if CARNIVOROUS PLANT

NEWSLETTER
Journal of the International Carnivorous Plant Society
Volume 31, No. 4 December 2002
 CARNIVOROUS
PLANT
NEWSLETTER
Journal of the International
Carnivorous Plant Society
www.carnivorousplants.org

Volume 31, Number 4

December 2002

Front Cover: Drosera cuneifolia flowers. See article on page 100.

Back Cover: Mike King’s giant Sarracenia flava var. rugelii. Photo by Mike King. See
article on page 120.

Carnivorous Plant Newsletter is dedicated to spreading knowledge and news related to carnivorous plants.
Reader contributions are essential for this mission to be successful. Do not hesitate to contact the editors with infor¬
mation about your plants, conservation projects, field trips, or noteworthy events. Contributors should review the
"Instructions to Authors" printed in the March issue of each year. Advertisers should contact the editors.Views
expressed in this publication are those of the authors, not the editorial staff.

All correspondence regarding dues, address changes and missing issues should be sent to the Membership
Coordinator at the ICPS. Do not send such correspondence to the editors. Checks for subscriptions and back issues
should be made to the ICPS irr US funds. Dues for 2002 are $25.

ICPS, Inc.
PMB 330
3310 East Yorba Linda Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92831-1709. USA
icps@camivorousplants.org

President David Gray, email: david@camivorousplants.org

Vice President Carl Mazur, email: carl@camivorousplants.org
Secretary Cindy Slezak. email: cindy@camivorousplants.org
Seed Bank John Brittnacher. email: john@carnivorousplants.org. seedbank listed in this issue.

Editors:
Barry A. Rice, P.O. Box 72741. Davis, CA 95617. USA, email: barry@camivorousplants.org
Jan Schlauer. Zwischenstr. 11, D-60594 Frankfurt, Germany, email: jan@camivorousplants.org
Page Layout: Steve Baker, email: steve@camivorousplants.org

Date of effective publication of the September 2002 issue of Carnivorous Plant Newsletter: 6 September 2002.

The ICPS is the International Cultivar Registration Authority (ICRA) for cultivated carnivorous plants according to
The International fTlltiinitnl Plinli relevant correspondence to the ICPS, Inc.
LUESTER T. MERTZ
PUBLISHER: ICPS, nc„ Fullerton, C'a!il«op LJfrlythed quarterly with|one volume annually. Desktop Publishing:
28601. Printer: K ndid Litho. Logo and masthead art: Paul
Steve Baker, 5612 C eek Point Drive, Hickon/ NC 28(
Milauskas. Dues: $25 TO annually. Reprints available by volume only © 2 KJ2 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter. All rights
reserved. ISSN #0190- >215.
J a Nj t 2003

NEW YORK
98 BOTANICAL GARDEN Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
 Contents

Drosera cuneifolia and D. admirabilis: Two Rosetted Sundews from the Cape
Province, South Africa .100
News and Views.-107
Book Review.-108
Looking back: CPN 25 years ago.108
ICPS on the World Wide Web: Carnivorous Plant E-mail Listserv Archive-109
Building a Windowbox Micro-Bog for Urban Environments.-110
A Method for Growing Aldrovanda .-.113
Seedbank .-.115
Genlisea lobata Fromm-Trinta .116
Literature Reviews.118
The 4th International Carnivorous Plant Conference.119
Growing Carnivorous Plants in the UK.-120
Back issue sale is over.127

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Contact: DAVID CRUMP Price list - S.A.S.E.

Volume 31 December 2002 99

International Correspondent
Drosera cuneifolia and D. admirabilis:
Two Rosetted Sundews from the
Cape Province, South Africa

Robert Gibson • PO Box 1330 • Dubbo • NSW, 2830 • Australia

Keywords: observations: Drosera admirabilis, Drosera cuneifolia, South Africa.

During three months in South Africa I had the very good fortune to explore
many areas, including the fynbos region. Fynbos is a shrubland vegetation type
endemic to the Cape Floral Kingdom that is phenomenally rich in endemic species.
It occurs predominantly over infertile soils and invariably includes heath-like
shrubs, particularly Ericas, grass-like Restios, and bulbous herbs and experiences
frequent fires (Cowling and Richardson, 1995).
During this time I had the opportunity to see the attractive D. cuneifolia and
D. admirabilis in the wild. The former is endemic to the Cape Range, including
Table Mountain (Figure 1). It is a handsome species reaching 8 cm across, with
broad, wedge-shaped leaves to 1.5 cm wide at the truncate leaf apex (Figure 2). The
leaves have an incomplete cover of appressed white hairs on the lower surface. The
lower surfaces of the largest leaves are almost completely hairless. The short ovoid
stipule is minutely notched at its blunt apex.

Figure 1: Distribution of D. cuneifolia (grey shading), D. admirabilis (triangle) and D. sp.

“floating” (star) in southwest South Africa. Drosera admirabilis is likely to be more wide¬
spread; the type was collected west of the triangle at an unspecified location, and the
enigmatic D. sp. “floating” may be conspecific.
100 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
Figure 2: Drosera cuneifolia. A: Rosette, 6 cm in diameter; B: leaf lower surface, note
the few hairs near the leaf base; C: leaf upper surface, note the absence of hairs; D:
leaf cross-section; E: open flower; F: calyx; G: petal; H: sepal; I: bract; J: ovary, partial
view of styles and one stamen; K: stigma; L: ovary, two stamens and the base of the
styles. Scale bars=1mm. Illustration by R. Gibson.

Volume 31 December 2002 101

 In late spring some Drosera cuneifolia plants produce a robust scape. It is erect
from the base and bears up to 20 flowers in a one-sided inflorescence. Flowering has
been recorded between November and January (Obermeyer, 1970). The flowers are
large and attractive (see Front Cover) up to 3 cm across and remain open between
8 am and 4 pm (in Cape Town). The ovary is surmounted by three styles that are
bifid from the base to produce six style segments. Each style segment is typically
entire, although minutely bifid style apices are occasionally produced. The tip of the
stigma is hairy. The green ovary is surrounded by five erect stamens. Each filament
is white, and is expanded at the apex where the two anthers are located. The almost
orbicular sepals overlap each other markedly in bud. Observations on plants in cul¬
tivation and the wild indicate that this species is self-incompatible. The seeds, not
seen, are recorded by Obermeyer (1970) as fusiform.
I observed Drosera cuneifolia at two locations in 1997. The first was at the
southern part of Table Mountain, near Constantia Neck, where the plants grew
near a small creek in the company of D. aliciae. The second was to the south at the
Silvermine Nature Reserve, where several populations were seen within a single
valley. Here the plants grew in a range of intermittent drainage lines and wetlands
in substrate consisting predominantly of quartz sand and a variable amount of
organic matter.
At Silvermine I observed that plants often formed clonal colonies up to 30 cm
across, probably from buds generated along the thick roots of established plants
(Figure 3). Only a few plants per colony flowered, and I observed pollen on the stig¬
mas of many flowers, so insect pollinators must have been active. Mysteriously very
few flowers set seed that season. Rosettes in exposed conditions died down as sum¬
mer progressed, and it appears likely that the species survives as dormant roots
during dry conditions. This ability would also serve this species well in surviving
the not infrequent fynbos fires.
I studied Drosera admirabilis in the Kleinriviersberge near Hermanus, 90 km
south east of Cape Town. Eric Green (a very well known carnivorous plant enthusi¬
ast in Cape Town) and I visited this site several times, and had been literally walk¬
ing over plants of D. admirabilis without recognising them as different from the
sympatric D. aliciael Drosera admirabilis forms compact, reddish rosettes up to 4
cm across, consisting of narrowly wedge-shaped leaves with a rounded apex
(Figures 4, 5). The stipule is small, triangular and distinctly divided into three seg¬
ments. The leaf lower surface has a sparse cover of appressed hairs, and is glabrous
at the apex. The scape base is typically vertical, but can be weakly ascending
(Debbert, 1987), and bears up to 15 flowers. These have light pink petals and are
up to 2 cm across. The flowers close by 3 pm. Unlike D. cuneifolia the styles flare at
the apex into two fan-like lobes. The stamens have filaments which widen uniform¬
ly towards the anthers and the obovate sepals weakly overlap in bud. In cultivation,
the flowers appear to be self-compatible, and automatically self-pollinate as they
close. A flowering plant of this species appears in extreme lower left of the colour
plate of D. slackii in Gibson (2000: p. 108).
Drosera admirabilis grows in wet peaty swamps along drainage lines, in the
company of D. aliciae, D. capensis, D. slackii, D. x corinthiaca (=D. glabripes x alici¬
ae) and Utricularia bisquamata. It superficially resembles small plants of D. alici¬
ae, but can be distinguished readily by observing the leaf lower surface and flower
structure. It was interesting to note that during my site visit in December 1997,
flowers of all sundews mentioned above, save for D. aliciae, were open under the
ambient temperature conditions (of about 30°C), suggesting that these sympatric
species have differing pollination ecology.

