CARNIVOROUS
PLANT

NEWSLETTER

VOLUME VI, NO. 1
March 1977

CO-EDITORS:

D.E. Schnell
Rt. 4, Box 275B
Statesville, NC 28677

PUBLISHER:

J.A. Mazrimas
329 Helen Way
Livermore, CA 94550

T.L. Mel li champ
Dept, of Biology
UNCC

Charlotte, NC 28223

Leo Song

Arboretum

Dept, of Biology

California State Univ.

Fullerton, CA 92634

The Arboretum, Dept, of Biology, California State Univ., Fullerton, CA 92634.
Published quarterly with one volume annually. Circulation: 562 (265 new,

297 renewal).

DROSERA PETIOLARIS

Photo by J. Mazrimas

2

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

EDITOR'S CORNER

First, let me welcome all you new subscribers and a hearty welcome back to the
old-timers. Many things have happened during the past year. We have added two new
co-editors, and The Arboretum at California State University, Fullerton, has assumed
the task of publishing and distributing CPN. All subscriptions, as well as any
claims for missing or defective issues, should be addressed to The Arboretum. The
Arboretum is also handling all business related to the sale of the back volumes.

Pat Hansen, a long time friend of the Arboretum, is doing all of the typing and lay¬
out and bookkeeping. Please address your inquiries/orders to The Arboretum; Depart¬
ment of Bioloaical Science; California State University, Fullerton; Fullerton CA
92634; USA. All checks and money orders should be made payable to "Arboretum
Foundation Fund." Until further notice, all subscriptions will be on an annual
basis only.

We would also like to announce the beginning of a membership drive. Last year
the number of subscribers reached 650 by mid-July when the available spaces ran out.
This year we plan to take all comers. As the number of subscribers grows, the price
for each copy of CPN drops. Rapid growth will also help to keep the subscription
price stable while allowing for more extras such as more illustrations, some of which
we would like to publish in color once we have a sufficient number — about 3000. So
every member get at least one new member or more for Volume VI.

The record cold in some parts of the world, especially in the Eastern United
States and the resulting energy shortage may have affected some of our readers. We
would be pleased to hear of how they are dealing with gas/oil shortages as well as
other weather-related problems (drought, freezes, etc.). Any information on the
effect of these weather extremes on the natural populations of CP would also be
greatly appreciated and will be published as soon as possible.

BEGINNER ' $ CORNER by L. C. Song I

This marks the beginning of a new column in response to many inquiries received
by your editors about the culture, propagation, hybridization, etc., of CP. Each of
the co-editors will take turns writing about various aspects of CP; at first, the
column will contain general information. This is to establish a foundation on which
to build for later columns which will contain more specialized information limited
to specific genera and possibly specific species.

Much has been written on the culture of CP in the last few years, and many excel¬
lent reference works are available that cover general cultural practices for all
groups of CP. One of the best sources of cultural information is contained in a book
by Don Schnell, Carnivorous Plants of the U.S. and Canada. Another source is Alan
Swensen's book. Cultivating Carnivorous Plants. (See Review of Recent Literature
section) . My advice to serious beginners is to review the chapters on the cultiva¬
tion of CP. This should answer the majority of questions concerning basic cultural
practices .

These basic practices can be summed up as the light, temperature, water rela¬
tions, edaphic (soil or growing medium), and nutrient factors. Other things to be
considered are basic horticultural techniques such as propagation, potting practices,
pest control, structures for housing of plants, etc.

Now for a brief definition of terms. The light factor takes into consideration
the intensity of quantity (brightness), quality (spectral composition), and photo¬
period (the duration of light during a diurnal or daily period as well as a seasonal
time period) . The temperature factor would be the diurnal (day-night) and seasonal
range in temperature. Water relations as used here would concern the maintenance of
proper moisture levels within the plant through regulation of humidity (amount of
water vapor in the air) and irrigation (both pertaining to quantity of water) as
well as the quality of water (purity--amount of dissolved salts, pH, etc.) , taken on
a daily and seasonal basis. The edaphic (soil or growing medium) factor concerns
the type of materials that would be used to grow CP. The nutrient factor would con¬
cern itself with the application of fertilizers as organics (animal/plant derived
products such as fish emulsion, bone-meal, kelp extract, living or dead insects,
worms, etc.) or inorganics (mineral nutrients such as chemical compounds containing
nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, etc.).

Basic horticultural techniques would include categories such as propagation
(making more numbers of a given plant by either sexual means--by seeds, or asexual
means— any type of cutting such as leaf, stem or root or the newer methods using
aseptic culture) , plant handling techniques (the actual how to plant the seeds, make
the cuttings, transplanting, proper types of containers, etc.), pest control (detec¬
tion and treatment of plant diseases and disorders caused by bacterial, viral, fungal,
insects and other animals, environmental factors which would include any imbalance in
the factors mentioned previously as well as toxic substances such as smog, other
pollutants, etc.) . Structures for the housing of CP could be most anything that
would contribute to the maintenance of a proper balance of the basic factors.

NEXT: The Light Factor

We are looking for a catchy logo for this column. The winner will get a free
subscription for 1978. Please send them to Leo Song, address on front cover.

Vol . VI, No. 1

CPN

3

Q. I'm having trouble with my D. spathulata. It was
growing great until I transplanted it. The leaves
don't unfold like they did before. What's wrong?

I haven't had much success with leaf cuttings.
Why?--K. L., Los Alamitos, CA.

A. If you transplanted this species too deeply in the
new container, it may rot. Also, it takes time to
overcome the shock and perhaps some injury to the
roots may contribute to the problem. Try to give
this plant good drainage and good light. Leaf
cuttings of this species are difficult to start,
and I would suggest you try root cuttings.

0. In regard to Darlingtonias , would it be practical to apply freeze packs
(previously frozen) close to the plant's roots?--P. L. , Tulsa, OK.

A. It sounds like you're willing to do a lot of work to grow this plant, and this
is one of several methods to lower root temperatures during the hot months of
summer, especially at night. Let me know how it works out a year from now.

Questions and answers for this column will be published from time to time and selected
for general interest to all CPN readers. Normally, we can't answer all questions from
readers either personally or through this column. However, we intend to publish as
many as we can in the future.

NEWS AND VIEWS

LES KAUFMAN writes: Enclosed please find our contribution to CPN, entitled "On the
foraging strategies of carnivorous plants: I. Evidence for an adaptive response to
low prey availability in the Venus' Fly Trap, Dionaea muscipula." The two of us
(Mary and myself) are interested in the general life history of all carnivorous
plants, and any information that other readers could provide would be most helpful.

In particular, however, we would at this moment like to get some information on two
matters in addition to that discussed within this paper: a) differences in prey
taken by filamentous-leaved and spatulate-leaved sundews, and b) any information on
the occurrence of leaf-like structures in carnivorous plants: when, what they look
like, how regularly do they occur, etc. We have the full library search and have
been combing back issues of CPN through it.

JOE MAZRIMAS writes: Did you ever hear of carnivorous seed? Neither did I until I
read this report which reviews the subject. It seems like the mustard family has a
plant called the shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) , a very common weed in
everyone's yard which seems to have seed with carnivorous properties. When this seed
imbibes water, the surrounding mucilage layer hydrates, swells rapidly and bursts
through the cell walls enveloping the seed with a sticky pellicle. Mosquito larvae,
nematodes and microorganisms can stick to this coating. Using Azacoll, a proteinase
detector molecule which releases dye in the presence of proteolytic activity, the
authors found significant activity associated with the mucilage but not in the buffer
in which the seeds were incubated. In their natural environment, the seeds seemed to
attract nematodes which die at a significantly faster rate than do nematodes in a
similar situation but lacking seeds. The ecological significance of this form of
carnivory rests on the fact that seeds of C. bursa-pastoris are rather small and con¬
tain minimum food reserves. Also, the plant grows in semi-arid soils of low fertility.
Perhaps, the presence of proteolytic enzymes acting on captured prey produces a nutri¬
tiously rich environment immediately surrounding the seed which may allow germination
to take place. The competitive advantage over other nearby plant seeds from other
species is obvious. Whatever the true meaning of this adaptive mechanism is, it
certainly is a good example of meat coming to the mustard I

Ref.: Barber, J. T. & C. R. Page III, Mucilaginous Seed Pellicles. What's New in

Plant Physiology 8, No. 6 (1976).

Thanks to STEVE WILLIAMS for sharing with us this passage from a book by Reginald
Farrer titled Alpine and Bog Plants written in 1908:

DROSERA: Evil little things they are, with their carnivorous habit. One

wonders what crime the past lives of Drosera can have held, that now their
race should be compelled to draw so ominous and unpleasant a weird of murder
and fraud. When will Sundews be free of the burden, through some self-
sacrificing individual plant who shall starve to death rather than take
life, and so redeem his race into happier paths of peace and virtue?

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CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

i

R. W. Lutz, Photography, Iowa City, Iowa
SEM Mag. 210X

R. W. LUTZ writes: I have enclosed a scanning electron micrograph showing the basal
portion of a trigger hair from Dionaea muscipula. The constricted portion of the
trigger hair results from a ring of specialized cells. These cells have a notch in
their outer cell walls and are thought to be especially sensitive to compression or
extension which would result from any movement of the trigger hair.

If your readers enjoy scanning electron micrographs, I would like to suggest that
they investigate a book by Kessel and Shih entitled: Scanning Electron Microscopy
in Biology--A Student's Atlas on Biological Organization. Spr inger-Verlag , Publisher.
The book includes micrographs of botanical and zoological interest and includes two
micrographs of Dionaea.

Vol . VI, No. 1

CPN

5

ROBERT MULLER writes: I have growing in a glass jar a Nepenthes superba. As an
experiment, since I grow a few ferns hydroponically , I decided to try a cutting
of Nepenthes. At first, I had no hope because I thought the cutting would rot
off on the bottom. It is doing fine with some new top growth and a healthy root
system. I used rain water collected from my roof downspout and followed proce¬
dures described in books for hydroponic culture with one difference. Since it
is a known fact that Nepenthes roots should be disturbed as little as possible,

I did not make the monthly changes of fresh water. I did, however, add water as
evaporation occurred. Twice in the 6 months of growing, I have given a very weak
feeding of ORTHO-GRO fertilizer when adding the evaporated water. So far so good.
Ever been tried with success before? I don't even hope for pitchers because the
humidity in my home runs around 55% in winter with gas heat and a humidifier going
constantly. I hope to get another cutting started and try changing water to see
what happens.

MICHAEL HUNT writes: I just recently did some CP field work north/northwest of
McClellanville , South Carolina. I would like to report a very impressive field
of S. flava and S. minor. Upon further observations of this site, I found S. rubra
I also found P. lutea scattered about; they were all growing in clumps. I found
D. brevifolia and D. oapillaris ; both of the Drosera (species) were fairly abundant

STEVE ROSE writes: Some tuberous Droseras that are found in Western Australia and
where and how they grow here are listed below followed by some cultural notes on
how to grow them. Some are unnamed species.

Drosera bulbosa is a sand tuber that grows in poorly drained sandy swamps
that are dry in the summer.

Drosera bulbosa (hills form) This form was formerly called D. "species"
Erickson and grown in poorly drained loams and areas in the hills. The
areas are also dry in summer.

D. zonaria always grows in deep well drained white quartz sand. It can
stand plenty of sun and a deeper pot than usual should be used.

D. "El Cabello Blanco" This species has no official name yet but it belongs
in the D. rosulata, D. macrophylla group. It's a beautiful plant that
grows with orchids in poorly drained loam only. This species has forms
which are really strange since some of them produce a few or no glandular
sticky hairs. The plants just come up like a flat rosette of hairless
leaves and then dies back again without hassling insects.

D. microphylla This species is difficult to find but grows in shady areas

with leaf mould in loamy soils that are always well drained.

D. pallida This large form grows along with D. drummondi in deep white
quartz sand or a slight silt base. It should be planted deep in a pot.

When potting tuberous Droseras , use 4-6 inch pots (6" are better) and the medium
should be well drained and firm around the tubers and still have moderate drying
qualities when needed. Don't use terra cotta pots.' The Droseras should be sprayed

at one-half or full emergence with a systemic insecticide such as Metasystox

(6 drops per pint of water). This will knock any nematodes, and this method is
also helpful with pygmy Droseras since they will respond gratefully. I have had
less rot using a systemic insecticide.

The Byblis gigantea colony that was under fire now shows thousands of seedlings
everywhere. Most of them are found around the parents and in areas of greater

moisture retention. The heat of the fire must trigger the seeds to germinate and

also sterilize the soil for about 1-2" deep, which is an important factor. Perhaps
the ash on the surface of the soil turned the soil somewhat neutral in pH. By the

way, the seeds that germinated must have been from prior years of dispersal as the

current season's seeds were unripe and destroyed in the fire. Perhaps Byblis seed
can remain dormant for years. I expect most of the seedlings to die in the first
season due to dehydration. Some are poorly advanced while others are over 6" high.
Assasin bugs certainly keep the plants clean. I noticed that this plant exudes a
very sweet smell which is quite distinctive. In the field, it flowers for nearly
5 months from October to the end of March (mid-spring to early fall) . Its roots
readily generate new plants in large numbers when the stem is disturbed or broken.

