What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Natalensis vs Dielsiana vs Other

I've got 2 pots, one tagged natalensis one tagged dielsiana. Yep, those two.

I took pictures of the seeds and plants, the natalensis is not flowering but the dielsiana does have a flower stalk in the photo.

I'm confused. I think both tags are wrong and I have a suspicion they are entirely different plants then what I received them labeled as. Possibly not even natalanesis or dielsiana.

plant 1
'dielsiana'

1604710_10153734709165080_1095303806_n.jpg

1545678_10153734709360080_1186286258_n.jpg




plant 2
'natalensis'

1526888_10153734709125080_181607764_n.jpg

1530443_10153734709035080_712946989_n.jpg
 
The Flora of Southern Africa Vol. 13 A.A. Obermeyer
Obermeyer writes the seeds for D. dielsiana are ovoid, black and honeycombed where as D. natalensis seed is fusiform, the testa extended on both sides.
http://www.omnisterra.com/botany/cp/pictures/drosera/0075.htm#D.dielsiana
http://www.omnisterra.com/botany/cp/pictures/drosera/0075.htm#D.natalensis

From the seed I would suspect your D. dielsiana is most likely D. natalensis and the D. natalensis is D. capillaris "Seeds brown, elliptic to oblong-ovate, 0.4-0.5 mm. long, asymmetric, coarsely papillose-corrugated in 14-16 ridges". While seed can be important in identifying species some characteristics such as shape and testa can be affected by some factors such as how ripe the seeds were when collected (from personal communications with Robert Gibson).

You need to examine the styles as well as the seed to ID Drosera dielsiana. A few years ago it seemed that none of the plants in cultivation labeled as D. dielsiana were correctly identified (most likely D. natalensis). There are plants in cultivation labeled as one of the Drosera sp. "xxx" (I don't recall the actual label) that conforms to Obermeyer's diagnosis of D. dielsiana. Whether or not any of these have been relabeled and distributed as D. dielsiana is unknown to me.

http://www.omnisterra.com/botany/cp/pictures/drosera/0077.htm#D.capillaris
 
Last edited:
LOL! "D. roundandstickia"
 
Thanks NaN I was suspecting the natalensis pot was not lab led correct. Off to compare more seeds.
The only thing that has been keeping me from changing my dielsiana tag to natalensis has been the extremely dense/compact rather small rosettes. The ones pictured with the dielsiana tag are maybe nickel size. The leaves have little to no elasticity and break during transplanting. The short curvy flower stalk with 2 clumps of flower buds has me confused too lol.
 
Rosette size would not be a good indicator, much depends on amount and quality of light. Both are described as having leaves "up to 2cm".

Flowers and scapes are much better indicators:

D. dielsiana "inflorescence with the scape leafless, sturdy, straight or rarely somewhat curved below, 10-20 cm. long, hairy near the base; usually about 8-flowered (3-12) with the rhachis erect; flowers secund, small, seldom open according to collectors; pedicels 2 mm. Calyx-lobes c. 5 mm. long. Petals obovate, unguiculate, c. 7 mm. long, pink, mauve, violet or white. Stamens with narrowly winged filaments. Styles forked from the base with the stigmatic apex spoon-shaped, membranous. Capsule oblong, 5 mm."

D. natalensis "Inflorescence borne on a wiry scape, elongating during anthesis, up to 25 cm. long, the base straight or some what curved, glabrous or with a few straggling hairs below; pedicels up to 5 mm. long; flowers small, up to about 10, secund, rarely open. Calyx-lobes ovate, 3 mm. long. Petals white pink or purple, 5 mm. long. Stamens with the upper part of the filament and connective dilated. Styles forked from the base and divided again towards the apex, the stigmatic apex somewhat distended. Capsule oblong"

If the scape is hairy at the base - D. dielsiana
 
are these the names you were thinking of NAN,"D. spec. 4 South Africa" or "D. spec. 'pretty rosette, Africa",apparently these are dielsiana,according to Andreas Fleischmann
 
Back
Top