102 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

Figure 3: A colony of Drosera cuneifolia at Silvermine.

Figure 4: Drosera admirabilis.

Volume 31 December 2002 103

 A plant very similar to D. admirabilis occurs 100 km to the north of Hermanus,
in a creek that supports the most accessible D. regia population known. This sun¬
dew forms a compact reddish rosette up to 4 cm across of narrowly cuneate leaves,
each with a rounded apex. The few hairs on the leaf lower surface are concentrated
at the base, whilst the remainder is dotted with small, sessile red glands. The scapes
in cultivated plants in Cape Town have a strongly ascending base, and the seeds are
up to 1 mm by 0.2 mm. The flower structure has not yet been documented. However,
photos of the open flower taken by Nigel Hurneyman (Figure 6), show that it has
style segments that divide at apex into two, or more narrow triangular stigmas.
Thus the flower structure is very like that of D. admirabilis.
This incompletely known sundew is widely grown in cultivation under the
name of D. sp. “floating”. The name has an amusing history, and has caused some
confusion for those attempting to cultivate this plant. Some enthusiasts have incor¬
rectly interpreted the name to indicate that this is a fully aquatic species! In nature
it grows in a shallow, gravely creek bed where many plants have to cope with up to
5 cm of clear water. In this situation the plants produce flexible stems to bring the
rosette to the surface of the water but have their roots Firmly anchored in the sub¬
strate. When Eric first saw these plants he found, to his amusement, that these
rosettes could be moved about the water surface on their flexible stems and thus
appeared to be floating. This sundew grows happily in drier soil beside the creek,
and in this condition remains a flat rosette.
All three sundews are well established in cultivation, especially in western
Europe. Some seed-raised plants of D. cuneifolia in England have been observed to
develop an undulose leaf margin and have been referred to with the invalid name
“D. curieifolia var. undulata." These plants originated from seed collected at
Silvermine (E. Green, pers. comm, 1998).

Taxonomy

Drosera cuneifolia was amongst the first sundews to be formally described

(Linnaeus, 1753), mysteriously predating the formal description of the much more
widespread D. aliciae (Hamet, 1905) by 152 years. In 1987 Debbert described
Drosera admirabilis, but it was reduced to synonymy to D. cuneifolia by Schlauer
(1996, 2001). In the revised Drosera key (Schlauer, 1996, p. 79), D. admirabilis was
reduced to synonymy with D. cuneifolia based on cuneate leaf shape with an indis¬
tinct petiole, sparse hairs on the leaf lower surface, swollen stigma and styles not
repeatedly forked. From my own observations these taxa differ in leaf shape, leaf
lower surface hair cover, and the amount of style division; perhaps due to intro-
gression with D. aliciae in D. admirabilis. These and other differences are sum¬
marised in Table 1 below.

D. cuneifolia I), admirabilis

Max. leaf length 20 - 40mm 16 - 20mm
Leaf apex Truncate Obtuse
Stipule Obscurely 3-lobed Fully 3-lobed
Scape base Erect Erect to weakly ascending
Filament shape Spathulate Narrowly cuneate
Stigma Simple, terete; rarely barely bifid Divided into two fan-shaped lobes
Cytology 2n=32 2n=40
Distribution Cape Range Kleinnviersberge and The Kogelberg
Table 1: A summary of key differences between D. cuneifolia and D. admirabilis based
primarily from my own observations, with additional details from Obermeyer (1970),
Kondo (1976) and Debbert (1987).

104 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

Figure 5: Drosera admirabilis from the Kleinriviersberg, collected by Fernando
Rivadavia, and grown by Eric Green. A: Whole plant in flower; B: basal portion of the
scape with long eglandular hairs; C: typical shortly-glandular hairy indumentum of the
scape; D: leaf upper surface; E: leaf lower surface, note the distribution of hairs; F: open
flower; G: petal; H: caiyx; I: sepal; J: bract; K: gynoecium with one of the five stamens;
L: seed. Scale bars=1mm. Illustration by R. Gibson.

Volume 31 December 2002 105

Figure 6: Drosera cf. admirabilis (100 km north of Hermanus), plants in cultivation. Left:
close-up of whole flower. Top right: close-up of anthers showing broad connective.
Bottom right: close-up of upper portion of styles and stigmas showing apical ramifica¬
tion. Photographs by Nigel Hurneyman.

Species may be defined a number of ways, e.g. by morphological, genetic and

environmental differences, and also by genetic isolation (Snow, 1997). Within the
genus Drosera, species boundaries have been most commonly erected based on flo¬
ral structure, plant morphology, cytology and pollen structure (Diels, 1906; Schlauer,
1996). From the features outlined in the above table it is suggested that D.
admirabilis and D. cuneifolia are best treated as separate species, whilst freely
acknowledging that they are members of the same subgenus and section of the
genus (subgenus Drosera: section Drosera).
Both taxa are amenable to cultivation, especially D. admirabilis which thrives
in conditions suitable to the sympatric D. capensis and D. alieiae. Drosera cuneifolia
hails from better-drained soils and thus does best in a more open mix (i.e. more air
gaps in the medium). Eric found it did well in fern fiber rather than peat moss, and
other open organic mixes are also likely to be suitable. Using a large pot may also
provide optimum conditions, and as a bonus will readily accommodate its large root
system. Both species may be propagated by leaf cuttings and seed. Root cuttings are
also likely to work.
In conclusion, D. cuneifolia and D. admirabilis are distinctive rosetted sundews
from South Africa. They have many different features but it is noted that the still-
mysterious D. sp. “floating” appears allied to D. adjnirabilis and requires further
study.

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Dr. John Rourke and the other helpful staff at the Compton
Herbarium for granting study access to the collection, and Dr. Neville Marchant of
the Western Australian herbarium for his support with the herbarium study aspects
of this paper. I am grateful to Stan Lampard and Thomas Carow, and other growers,
for the many stimulating conversations on these sundews in cultivation. This work
would not have been possible without the very generous support and friendship of
Eric Green and his family in Cape Town.

106 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

References:
Cowling, R. and Richardson, D. (1995). ‘Fynbos: South Africa’s Unique Floral
Kingdom’. Fernwood Press, Vlaeberg.
Debbert, P. 1987. Zwei neue Drosera—Arten aus der Kap—Provinz, Siidafrika, Mitt.
Bot. Staatssamml. Miinchen 23: 431-436.
Diels, L. 1906. Droseraceae, In Engler, A. and Prantl, K. (Eds.), Das Pflanzenreich
26:1-137. W. Engelmann, Berlin.
Gibson, R. 2000. Drosera slackii—a living jewel from South Africa, Carniv. PI.
Newslett. 29:107-109.
Hamet, M.R. 1910. Note sur une nouvelle espece de Drosera, Journal de Botanique
19: 113-114.
Kondo, K. 1976. A cytotaxonomic study in some Drosera species, Rhodora 78: 532 -
541.
Obermeyer, A.A. 1970. Droseraceae In‘Flora of Southern Africa,’ 13: 187-201.
Schlauer, J. 2001. Carnivorous Plant Database,
http://www2.labs.agilent.com/bot/cp_home
Schlauer, J. 1996. A dichotomous key to the genus Drosera L. (Droseraceae). Carniv.
PI. Newslett. 25: 67-88.
Snow, N. 1997. Application of the phylogenetic species concept: A botanical mono¬
graph perspective. Austrobaileya 5: 1-8.
Linnaeus, C. 1753. Drosera. Species Plantarum 1: 281-282. Holmiae (Stockholm).

News and Views

Luborm'r Adamec and Kamil Pasek (adamec@butbn.cas.cz; csper@volny.cz)

write: “We are greatly honored to introduce our new website on Aldrovanda vesicu¬
losa to the world-wide “carnivorous” public. The website
(www.BestCarnivorousPlants.com/aldrovanda/) has just been completed and is
freely accessible. This specialized website on Aldrovanda includes all possible
aspects of this very rare aquatic carnivorous plant. The website contains complete
on-line texts of the most important papers on Aldrovanda. It is subdivided into the
following chapters: Photo gallery, Literature references, Important papers available
on-line, News and views, Aldrovanda for sale, Aldrovanda web links, Help us!,
Sponsorship of research, and Persons involved with Aldrovanda. We will be happy
if this website brings useful pieces of knowledge of Aldrovanda to readers and car¬
nivorous plant growers and will also be grateful for any interesting feedback.”
(Editor’s note: While we do not want CPN to be used to describe every new car¬
nivorous plant web site, we decided to print this to remind ICPS members of the
interesting resources available to them on the internet. This and other web sites can
be found on the ICPS web ring, at www.carnivorousplants.org.)