MAKOTO HONDA compliments CPN on its contents. He also informs us that a Japanese
newspaper company is running a continuing series of weekly magazine features that
when assembled will be an encyclopedia of horticulture. The section on CP (#64) is
due in early 1977, probably January or February. Makoto has contributed some
photos to the issue which will be about 30 pages, half of which will be photos
with Latin plant names (text in Japanese) . This can be purchased for ¥ 360 (about
$1.20) from Asahi Shimbun Publications Dept., Shimbashi, Minatoku, Tokyo, Japan.

The name of the magazine is weekly SASHI-HYAKKA , SEKAI NO SHYOKUBUTSU (Plants of
the World), No. 64.

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CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

ROBERT M. HAYNES writes: I currently have N. x Diokensoniana and N. x superba. Both
are currently outdoors and pitcher ing well even though it drops to below 50° at night
here in Berkeley, Ca. They are in an upright plastic lined frame on casters and a
Ward's humidifier mounted in the upper portion of the assembly supplies constant
humidity. When I was living in the apartment on Durant St., the plants never did
well even though they had daily care. Now that I have them outside, everything is
working well: my Dionaea had small green traps averaging 1/2" long in the apartment.

In 3 months, they have increased to 1-1/4" long and are bright red. The other plants
have responded in a similar fashion. Also, I have been using Berkeley tap water and
have experienced no "browning" or other symptoms of high mineral content. However, I
do leach the growing medium every two months or so with plenty of running water and
this may be the reason for my success.

At one time or another, we have all suspected the admonition that CP should not be
fertilized by way of their soil medium. LANDON T. ROSS took a preliminary look at
this problem. The question is whether Sarraoenias , for instance, grow in such poor
soils because of decreased competition, or are nutrients in richer soils toxic or
depressant in some way. He set up four plastic pots for his experiment, each contain¬
ing pure Canadian peat and buried to the rim in his outdoor bog area. Watering was by
means of rain usually, tapwater occasionally. The test plant was S. minor divisions
from the same large clone. Soil and plant modifications, and results, are as follows:

(1) Draining holes of pot open, 100% peat — Plant healthy and doing well after 26 months.

(2) Pot drainage holes closed, 50% peat and 50% composted sheep manure--Died after 24
months without doing well. (3) Pot drainage holes closed, 100% pure peat--Plant healthy
and doing well after 26 months. (4) Pot drainage holes open, 50% peat, 50% manure — Died
after 18 months with practically no growth since transplanting. It would appear that
relative degree of hydration (or other factors involved in drainage or lack thereof)

was not important; but soil richness was. Landon caution^ against extrapolating too
much from these results.

JOE MAZRIMAS and DON SCHNELL report confirmation of Don's original findings that soaking
in a solution of potassium gibberellate (up to 1000 ppm, made up from either 10% or 75%
salt) will stimulate germination of Byblis gigantea seeds. (CPN 4:66-67 1975) Don's
seeds germinated on German Peat in 10-14 days in a terrarium under fluorescent lights.
Joe germinated his seed in plastic petri dishes on several layers of filter paper
soaked with the hormone solution. These dishes were also exposed to fluorescent lights
(18 hr. on, 6 hr. off) . During this period of time none of the control seed samples
germinated. Neither Don nor Joe noted the seedling deformity and die-off that was
reported originally. This time, Don partially covered the seeds with peat rather than
leaving them lie on top. Meanwhile, Joe carefully transplanted the seeds showing a
0.5 cm. root growth to a sphagnum moss-perlite mixture where the plantlets resumed
normal growth. There was no need to heat or treat the seeds with fire as in previous
reports .

ROUND ROBIN LETTER EXCHANGE

TERRY BROKENBRO, 937 Laburnham Gardens, Upminster, Essex, RM14 1HX, Great Britain)
started this letter exchange to help CPNers with similar interests to correspond with
one another and also supply a future information source for publishing in CPN. Anyone
interested in joining the exchanqe should write to Terry first enclosing details of CP
that they are interested in. The rules are as follows:

(1) All CPN subscribers are eligible.

(2) Send full details of particular interests (e.g. Nepenthes , Drosera, Pinguicula or
CP in general). Even if there is a particular interest in one species (e.g.

Prosera binata complex) this should be mentioned so that if the demand is great
enough, a R.R. could be started just for this.

(3) Each Robin would consist of approximately 8-15 participants although more than
one R.R. can be set up for anv one subject.

(4) CPN subscribers may join as many Robins as they wish.

(5) R.R. participants should realize that in fairness to others, they should not join
when there is a possibility of having to cease correspondence after a few months
due to personal circumstances.

(6) Upon receiving correspondence, this should be read and passed to the next partici¬
pant as soon as possible in order to have an uninterrupted flow. Participants are
invited to add any comments or information to the letter or they may choose to just
pass it on to the next person on the list with a suitable explanatory note. Also,
remove your letter after it has made the complete circuit.

However, please be patient while waiting for your R.R. to begin as its formation will
depend upon the number of requests that have been received for that particular sub¬
ject. Remember that for the price of a stamp, you will be corresponding with several
growers at a maximum of every two months and learning to help your own knowledqe and
collection. So why not work out your own Round Robin interests and drop Terry a line
today. After all, you will be helping CPN since a qood portion of the information may
find its way into CPN pages for others to share.

Vol . VI, No. 1

CPN

7

SEED AND PLANT EXCHANGE NEWS

The CPN Seed and Plant Exchange is now into its fourth year and as any organism
under stress, is continually evolving to survive. The latest Exchange list con¬
tained 452 separate plant entries which include hybrids, forms, subspecies, and
varieties (136 entries for Drosera , 70 for Nepenthes , 41 Pinguicula , 71 Utricu-
laria , 114 Sarraoenia , and 20 others). About 75% of these entries were offered
for trade by one or more of the 154 participants.

Tn the past Bob Ziemer has coordinated the Exchange program and produced the
exchange lists, first quarterly and later semiannually. Leo Song has reproduced
and mailed the lists to the participants. Partly as a result of the rapid growth
of the Exchanae and partly due to increased printing and postage costs, the fre¬
quency of new lists has been reduced to only one list per year. This severely
limits the usefulness and timeliness of the exchange information. Thus a new
system is evolving.

The present CP list which listed CP that are being grown, seed or plants, to
trade will now be limited to a simple inventory and will be published annually.
Bob Ziemer, who has done an excellent job in the past will continue in his role
to gather the data for the inventory list. Lynn Macey will handle the computer
work and L. Song will publish and distribute them as before. Due to Bob's
increasing work commitments and the large number of participants, the seed/
plant exchange business will be handled under a different system. The coeditors
feel that in the interest of fairness to Bob, a seed bank should be set up and
a nominal fee be charged for packets of seed to cover labor pertaining to
storage, packaging, cost of materials, postage, etc. A list of seeds available
from the seed bank will be published in CPN whenever significant changes occur.

We would like to solicit a volunteer to handle the seed bank: collecting dona¬
tions of seed (for which the donor would be given credit in future purchases) ,
storage, packaging and mailing, as well as the associated bookwork and notifi¬
cation of CPN of seed inventory.

As far as cuttings and plant exchange is concerned, this will be handled through
the Want Ads. Due to the changes being made, please revise and send in your
inventory as soon as possible to Bob Ziemer (P.0. Box 4562, Areata, CA 95521).

Do not remit any money. The funds sent in be previous donors will be used to
defray the cost of reproducing the future lists.

If our readers have any suggestions, criticisms, ideas, etc., please write to
any of the coeditors. The system as proposed above is still subject to change
depending on reader reaction and further developments.

COMPUTERIZED CARNIVOROUS PLANT BIBLIOGRAPHIC SERVICE--THE KWIC SYSTEM

LYNN MACEY (511 North Eby, McPherson, KS 67460) originated this exciting new project
and is managing it very well. We have seen complete printouts of all the bibliography
in storage thus far and the results are fantastic. What he has done is store all
available bibliographic references to carnivorous plants in citation form along with
rather complete summaries where they could be obtained. The co-editors get a lot of
mail inquiring into carnivorous plant literature and this service is the answer. Lynn
is one of many of you who did not have access to a complete botanical library or in-
depth literature citations, so he very effectively decided to do something about it.
This service will not only be useful to anyone working on a specific project, but also
to anyone who wishes to develop a thorough CP bibliography. There is a variety of
printouts, including routine alphabetical author, genus, species, special subjects
such as ecology, growing tips, etc. Lynn will send a complete description of the
system along with the sample printouts if you request it and send him a SELF-ADDRESSED
ENVELOPE WITH TWO FIRST CLASS STAMPS. He only charges his actual cost in postage,
paper and printing--his efforts and the computer time are voluntary. By the way, Lynn
soaks up new material to add to his computer storage like a sponge. Many citations
still need summaries of the complete nature he prefers (even to the listing of all
species in entire books!) since they are from foreign or otherwise unavailable
sources, and he requests reprints of all CP material published by any of our sub¬
scribers, future, current and past. So go through those old stacks of reprints and
keep Lynn in mind when mailing out reprints of any future papers. Send for his
synopsis today — you will be pleased (do not forget the envelope with two stamps) .
Please send a legal sized or larger envelope.

Lynn considers a reference incomplete if it lacks an abstract or is not fully
described with the key word items. It is better to err on the side of including
too much information rather than too little. He would like copies of the article
if possible and is willing to return articles to their owners if they prefer. So
to those people who are publishing their research, Lynn requests reprints to keep
his service up-to-date!

8

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

SHORT NOTES

FROST PROTECTION FOR DORMANT CP

by Terry W. Brokenbro

In CPN IV, No. 4, page 58, Joe Mazrimas discussed conditions and preparations for the
dormancy of Sarraoenias and North American Drosera . Although these plants, once dor¬
mant, can stand extremely cold conditions, they are at their most vulnerable, as
regards tender growths, during late fall and early spring. Therefore, the following
points may be worth noting as regards frost protection of these growths. Once the CP
are truly dormant, or risk of frost over, any coverings, etc., mentioned can then be
removed .

1) Local buildings, trees, hedges, etc., can often determine the possibility of frost.
For example, cold wind mixing with higher warm air can lessen the risk while an area
protected from the wind would increase the possibility.

2) A light, dry soil loses heat more quickly than a heavy, compact one which will
tend to draw heat from lower depths. Even in both soils, if wet, heat will be con¬
ducted more efficiently and the risk of frost reduced.

3) A badly air-drained site will lead to a frost pocket and thus greatly increase the
frost risk (see diagram). These sites are usually found on a slight slope where a
katabatic wind (slow moving volume of cold air) can form, which will flow like water
down the slope to the valley bottom. If the drainage is blocked on route, e.g. by a
high wall in your garden, a pocket can develop in which a very severe frost can devel¬
op. This can not only be dangerous to partially dormant CP, but also increase a glass
house fuel bill considerably. The most famous frost-hollow (valley bottom into which
the katabatic wind flows) is found in the Austrian Alps, near Vienna. Here tempera¬
tures have been recorded as low as minus 60°F, while the nearby mountains (10,200 feet
plus) were a "mild" minus 2°F.

4) On a night when frost is expected any cover which can be applied over the plants
will slow down the rate of loss of radiating heat and lessen the risk of frost. For
example, fruit tree nettings, shading, sheets of glass and placing plants under the
canopy of shrubs and bushes (evergreens) are especially effective. A mist spray used
over outside plants will protect tender growths as when ice is formed, heat is released
and therefore a wet surface can protect a tender growth from a minor frost. Further,
it should also be remembered that there is no better insulator than snow and this
should be used on any occasion which permits.

5) Even local weather stations may not be able to say whether you are likely to have a
frost in your back garden that night because of varying local features such as woods,
lakes or even skyscrapers which help to create peculiar microclimates. However, the
following should be noted as bad signs for possibility of frost, using a few simple
instruments: a) No wind, b) cloudless evening or night, c) rising barometer, d) low
humidity, e) falling temperature. Yet these signs should never be relied upon 100%

as it is too easy for a windy, warm and cloudy evening to change to a still, cold and
cloudless but humid 3 a.m. the next morning with a severe frost.

The following may be of interest in winter glasshouse use, including those which are
heated as well as unheated.

1) Clear glass is absolutely essential during winter months otherwise valuable incoming
heat and light are lost.

2) Double glazing is valuable especially in the glasshouse roof for cutting heat loss.
During extremely cold weather, snow will also settle more readily as another bonus.

3) Even during mid-afternoon, with the sun shining, both air and soil termperatures
are beginning to fall. All glasshouse ventilators should therefore be closed as early
as possible and shading applied to the glasshouse roof during late afternoon (or
earlier if no sun is shining) with considerable effect.

4) A couple of hurricane lamps placed in a small sized glasshouse (say 8 feet x 6 feet)
will keep quite a severe frost at bay. It is not the heat itself from the lamps but
the movement of air preventing the formation of frost and damaging the plants therein.
Failing all else even a couple of sheets of newspaper placed directly over the plants
will prevent any damage occurring during a light frost.

5) If tender plants have been subjected to frost, spray plants with cold water the
first thing next morning, especially if the sun is shining.

6) Containers with dormant aquatic Utrioulavias left in them should not be prevented
from having ice formed across the surface. The ice forms and floats but the tempera¬
ture in the bottom mud where the winter buds lay will remain constant at about 4°C.

