,

I have some D. spatulata setting seed at the moment, they're from plants I collected with permission from where they grow in the wild. Is this location information important to be kept with the seed? Also, does location information make them more desirable?

Matt

Yes and Yes.

I don't even bother looking at common plants like D. spathulata unless location data is attached to them. D. spathulata is pretty widely variable and knowing the location that the plants originate from helps determine if it is a plant that is worth adding to your collection, or if it's one you already have.

And everything Cthulhu138 said ^^^

 

[Arachnophobe]

Thank you all for the prompt reply. I'll ensure I keep that location data then. These plants are smaller that the D. spatulata I've observed growing in most other areas around here and they're also white flowered rather than pink.
I might collect some seed then to see if I can't trade for some new species. How specific does the location information need to be?

 

[Cthulhu138]

See, perfect example of why you should keep location data with the plants. Keep it as specific as possible. I wouldn't go adding gps coordinates or anything but, "Wright's Pond Medford, MA" (as an example) would work sufficiently. You could also be less specific to help preserve a population of possibly desirable plants from potential poaching.

 

[Arachnophobe]

So would the name of the lake be sufficient? They're not all found directly on the lake but I found them mostly within a kilometer of the lake. If I am keeping several different locations if them in the future as well, how do I ensure they aren't cross pollinated.

 

[Cthulhu138]

I think the name of the lake would suffice. Chances are that the plants will just self seed but, if you're growing them outside you'll have to keep them at safe distance away from other locales, net them off or maybe try applying a mild insect repellant while the plants are in flower to ensure pollen pirates don't spread unwanted dna around on you.

 

[Arachnophobe]

Thank you very much! They're from Lake Ainsworth, a similar environment to the Drosera found on Fraser Island I believe.
I do grow outside, I might just snip the flower stalks off if I have more than one location to prevent accidental crossing and flower them indoors if I want to collect seed.

 

[Arachnophobe]

Double post sorry.

 

[Cthulhu138]

You can always just propagate from leaf cuttings too and forgo the seeds altogether.

 

[Arachnophobe]

You can always just propagate from leaf cuttings too and forgo the seeds altogether.

Good idea! The only advantage of seed over vegetative propagation I can see is that I can trade seeds more easily with other growers.

I have harvested a fair few pods now and am allowing them to dry out. If I was to offer them up here for a trade, how many seeds should be included in a packet?

 

[hcarlton]

An average pack of Drosera seeds should contain about 50-150 seeds per pack. And from experience I'd say it's better to let seed pods ripen on the stalk and collect seeds when they start to turn black/open up. That way you can be sure the seeds fully ripen.

 

[Arachnophobe]

Thanks very much!

Yep, have been removing the pods from the stalks as they turn brown, we've had a bit of rain though so I do need to dry them out so they don't mold.

 

[hcarlton]

Ah, so about the same method I use (except I just have to worry about greenhouse humidity, not rain).

 

[Arachnophobe]

I've harvested at least a thousand seeds now from a fair few stalks. I'll see if I can do some grades within Australia first as I don't know the ins and outs of sending them overseas.