John Green (jsgl6@utah.edu, 1025 MacFarland Dr., Salt Lake City, UT 84116
USA) wrote the following to the carnivorous plant listserve, and it deserves reprint¬
ing in CPN: “I remember someone a while back explaining that they feed drops of
milk to their Pinguicula with good results. A month or two ago while examining my
plants I swatted a mosquito that had been making a meal of me. Somehow I didn’t
smash it so the abdomen was still full of my blood. I dropped it onto a little
Pinguicula ‘Sethos’ x gypsicola. When I looked a day or two later the blood had run
out onto several leaves, and shortly after that the mosquito got kind of moldy so I
picked it off. But since then the plant has nearly doubled in size and it is putting
out much fatter leaves than ever before. It has always grown well for me but this is
the best it has ever looked. Maybe next time I get a cut I’ll go feed my plants.

Volume 31 December 2002 107

 Book Review
Salmon, Bruce. 2001. Carnivorous Plants of New Zealand.
Ecosphere Publications, Auckland. 0-473-08032-X, 305 p., approxi¬
mately 190 color photographs, figures and maps. Paperback, 15.5 x
21 cm (6 x 8.25 in), approximately $US31, shipping extra.

Reviewed by Barry Rice

When I first heard that Bruce Salmon, a well known carnivo¬

rous plant figure, was writing a book about New Zealand carnivo¬
rous plants, I was a little bemused. I anticipated that the “book” would be more like a
small pamphlet since New Zealand only has about a dozen species of carnivorous plants
(Drosera and Utricularia).
When my copy of the book arrived, was I ever surprised! Salmon managed to fill
more than 300 pages about carnivores in New Zealand (and also those in the Chatham,
Stewart, Aukland, and Campbell Islands). And what is more, after I read the book I felt
that it made sense that he included all the information that he did. Basically, I love this
book!
First, the illustrations are marvelous. Salmon has beautiful field photographs with
intense color and masterful control of depth of field that make the botanical subjects pop
out. Salmon’s botanical line drawings are superb. They are detailed, accurate, and effec¬
tive at capturing the nature of the plants.
Now, as to the book’s scope. Salmon discusses seven Drosera species: D. arcturi, D.
auriculata, D. binata, D. peltata, D, pygmaea, D. spatulata, and D. stenopetala. A few of
these species have many forms and varieties, and Salmon treats them all nicely. (This
book is worth the price for the photographs of D. stenopetala alone!) There are also about
six Utrieularia: U. australis, U. delieatula, U. dichotoma, U. geminiscapa, U. gibba, and
possibly U. macrorhiza. This Utricularia list is very interesting for a few reasons. First,
you will notice that Salmon has omitted U. novae-zelandiae and U. monanthos', he has
subsumed both of these species into a more broadly defined U. dichotoma. Second, the U.
geminiscapa is of extremely limited range in New Zealand—indeed it may be extinct
from the islands. Third, the U. macrorhiza on the above list is a plant that Salmon dis¬
cusses as of an uncertain identification. The arrivals of both U. geminiscapa and the puta¬
tive U. macrorhiza are both quite recent, and may be either by birds or human activity.
In addition to the species-by-species descriptions of the plants in this book, Salmon
included extensive information about New Zealand climates, habitats, ecology, etc. The
next time I visit New Zealand, I will certainly bring this book.
Carnivorous plant enthusiasts must absolutely buy this book. Eventually it will be
out of print, its price will sky rocket, and you will rue how you failed to buy the book when
you could have so easily and inexpensively. You can buy this book directly from the author
(http://www.geocities.com/nz_cp/) or Triffid Park (see advertisement in this issue for con¬
tact information), or other carnivorous plant book sources.

Looking Back: CPN 25 years ago

Owen Tallman wrote of a surprising incident involving a barn swallow that got
caught by the sundews in his greenhouse: “I was about to grab him when I realized
that he wasn’t going anywhere. He had landed all right, with his wings spread, but
that was what did it—the combined sticking power of this army of sundews had got
him wing, foot and tail... I watched him struggling for a few moments to be certain
that he was caught....”

108 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

Writings from the Readership

ICPS on the World Wide Web:

Carnivorous Plant E-mail Listserv Archive
John Brittnacher • P.O. Box 72222 • Davis, CA 95617-6222 • USA

Keywords: computers: internet

The ICPS web site now has an archive for the carnivorous plant e-mail listserv, span¬
ning the past seven years. The archive includes 30,000 e-mail messages related to carniv¬
orous plants. You can browse the archive or search for postings on a particular topic.
Got a question about carnivorous plants? The answer could be in one of those mes¬
sages. Chances are it is in ten messages! A common topic each summer is squirrels. There
were 173 postings in a three-year period! There were five postings about Nepenthes hama-
ta, twenty-five on Drosera hamiltonii, seven on carnivorous plants being found near vol¬
canoes and asteroid impact zones, and 78 on fungus and fungicides. Are all those messages
gems? Of course not. Be prepared to roll your eyes a lot. But the archive is a great place to
research an issue and quite often the gem you need is there.
The carnivorous plant listserv started 30 November 1990 with a posting by Barry
Rice that was forwarded by the e-mail server to three other members. Today there are
about a dozen postings each day forwarded to over 1000 members. Rick Walker, past pres¬
ident of ICPS, is responsible for the listserv. Pete Thiel is responsible for the e-mail archive.
The ICPS web site is located at http://www.camivorousplants.org/. Click on CP
Listserv to get to the section on the archive. There are instructions on how to subscribe to
the fist and participate directly. By participating directly, you get your carnivorous plant
fix daily or even hourly via e-mail.

Propagators & Dealers of the highest quality carnivorous plants.

Sarracenia Pinguicula Nepenthes Drosera Dionaea

www.petflytrap.com
For ordering and product availability, please check our website or call toll free 1-888-437-1668
- Wholesale & Retail - Year Round Availability - Student Discounts - No Order Minimums - USA Only -
Contract tissue culture propagation available. Call for details.

Volume 31 December 2002 109

Writings from the Readership

Building a Windowbox Micro-Bog for Urban

Environments

Kit Halsted • 218 Fifth Avenue #3 • Brooklyn, NY 11215 • USA •

kit@camivorouspl ants. nyc. ny. us

Keywords: cultivation: bog-garden.

For some time, I have wanted to build a mini-bog in my back yard. Unfortunately,
I do not have a back yard and I am not likely to for at least a couple of years. In this arti¬
cle, I will describe the construction of, not a mini-bog, but a micro-bog. A micro-bog is a
very small bog suitable for placement on a window ledge, a fire escape, or just about any¬
where else with some sun and air. I will describe construction materials and their
sources in addition to the process of building the micro-bog.

Materials Needed

The materials necessary to construct a micro-bog include “planters” (i.e. large grow¬
ing containers) and soil.
My window ledges are 84 cm (33 inches) by 30 cm (12inches), so I got planters that
measure 76 cm (30 inches) wide by 25 cm (10 inches) deep by 25 cm (10 inches) tall. I
would have preferred something taller, but I could not find anything that would fit on
my window ledge. Planters should be at least 25 cm (10 inches) deep if you plan to grow
Sarracenia, but they can be as little as 15 cm (6 inches) deep if you are only planning
on growing the other carnivorous plants I mention in this article.
My planters were US$9.97 each at a general store in Brooklyn, New York; you will
probably have to find another source unless you are my neighbor. Each planter has two
drainholes in the bottom with removable plugs. Two planters (one nested in the other)
are required to make a micro-bog. I use two planters nested like this to allow for
drainage from the primary planter and to provide a dead air space layer around the
micro-bog’s soil for insulation in cold weather. I hope that allowing the primary planter
to drain through the bottom will minimize mineral buildup in the micro-bog.
A piece of wire mesh or chicken wire large enough to cover the planter is a good idea
if there are squirrels or pigeons in your area.
The micro-bog would probably be fine with a standard carnivorous plant soil mix of
50/50 Sphagnum peat moss and sand, but I use a more complicated approach that
involves two different layers of planting mix. The base soil mix consists of 2 parts sand
to 2 parts peat to 1 part Hartz “pH 5” brand cat litter. The cat litter I use is, as you may
have guessed, made by Hartz, and has a pH of 5. This particular brand of cat litter is
pure Georgia clay; I add it to the mix because I am unable to get pure silica sand, and
the low pH of the clay should help to ensure that the final mix is acidic enough for the
plants. Growers unable to purchase this exact brand should shop carefully for a replace¬
ment, or use silica sand instead. Over top of the base soil mix I place a layer of chopped
long-fiber sphagnum, followed by a thin layer of 50/50 peat/sand.
It costs less than US$15 to buy enough peat moss, cat litter, and long-fiber
Sphagnum for a micro-bog. Buying sand is a source of irritation for me—I cannot find
pure silica (except by the truckload) and my local Home Depot has stopped carrying the
Quikrete Play Sand that I used to use. Ultimately, I got my sand from a huge pile that
appeared at a construction site around the comer a couple of months ago. While I was
there, I picked up a couple of small pieces of granite with which to block the drainage

110 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

holes in the planter. I mention this not in order to send hordes of carnivorous plant
enthusiasts out to raid construction sites for soil, but rather to illustrate the fact that it
is often possible to find materials in unorthodox places when you can not find them by
regular means. (It is, of course, best to be law-abiding at all times—ed.)
In my set-up, the minimum soil requirements are a bit more than 11 liters (3 gal¬
lons) of sand, 11 liters (3 gallons) of peat moss, 6 liters (1.5 gallons) of long-fiber sphag¬
num, and 2 small pieces of granite. Adjust accordingly if you use a different size planter
or if you want to experiment with the cat litter like I did. The ratios of cat hair and cig¬
arette ash I add to my soil are a closely-held secret.