Vol. VI, No. 1

CPN

9

Environment and Plant Life
Weather-wise Gardening
Observers Book of Weather
Garden News (Periodical)

S. A. Searle

S. A. Searle and L. P. Smith
Reinald M. Lester
Various issues/authors.

A POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE FOOD FOR CARNIVOROUS PLANTS

by Jeffrey Del Col

George Sergeant's note in Vol. V, No. 1 of CPN about feeding powdered milk to
Droseras led me to do some thinking about other possible non-living foods for
carnivorous plants. I recognize, of course, that living insects are the best
food for our plants, but we must concede that live insects are a seasonal item
and that indoor gardeners face special problems in feeding live insects to their
plants. Probably the best live insects for home culture are the wingless or
vestigial winged mutants of the common fruit fly. I formerly raised thousands of
fruit flies to feed to tropical fish and am aware of the difficulties in culturing
them. The cultures must be carefully maintained lest they spoil, run out of nutri¬
ent, or become contaminated by wild-type Drosophila . This last problem is a
serious one. The wild flies quickly overwhelm the less vigorous mutants, and the
person growing the flies soon has a large swarm of winged pests loose in the home.

If living insects are undesirable in the home, what other foods are suitable?
Classically, raw meat and cooked egg white have been used to maintain carnivorous
plants. However, proportions of these may be hard to gauge, and they must be pre¬
pared and refrigerated. My experience with tropical fish leads me to make the
following proposal: we may be able to feed our plants some of the commercial freeze-
dried tropical fish foods.

These foods are relatively cheap, clean, and require no care other than seeing to it
that the lid of the container is kept tightly shut. An amazing variety of freeze-
dried insects, worms, crustaceans and meat are available. Freeze-dried brine shrimp
is the most common food, but I have purchased or seen freeze-dried daphnia, squid
flakes, meal worms, mosquito larvae, beef liver and tubifex worms. All these are
high protein foods with a protein content ranging from around thirty to seventy per
cent protein according to the analyses printed on the containers. They can be
readily portioned and even powdered for smaller plants. Because a container of
these foods should last a long time, they are quite cheap over the long run.

I must emphasize that this is only a suggestion. I have done no experiments,
though I plan to this summer using D. rotundi folia . One possible drawback to brine
shrimp may be a residue of salt that could harm the plants. No sodium content was
listed on the labels I have checked, so research is needed to discover how much
salt is in brine shrimp and other freeze-dried foods. I hope other CP enthusiasts
will be willing to try some of these foods. Only by experiment can we know if they
are a convenient and beneficial food for our plants.

10

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

SEEKING THE PYGMY DROSERAS

by Steve Rose

Many of the plants that I will describe are new species and forms and have yet to be
named by botanists. I have seen these plants growing in their native locations and
so flower colors and locations will have to suffice as means of identification. It's
rather confusing, but it's the only way to identify the plants so far. Locations are
in quotes.

"TOODYAY" PINK. This plant grows in heavy ground silt, a sandy clay and rarely in
sand with wetter ground than for D. miniata and D. platy stigma . The flower color in
4 locations is much the same but color intensity changes as well as a very slight
stipule shape. It likes to grow in open areas between bushes that have roots in
moist ground all year. It is late to go dormant and I have seen it in a sandy swamp
with "MUCHEA" pink (see below) and D. nitidula . I grow it in sand and peat mix, and
it grows easy and flowers well. I can even keep it in water all the time, and it
grows even in summer. It goes dormant after flowering as with most pygmy Droseras .

D. platy stigma (common) . This is an easy and best variety of plant that grows in
heavy gravel country with dry summers and late dormancy. It's never found in wet
ground like the Albany variety, but I grow it in a sandy-peat mix or light gravel and
peat. I stand it in water all summer.

D. miniata . This is a common and easy plant to grow in sand-peat mix. It dries out
in summer and has a late dormancy. I stand it in water in summer, and it seems to
grow alright. It naturally grows near or with D. platy stigma and produces gemmae
very well.

The "MT. MANYPEAK" type. A robust species that grows quite large in heavy gravel
where it is very windy and dry. The leaves, nevertheless, remain sticky which is
amazing considering the conditions. It has large purple-pink flowers and a late
dormancy and prefers to grow in dry, rough conditions rather than in sand. This
plant is similar to D. drummondi and seems to be part of a group of 2-3 species and
related to a few from Albany and 1 or 2 from Gidgegannup. The plants grow tall and
send out aerial roots. I grow in washed gravel on the surface and a sandy peat mix
underneath. I found some down in Albany with gemmae buds in summer which is 4-5
months out of season, but they grew well after rooting and take about 6-8 weeks to
establish.

D. nitidula. This is a highly unusual robust and giant type of the species with the
possibility of it being a new species. It grows in the Cannington swamps and I grow
it in a peat-sand mix and allow it to stand in water in summer. It takes similar
conditions as the common D. nitidula and D. pulahella.

Big D. leucoblasta is the most unusual and beautiful because of its brilliant metal¬
lic orange flower with a dark brown center. Another form has an even larger flower
which is bright yellow and may be a new species. It is easy to lose because of rot,
and I have much difficulty establishing them. It grows in sandy conditions unlike
other forms and is late to go dormant. Although the ground is dry in summer, I prefer
to keep them damp and shaded, and some seem to survive. Gemmae derived plants will be
easier as they can become conditioned much more easily. Again, I use a layer of
washed sand on the surface and a sand-peat below.

(Ed. I use Benlate spray on all pygmy Droseras before planting them and follow
this procedure up with another spray over the plants and medium about 7-10 days
later. As a result, I have cut down on the number of plants which succumb to
rotting by a considerable amount. J.A.M.)

D. pycnoblasta is a pygmy plant that grows in deep sand in a desert with semi-arid
conditions. It produces a large dormancy bud and sometimes grows with big D. leuco¬
blasta and other forms. Although the plant rots easily in cultivation probably
because it can't adjust readily to summer watering which is necessary to survival in
pots, I manage to grow some in the sand on the surface and sand-peat mixture under¬
neath method, but one needs some luck in growing it.

"MUCHEA" PINK species from Seven Mile swamp Gingin is a fairly easy one with pink
flowers and has a very late dormancy or not at all in some locations. It's a golden
green plant that seems easy to grow in just a sand-peat mixture.

D. leucoblasta . This is the common type which is very variable under all different
conditions. I found this species growing dry in loam, sand, clay and gravel. It has

an early dormancy and its flower is plain orange or a bright orange-red color. Some

forms even have very pale flowers (Wongan Hills) but all seem to have the same con¬
sistent stipule shape. The extreme forms differ in stipule shape. I find this one

hard to cultivate, especially with some forms, but others grow with 50% survivors.

I have some in plain dark peat moss in water, and they grow alright, while others
are dormant out of water and remain so regardless of watering but remain green. A
change in temperature may induce awareness.

p. 10.10

Drosera "Bannister

(Drawing by Barbara Stewart)

Supplement Vol. VI, No. 2
Insert between p. 10 and 11

June, 1977

p. 10.20

Drosera pa I aceae

1 cm

(Drawing by Barbara Stewart)

p. 10.30

Drosera plarysrigma

Supplement Vol. VI, No. 4
Insert between p. 10 and 11

December, 1977

p. 10.40

Drosera scorpioides

(Drawing by Barbara Stewart)

Vol . VI, No. 1

CPN

11

Variable D . platy stigma from Chittering may be a new species and grows quite easily
in heavy gravel--an ironstone gravel. It is cultivated easily, and I keep mine
standing in water in a sand-peat mix.

YELLOW-FLOWERED DROSERA from Regans Ford (Gingin) . This plant was found four years
ago and remains unnamed today, but it grows in deep yellow-white sand sometimes with
D. paleacea nearby but never together. It has an early dormancy and sports a nice
pale-bright yellow flower. I grow it in washed sand surface by pressing the buds
into the sand, and it's kept moist, not wet. I lost 80% of my original collection,
but it was made at the wrong time.

EXTRA LARGE "MUCHEA" PINK. This plant grows in peat moss in shade and grows very
robust in only one small location by a spring in thick bush. It does not like hot,
sunny conditions but flowers very well showing large flowers on multiple stalks
(about 4-6) . I grow mine on sawdust in 3" pots that sit in water, and the leaves
stay sticky and may go dormant but should not go altogether.

LAKE "BADGEBUP" WHITE FLOWER. A new species that's easy to grow which grows along
with D. nitidula by the lake's shores in sand the little black peat. It's also
associated with D. pulohella and seems to look like a hybrid of D. nitidula and
D. oaaidentalis , but I cannot find D. oaaidentalis in the area as yet. It's easy
to grow in sand-peat mix and does not seem to grow so well in straight peat. The
pot is stood in water in summer. The single white flower have an unusual blood-
red clubbed stigma which is very uncommon in this kind of D. oaaidentalis group
which has about 3-4 new species in addition to the old ones.

"BANNISTER" PALE PINK. A very new species also easy to grow in most conditions
even in pine leaf mold on the edge of a pine forest by the road's side. Found in
fairly damp creek sides, wet hollows and some remain growing all year as others go
dormant. Mine stand in peat-sand mix in water. Plants get a deep red with nice
pink flowers with strange stigmas that look boat-shaped.

"WALYINGA" PINK. These plants like the dry conditions of D. playtstigma but will
also grow in sand. Mine have all gone dormant except 2-3 gemmae forming plantlets
late in season. It needs a dry summer and grows a nice metallic pink flower which
leads me to believe it's a new species. I use a sand-peat mix, but it doesn't
respond favorably, and many are lost.

ORANGE FLOWER--"BROOKTON" . It may be D. leuaoblasta but the main difference is that
it is underwater some time of the year. This one grows in a sand pit in deep white
quartz sand with D. zonavia and D . miniata as well as in wetter places with
D. nitidula. If it is D. leuaoblasta , then it is the only form so far which will
cultivate readily standing in or out of water or in a variety of mixtures. I use
a sand-peat mix and do not stand in water until established.

D. saorpoides. Found in Albany and grow as D. nitidula in peat moss and sand mix
or chopped sphagnum. Plant them deep but leave the plant above the surface and
plant will find its height of growth according to moss growth. Grow in light
shade and needs patience to establish.

SMALL PINK — "NORTH BEERMULLAH" . This new species is part of the D. oaaidentalis
croup. The best plants are grown in peat moss and/or sand/peat mix standing in
water and part shade. Too much sun will lead to dehydration, especially in W. A.
This species flowers freely and has a small, single pink flower.

D. pulahel la — ORANGE FLOWER. This species is the same as the ordinary one but
differs in flower color. There are now four color forms of this species: dark
pink, pale pink, apricot and orange.

D. androsaaea . This unusual species grows in many areas and conditions of soil,
but it does best in sandy loam, so use a sand/peat mix for cultivation. It has
an early dormancy, and it's hard to keep growing, but gemmae plants may stay sticky
longer and may not go completely dormant. It's found associated with D. pycnoblasta
and D. leuaoblasta.

SOME GENERAL NOTES ON PYGMIES

by Steve Rose

When trying to establish the pygmy Droseras in your collection, there are several
do's and don'ts. First, don't allow the plants to dry out at all and never give
them too much sun. Second, never let them stand in water unless they are the swamp
kinds like D. pulchella, D. oaaidentalis , white flower "Lake Badgebup," small pink
"North Beermullah" and D. nitidula . Also pink flower "North Bannister" and extra
large "Muchea" pink can stand in water. Third, never water with a heavy spray or
hose since sand can splash onto the leaves of the young plants and over-stimulate
the leaves with loss of overall power of the plant trying to digest the sand as
well as peat moss. I use a syringe and water between the plants and NOT on top
of them.

12

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

1 use fish tanks with lids and find this to be really good. Deep pots should be used
for the sand and gravel growinq kinds with a minimum depth of about 12 cm. (about

5 in.) . The swamp ones are planted in a container with depth of 6-8 cm. (about 3 in.)
and standing in about 1.5-2 cm. of water (3/4 in) . I use only deionized or distilled
water to prevent algae and scum build-up on the surface as most pygmies DO NOT grow
in mossy areas but in clean, washed gravel sand conditions which are even free of
visible humus.

Pygmy Droseras are worth the fuss and experiment. I have some unusual cases.

D. drummondi is growing in live sphagnum moss in water and many seem to do well in
sawdust in water or not or in Pinus pinaster leaf mold and sand. Others are in washed
river sand, in washed quartz gravel (no humus) and many in straight peat moss (sand
growing ones) . Only a full growing year can tell of success.

In summer keep the plants shaded and humid except the one from Manypeaks.

When washing sand, I use ordinary water and wash until all fine silt has gone. Finally,
rinse with deionized water and then mix in sieved peat moss. My mixes are usually about

2 parts sand to one peat, or less peat depending on species. I also knock the pot on the
ground to settle the contents so that excess air is driven out. Then the surface is
firmed down to bond the sand the peat so that watering the peat does not float over

the tiny plants.

Regarding light, be your own judge since some prefer more shade than others, and I pre¬
fer to have a green D. pulchella than a dead red one. This even happens in the bush.

When the gemmae buds come or appear, sow- them on a looser surface soil to enable root
penetration and be careful not to ROT them. Some may have to be urged into the soil.
Usually gemmae derived plants are stronger and cultivate more easily than collected
mature plants by far. Certain species may only be cultivated this way.