Plants for the Micro-Bog

I want to start the plants in my micro-bog from seed instead of from live plants, so
in this section I will tell you which species I chose for my Eastern US micro-bog. There
are a couple of requirements for the seed. The plants should grow in a similar climate
to yours, and should not get larger than the micro-bog will support. Here is what I plant
and why.
Drosera intermedia—I have seed from my existing plants, and it grows like a weed.
Along with the other Drosera, this provides instant gratification while I am waiting for
the Sarraeenia and the Dionaea.
D. anglica—I got this seed from the ICPS seedbank. I have not grown this species
before, and it seemed a logical choice for an Eastern US bog.
D. rotundifolia-—Also from the seedbank, this was the first carnivorous plant I ever
killed. I wanted another chance, and the reasons I am growing the other Drosera apply
here as well.
D. filiformis var. tracyi—More seedbank seed. This should give me some tall plants
in the first year.
Dionaea muscipula—Also seedbank seed, if you have to ask why I am growing D.
muscipula you should instead be asking why you joined the ICPS!
Sarraeenia minor—Seedbank again. This species of Sarraeenia will provide a tall
plant to give some variety to the bog, but it does not require as much root depth as, say,
S. alata or S. flava. If I was not already growing S. oreophila and S. leucophylla, I might
have opted for one of the S. rubra subspecies, but I already have “normal” shaped pitch¬
ers and I do not have the unique shape of S. minor.
S. purpurea subsp. venosa—I got this seed from Niagara Exotics
(niagaraexotics.com). I went with S. purpurea subsp. venosa over S. purpurea subsp.
purpurea because, although S. purpurea subsp. purpurea is native to my local climate,
S. purpurea subsp. venosa is a better fit with the other plants in the bog.

Putting It Together

Soak the long-fiber sphagnum in pure water for a couple of days before you start,
or in very hot pure water for a couple of hours if you are in a hurry. Pull the drainage
plugs out of the planter that will be on top, then stack it on top of the other planter. Place
the small pieces of granite over the open holes in the upper planter to prevent the soil
from falling through. Think about where the planter is going to end up and where it is
now: the finished micro-bog will weigh something like 18 kg (40 pounds). Wash the
sand—do it very, very thoroughly if you are using low-grade sand like I am. Put the
washed sand and peat (and the cat litter if you are using it) into a bucket or other mix¬
ing container. I tried to put the soil ingredients in the planter and mix them there; it was
a bad idea. Mix the soil together with lots of pure water and, assuming a 25 cm (10 inch)
deep planter, dump it into the planter to a depth of roughly 20 cm (8 inches), making
“hills” and “valleys” so most of the soil ranges from 19-22 cm (7.5-8.5 inches) deep. Take
a large knife and cut the long-fiber sphagnum into cubes roughly 2.5 cm (1 inch) on a
side, then put the sphagnum over the soil in an even layer. Use some of the remaining
Volume 31 December 2002 111
peat/sand mix to cover the sphagnum chunks with about 6 mm (0.25 inches). The idea
is more to fill in the gaps in the sphagnum than to add an actual layer of soil. At this
point, it is time to sow the seeds. You will want a bit more peat/sand to cover them and
it should be very dry, so if the only peat/sand you have is wet you may want to dry it out.
I sowed the larger seeds by dumping the packet out onto a piece of blank white
paper and gently shaking the paper over the planter so that the seeds fell off one or two
at a time, moving the paper from one end to the other slowly so that the seeds were
evenly distributed. You can mix the seeds with fine sand and spread the resulting mix¬
ture over the surface of the soil, or if the seeds are still on the flower stalks you can sim¬
ply cut the stalks off and twirl the seed pods between thumb and forefinger while hold¬
ing them above the planter. The Drosera seed from the seedbank seemed a bit trickier
to deal with at first: the tiny seeds were clinging to the waxed paper due to static elec¬
tricity. As it turned out, the static worked to my advantage: I held the waxed paper seed-
side down and flicked it hard, then moved it over a few inches and flicked again. The
static was holding the seed to the waxed paper strongly enough that only a few seeds
fell off each time I flicked it.
Once the seed was sown, I covered the planter with a very thin layer of dried
peat/sand. According to the literature, most of the seed I planted should not be covered,
but I covered it in order to keep it from blowing away over the winter. After that, I
attached the wire mesh to the planter and wrestled it out onto the fire escape. The final
step for me was drenching the soil with 3.8 liters (1 gallon) of Trichoderma water, but
that is a subject for another time.
Spring 2002 update: In May, following the creation of the micro-bog, I thought that
it was a complete failure. But two weeks later showed me that the only problem was my
impatience. Staring intently at the soil surface revealed that there were tiny Drosera,
minuscule Sarracenia, and at least one little Venus Flytrap beginning to grow.
I will make this article and the updates available on my web site at
www.camivorousplants.nyc.ny.us.

Figure 1: The newly constructed micro-bog.

112 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

Writings from the Readership

A Method for Growing Aldrovanda

Douglas W. Darnowski • Department of Biology • Washington College • 300

Washington Avenue • Chestertown MD 21620 USA • dwdamowskil@mail.washcoll.edu

Keywords: cultivation: Aldrovanda vesiculosa, planting media, water.

Aldrovanda vesiculosa, the waterwheel plant, with its relationship to the Venus
Flytrap and its gorgeous translucent leaves, is a highly desirable species of carnivorous
plant to grow, and yet it has a reputation as being very difficult to maintain in cultiva¬
tion. Lubomlr Adamec, in his many fascinating articles published in Carnivorous Plant
Newsletter and elsewhere, has deciphered the fine points of its mineral nutrition (e.g.
Adamec, 1995, 1997).
However, growing Aldrovanda using carefully prepared mineral supplements as
Adamec describes may be beyond the means of many amateur growers. This article
describes a method of cultivating Aldrovanda which has worked very well, using untreat¬
ed tap water and local soils from two different parts of the US (Figure 1). The soils used
ranged from heavy black loam, to infertile red clay, to a version of the latter which was
enriched with compost. This method has performed very well with Aldrovanda plants
from Japan, Poland, Northern Territory (Australia) and New South Wales (Australia).
Recently acquired plants from Romania and the southwestern comer of Western
Australia also are responding very well to this method.
First, select a container, preferably a glass aquarium 20 liters (5 gallons) or more in
volume. Growing containers with transparent sides are best because light passing into
the container through its walls will encourage additional growth of Aldrovanda, and
some of the most attractive views of the plants will be through the sides. However, the
container may be a translucent (i.e. semi-transparent) or even opaque, as can be pur¬
chased in the USA for storing and organizing shirts or books.
Place 1-5 cm (0.5-2 inches) of soil (of any type, from fertile loam to heavy clay) in the
bottom of the growing container. The heavier soils seem to work better, though this has
not been tested systematically. Then fill the container with tap water to a depth of 15-20
cm (6-8 inches) above the soil. This method has not been tested systematically for help¬
ing plants cope with fluoridation or chlorination, and it has not been tested with very
hard water. It has, however, been tested using moderately hard water in the Eastern US.
If hardness might be a particular concern, the dilution of local tap water with distilled
water might help, or allowing the companion plants mentioned below a few weeks to con¬
dition the water before adding the Aldrovanda might also be a useful aid.
Distilled water as the only source of water can be used if you prefer, though may not
be necessary. You might want to temporarily cover the soil with something like a plastic
sheet while adding water to avoid having too much soil material polluting the water. A
thin topping of sand over the soil will work as well. In any event, it is not crucial as the
particles will settle within a day or two.
Once you have added the water, drop in two water hyacinth plants (Eichhornia cras-
sipes; Pontideriaceae) about 15 cm (6 inches) diameter each, or an equivalent amount of
larger or smaller plants. While I think that water hyacinths are best, other floating plants
may be used instead, or as supplements. They will not be bothered if the water is still
murky. The cultures can be given full sun through partial shade—water hyacinths are
adaptable, as are the Aldrovanda. Plants will grow in any temperatures above which
they do not go dormant and form turions, as discussed more fully below, and even in very
warm water on a day when the temperature in the greenhouse tops 409C (1049F), plants
will thrive. These cultures can take whatever natural photoperiod is available, but they
will also grow well given constant temperature (20-259C, 68-779F) and 24 hr artificial
light.
Volume 31 December 2002 113
Figure 1: Three different strains of Aidrovanda in cultivation.
The water hyacinths can be allowed to grow to cover the surface of the aquarium.
Enough light will filter between and through the plants to sustain the Aidrovanda. In
fact, the Aidrovanda will thrive, and red forms produce excellent coloration (although not
all plants will be red—I am trying to determine why this is the case).
Why does this simple method work for growing Aidrovanda? A good guess might be
that the presence of the water hyacinths does two things. Water hyacinths are very good
at conditioning water—they are even used in some stages at some sewage treatment
plants. So, they may condition the water to the liking of the notoriously finicky
Aidrovanda. Since the water hyacinths grow quickly, they may also help deplete extra
nutrients from the water that would encourage algae to grow—algae can be a significant
problem for some Aidrovanda growers.
In addition, water hyacinths have a large mass of roots with a large surface area.
When this system is used, and a tank is illuminated from above, large numbers of small
crustaceans and other aquatic creatures can be seen swimming into the roots, resting on
them, and swimming out again. The root mass may provide a place for prey of
Aidrovanda to breed, further benefiting the plants of interest. For this reason, it is a good
idea to add some pond water or water from an established tank to a new tank of
Aidrovanda. This addition acts as a starter culture. For the same reason, some pond
snails or a similar type of snail should be added to the tank as Aidrovanda will capture
and digest baby snails.
With this method, growing Aidrovanda should be significantly easier for those with¬
out access to the sort of chemical supplements described in Adamec’s articles. Turions can
be dropped into a tank as a new growing season begins. I have found that the red
Northern Territory form will overwinter in a cool greenhouse using this method. Even
though this strain is tropical in origin, it will make terminal buds which look like turions
after some weeks of approximately 10UC (50yF) temperatures at night. These can be con¬
verted to true turions by placing the plants in 49C (392F) storage in the refrigerator.
Plants which are left in culture without being stored may remain semi-active through the
winter, resuming growth in the spring.
Dead whorls of leaves will be shed from behind the turion without damage to plants
or spoiling the stored turions. Others might as well, but I have not tried them yet.
Instead, I have collected the turions for these other varieties in October/November and
stored them at 4L'C (39"F) in pond water until April. Closed rigid containers are useful for
this purpose. Do not include soil. When temperatures begin to warm, turions can be
dumped into the same sort of culture from which they were taken, with growth resum¬
ing within days,
With this technique, increases of 10 fold in the number of plants (measured by count¬
ing growth tips) can be achieved in a month or so, given warm weather and adequate
light. Adequate light can be anything from the level of light found in heavy shade on a

114 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

bright, sunny day to full sun. In the latter cases, companion plants provide some shade
to the Aldrovanda, which will often remain partly shaded. Starting with just a few plants
at the beginning of the growing season, you can expect to have fifty plants growing in a
20 liter (5 gallon) container for more active strains, such as the Australian varieties, and
other types will increase vigorously as well.

Note that water hyacinth can be a significant invasive species in wildlands, where it can
adversely affect native biodiversity, recreation, and agriculture. This species is evert pro¬
hibited or regulated in Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, regions of Australia, and is prob¬
ably prohibited or regulated in other areas, too. Plant growers are reminded not to intro¬
duce water hyacinths to the wild.—ed.

Adamec, L. 1995, Photosynthetic inorganic carbon use by aquatic carnivorous plants,

Camiv. PI. Newslett. 24: 50-53.
Adamec, L. 1997, How to grow Aldrovanda vesiculosa outdoors, Camiv. PI. Newslett. 26:
85-88.

International Carnivorous Plant Society Seed Bank

ICPS Seedbank* P.O. Box 72222 • Davis, CA 95617-6222 • USA

Darlingtonia californica—Oregon, USA D. macrantha subsp. macrantha
Drosera aliciae D. nidiformis
D. auriculata D. spatulata
D. binata D. stolonifera subsp. stolonifera
D. burmannii D. x tokaiensis
D. capensis—narrow leaf Pinguicula caerulea
D. capensis Albino’—white flower P. lutea
D. capensis—wide leaf P. primuliflora
L). capillaris Sarracenia alata
D. collinsiae S. flava
D. dielsiana S. leucophylla
D. filiformis var. filiformis S. psittacina
D. gigantea S. purpurea subsp. purpurea
D. glanduligera S. purpurea subsp. venosa
D. intermedia Utricularia gibba
D. intermedia—Florida, USA U. multifida
D. intermedia—North Carolina, USA U. violaceae
D. intermedia—Rhode Island, USA

This is a partial list of the seeds available. A complete list is available online at the
ICPS web site, http://www.camivorousplants.org or by sending a self-addressed
(stamped if USA), envelope to the seed bank address.
Seed packets are US$1 each. Please include US$3 postage and handling for each
order. You may pay by cash, check, or money order in US$. Many members pay with cash.
Please make checks and money orders payable to “ICPS Seed Bank”.
The seed bank is a members-only benefit. The quantity of seed available to each
member is 1 packet of each variety per month and 50 packets total in any 12 mont h peri¬
od. Please list alternative seed selections, as other orders will arrive before yours. If you
have an e-mail address, please include it so we can correspond should any issues arise.
Seeds purchased through the seed bank are intended for your personal use only and may
not be sold.
The money raised by the seed bank is used by the ICPS to pay for seed bank expens¬
es, web site ISP charges, and ICPS educational and conservation programs. Donate seed
and get credit for free seed from the seed bank. Seeds of selected varieties are available
free to teachers for use in the classroom and to scientists and conservation organizations.
It is ICPS policy not to sell seed of plants protected by CITES Appendix I or the US
Endangered Species Act.

John Brittnacher, Manager • john@camivorousplants.org

Volume 31 December 2002 115

International Correspondent

Genlisea lobata Fromm-Trinta

Fernando Rivadavia • Rua Inacio Pedroso 230 • Sao Paulo, S.P. 05612-050 • Brazil •
fe_riva@uol. com. br

Keywords: cultivation: Genlisea lobata — travelogue: Brazil, Genlisea lobata,

Utricularia longifolia.

In 1977, the genus Genlisea was split into two sections: sect. Genlisea and sect.
Tayloria (Fromm-Trinta, 1977). The latter section included a single species at the time—
G. uiolacea—which has seed pods that split into two longitudinal valves. Section Genlisea
included all remaining African and New World species, which have seed pods that are
nearly unique among flowering plants in that they are circumscissile, splitting at the
“equator” and at two further “latitudes” towards the apex (Taylor, 1991). Later, the new
species G. uncinata PTaylor & Fromm-Trinta (Taylor & Fromm-Trinta, 1983), and then
G. lobata Fromm-Trinta (Fromm-Trinta, 1989), were added to section Tayloria by being
split off from G. violacea. More are on the waiting list—over the past decade I have found
four or five new Brazilian populations of plants which probably merit new species sta¬
tus.
Genlisea lobata was described only ten years ago. It was discovered in eastern Brazil
at the Serra do Caparao (the mountain range on the border of the states Minas Gerais
and Espirito Santo). Until the 1960s, the Serra do Caparao was believed to contain the
highest mountain in Brazil—the 2890 m high Pico da Bandeira—until two higher peaks
(Pico da Neblina, 3014 m, and Pico 31 de Margo, 2992 m) were discovered on the isolat¬
ed Brazil-Venezuela border.
I have been to the Semi do Caparao on three occasions, and while my main purpose
was to locate G. lobata, numerous interesting carnivorous plants were found each time
(including G. aurea St. Hil, Drosera villosa St. Hil, and Utricularia reniformis St. Hil.).
On my first trip (June, 1993) I only found a single small population of G. lobata, growing
at approximately 1300 m altitude on mosses along a partly shaded stream. The plants
were in full bloom (Figure 1).
As described by Fromm-Trinta (1989), each G. lobata rosette is composed of a few
spathulate leaves, each 7-12.5 mm long by 1.5-3.5 mm wide at the apex. The inflores¬
cences are covered in simple and glandular hairs and reach 22 cm in length (they are
usually around 10 cm long), each bears up to 14 flowers, of which only one to three are
open at any given moment. The pedicels reach 13 mm in length and become reflexed
after pollination. The bilobed flowers are 8.5-10 mm in length. The flowers I saw were
white with an orange-yellow mark at the base of the lower lip with several vertical, dark-
purple streaks on the upper lip. The spur was entirely deep-purple in color.
When I returned to this site on the Serra do Caparao for the second time
(October/November, 1995) it was the end of the dry season and to my surprise there was
no sign of G. lobata—it is an annual! Like G. violacea, it probably dies out at most sites
towards the end of the dry season, but hangs on as a perennial at those few sites which
stay moist year-round.
On my third trip to the Serra do Caparao (February, 1996) too much time was used
to climb the Pico da Bandeira and explore the carnivorous plants along the trail, so no
time was left for G. lobata; it was too dark by the time we returned from the summit.
Strangely enough, no further G. lobata sites were found on these highlands. The type
location is somewhere along the long road that leads to the start of the summit trail, but
G. lobata was not seen along this road (N.B. a friend did find some later, in 1999).
In early 1996 I visited the Serra da Araponga, less than 100 km to the west of the
Serra do Caparao. I went there in search of a Drosera villosa but got much more than I

116 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

Figure 1: G. lobata at Serra do Caparao.