NOTES ON A TRIP TO NORTH CAROLINA

by Les Kaufman

I must have been about eight years old when my father first brought home a Venus fly¬
trap, and since that time it had remained a favorite daydream to go and see what they
looked like in nature. Recently the dream was realized under the aegis of science,
as I visited Beaufort, North Carolina, to continue work on the foraging of carnivor¬
ous plants. The science will have to wait until the data has been analyzed; here I
wish to communicate my concern over the plants' survival based on what I saw in late
October, 1976.

Most of my work was concentrated in a triangular region bordered by US Routes 24, 70,
and Nine Foot Road. Within this area, one of the sites chosen for study coincided
with a study area used by Roberts and Oosting in their classic treatment of Dionaea
(1958). This, a small pocosin bordered by longleaf pine and sandy savannah, was
still infested with Dionaea twenty years after their published work, and is today
marked by a neat wooden marker, apparently erected by the University of North Carolina.
The region along Nine Foot road is peppered with sphagnum dishes, mud pans and ponds,
all inhabited by Pinguicula, Drosera, and Utricularia ssp. , but the distribution of
Dionaea is more closely related to older drainage ditches and logging roads than to
its original habitat, the border of pocosin and drier savannah. Controlled burning,
aqainst a grid of old ditches and pocosin, will insure the survival of this plant on
private and protected lands in this region. The private owners I met were aware of
the need to protect Dionaea, and were extremely helpful in pointing out locations so
long as I promised not to dig the plants up in large numbers. One nursery owner I
spoke to, however, was surprised that I was purchasing Sphagnum when I could dig it
up in the woods with as many flytraps as I wanted, just as they had been doing for
years. They obligingly directed me to one of my recently chosen study areas, on
private land, where they said they "always went to get them (flytraps) for selling."

Ranger Jan Smith of Camp Sam Hatcher was a refreshing new face. The tract of land
he manages for boy scouts and other camping groups is a stronghold for Dionaea and
other carnivores, including Sarraoenia flava and 5. purpurea venosa. To my surprise,

I found old ditches running through second-growth woods to be filled, not only with
Sphagnum , but with robust Dionaea, many with a strong tinge of red in the traps, and
old withered flower scapes at their sides, all in what seemed like deep shade!

Roberts and Oosting (1958) were of the opinion that Dionaea populations were viable
mainly in their restricted ecotone, and that other populations were peripheral and
of low reproductive potential. I am anxious to return to the wooded ditches in the
spring and early summer, to estimate seed set in this "peripheral" (but increasingly
widespread) artificial habitat.

Vol . VI, No. 1

CPN

13

As I poked about other potential CP sites, I made mental note of the kinds of
disturbances that were going on, and tried to guess their effects over twenty
or thirty years. Through some economic scenario that escapes me, mobile home
parks are sprouting like weeds in the middle of nowhere. Medium-sized tracts
of magnificent savannah are being destroyed with no apparent long-range plan¬
ning in mind.

One afternoon I was lucky enough to accompany an employee of the Duke Marine
Lab on a trip to the Open Grounds. This 45,000 acre tract of longleaf pine
and pocosin is now slashed by V-shaped drainage ditches approximately two
meters deep, sometimes deeper, cut through the wilderness to lower the water
table in preparation for using the land as pasture. After the ground has
oozed for nearly a year, bulldozers push the dying vegetation into long piles,
and the ground is burned and limed. The scale of this transformation is beyond
belief; in the words of one ranger at Croatan, the activities at the Open Grounds
"look like somebody's garden" compared to two other tracts of land, larger by an
order of magnitude, where the unique heathlands of North Carolina are also going
to make more cows.

North of the Open Grounds is a tract owned by a paper company. A brief foray along
the edge of their property revealed an abundance of Drosera , including some of the
largest D. intermedia I have ever seen. I would guess that the central regions of
the paper company's land will retain a high enough water table for CP's as long as
the land is under present owndership . . . but it was a gnawing question during the
whole trip: I simply didn't know the fate of the land, and my stomach turned at
the thought of such a vast, unspoiled wilderness being transformed into farmland
without a careful evaluation of the relative merits of agriculture versus a kind of
wilderness that is not duplicated anywhere else in the world. The night before I
left to return to Baltimore, I was browsing through the county library in Beaufort
when I came across a book written in 1932 by B. W. Wells, The Natural Gardens of
North Carolina (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill). Here was a
photograph of the Open Grounds at least forty five years earlier, pictures of
flowering pocosin and savannah in all seasons, and a small complex of buildings
representing an experimental agricultural station. I was struck by a sense of
collapsed time, and the clear impression that Croatan is all that will remain of
the coastal plain ecosystems unless there is a quick reappraisal of priorities.

Meanwhile, thousands of acres of bogland with scattered patches of Sarracenia are
being "reborn" in another world. Perhaps we should obtain permission to explore
these areas, and collect those plants which are valuable for scientific study and
esthetic appreciation ... we should at least get a grip on the doomed.

Literature Cited

Patricia R. Roberts and J. H. Oosting, 1958. Responses of Venus Fly Trap

(Dionaea muscipula) to factors involved in its endemism. Ecol. Mongr. 28(2):
193-218.

B. W. Wells, 1932. The Natural Gardens of North Carolina. University of North
Carolina Press, Chapel Hill (1967).

PROPAGATION OF NEPENTHES BY LAYERING

by Terry Brokenbro

Through personal correspondence, I have noticed that some CPNers (including myself
at times) have trouble propagating' Nepenthes from cuttings. During hot, sunny weather
plants (cuttings) and compost will often dry out far too quickly while at the other
extreme, the compost stays too wet for too long and so the dreaded rot sets in. There
fore, for those "heavy handed" CPNers who have problems, the following two propagation
methods may be of some help. Soil layering is probably the more successful method
although the air method is best for those with less room available.

AIR LAYERING:

First, a mature branch (without formed pitchers) is selected for propagation. A
section of leaves are removed and the stem is bruised by twisting and/or cutting a
notch in it. This will then reduce the sap flow and promote the formation of roots.
Rooting hormone powder is then applied to the area and sphagnum moos wrapped around
thw wound and a plastic bag applied. (See Fig. la and lb) In one or two months
fine roots should then be seen through the plastic bag which can then be removed and
the top plant section potted. This method is often used by professional nurserymen
for the propagation of rubber plants (Ficus elastica) on a large scale.

14

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

fid. Iff

fit. 18

/

/ / Sfty+dMM

/ / MOSS

SOIL LAYERING:

This propagation method is similar to the above method except that it is usually more
successful because not only is the stem bruised but also propagated at an angle thus
making rooting much more likely. A suitable, supple branch is selected which can be
bent into an adjacent pot containing normal growing medium and without detaching from
the growing plant. (See Fig. 2) A weighted object is then placed above the bent
stem to hold it in place and removed in approximately one to two months. Test the
new plant by gently lifting it with a pencil and when roots are visible on the damaged
portion of the stem allow the plant to re-establish itself by growing on for two to
three weeks, when it can be detached from the parent plant and grown on by itself in
the normal way.

ON THE FORAGING STRATEGIES OF CARNIVOROUS PLANTS:

I. EVIDENCE FOR AN ADAPTIVE RESPONSE TO LOW PREY AVAILABILITY
IN THE VENUS' FLY TRAP, DIONAEA MUSCIPULA.

by Les Kaufman and Mary Schwarzbeck

Abstract

Young Venus' Fly Traps which were protein-starved produced significantly greater
numbers of traps, and held a greater proportion in operating condition, than plants
which were fed on hamburger. In nature, such a response might increase the proba¬
bility of capturing prey when prey are scarce.

Introduction

Animals, by virtue of their mobility and behavioral capabilities, can correct
deficiencies in energy or protein by looking for an appropriate source. Humming¬
birds, for example, can balance nectar against insects; bees, nectar against
pollen; humans, potatoes and gravy against beef. Carnivorous plants must also
face periodic variation in the availability of protein in the form of insect car¬
casses, and one would expect selection for plants with some way of maintaining a
balanced diet. (By "balanced diet" we mean an optimal rate of acquisition of
potential energy/protein for a given set of circumstances) . On the habitat scale
experienced by the tiny plants of the genus Dionaea, prey availability is likely
to vary considerably from place to place and week to week throughout the growing
season. Presumably, such a plant might better its chances of obtaining sufficient

Vol. VI, No. 1

CPN

15

nitrogen for continued growth and reproduction by setting higher numbers of traps
where and when prey are relatively depauperate. In fact, it would make good
sense for many kinds of carnivorous plants to be able to vary the number of func¬
tioning traps at any given time. We therefore hypothesized that if two groups of
Venus' Fly Traps were grown under identical conditions, except that one group
starved while the other fed, the "hungry" plants should produce significantly
higher numbers of traps per plant than those that had been fed regularly. In
addition, we wished to investigate the effect of shading on trap production in
starved and fed plants.

Materials and Methods

One hundred small bulblets of Dionaea muscipula were obtained from Peter Paul's
Nursery in Canandiagua, New York. These (which, by the way, arrived in excellent
condition) were planted in late May, 1976, in an all-glass aquarium. Soil con¬
sisted mostly of dried sphagnum cut with smaller amounts of perlite and fine
silica sand, to a depth of about five centimeters. The tank was divided into
four quadrants, two of which (in opposite corners) were shaded by taping double¬
thickness computer printout paper on the tops and sides. After planting, the
tank was installed in the University's greenhouse. At the flip of a quarter, it
was decided which plots would be destined for feeding and which would be starved.
Most extraneous insects were kept out by a glass cover, and would have probably
reached all plants with frequencies independent of the experimental treatments.

The experiment thus took the form of a 2 X 2 factorial analysis-of-variance with,
when terminated after six weeks by vandalism, the following numbers of replicates:

Fed

Not Fed

Full Light

25

22

Shade

25

24

Each week for six consecutive weeks the numbers of traps in three stages of devel¬
opment were tallied for every plant, as follows:

Stage 1: developing trap; spines not yet visible.

Stage 2: trap developed (spines distinct) but nonoperational

Stage 3: trap fully developed and operational (will close when stimulated).

Each week, all open traps in the groups designated for feeding were offered small
bits of hamburger and stimulated to close.

Results

Some time after the sixth-week measurements were made, the experiment was destroyed,
but most of the plants were rescued and are in good condition, awaiting repeat of
these experiments.

A 2 X 2 factorial analysis-of-variance (ANOVA) , several one-way ANOVA's on mail
effects, and a few nonparametr ic tests were carried out on sixth-week data. The
ANOVA's are suspect because variances of the four populations were not homogeneous.

The reader with a statistical background is invited to readjust the data, as presented
in Table I, such that all of the basic assumptions for ANOVA are met. The data pro¬
vided are a random sample of the entire populations yielding equal numbers of observa¬
tions for each treatment group, which vastly simplifies many statistical calculations.
We will gladly provide more information to anyone wishing to play further with our
results .

From our observations and analyses of the data, we have reached the following
tentative conclusions:

I. The Venus' Fly Trap will produce more traps when it is starved than when
it is fed (Table II) .

II. The proportion of traps in stage 3 (operational) is higher among starved
than among fed plants (Table III and Figure I) .

III. The differences between starved and fed plants are partially obscured

(though still significant) when the plants are grown in the shade (Table II).

Discussion

Our experiences in carrying out this experiment support the a priori hypothesis that
at least one species of carnivorous plant varies the number of set traps according
to prey availability. Further conclusions must wait for repetition of the experi¬
ment under more rigorously controlled conditions and over a longer period of time.

The next experiment will also include controlled reversal of treatments. Many
readers may, however, have relevant data or anecdotal observations bearing on these
and related hypotheses, and such contributions would be most appreciated.

16

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

Conclusions

It is possible that Dionaea muscipula can balance its diet by varying the number of
functional traps on each plant. Similar experiments to the one described above
should be carried out with other carnivorous plants that set many small traps at
frequent intervals (e.g., Drosera ssp. , Utricularia ssp., fungi) to seek patterns
in the "foraging strategies" of these plants.

Acknowledgements

We thank Paul Ringold for his random quarter, and Mel Sambol for his photography.
This research was supported in part by the Department of Earth and Planetary
Sciences, Johns Hopkins University.

TABLE I : Number of traps/plant in four
experimental populations of
Dionaea musciputa.

TABLE II: Mean numbers of traps per plants in

four populations of Dionaea muscipula.

Full Light Shade

Fed

Plants

Starved

Plants

L' J

*3 7

A 1 R

Count

Light

Shade

Light

Shade

r ea

Starved

7.65

4.45

1

5

1

9

9

2

3

5

11

1

3

2

6

6

6

4

7

7

8

6

5

1

5

5

4

6

7

4

9

3

7

6

5

6

3

.

8

3

5

7

4

9

3

6

8

5

10

2

6

0

3

TABLE III: Proportions of

traps in three stage:

11

4

5

8

5

of development.

12

5

3

7

5

13

4

0

8

7

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

14

5

6

10

7

Fed in Light 21%

21%

58%

15

0

5

12

7

Fed in Shade 18%

24%

58%

16

2

0

9

4

Starved in Light 13%

10%

77%

17

4

7

8

0

Starved in Shade 18%

14%

78%

18

1

0

7

7

19

3

0

7

2

20

7

7

8

1

% traps
in

Stage 3

Figure 1: Proportion of traps in Staqe 3 (fully
operational) in two populations of
Dionaea muscipula , over six weeks.

• (lower curve) Fed in Full Light

^ (upper curve) Starved in Full Light

Vol . VI, No. 1

CPN

17

BOTANIST'S CORNER

"Confound it! Another plant name change. No sooner
do I learn a plant's scientific name than those botanists
have to go and change it. Why do they do it?"

This seems to be a common situation for laymen who
are seriously interested in plants and who make an effort
to learn their Latin names. Indeed, to many people the
mere thought of hearing, much less learning, a long Latin
name is enough to make them lose confidence, and interest.
While it may be true that some Latin names are long and
seemingly unpronounceable, there are quite a few with
which we have become relatively comfortable as common
names, such as Rhododendron and Chrysanthemum. I must
admit that even I have had some trouble pronouncing and
getting used to such carnivorous plant names as Poly-
pompholyx I

Many laymen would prefer to stick with common names
for all plants which they encounter, and this may suffice
in many instances where the common names and the plants
are unambiguous. Such may be the case when referring to
Utricularia as bladderworts . However, this brings us to
one of the real reasons for writing this article, and one
of the most belabored topics in botany with which laymen
and professionals alike are constantly confronted. That is, the fact that common names
are most often not precise enough to specify the exact plant to which you may be refer¬
ring, at all times and all places. Because they are products of local usage and folk
taxonomy, several common names may have originated which refer to the same plant in
different parts of the country; the same common name may equally be applied to different
plants in different regions. A familiar example which would encompass both situations
just mentioned would be the common name for the genus Sarraoenia : Pitcher Plants,
Trumpets, Fly-traps, Huntsmen's horns. Bog-bugles, Dumb-watches , Watches, Eve's Cups,
and Buttercups. Depending on which common name you use, you may or may not have a
clear idea of what is being referred to; believe me, you may just run into any or all
of these names if you talk with country folks in the regions where these plants grow.

As you may know. Buttercups are generally members of the genus Ranunculus (related to
larkspur and clematis); but they may also be members of the genus Narcissus , and may
be called Daffodils. Fly-traps may, of course, be referring to Dionaea , Venus' Fly-trap.
You see how confusing it can become. Of course, common names will always be used, and I
am definitely not against them (because they are colorful and usually descriptive) ; but
we must recognize their limitations and try to understand that scientific names should
be used in conjunction with common names, especially in writing, in order to avoid
ambiguity and misleading information.

Now that we know that the exclusive use of common names can lead to confusion, let
us qo back and examine the purpose for names in the first place. The purpose of a name,
any kind of name, is to facilitate communication, to aid in talking and writing about
something. It allows us to refer to a specific thing without having to go through a
long description. It seems logical, then, that for a name to fulfil its designated use,
it must apply to only one object, no matter who uses the name, and conversely, that
object must have only one name. Thus it is with scientific names, which enable us to
track down all available information about the plants we may be interested in. In order
that scientific names may be made and used correctly, the International Code of Botanical
Nomenclature (ICBN), which should be accepted and followed by all legitimate botanists
and laymen the world over, sets forth the rules which govern the formation and usage of
all scientific names of plants (except strictly cultivated plants, which have a separate
code) . This should lead to a certain degree of uniformity and stability.

A little bit more background might be appreciated before we get on to our main
concern of name chanqes. Scientific names are, of course, in Latin. This is speci¬
fied by the Code and must be used the world over no matter what other languages or
alphabets are used (this is because Latin was the language of European scholars
during the 1600-1700's when botany was becoming a formal science). Thus, we would be
able to recoqnize the Latin name of a plant in a book written in Chinese, Japanese or
Russian, even though the rest of the text would be in an unfamiliar language and
alphabet. Just think about the poor Japanese botanist who not only has to learn some
Latin grammar and meanings, but who also has to learn the Roman alphabet with which
we are automatically familiar!

As a result of our acceptance of the binomial ("two name") system of nomenclature
developed by the very famous and important Swedish botanist Linnaeus (1707-1778), the
scientific names of plants consist of basically two words, the genus name and the

18

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

specific epithet (often erroneously called the species name) . For example, the scien¬
tific name of yellow pitcher plant is Sarracenia flava (Latin names are always itali¬
cized in print, or underlined in writing and typing). Sarracenia is the genus, or
generic name; flava is the specific epithet, and grammatically it is an adjective
modifying the generic name. Sarracenia flava is thus the name of the species, or one
particular type of the several pitcher plant types in the genus Sarracenia . The
species name, which may be abbreviated S. flava, is made up of a combination of the
generic name and the specific epithet. (The family name, the category to which genera
belong, in this case would be the Sarraceniaceae , or pitcher plant family. It is
analogous to the Smith family, with its members Smith, John; Smith, Judy; and Smith,
Johnny analogous to the scientific name Sarracenia flava) . Hopefully both parts of
the scientific name will convey some useful or interesting information about the plant
it represents to help make it easier to remember. In this case, Sarracenia is the
Latinized form of the man's name, Sarrazin, who first discovered the purple pitcher
plants in Quebec about 1700; flava (correctly pronounced fla'-va, both a's as in car)
is Latin for yellow. There are rules for Latin pronunciation, but they are sometimes
disregarded in favor of personal preference. In general every letter and every sylla¬
ble is enunciated, with emphasis on the third from the last syllable. For additional
information on the meanings of the scientific names of some CP's see Don Schnell's new
book on the CP of US and Canada.

In some cases species may be broken down into subcategories which may be desig¬
nated as subspecies, variety, or form; and a certain plant may thus have a name
consisting of three parts, such as Sarracenia purpurea subspecies (abbr. ssp.) venosa,
the southern counterpart to the northern S. purpurea ssp. purpurea. In this case, the
species S. purpurea is considered by many to contain two recognizably different types.
While I personally believe that these additional categories have specifically defined
applications, their use can be quite controversial, arbitrarily applied, and otherwise
questionable because the rules do not govern their exact application; but they do
exist among CP names, and you will run across them constantly.

We will not go further into the intricacies of the Code as it applies to the
definitions of names. For an excellent discussion of this subject see C. Jeffrey,

1968. An Introduction to Plant Taxonomy , esp. Pp. 62-93.

REVIEW OF RECENT LITERATURE

Anon. (We would be, tool) 1976. Venus Flytraps. Science Digest, Dec., p. 81-2.

This is the sort of few paragraphs one should avoid and is herein reviewed as
such. Typical of most of the "Digest" type magazines, and in an effort to be
"cutesy," the paragraphs are full of misinformation and misguidance for those
who are likely misguided already. One gains the impression that the plant trots
about the house like the family cat, fending off vermin. One also learns that
when he goes on vacation, he should simply put his plant in the refrigerator.

One also wonders if he or she should be angry or just sad over this sort of
trash .

Berglund, E. R. & A. C. Mace, Jr. Diurnal albedo variations of black spruce and
sphagnum-sedge bogs. Can. Jour. For. Res. 6 (3) : 247-252 . 1976.

Light measurements on two types of bogs were taken in northern Minnesota, USA.

The black spruce stand's diurnal albedo was parabolic with a maximum at 1200 h
(7-8%) and decreased. Greatest variation was in the summer months. The sphagnum-
sedge type bog showed a M-shaped diurnal variation with minimum at 1200 h between
two maxima. Maxima occurred as a result of specular reflection and changes in
solar radiation quality.

Carlquist, S. Wood anatomy of Roridulaceae : Ecological and Phylogenetic implications.
Am. J. Bot. 63 (7) : 1003-8 . 1976 .

The wood anatomy of Roridula (a non-carnivorous plant) is compared to Byblis and
found to have very similar secondary xylem features. The author feels it should
be excluded from Droseraceae .

Chandler, G. E. & J. W. Anderson. Studies on the nutrition and growth of Drosera
species with reference to the carnivorous habit. New Phytol. 76 (1) : 129-41 .

1976.

Drosera whittakeri was grown on sand with inorganic salt solutions lacking
either nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus or microelements. Application of fruit
flies to the leaves were applied to plants growing on media deficient in P or
microelements, there was no effect on growth but the phosphorus content of the
plant increased significantly. Insects could not serve as a carbon source for
photosynthesis. The best growth of D. binata and D. whittakeri occurred on
plants fed fruit flies while growing in a nitrogen deficient medium. Nitrates
in the nutrient medium inhibited growth. Optimum growth of these Droseras was
not achieved by growing plants on complete nutrient solution in the absence of
insects. Phosphorus was very important in the tuberous Drosera both for early
emergence and for development of new rhizomes on which new tubers formed.

Vol . VI, No. 1

CPN

19

Chandler, G. E. & J. W. Anderson. Studies on the origin of some hydrolytic enzymes
associated with leaves and tentacles of Drosera species and their role in
heterotrophic nutrition. New Phytol. TV (1) :51-62. 1976.

Extracts of the leaves of Drosera whittakeri , binata and auriculata had protease
activity over a very wide range of pH optima. These were taken from field
plants. However, only distinct pH optimum of proteinase activity (pH 2.6) was
determined in the sterile axenic cultures of D. binata. Many bacteria associ¬
ated with field-grown plants were found to secrete many of the proteinases
with acid pH optima. The authors concluded that microbial enzymes play a signif¬
icant role in the digestion process of captured insects.

Fish, D. Insect-plant relationships of the insectivorous pitcher plant Sarraoenia
minor. Fla. Entomol. 59 ( 2 ) : 19 9-203 . 1976.

The noctuid moth, Exyra semicrooea , damaged 66% of the 80 plants studied render¬
ing them non-functional. Young larva were present in 22.5% of the remaining
functional leaves. In addition, the sarcophagid Blaesoxipha jonesii were present
in 64% of the leaves and consumed as much as 50% of the plant's prey. However,
the author noted that 90% of the leaves captured ants and S. minor may be
specialized in doing so.

Hayakawa, M. Sources of seed. Pacific Horticulture 37, No. 4:54-7. 1976.

The author provides a listing of Societies and collectors where rare and wild
seed of a variety of plants may be found. Included in the list is our own CPN
seed exchange.

Heslop-Harrison , Y. 1976. Carnivorous plants a century after Darwin. Endeavor
35:114-22.

An excellent historical review of CP glandular anatomy and physiology with
particular emphasis on enzyme secretion studies. Twenty figures.

Kondo, K. A cy totaxonomic study in some species of Drosera. Rhodora 78 { 815) :

532-41. 1976.

The chromosome numbers of six species of Drosera are reported for the first
time. The 2N number of the Drosera species are: ouneif olia = 2>2 , gigantea= 28,
hamiltonii= 28, petiolaris- 12, adelae=2S , Kanto spathulata= 40, and Yakushima
spathulata= 40. Drosera petiolaris showed the largest chromosomes ever seen
in the genus Drosera and has the lowest number.

Sawyer, J. 0. Preservation of Rare and Endangered Plants. Pacific Horticulture
35(1) : 56-7 . 1977 .

Some 700 species of California's plant species representing about 10% of the
total state's flora are listed as rare or endangered. The author urges citizens
to be aware of this problem. Darlingtonia calif ornica is mentioned as a plant
that is endangered because of commercial exploitation.

Schnell, D. E. 1976. Carnivorous plants of the United States and Canada. John
F. Blair Publisher (1406 Plaza Dr. SW, Winston-Salem, NC 27103) , 125 p. +
ix, 117 color photos + drawings and maps. $19.95 (+ .35 postage).

Complete coverage of CP in the area, including 117 photos in full color.

Discussion covers basic biology, identifying descriptions, ranges, specific
facts about each species, and a chapter on cultivation. Glossary and defini¬
tions of scientific names in appendix.

Schnell, D. E. 1976. You catch more bugs with a sundew. Plants Alive 4:14-5.

A short popular article very ge-nerally describing Droseras and their culture.

Four black and white photos.

Siddiqui, S. A. Studies in the Lentibulariaoeae : 7. The development of endosperm
and embryo in Utricularea coerulea var. filiaaulis Clarke. Bot. Not.

128 (4) : 4 32-7 . 1975 .

The first division of the primary endosperm cell is transverse. Next, the
division in both primary cells is longitudinal and walls laid down are complete.
After this, the author observed considerable variations in the plane and early
cell divisions in the development of the endosperm. The mature embryo differ¬
entiates only into epidermis and its meristematic apical region.

Swenson, Allan A. 1977. Cultivating Carnivorous Plants. Doubleday & Co., Inc.
Publisher (Garden City, New York), 152 p. + B&W photos.

This book describes the culture, and care of various genera of carnivorous plants.
Furthermore, it describes experiments and informs the reader on organizations,
periodicals and locations of plant displays. Finally, it reproduces the CPN World
Listing of CP at the end of the book. One of the faults that the author gets into
is the confusion of Sarraoenia leucophylla (the preferred name) and S. drummondi
which he seems to use interchangeably. To less extent, he uses S. sledgei for the
preferred name S. alata. Despite this, the book will be another useful informa¬
tion source for the amateur CP grower.

20

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

Wallace, R. L. Distribution of sessile rotifers in an acid bog pond with particular
emphasis on Ptyguva beauahampi (Edmondson). Ph.D. dissertation, Dartmouth
College, June, 1975.