Figure 2: G. lobata from sunny sites at Serra da Araponga.

Volume 31 December 2002 117

bargained for. Near the top of the Serra do Araponga, above 1350 m altitude, the rain¬
forest gives way to grassy mountainsides. When we arrived, these areas were very wet
(even boggy), and U. longifolia Gardner leaves and inflorescences were growing as thick
as a grass lawn. Curiously, the inflorescences were highly branched, each bearing sever¬
al large pink-purple flowers. Most interestingly though was that about half the U. longi¬
folia population had pure white flowers, with only the yellow mark on the lower lip! The
leaves of these plants were an overall light-green in color, with no red pigmentation (i.e.
what many carnivorous plant growers call albino plants).
Around the U. longifolia, we found plenty of G. lobata and, partly shaded by grasses,
D. uillosa plants forming curiously long stems. I was more than overjoyed and happily
surprised to find G. lobata on the Serra da Araponga, since it was previously only known
from two locations on the nearby Serra do Caparao.
The G. lobata plants at the Serra da Araponga were growing in humid sandy soil,
semi-shaded by grasses. Plants growing in sunny areas had flowers colored like those of
the specimens I had seen at the Serra do Caparao (Figure 2), but in shady spots the white
background was instead light-lilac with light-purple streaks on the lower lip, reminding
me very much of its close cousin G. violacea.
G. lobata is surely very closely related to the more widespread G. violacea, and both
have very similar requirements in cultivation. These two species can be grown as peren¬
nials and pollination must be done by hand to ensure seed set. If the pedicel remains
erect after the flower drops off, the pollination was unsuccessful, but if the pedicel bends
downwards, watch the developing seed capsule so as to not miss the seeds when the cap¬
sule splits. Germinating the seeds is a whole different story: Good luck! It seems that
some kind of dry stratification helps. Sow the seeds, water them once or twice, and then
let the pot dry for a few weeks (or months). Keep it moist again, thereafter.

References:

Fromm-Trinta, E. 1977, Tayloria Fromm-Trinta — Nova Segao do Genera Genlisea St.

Hil. Bob Mus. Nac. Rio de Janeiro, Bot. 44: 1-4.
Fromm-Trinta, E. 1989, Genlisea lobata Fromm-Trinta — Uma Nova Especie para o
Genero Genlisea St. Hil. sect. Tayloria (Lentibulariaceae), Bradea 4: 152-155.
Taylor, P., and Fromm-Trinta, E. 1983, Uma Nova Especie para o Genero Genlisea St.
HiL. sect. Tayloria (Lentibulariaceae): Genlisea uncinata P.Taylor & Fromm-Trinta,
Bradea 3: 365-368.

Literature Reviews
Moran, J.A., Merbach, M.A., Livingston, N.J., Clarke, C.M. & Booth, W.E. 2001,
Termite Specialization in the Pitcher Plant Nepenthes albomarginata - Evidence from
Stable Isotope Analysis. Annals of Botany 88: 307-311.

Schulze, W,, Schulze, E.D., Schulze, I. & Oren, R. 2001, Quantification of Insect
Nitrogen Utilization by the Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula Catching Prey with
Highly Variable Isotope Signatures. Journal of Experimental Botany 52: 1041-1049.

Although fashionable among ecologists, stable isotope ratio analyses of carnivo¬

rous plant extracts are less convincing than simple identification of carcasses in the
traps or tracer feeding studies. As long as isotope selectivity in the absorption of
nutrients or during metabolism in the plant cannot be ruled out, and if no attempt is
made to determine the physiological fate of specific metabolites, the mere isotope
ratio is actually of rather limited informative value, unless someone doubts that
nitrogen is taken up at all from the prey in the two species discussed. Nevertheless,
the two cited papers are amusing examples of elaborated scientific proof for the obvi¬
ous. (JS)

118 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

Writings from the Readership

The 4th International Carnivorous Plant

Conference
Tokyo, Japan, June 21 - June 23, 2002

Jan Schlauer • Zwischenstr. 11* 60594 Frankfurt, Germany

Keywords: outreach.

Held at the National Science Museum and organized by Prof. Katsuhiko Kondo
with cooperation of the Insectivorous Plant Society, Japan, this fourth ICPS confer¬
ence was the first in the Asian region, and it attracted an impressive audience of 132
registered members from 16 countries, the Japanese fraction (84) obviously being the
largest, followed by the United States (13), German (7), Indian and Australian (4 each)
delegations. As far as I know this was the first ICPS conference with Korean (3),
Mongolian (3), Sri Lankan (2), and Bangladeshi (1) participation, which clearly
demonstrates the beneficial effect of changing venues across the globe.
The program was as diverse as the participants, including lectures on systemat-
ics/taxonomy of Drosera (M. Hasebe, Okazaki City, Japan; Y. Hoshi, Omuta City,
Japan), Lentibulariaceae (L. Legendre, Sydney, Australia), Heliamphora (A. Wistuba,
Mannheim, Germany), and Nepenthes (S. Kurata, Tokyo, Japan), field studies on
Nepenthes (C. Clarke, Hong Kong, China; J.H. Adam, Sabah, Malaysia; M. Hotta,
Kagoshima, Japan; C. Lee, Sarawak, Malaysia), Pinguicula (C. Shibata, Tokyo, Japan),
and Drosera (S. Hartmeyer, Weil/Rhein, Germany), physiology of Nepenthes (T.P.
Owen, New London, USA; K. Takahashi, Tokyo, Japan), a comparison between car¬
nivorous and parasitic plants (D.M. Joel, Ramat-Yishay, Israel), cultivation and plant-
animal interactions of Aldrovanda (D.W. Darnowski, Chestertown, USA), the carniv¬
orous plant collection at Fullerton (L. Song, Fullerton, USA), and carnivorous plant
biogeography (J. Schlauer, Frankfurt, Germany). A special symposium was devoted to
the leaf blade movements of Droseraceae (S.E. Williams, Annville, USA; W.R.
Fagerberg, Durham, USA; K. Kondo, Hiroshima, Japan; M. Ueda, Keio, Japan).
Two workshops on commercial carnivorous plant cultivation and on carnivorous
plant conservation, and a poster session with 22 presentations completed the official
schedule. As usual, the many discussions both after lectures, in the breaks between
them, and during the banquet added most interesting aspects to the already impres¬
sive event. A display of collections of carnivorous plants (needless to say that plants
on display are always in the best of all possible conditions in Japan) and several sales
booths on different floors of the National Science Museum yielded welcome illustra¬
tive material and new contributions to quite a number of collections.
Proceedings (222 pages) of the conference have been issued by Prof. Kondo,
Hiroshima University, Japan (ISBN 4-9901285-7-5).
Optional post-conference field trips visited Japan’s carnivorous plant treasures,
viz. the endemic species Pinguicula ramosa in its habitat, Mt. Koshin, the absolutely
phenomenal Byblis greenhouse of Isao Takai’s nursery, and the last remaining
Japanese locality of Aldrovanda vesiculosa (where also the second Japanese endemic,
Utricularia dimorphantha is cultivated successfully). Another trip was offered to the
Nansou Carnivorous Plant Garden.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all persons who made this breath¬
taking series of events possible, in the first line Prof. Kondo and the organizing com¬
mittee, the Insectivorous Plant Society, Japan (Prof. Komiya, Dr. Shibata), the
National Science Museum (Prof. Konishi), and Isao Takai.
Volume 31 December 2002 119
Writings from the Readership
Growing Carnivorous Plants in the UK

Marcello Catalano • via Ronchi 2 • 20134 • Milano • Italy •

rafflesiana@yahoo.com

Keywords: cultivation: Great Britain — live collections: Kew.

Here is the story of how I brought some Mediterranean atmosphere to the

green climate of England.
A little while ago, I decided to travel and work abroad, so I spent April through
June 2001 working at Kew Gardens, in London. It was a great opportunity for me
to work in what is maybe the most important botanical garden in the world.
Kew Gardens were founded in 1759. Today 550 people work there, of which 200
are gardeners, 150 are scientific staff, and the others are technical and support
staff. The library contains more than 130,000 volumes and 4000 periodicals. The
herbarium, one of the largest in the world, contains seven million specimens. The
plant and seed collections are the largest in the world.
The Garden has about 40,000 kinds of plants on view for the public—the rest
are grown in the more secure environment of the Garden’s nurseries. There are
three greenhouses open to the public: the temperate house, the tropical house, and
the Conservatory. The Conservatory is for the most precious and interesting collec¬
tions (cacti, carnivorous plants, orchids, ferns, bromeliads, aroids, etc.).
Not accessible to the public is a temperate nursery and a tropical nursery. Each
nursery is about as large as the three greenhouses all together.
When I arrived at Kew in April, the specimens on display were very large and
nice (such as their Sarracenia flava var. rugelii), but apart from a large Utricularia
reniformis, the most precious stuff was in the nursery, far from danger by being
damaged by too curious people or kid’s hands. In the previous year almost all of the
carnivorous plant collection had been lost because of the poor quality of water.
However, Kath King, from Perth Australia, was now in charge of the carnivorous
plants and was working to rebuild the carnivorous plant collection.
The tropical nursery contains a coolhouse for Sarracenia, Drosera, Pinguicula,
Cephalotus, Dionaea and Drosophyllum, and a warm house for Nepenthes,
Heliamphora and some tropical Utricularia. Darlingtonia and temperate
Pinguicula (such as P grandiflora) are grown outside. Byblis gigantea, P.
primuliflora and some other Nepenthes and Heliamphora are kept in a well-light¬
ed bromeliad greenhouse.
In the warm house, Nepenthes cover a full bench almost 2 meters large and
about 10 meters long. I remember best the specimens of N. hamata (pitchers 15 cm
long), N. peruillei (plant is 30 cm large), N. macfarlanei (pitchers 25 cm long), N.
rajah (plants 15 cm large), N. northiana, N. merrilliana and N. madagascariensis.
There are many other interesting species including N. hirsuta, N. treubiana, N.
ueitchii, N. reinwardtiana (80 cm tall), N. bongso, N. ramispina, N. sanguinea, N.
maxima, N. ventricosa, N. tobaica, N. mirabilis (1-2 meter plants), N. thorelii, N. x
mixta (1-2 meters tall), and N tobaica (80 cm tall), etc. Before you have a heart
attack, you should know there are no giants. Still, even if they need a lot of love and
care to become 2-3 meters climbers, they are healthy, large and strong.
The warmhouse also has U. alpina, U. calycifida and U. prehensilis, U. reni¬
formis, U. praelonga, U. tricolor, U. pubescens and U. bisquamata.
The coolhouse has 10-20 specimens of every Sar/'acenia species, about fifty

120 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

Dionaea, about thirty Drosera species (tuberous, pygmies and others; 1-10 speci¬
mens of each). There is also U. sandersonii, U. dichotoma, U. livida, and U. bisqua-
mata from Betty’s Bay; other plants include Mexican Pinguicula (P. laueana, P. gyp-
sicola, P esseriana), P. primuliflora, P lusitanica, a flowering Cephalotus (20 cm
across), 3-4 Drosophyllum, Byblis gigantea and an elegant, 25 cm tall Roridula den-
tata.
The best, red Heliamphora nutans and H. heterodoxa are in the Nepenthes
house. More H. nutans, H. minor, a nice flowering B. gigantea, N. rajah and N. mac-
farlanei are quite happy in the bromeliad house, which is a well-lit, relatively low
humidity environment.
On 21 April Kath King and I attended the annual general meeting of the UK
Carnivorous Plant Society, held at the Reading University, near London.
I met a lot of people from the Carnivorous Plant Society, and saw the University
collection, wealthy with some huge S. minor, a lot of healthy Drosera, trays filled
with red Dionaea, a deep purple Drosera binata and other colorful plants. After
some lovely tea and biscuits we listened to some lectures; I read a short speech
encouraging collaboration of carnivorous plant societies. For example, I encouraged
collaboration between the UK Carnivorous Plant Society and Kew Gardens. At the
end, Kath King agreed in promoting a better and more intense collaboration
between the Kew Gardens and the Carnivorous Plant Society, and in August there
will be an open day in the Kew tropical nursery specifically for the Carnivorous
Plant Society.
On the 25 of May I visited the Chelsea Flower Show (see Figures 1, 2). (My tick¬
et was provided free, compliments of the Carnivorous Plant Society.) I spent most of
the day talking with the growers in the three carnivorous plant stands: the UK
Carnivorous Plant Society (silver medal winner), South West Carnivorous Plants
(silver medal winner) and Hampshire Carnivorous Plants (gold medal winner). You
can really feel the 25 years of the UK Carnivorous Plant Society’s history, talking
with the kind and always available people. They know everything! In few hours I
learned how to feed Utricularia with nematodes to make them flower (Paul
McKeown, seed bank manager), I listened to different opinions about Don Schnell’s
classification of the different varieties of S. flava (Matthew Soper of Hampshire
Carnivorous Plants, Chris Crow of Sarracenia Nurseries), I know a lot more about
neon lamp brands (Alistair Pearce of South West Carnivorous Plants), and heard
about the history of the UK Carnivorous Plant Society (Steve Cottel, chairman).
They also provided me ideas (Alan Haines, web builder and Malcolm Goddard,
newsletter editor) on how to improve the Italian Carnivorous Plant Society.
The specimens on display were fabulous: U. reniformis and U. longifolia var. for-
getiana covered with flowers, perfect and giant S. psittacina, S. flava, S. minor, shin¬
ing, emerald-like Darlingtonia, P. moranensis with white flowers, P. crystallina, P.
laueana and many others with plenty of flowers. Also present were vast numbers of
tuberous and pygmy Drosera (including a magnificent D. gigantea). While
Cephalotus, Heliamphora and Nepenthes are my main interest—and the specimens
of them there were beautiful—I almost ignored them, as I was completely taken by
the beauty of all the rest.
I helped dismantle the stand and load the plants onto a truck at the end of the
show. It was half past nine in the evening when, tired by the intense day but enthu¬
siastic for all the growing information I learned, I returned home.
While I worked at Kew, Phil Wilson and Paul McKeown often visited Kew to
help Kath King with the identification and the cultivation of the plants. As a bonus,
they often brought spare plants. I was present during one of these visits. I remained
in silence while they found tens of incorrectly labelled Drosera pots. All those sun-

Volume 31 December 2002 121

Figure 1: The Carnivorous Plant Society’s display at Chelsea flower show, 2001. Photo
by Alan Haines.

Figure 2: The Carnivorous Plant Society’s display at Chelsea flower show, 2001. Photo
by Alan Haines.

122 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

dews that to me were simply all D. spathulata (sundews are not my specialty), were
recognized with amazing ability and quickness. We spoke about Kew’s Sarracenia
rubra subspecies, about a strange N. macfarlanei that may actually be a hybrid,
about Pinguicula ehlersiae and how often it is sold as P. cyclosecta. Over biscuits and
a cup of tea, they related what Kew’s carnivorous plant collection was like in the
past, they recounted tales of Drosera floating on the water in some bogs on the
Tepuis, they described floating Pinguicula prirnuliflora in some American lakes,
and discussed horticulturists performing such feats as growing huge H. tatei grown
as an epiphyte on a slab of bark and some lucky people who are growing rope-size
Aldrovanda in ponds where the conditions are perfect.
On 14 June I met the famous Martin Cheek in the Kew Herbarium. Martin is
the professor who has done a great deal of work in the study of Nepenthes taxono¬
my. If you look carefully in your carnivorous plant books, after names such as N.
argentii, N. aristolochioides, N. danseri, N. diatas, N. lamii and N. macrophylla you
will read “Jebb and Cheek”. He is that Cheek. Martin has been working at the Kew
Herbarium on a long-time project classifying South African flora, but my visit gave
him an opportunity to return to one of his favourite genera: Nepenthes. Martin is a
very kind person, he always speaks slowly with a low voice—almost whispering and
hypnotizing. When he speaks about Nepenthes you can see in his eyes the shine of
someone who has, for his passion, the curiosity and the enthusiasm of a child. He
delighted me for an hour of his precious time with some words about the differences
between N. burkei and N. ventricosa, N. stenophylla and N. faizaliana, and N. thore-
lii and N. smilesii (even showing me dried specimens), and described the habitat of
the two amazing species N. merrilliana and N. northiana. He showed me material
that Peter Taylor used to write his monograph on Utricularia (including even his
microscope!).
The 22 and 23 of June were unforgettable. I took the bus from London and after
3 and a half hours I arrived at Culmstock, Devon, in the evening. I was to visit

Figure 3: Mike King’s Sarracenia Hava var. rubricorpora, in his 10 meter long green¬
house. Photo by Mike King.