One plant, Utricularia vulgavis , because of its unique relationship with the
sessile rotifer Ptygura beauohampi was studied in more detail. Prey captured
by this carnivorous macrophyte were studied by dissecting and examining the
prey-capturing organs for recognizable prey remains. Three distinct prey captur¬
ing organs distinguished by differences in size, morphology, and leaf position,
were found on each leaf whorl. For convenience they were designated large, small,
and stem bladders. An analysis showed that the prey captured differed between
trap types with regards to size and type. Widths of bladder trap doors were
shown to be correlated to prey lengths in large (p < 0.05) and small (p < 0.001)
but not in stem bladders. Cladevoaeva were the most abundant prey type (>50%)
in all three bladder types. Analyses of prey size showed that all prey caught
by each bladder type were different in size (p < 0.001; large > stem > small).
Cladoceva caught by small and stem bladders were equal in size (p = 0.55) , but
those caught by large bladders were shown to be large (p < 0.001). Glandular
trichomes present on each of the three bladder types were described. They undergo
a developmental sequence which culminates in a bacterially colonized corona of
mucilage surrounding the bulbous head cell.

A detailed analysis of the adult substrate distribution and larval site selection
activities of P. beauahampi were undertaken. This sessile rotifer was found to
be limited to the vestibular or trap door region of the large bladder of U. vul¬
gavis, although four other congeneric species were present. The presence or
absence of captured prey was unimportant to adult distribution. Larval selection
experiments confirmed these field observations. Observations were made on larvae
of known ages. Five age classes were described in which morphology, swimming
behavior and speed, reaction to substrates, and probability of settling all
differ. Larvae undergo characteristic behavioral movements when encountering
U. vulgavis large bladder vestibules. They will attach to the substrate then
bend over from the point of attachment, touch the substrate, straighten up and
repeat the process again and again, advancing to the left or right and eventually
circumscribing a circle. Glandular trichomes which have attained a certain stage
of development stimulate larvae to settle. A hypothetical mechanism for larval
substrate selection is presented, and the supportive evidence is discussed.

Larval site selection activity including the behavioral movements, permanent
attachment and metamorphosis, is begun when larvae tactually sense a stimulus
unique to U. vulgavis large bladders. This stimulus is relatively stable and of
plant and not bacterial origin. It is associated with glandular trichomes which
have attained a certain developmental state. Characteristic of this stage is
the formation of a bacterial-mucilage complex. However, the mucilage is not the
source of the larval settling stimulus. The stimulus may be chemical in nature
arising from the head cell of the glandular trichome.

Woelkerling, W. J. Wisconsin desmids: I Aufwuchs and plankton communities of selected
acid bogs, alkaline bogs, and closed bogs. Hydrobiologica 4 8 ( 3 ) : 209-32 . 1976 .

The greatest diversity of the plankton community at a given site occurred in
association with the macrophyte host Utviculavia . The author discusses the rela¬
tionships between the occurrence of desmid genera and parameters of the chemical
environment among the 28 acid bogs, 5 alkaline bogs and 12 closed bogs found in
the state.

Zahl, P. A. Southwest Australia's wild gardens: Bizarre and beautiful. Nat.
Geoqraphic 150, No. 6:858-68. 1976.

This article describes some plant species which have developed some strange and
beautiful adaptations to the harsh environment. Included in the list of
described species are Cephalotus folliculavis (a splendid photo!), Dvoseva
pulahella and Dvoseva platypoda.

SOURCES

We are offering an update of the annual list of carnivorous plant commercial sources.
It is our experience that spring is the best season to order these plants. We do not
endorse any of these sources. Those sources who have volunteered a letter stating
that all stock is propagated rather than scavenged from the field, are listed first
and marked ( *) .

Name and Address

Catalogue

Geneva

SUN DEW ENVIRONMENTS *
P.O. Box 111
Denver, NY 12421

50C Dionaea, Drosera,

Sarracenia, Pinguicula,
Darlingtonia , Utricularia

WORLD INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS * Self-addressed
Rt. 1, Box 338S stamped envelope

Arroye Grande, CA 93420 or 25C

Dionaea, Drosera,
Utricularia ,
Byblis liniflora

Vol . VI, No. 1

CPN

- 21

Carolina Exotic Gardens

Box 1492

Greenville, NC 27834

25C

Sarracenia, Dari ingtonia ,
Dionaea

Peter Paul Nurseries

Darcey Road

Canandaigua, NY 14424

25C

Dionaea, Drosera,

Sarracenia, Pinguicula,
Darlingtonia , Utricularia,
Nepenthes seed

Armstrong Associates, Inc.

Box 94

Kennebunk, ME 04043

250

Dionaea, Drosera,

Sarracenia, Pinguicula
Darlingtonia

Arthur E. Allgrove

North Wilmington, MA 01887

250

Dionaea, Sarracenia,
Pinguicula, Drosera,
Darlingtonia

Insectivorous Botanical Garden

P. 0. Box 5

Hampstead, NC 28443

250

Dionaea, Drosera,

Sarracenia, Darlingtonia,
Pinguicula

Edelweis Gardens

54 Robbinsville-Allentown Road
Robbinsville , NJ 08691

350

Dionaea, Drosera,

Sarracenia, Darlingtonia
Nepenthes

Tote Em in Zoo

Route 2, Box 368

Wilmington, NC 28401

250

Drosera, Sarracenia,
Pinguicula (Sells in
large quantities only)

Marcel Lecoufle

5 Rue de Paris

94470 Boissy-Saint-Leger , France

Inquire

Drosera, Dionaea,

Sarracenia, Nepenthes,
Darlingtonia, Pinguicula

Harold Welsh

Black Copper Kits

266 Kipp Street

Hackensack, NJ 07601

250

Dionaea, Drosera,

Sarracenia, Darlingtonia

A FEW REFERENCE BOOKS (Not available through CPN. Order direct from publisher or
your local bookshop.) * = Book intended primarily for children.

Title

Author

Publisher

Source - Cost

Insectivorous Plants

Charles Darwin

John Murray

2nd Hand Bookstores

Plants of Prey in
Australia

Rica Erickson

Univ. of W.A.

Press 1968

Inter. Scholarly

Book Services

2130 Pacific Ave .
Forest Grove, OR 97116
$10.00 postpaid

Carnivorous Plants

F. E. Lloyd

Chronica Botanica
1942 & Dover Pub.

2nd Hand Bookstores
Soft Cover (1976)

Carnivorous Plants

Randall Schwartz

Praeger Publishers
1974

111 4th Ave., New York
NY 10003 $6.95

Carnivorous Plants

Randall Schwartz

Avon Books (soft
cover) 1975

959 Eighth Avenue, New
York, NY 10019 $1.25

Carnivorous Plants

Anabel Dean

Lerner Publications
1975

241 First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55401
$3.95

The World of
Carnivorous Plants

J. and P.
Pietropaolo

R. J. Stoneridge

1974

Peter Pauls Nurseries
$6.30

Insect-Eating Plants

* L. and G. Poole

T. Y. Crowell

1963

666 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10003
$4.50

Carnivorous Plants *

John F. Waters

Franklin Watts,

Inc. 1974

845 Third Avenue,

New York, NY 10022
$3 . 90

22

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 1

Plants that
Animals *

Eat

Linda Bentley

McGraw-Hill Book
Company 1968

1221 Ave . of
New York, NY
$4.72

Americas

10036

CP of the U.
Canada

. S. and

D. E. Schnell

John F. Blair,
Publisher 1976

1406 Plaza Dr
Winston-Salem
$19.95 (+35C

■. SW

i, NC 27103
postage)

Cultivating

Carnivorous

Plants

Allen Swenson

Doubleday & Co.

1977

Garden City,
$7.95

NY 11535

The following CP books mentioned in our listing can be purchased from B. Dalton,
Bookseller, 303 B Tanforan Park, El Camino Real & Sneath Ln., San Bruno, CA 94066.
Attn: Chuck.

Carnivorous Plants — Randall Schwartz. $6.95 hardcover (1974), $1.25 paperback
(1974)

Cultivating Carnivorous Plants — Allen Swenson. $7.95 (1977)

Carnivorous Plants — Donald Schnell. $20.00 (1976)

Carnivorous Plants--F. E. Lloyd. $4.50 (1976)

These books can be mailed anywhere for a handling fee of 75C. California residents
should add sales tax.

International Bookfinders are the people to contact as a source of books that are
out of print. They circulate a newsletter around the country to used book stores
listing books that are being sought. When they locate the book, they contact you
with price information plus their service fee. You are not obligated to buy the
book if the price is too excessive for you. They are a reputable firm. The address:

International Bookfinders, Inc.

P. O. Box 1

Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

THE CPN SHOP

We are providing CPN members the privilege of ordering CP books published in Japan.
They are written in Japanese, but many of them are generously interspersed with
excellent pictures both in color and B&W. Books that we offered in the past are
now sold out or out of print. So, while a limited supply lasts, we offer the
following books at prices that include all postage (overseas and domestic) . Please
send your check or money order to J. Mazrimas before April 20, 1977. Expect a delay
of two or three months before you receive the books you ordered. All books sent by
surface mail.

Author

Title

Pages

Price

Shimizu

The Mystery of Carnivorous Plants

54

3 . 50

Suzuki

Insectivorous Plants (Cult, and Coll.)

168

2.50

Aldrovanda vesiculosa at Hanyu-City

32

5.25

Rondo

Carnivorous Plants

292

8 . 50

Komiya

Syst. Studies on Lentibular iaceae (Eng.)

124

10.50

Kurata, S.

Nepenthes of Mt. Kinabalu (Eng.)

80

5.00

OTHER ITEMS FOR SALE

WORLD LIST OF CARNIVOROUS PLANTS. An updated list of all species with synonymy
and native areas mentioned. While based broadly in Index Kewensis, many refer¬
ences and experts were consulted during the task of preparing this worldwide listing.
Limited Supply - 60t postpaid surface, $1.20 air overseas.

THE 1976 CPN SUBSCRIBER LISTING. A current listing of 1976 CPN members arranged
according to country and zip code rather than in alphabetical order. Limited number
of copies left - $1.00 postpaid surface, $2.00 air overseas.

To order any of the above items, send payment to J. A. Mazrimas, 329 Helen Way,
Livermore, CA 94550.

We wish to thank Chris Sowers , a graduate student at UNCE, for the Botanist's
Corner and Want Ads logos.

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY. CIRCLE
CORRECT LETTER BEFORE EACH ITEM.

NAME

STREET _

CITY & ZIP

w

T

S

B

1)

w

T

S

B

2)

w

T

s

B

3)

w

T

s

B

4)

w

T

s

B

5)

w

T

s

B

6)

w

T

s

B

7)

w

T

s

B

8)

w

T

s

B

9)

w

T

s

B

10)

Make checks or money orders payable
to the ARBORETUM FOUNDATION FUND.

WANT ADS

Above is a standardized form for submitting your want ads. There is a charge
of ten cents per numbered item with a limit of 10 items per person per issue
of CPN or one dollar maximum. Also, you see four letters before each item
which stands for Want, Trade, Sell or Buy. Please print all information
clearly for best results and to eliminate mistakes. The Want Ads are limited
to carnivorous plants, terrariums, greenhouses, and moss.

Send coin or check along with the form to: Arboretum, Want Ads

California State University
Fullerton, CA 92634

All funds derived from this department will go for costs of an extra large
issue of CPN or more pictures. So support your CPN!

SPECIAL NOTICE

Please be sure to note that the address for both the reprints of back issues
of CPN and subscriptions are the same. Checks should be made payable to
ARBORETUM FOUNDATION FUND in both cases.

The co-editors of CPN would like everyone to pay particular attention to
the following policies regarding your subscription to CPN:

All complaints about missing issues, pages, damaged issues and lost issues
should be sent to the Arboretum and NOT to the co-editors. Please explain
fully your problem and any attempts you made on your own to correct them.

Any change of address should also be sent to the Arboretum.

All material for publication, comments and general correspondence about
your plants, field trips or special noteworthy events relative to CP should
be directed to one of the co-editors. We are interested in all news related
to carnivorous plants and rely on the membership to supply us with this
information so that we can share it with others. Comments on the new
publisher, new printing and mailing service will be greatly appreciated.

Names and addresses of the publisher and the co-editors will be found in
each issue under our bannerhead.

0

PHOTOS WANTED

We are very interested in having prints of your photographs relating to
carnivorous plants. Photos should be glossy, black and white with good
contrast, and not too large (3x5 is a good size) . Please include some
item, such as a toothpick, in the photo for size reference. Also, please
provide us with a description.

t?Z9Z6 VD

A^TSJSATUn

S9DU9TDS "[BOTbOIOTg JO

'uo^aanng
btujojtxbo
juauij jredaci

wnianoanv 3h,l

CARNIVOROUS
PLANT

NEWSLETTER

VOLUME VI, NO. 2*
June, 1977

Close-up of Venus Flytrap, Dionaea mus aipula . Note the trigger hairs.
Photo by Steven A. Frowine, The Garden Center of Greater Cleveland.

24

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 2

EDITOR 1 S CORNER

The Editors sincerely wish to apologize for any inconvenience that resulted from the
snafu in the California State University's mailroom that caused the loss of all mail¬
ings outside the United States. Replacement issues have been sent to all those whose
subscriptions were in at the time of the first mailing. If you still haven't received
your first issue by the time you are reading these words, please notify The Arboretum.
Future mailings will be handled by us bypassing the mailroom. In any case, claims for
missing numbers should always be sent to The Arboretum.