Volume 31 December 2002 123

Alistair and his wife Jenny Pearce and their nursery “South West Carnivorous
Plants”. A1 and Jenny are two delightful people—I brought them an Italian wine as
a gift, and they offered me a dinner in a local pub. Before it grew too dark, I saw his
vast and diverse collection, and was particularly impressed by hundreds of colorful
Sarracenia, a large tray of U. sandersonii, a huge N. veitchii (the highland form,
with striped peristome), and some giant Darlingtonia with their bright heads shin¬
ing at the sunset light. We spent the whole evening speaking about carnivorous
plants, sharing photos, and surfing the web. Since I was visiting with Phil Wilson
the next day—only half an hour from Culmstock—Alistair and Jenny kindly offered
for me to sleep there, and then to accompany me to Phil’s house the next day.
Finally, it was time to sleep. As I dropped into sleep I felt all the romantic beau¬
ty of traveling; while the moonlight came through the curtains and a dog was bark¬
ing somewhere, I realized that I was sleeping on a divan at Culmstock, a small vil¬
lage in the southwest of England.
The following morning we arrived at Phil Wilson’s home in Somerset (where
also lives Adrian Slack). I gave Phil the second bottle of Italian Moscato and I took
some pictures of his extensive collection. There are a lot of rare specimens of many
different carnivorous plants: Roridula gorgonias, U. humboldtii, U. multifida in
flower, a lidless clone of S. flava, S. leucophylla ‘Schnell’s Ghost’, etc. I saw some
people I had met earlier at the Chelsea Flower Show, and I helped them to put new
UK CPS bulletins in envelopes for mailing. Paul McKeown gave me a lift back to
London (on the way back I saw Stonehenge!). This drive with Paul was possibly the
most instructive conversation of the whole trip as for hours we discussed many dif¬
ferent carnivorous plant growing techniques.
It was 7 July when my tired limbs could finally relax—the Kew internship was
over and I had more free time to enjoy England. Alan Haines helped me to not get
lost with the English trains, and with another bottle of Moscato in hand, we visited
Mike King’s collection near Birmingham. It was the most beautiful Sarracenia col¬
lection I had ever seen (see Back Cover and Figure 3). For such a large collection
there was a perfect order: all the plants were labelled, the greenhouse windows
were clean, the concrete floor was free of rubbish, old pots and compost. All the
Sarracenia were strong, healthy and colorful, all the dead leaves and spent flowers
were trimmed away. Mike did not use greenhouse fans or shades. Instead, the roof
windows automatically opened when the temperature rises too much. The plants
were obviously happy about the full sun, plentiful rain water and fresh air. Mike
was a perfect host, he ran from one guest to the other, answering questions and
showing off this or that plant. The food was good and plentiful. And, after showing
me around his home—including his supplies of peat and perlite, and a barrel sys¬
tem he uses to collect rain water—he confided to me that these plants are his life. I
thought back to when I had first met Mike during a previous meeting of growers
and how he always enjoyed showing off pictures of his wonderful Sarracenia...I
think that anyone would do the same if they had such fine specimens!
On 14 July I travelled by train to meet Matthew Soper, owner of “Hampshire
Carnivorous Plants” and winner of a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show. For
Matthew, I brought along a bottle of light sweet wine from Reggio Emilia. His col¬
lection was vast—hundreds of Sarracenia species and hybrids and a few Drosera.
But what most attracted me were his Nepenthes and Utricularia. With pop music
dancing in the air, Matt showed me with pride his thirteen year-old N. rajah with a
beautiful pitcher about 25 cm long! I saw some beautiful N. macrophylla (20 cm
pitchers), highland and lowland forms of N. veitchii (20 cm pitchers), N. inermis (10
cm pitchers), N. hirsuta (20 cm pitchers), N. lowii (10 cm pitchers), a wonderful N.
veitchii x maxima (25 cm pitchers) and many others. He also showed me his

124 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

Heliamphora ionasi (rather small, but you know how slow this species grows), H.
tatei (10 cm tall) and an unrecognizable, strange Heliamphora. I asked him if it was
the new, recently discovered H. hispida, but he was not sure, as he received it just
last year labelled only as a “new species.” There were some huge Darlingtonia,
among which I saw a clone covered with smaller and more numerous windows than
usual. He had attractive clones of Cephalotus that, just like movie stars, looked
stressed because of the too many shows they had taken part in. Matt also had a
shocking, giant S. flava var. rubricorpora—I never before saw a pitcher as large as
that! There was a large tray fdled with Utricularia species, most of them in flower,
among which I saw the precious U. tricolor, U. tridentata, U. longifolia, U. pubescens,
U. nephrophylla, U. blanchetii and some astonishing U. praelonga full of scapes cov¬
ered with huge yellow flowers. Over tea, we looked at some very interesting
Nepenthes pictures he took in nature, and three hours went by like they were few
minutes. As a note of particular interest, we spoke about how Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietnam and Indochina are rarely explored, and how there may be plenty of new
species just waiting for brave taxonomists.
The very next day, I made my last visit to a UK grower, meeting Paul McKeown
in his house near Watford, north of London. (Paul does not like wine, so I brought
him some beer.) His Sarracenia collection was suffering because of root mealybugs
infesting his plants after the Chelsea Flower Show. (It seemed that all the growers
complained about the loss or worsening of many carnivorous plant specimens after
the Flower Show.) Paul had great plants, like flowering Genlisea violacea and
Genlisea hispidula, and large specimens of U. quelchii, U. endresii, and U. nelumbi-
folia. His 10 year-old wonderful, huge Darlingtonia was fantastic. But what nearly
mesmerized me is his highland Nepenthes collection. He had an impressive N.
veitchii vine (1 meter long), an eight year-old N. rajah (along with a few “small” spec¬
imens 25 cm in diameter), N macrophylla (pitcher: 20 cm), N. aristolochioides
(pitcher: 8 cm), N. sanguinea (pitcher: 15 cm), N. maxima (pitcher: 30 cm), N. fusca
(pitcher: 20 cm), A. bongso (pitcher: 20 cm), N. spectabilis (pitcher: 20 cm), N. mikei
(pitcher: 12 cm), A. glabrata (pitcher: 5 cm), and A. sibuyanensis (pitcher: 12 cm). In
addition, he had many smaller but healthy specimens of A. pilosa, A. burbidgeae, A.
lowii, A. harnata, A. ovata and others. Paul told me more than once that the prob¬
lems with highland Nepenthes were often due to inadequately-developed root sys¬
tems in plants coming from micropropagation. Another important point was that
(apart the usual exceptions like A. alata, A. ventricosa, A. khasiana, and A maxi¬
ma), these species really did poorly in overly warm conditions. (Paul is using 50%
shade and a humidifier that sprays cold fog about every 20 minutes. The tempera¬
ture, even in summer, rarely goes over the 25°C (77°F) and the night minimum is
12°C (54°F).) Paul said that these two points were more important than what kind
of soil is used, or how much humidity and light the plants were given. Once the
small plants have developed a strong root system in the cool environment, they will
grow quickly and bigger, just like lowland species. The evidence was before me! This
was the first time I saw all these highland species growing so big; even the small
plants were healthy, with every leaf and pitcher bigger than the previous ones.
Well, that concludes my experiences in the UK. I saw wonderful plants, I
learned a lot of new growing tips and I met many friendly, interesting and experi¬
enced growers that I wish to thank for their kindness. I hope they enjoyed our dis¬
cussions as much as I did, and I hope one day, if anyone of them ever come to Italy,
we will be able to show off as many beautiful and rare specimens as I saw on my
UK travels.

Volume 31 December 2002 125

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126 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter

 Index of Contributors
Adamec, Luborm'r.14,19,107 LaWarre, Steve.53
Assi, Laurent Ake.44 Lev, Jiri...-.14
Bringmann, Gerhard. -44 Mazrimas, Joe -------.- -61
Brittnacher, John -27,52,77,84,109,115 McDermott, Matthew..-67
Carow, Thomas . ..78 Pasek, Kamil .107
Casper, S. Jost ---. -10 Peel, Doug ..-.57
Catalano, Marcello - - -.- -120 Rice, Barry - -25,31,60,83,85,91,95,108
Darnowski, Douglas ------- -67,113 Rischer, Heiko .-.44
DiLapi, William ..---- - .53 Rivadavia, Fernando --------54,116
Duschek, Martin. 44 Robinson, Jim...19
Gibson, Robert - -.20,97,100 Rondeau, Edith.-.4
Gray, David -- - - - --- - - - -75 Rondeau, Hawkeye.4,32
Green, John...-107 Sacilotto, Rob - --.- -40
Haines, Alan.122 Salvia, Elizabeth .38,83
Halsted, Kit -------.110 Schlauer, Jan 9,13,31,44,62,85,118,119
Harbarth, Peter --78 Schnell, Don ----. 6,33,36
Hummer, John .. 1,18 Sheridan, Phil .-.19
Hurneyman, Nigel. 106 Stevens, Tim - - ----- - - - -87
King, Mike - - .. 123,128 Wistuba, Andreas.64,78
Kreiner, Andreas.44 Wolf, Kristina.44

Referees/Correspondents:
The editors of Carnivorous Plant Newsletter and the officers of the International
Carnivorous Plant Newsletter thank the following authorities for acting as exter¬
nal referees for the papers requiring anonymous peer review in 2002: G. Thor, R.
Naczi, L. Mellichamp, L. Adamec, A. Wistuba, and others. Special Correspondents
for the ICPS are: S. J. Casper (Germany), R. Gibson (Australia), M.K. Janarthanam
(India), K. Kondo (Japan), F. Rivadavia (Brazil), S. Zamudio (Mexico).

Back Issue Sale is Over!

As we have been advertising for the last year, back issues of Carnivorous
Plant Newsletter are no longer available. Effective 1 January 2003, only
back issues of the current calendar year will be stocked. This will allow
new members to receive a full set of issues for the year they subscribe. The
ICPS is hoping that in the future, complete back issue sets may be avail¬
able on CD ROM, but this is a huge project we have really only started to
explore.

Volume 31 December 2002

127