L. Song has noted that, due to his oversight, the World List was not included in the
first printing of the back issues. If you have ordered Vol. Ill from the Arboretum
and the World List was not included, please notify them and a World List will be sent
at no cost.

SEED/PLANT EXCHANGE NEWS

Revision of the Seed/Plant Exchange continues as noted in the News & Views Column.

The former Seed/Plant Exchange List will now be issued on an annual basis as a listing
only of CP that any particular individual has. These will be computerized and offset
printed resulting in a more permanent record and will be sent to anyone who orders
them. A charge will now have to be made as we cannot expect the Biology Dept, and the
University to pay the cost of printing and mailing as before. For the US, Canada and
Mexico, $1.00 surface, first class; all others $2.00 air, first class. These can be
henceforth ordered when renewing your subscription to CPN, or upon ordering back vol¬
umes, or separately. We regret taking this step, but we feel that our activities
should be on a self-supporting basis as much as possible.

SEED BANK NEWS

We have selected Patrick Dwyer (St. Michael's Episcopal Church; 49 Killean Park;
Albany, NY 12205; USA) as the keeper of the Seed Bank. Please address all inquiries
about seed to him with regards to availability. Cost will be $.50 per packet. Per¬
sons wishing to donate seed should note date of collection, name, source of plants
from which seed was gathered (wild or cultivated) , and any other information, espe¬
cially if the seed was wild collected. Send to him as soon as possible for maximum
viability. There should be sufficient seed for at least 10 packets each which would
be enough to sow an area approximately 5cm/2 inches in diameter in the case of fine
seed and at least 25 seeds for larger seeded species. Credit will be given that will
entitle the donor to a free packet for each species donated. The inventory of the
Seed Bank will be given in each issue of CPN.

We are pleased to announce the April publication of THE GREEN PAGES: A COMPLETE
INDOOR PLANT CATALOGUE. This publication is full of information of dozens of
different indoor plants and contains a wealth of information on clubs, newsletters,
equipment, books, and plant sources. Our own CPN and CP are described within its
pages. This book sells for $7.95 and may be ordered from Random House/Ballantine
Books, Order Entry, Westminster, Maryland 21157.

CONGRATULATIONS to SCOTT RICHARDSON on winning the Beginner's Corner Logo Contest.
Scott's design, which appears on the next page, wins him a free subscription to CPN
for 1978.

CO-EDITORS:

Leo Song
The Arboretum
Dept, of Biology
California State Univ.
Fullerton, CA 92634

PUBLISHER: The Arboretum, Dept, of Biology, California State University, Fullerton,

CA 92634. Published quarterly with one volume annually. Circulation:

665 (361 new, 304 renewal). Subscriptions: $5.00 annually (U.S., Canada,
Mexico); $7.00 annually (all others, airmail).

D.E. Schnell
Rt. 4, Box 275B
Statesville, NC 28677

J . A . Mazrimas
329 Helen Way
Livermore, CA 94550

T.L. Mellichamp
Dept, of Biology
UNCC

Charlotte, NC 28223

Vol . VI, No. 2

CPN

25

corner

by Larry Mellichamp

LIGHT

Of all the essential factors involved with good plant growth, light is perhaps the
most important. Even with carnivorous plants, where proper soil and water are of
critical concern, light is still probably the most important cultural factor.

What is light and why is it so important that growers often spend hundreds of dollars
on artificial light fixtures or greenhouses to let in more light? Visible white
light as we see it is actually a mixture of colors, literally all of the colors of
the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. In addition, infrared
and ultraviolet are non-visible portions of this spectrum which may affect plant
growth, the former producing heat and the latter producing strong radiation which
may burn. Red and blue light are the most important colors for plant growth.

First of all, light is important because it is the energy source by which green
plants manufacture their basic food materials. They need soil only for essential
inorganic elements such as copper, iron, sulfur, etc., in very small quantities.

The rest of their raw materials come from the air and water. Even carnivorous
plants produce the vast majority of their food by this method called photosynthesis,
feeding on insects as a nutrient (especially nitrogen) supplement.

Second, light is very important in the life cycle of most plants because it acts
as nature's timing regulator. The length of day and quality of light help determine
when a plant is to start growing in the spring, when to flower and set seed in the
summer, and when to go into dormancy in the fall in rhythm with the naturally occur¬
ring seasons. Of course, temperature plays a part in completing the cycle, but light
is the main environmental trigger.

How much light is necessary? For many carnivorous plants, you can't give them
too much — THE LOVE IT. This goes for all the native North American species.

Some species from other parts of the world, however, require less than full sun
(which is normally about 10,000 footcandles of light at high noon in eastern U.S.).
Those types which prefer some shade would include Nepenthes Cephalotus , and some
tropical Droseras , U tricularias } and Pinguieulas.

How does one provide adequate light? Natural sunlight, of course, is ideal — in a
greenhouse or out in the open. Unfortunately, plants grown in a greenhouse will
get too hot in the summer due to the build-up of heat (the "greenhouse effect")
and shading is always required. This shading (either whitewash material applied
to the greenhouse covering directly, or shade-cloth) cuts down on the total amount
of light reaching the plants, but allows the shade-requiring types to be grown with
relatively little light problems. Also, greenhouse coverings (glass or plastic)
filter our ultraviolet rays and the plants are protected from such exposure. Thus,
you should never place greenhouse-grown plants abruptly in full sunlight because
they will burn. Expose them gradually. When plants are grown in full sun, or
strong light intensities either under glass or under artificial light, they develop
varying amounts of red coloration in the leaves and stems, especially young leaves.
This is a protective device, much like tanning in humans, which prevents the leaves
from being burned. This red pigment production is a natural response, and is often
desirable in cultivation as it brings out the "heal thy-looking" colors in the plants.
Like tanning, however, it may not be desirable in the long run; but it is the price
the plant pays for being able to endure the intense sunlight where maximum photo¬
synthesis can occur.

Now just because you don't have a greenhouse doesn't mean you can't grow CP. Half
days or more sun through a window may be enough for satisfactory growth in many
types, as long as the plants don't get too hot by being too close to the glass.

If you grow CP in a terrarium, do not let it stand tightly closed where direct sun's
rays will strike it, or there will be a build-up of heat inside and you can liter¬
ally boil your plants.

26

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 2

Artificial light indoors is fast becoming a very popular and effective way to grow
carnivorous plants. The plants would best be grown in large terraria, either planted
out or kept in individual pots, where relatively high humidity can be maintained.

The heights of the plants must be considered, but it is usually the smaller types
which are best suited for this arrangement. The major problems have been to provide
adequate light without heat build-up; and to provide the proper colors of the spec¬
trum most useful to the plants, so that they grow and look natural. Fluorescent
lights are highly preferred because they are cooler and cheaper to operate than
incandescent lights. A mixture of cool white and wide spectrum Gro-lux seems to be
optimal as far as providing the proper mixture of blue and red light at a reasonable
cost. For example, a fixture holding 4, 48", 40-watt tubes suspended several inches
above the plants would provide for satisfactory growth in most species. The more
light fixtures you have, the better for light-loving plants. Usually the lights are
set on an automatic timer to shine from 14-18 hours a day. Natural timing will be
altered, but most carnivorous plants will grow (and flower) as long as these condi¬
tions are maintained. Providing artificial dormancy during the winter is desirable
for temperate species and this may be accomplished by gradually decreasing the length
of the artificial "day" each day over a period of six weeks, then placing the plants
in a cool place for several weeks, to simulate winter conditions: 40°F and eight-hour
day length. Dormancy requirements will be discussed more fully in a later article.
For more information on indoor light gardening in general, consult the excellent
popular books by Fitch or Elbert.

In the next issue, Don Schnell will discuss temperature and dormancy.

Q. I would like to know how to control the
black rot that destroys CP's, especially

Dionaea, Pinguiaula and Drosera? G.M. ,

Mission Viejo, CA.

A. Most CP rot under one of three circumstances:
1) Growth in undrained container without
proper attention--beginners should use drain-
hole containers; 2) Damage to rhizome through
handling; 3) Forcing growth during dormancy,
sometimes unwittingly, such as too warm winter
greenhouse or not making proper adjustments
when growing under lights. (Light growers
must make annual cyclic adjustments when grow¬
ing temperate plants!)

Q. Of all my Sarraaenia , I have the most trouble growing S. rubra ssp. jonesii.
Why? J.M., Livermore, CA.

A. I have no trouble growing S. rubra ssp. jonesii. It is in drained pots with

live sphagnum. For some reason, the plants do not do as well outdoors in this
climate, likely because of the cyclic periods of warm weather during the winter
which partially breaks dormancy, conditions they are subjected to less in the
colder mountains. Here in central North Carolina, the best plants do very well
in my cool Sarraaenia greenhouse with minimum nighttime temps down to 40°F.

This is certainly warmer than the mountains, but does not provide as violent a
swing. Steady slightly warm temps are better than wide swings throughout the
winter .

Q. What is the preferred pronunciation for the species of Sarraaenia known as
leucophyllal R.H., Arroyo Grande, CA.

A. I pronounce leuaophylla as leuaophy ll ' a . According to the strict Latin rules,

it would be pronounced leuao ' phy lla , enunciating the third from the last syllable.
D.B. Jackson's Glossary of Botanic Terms, a sort of standard classic work, gives
pronunciation as I do, leuaophy ll ' a . Likewise for purpurea : Jackson gives it
as purpur'ea, as I would pronounce it. However, I often hear it purpure'a. The
purpu'rea is according to the rule; the latter is not, but is like the pronun¬
ciation of leuaophy ll ’ a-- so there is no consistency. I think a lot has to do
with sound and ease of saying the syllables in each case. Hope this helps.

Vol . VI, No. 2

CPN

27

NEWS AND VIEWS

JOE MAZRIMAS writes: Recently, I made three observations regarding some aspects of
CP that I would like to share with CPN subscribers. First, I noticed a dramatic im¬
provement in the growth and flowering of the Mexican Pinguiculas after a one-time
watering of lime water. A thimbleful of hydrated agricultural lime was added to a
pint of deionized water and shaken vigorously for two minutes. A cupful was poured
into each pot and I tried to avoid splashing any on the plant leaves. Most of the
plants are growing in an even mixture of perlite and living sphagnum moss. I continued
to water them with deionized water and I noticed a rapid spurt of growth after about
3-4 weeks followed by the production of many flower spikes. The plants that were af¬
fected the most were: P. x kewensis, P. caudata, P. hirti flora, P. gypsicola, P. ooli-
mensis, P. oblongiloba. Many of these species were even stimulated to have secondary
buds growing out of the mother plant. I use this treatment about twice a year and
have been satisfied with it for several years. This treatment mimics the calcelarious
soil and gypsum-like formations where the plants grow naturally. Second, I'm glad to
finally see some careful research into the digestive activities of carnivorous plants
with the surprising results reported by Chandler and Anderson of Australia (see litera¬
ture review, CPN VI, No. 1) . It seems to me that microbiologists should become more
involved with the role that various microorganisms play in synergism with the plant's
endogenous enzymes to provide nutrients for pitcher plants as well as Dr os era. In
many cases, the pitcher becomes just the pot or incubator for the bacterial soup and
may be the dominant factor in digesting the captured organisms. As these two biochem¬
ists point out, the complicated numbers of various species of bacteria and other
microorganisms exist in an ecological niche which is important to the growth and well¬
being of various CP. The plant's enzymes play such an insignificant role in the whole
digestion process that I wonder if these plants are indeed carnivorous in the strict
sense of the term or are they just taking advantage of more useful and powerful means
at their disposal over the course of evolution. A more quantitative assessment of this
situation should be taken up by others in the field so that we may know the actual role
that microorganisms contribute to these plants.

Third, I had the opportunity of irradiating some seed with ionizing radiation of the
gamma type. Dionaea seed were divided into lots and irradiated with varying doses from
5,000 rads to 25,000 rads in 5,000 rad increments. I sowed the seed on peat moss and
noted the results. In this preliminary report, I observed that there was a considerable
delay in germination with the higher doses— as much as 90 days. Also, seed killing was
proportional to radiation dose, i.e. only about 10-15% of the total seed germinated at
25,000 rads. The seedlings that survived at this dose grew extremely slowly and in
fact some never grew beyond the cotyledon stage. They seemed to have a central corm-
like growth from which the new leaves emerged. All parts of these plants seemed normal
in shape and size but there was some uneveness in the anthocyanin coloration inside the
traps which made the trap look striped. On the other hand, the low doses and in parti¬
cular the 5,000 rad dose gave surprising results. First, these seeds germinated before
the control seed by 5-7 days. They grew very fast and in fact, in a year's time they
were about twice as large as the control plants. Also, the plants will probably mature
faster although they haven't flowered yet. I surmise that the radiation stimulated the
hormone system in the seed stage so that it became activated sooner than normal plants
or the radiation might have unbalanced the normal hormone system so that growth hormones
were relatively less damaged by the radiation.

BILL HANNA sends us information that many of the tuberous species of Drosera are said
to have HCN or prussic acid, a deadly poison. Although no records of feeding tests
have been noted in the literature, some of the species suspected as poisonous in
Australia are: D. auriculata, D. peltata , whittakeri and D. spathulata . These spe¬
cies were listed in a book titled: Poisonous Plants of Australia by Selwyn L. Everist.

DAVID TAYLOR suggests that it would be a good idea to have photographs of CPN sub¬
scribers in the newsletter at some time for it would be interesting for many CP col¬
lectors to see photos of their friends in other lands with whom they have been
corresponding.

DAVID GRABER writes: I grow Sarracenia flava outdoors in a pot, where it does quite
well in Berkeley's climate. This fall I noticed that a small population of Argentine
ants, Iridomyrmex humilis , was established in the live moss of the pot. These ants
were climbing the stalks of the Sarracenia and entering their pitchers. The young
pitchers successfully captured the ants that entered them. In the older pitchers,
however, the ants were able to enter the pitchers and escape with parts of the insects
captured there, presumably because these older pitchers had lost their slick inner
surfaces. Thus there was an energetic trade-off between the ant colony and the
pitcher plant, an ad-hoc symbiosis of sorts, in which ants were sacrificed to the
young pitchers that could best utilize them, in exchange for food from the older
pitchers that were no longer efficiently utilizing the captured food resource.

28

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 2

STEVE ROSE writes: Why not look for pygmy Drosera in areas between roads and high¬
ways? It's because many pygmy Drosera grow at their best along roadside ditches.

In virgin bush, they are scattered, miserable and hard to find. There are very
large tracts of native virgin woodlands in Australia all bearing some CPs. Intro¬
duced grasses choked out all but the hardiest CPs and animals destroy them underfoot.
When the hard mulching dirt around the base of the pygmy Drosera is disturbed or
moved, it soon dies in summer. This is true for most CPs except for Cephalotus and
Drosera bulbosa hills. The D. bulbosa grows like a weed in some places like football
ovals and caravan parks where there is adequate water and grass being cut to keep
shade to a minimum. I have even seen this Drosera actually overtake couch grass in
one place and choke it out. The pygmy plants formed a maroon red carpet with almost
no visible portions of soil or grass between.

I recognize two distinct clones of Nepenthes mirabilis from North Queensland. They
are the WEIPA form from the northwest coast of Cape York Peninsula which has a
smaller and fatter pitcher. The BAMAGA form is from the northeast coast of C.Y.P.
and has a long and narrow pitcher. The plants remain constant to each area in
growth .

Here are some more observations on Byblis gigantea in the field. Byblis is indis¬
criminately pollinated by a rather fat native bee who goes around and shakes the
twisted stamens by "buzzing" them with his abdomen. The pollen is released in a
small puff and off he goes on to the next one. I saw this happen a few weeks ago
and the bee did not release great amounts of pollen because I have seen more released
from wind movement as I mentioned before.

Is Byblis carnivorous?* Only a positive test can prove it one way or another. There
are some interesting habits that should not be overlooked. It shares with most
pygmy Droseras a symbiotic relationship with Assassin bugs. There are three differ¬
ent kinds on Byblis but pygmy Droseras seem to have only one type per species or
share one. One of the bugs on Byblis is on Drosera plants also. Byblis also has a
sweet smell. Why should a plant develop a sweet odor to attract insects and then
they would serve no other purpose other than to eat the plant if it was not carnivor¬
ous or did not have sticky glands or Assassin bugs. Perhaps it attracts and catches
insects solely for the Assassin bugs? Who knows? And for what purpose? These
carnivorous plants are attacked by thrips and aphids which Assassin bugs devour with
gusto. In fact, I had two pots of D. drummondi , one with and one without its rele¬
vant bug. The one without was infested with aphids and almost rotted while the other
pot remained untouched and not an aphid to be seen. Why should Byblis have the
sweet, sticky glands. Assassin bugs when it may get by without these factors? Byblis
is really a desert-like plant in the Northern areas. It grows in a mixture of coarse
laterite (ironstone) and quartz. This area receives rain all in a 3-4 month period
between May and August. Less than 18 inches of rain falls per year. It can go about
6-8 months without as much as one drop of rain. Pygmy Droseras (D. drummondi, D.
leucoblasta) and tuberous Droseras (D. maerantha, D. erythrorhiza and D. pallida)
survive here also. So if the Droseras survive these desert conditions, then the
carnivorous habit can also survive in the form of Byblis gigantea .

BOB WALLACE has informed us that there is a newsletter devoted to naturalists inter¬
ested in rotifers and called the ROTIFER NEWS. Perhaps some CPN readers are interested
in these little animals. Three issues have already been published, the cost is free,
and back issues can still be obtained. Write: Dr. JJ Gilbert, Editor, Rotifer News,
Dept, of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755.

BILL NETHERBY writes: 1. Schnell's article in Vol. Ill, Issue 3, p. 35, on moth
larvae pests . . . anybody tried controlling larvae with Bacillus thuringiensis ?

(Two trade names are "Thuricide" and "Biotrol") It's a biological control harmful
(as far as I know) only to lepidoptera and is used on oak moth and webworm infest¬
ations. There isn't any phytotoxic effect.

2. Concerning chemicals (for pests and diseases) that have bad effects . . . some

excellent information based on current research with tropical foliage crops is
available in issues of "Florida Foliage Grower" (free subscription), c/o Institute
of Food ' and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla. 32601.

An article on "Soil-Borne Fungus Diseases" (and their control) is in the March
1976 issue, (Vol. 13, #3) and notes on plant damage from fungicides. A warning
note: back issues are variously unobtainable; both budget and quantities per

issue are very limited. Last year I learned that the complete set of "F.F.G."

"will be offered by the Ornamental Horticulture Club at a donation cost of $65.00
per set." (Checks payable to the O.H. Club, 101 Rolfs Hall, University of Florida,
Gainesville, Fla. 32601.)

I think these publications are very useful to all growers of exotics, CP species,
et al. The sensitivity of many plants to chemicals such as Cygon, TEPP, etc.,
shows the commonality between many plant families.

Vol . VI, No. 2

CPN

29

3. Still on chemicals . . . cytokinins were just mentioned in the Bromeliad
Society Journal, Jan-Feb/77, pp. 31-33: "Induction of Lateral Growths on
Vrieseas by Cytokinins." Some bromeliads, like some CP species, offer very
little propagation material per season. Encouraging multiple offsets on species
that normally produce one annually with cytokinins is exciting in its possible
applications by CP growers. The compound in the article is N6- (benzylamino ) -
9H-purine ( N 6 -benzyladenine ) mostly non-soluble in water. The author made a 2%-
strength salve in a mixture with anhydrous lanolin. It was applied to both plant
and flower scape, results positive on both in a matter of weeks. What the cyto¬
kinins do is to activate dormant meristematic tissue just beneath the surface,
gently scarifying the bark of "skin" especially at nodes and leaf bases, then
applying the salve is recommended.

4. CP seed germination and energy conservation tip: I use my stove top for starting
seeds. A pot of water over the pilot light, with a cookie tray covering it, pots

of seeds sitting on the tray. Soil temperatures stay at 27°C. (about 80°F.) I also
have near-hot water in the morning for preparing breakfast and tea.

5. Artificial lighting: I've grown CP species under balanced fluorescent lighting,
using about the same as everybody regarding fixtures, but I manage to get the most
out of the light intensity as possible. I conserve or maximize the foot-candle
production by surrounding the terrarium or propagating chamber with panels painted
flat white. About 90% or more of the light is reflected back to the plants. Shiny
aluminum tinfoil used for cooking is almost as effective, reflecting 80-85%. While
I'm playing around with numbers and the issue of conservation, using conventional
incandescent fixtures (the old "light bulbs") wastes about 80% of the electricity
invested, converting the energy into either heat or unusable light waves . . .
according to one publication (Kent State University) . Conversely, the right fluor¬
escent tube wastes only 10-15% of the energy.

6. I'd like to see articles on research into CP species' "biological clocks" . . .
i.e. many species' stolid "attention" to the calendar, despite attempts by growers
to change the plants' growing seasons. The article by Clemesha (Vol. Ill, #1, p. 13)
mentioned his problems with Darlingtonia in Australia.

Has anyone managed with success to overcome this difficulty so common to plants from
def ined-season areas?

7. I hope there'll be reports in CPN covering the effects of this last winter on
CP species and their habitats (in the eastern U.S.A) .

Also, I'd like to hear how western U.S. species have fared as a result of the
current drought.

8. Seed propagation: Has anybody used thiourea on species with seeds that tend to
stay dormant through the winter? This chemical was referred to by Dara Emery in
"Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" (Feb/1964), a 14-page booklet
(Vol. I, #10) one of the issues of "Leaflets of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden"
(address is 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105) and the cost is $1.00.

Emery describes "internal dormancy" caused by alkaloid chemicals. Soaking the seed
in thiourea straight or mixed with sulfuric acid or gibberellic acid has been used
on California species (proportions not given) .

The booklet covers no CP ssp. but deals with many herbaceous and woody plants with
"problem seeds" much like Byhlis gigantea . Tried-and-true methods of seed treat¬
ment are listed along with several hundred taxa native to California.

PHILIP THOMAS writes: I would like to report a Dionaea that I collected near
Hampstead, N.C. that has an exceptional number of trigger hairs. An instance of
this was also reported by Mr . A. Simon in CPN Vol. Ill, No. 3, p. 33. At first I
noticed an irregular number on one lobe, six, and then also I noticed that its
mate had four. This aroused my ciriosity, so I checked around for more on that
plant. On almost every trap there was an irregular number of these. I suppose it
may be a genetic mutation. On this particular plant, four trigger hairs on each
lobe seemed to be the dominant number. Several of the other plants in its vicinity
had slight variations in trigger hair numbers. If anyone is seriously interested
in this occurrence and might like to a research project on it, let me know and I
will try to send you a cutting or some seed of this plant, depending on how well
it does this spring and other circumstances.

I had a worm (caterpillar, more correctly) caught in a Dionaea trap. I noticed it
on January 31. The posterior 1/3 of it had been caught. I observed it every day
until February 6, when it apparently died. That's right; it had been living with
its posterior section in a trap for an entire week! About the 3rd, I checked to
see if it had been possibly eating the trap for a source of food, but no damage
had been done. It had woven several strands of "silk" on the cilia of the traps,
but other than that, no harm had been done. I was hoping that it would live until

30

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 2

the lobe reopened to see if it would get caught again, but I did not get to find
this out. If anyone else has had a similar occurrence, please let me know.

Oddities like this always fascinate me.

I know this might sound silly, but just out of curiosity, I once fed a Dionaea
lobe a "Dynamint." I thought that the trap would shortly reopen because of no
continued stimulation of the trigger hairs, or else quickly rot the trap, but I
was proven wrong. Two weeks later, the trap was still closed, quickly pouring
digestive fluids over its "victim." It was pouring out all sides of the trap and
was interesting to observe. About one week after that, it reopened with a small
undigested portion that had stuck to the lobe with only a very slight browning
around the edge of one lobe. After two more weeks, this darkening has not spread,
so I guess it was just because of direct contact with its "prey" for so long. This
plant definitely has a "sweet tooth." (Tooth!?)

DON BURDEN writes to tell us of a method of rooting Nepenthes : Take a clear plastic
cup (3in x 4in high) and fill it with a one inch layer of perlite and fill the rest
with live sphagnum, perlite and fine tree-fern fiber (4:2:1) . Make five drain holes
in the bottom by melting the plastic with a hot nail.

Take four leaf cuttings, pinch off the growing tip, cut the ends at a 45° angle and
cut back the leaves so that there is about 2 inches left. Dip the entire cutting
in benomyl solution (1 tsp/gal) for a minute and coat the cut surfaces with rootone.
Place a piece of wetted fine bark at the bottom of the cutting so that a callous
will form. The cuttings are then buried half way into the moss and a plastic bag is
secured by a rubber band. One turn of a heating cable can be wrapped around the cup.
Water when the cup is nearly dry and only with distilled or boiled rain water. The
cuttings should root in 4-6 weeks but leave them alone until roots are seen clearly
and then repot in 6 inch plastic pots. I have rooted a cutting of N. x hoissiense
var. rubra using this method.

BILL HANNA writes about his most recent trip to Taiwan: I visited with Professor
Fan-Tuang Kuo who published two papers ("Studies on Droseraceae of Taiwan" and
"Studies on Lentibulariacea of Taiwan", published in the Biological Bulletin of
Nat. Taiwan Normal University, published in 1966 and 1968 respectively.) He lives
in a place called Hsin-Chu (pronounced Sin Shoe, which means windy city. If you
ever visit there, you will understand why.) I rang him from Taipei, and we arranged
a day for me to come and visit him. After many hassles, I finally found someone
at the railway station who spoke English (the station master was the only one) , and

I booked my ticket for the day before we left. I got up that morning and went down

to the station to find someone else who could speak English so I could find out what
platform the train left from. After an hour and fifteen minutes, I arrived at Hsin-
Chu. I was met at the station by Professor Kuo and his son. First of all, they
took me into town to meet his wife at her shop; his eldest daughter was there also.
Then we went on a detailed sight-seeing tour of Hsin-Chu, visiting a Buddhist temple
topped by a great enormous statue, which is apparently of the first Chinese Fung Fu
master, who is in some parts worshipped as a god. After that we went to his place
where we had an incredible Cantonese style (I think) Chinese meal. It was so vast
you could not jump over it — apparently his mother and two daughters had been cooking
all morning for us. At a local Chinese Restaurant I would estimate such meals cost
somewhere between $60 and $70. There were two types of soup in gigantic bowls--one
was very fatty and one was gorgeous; it had mushrooms and little bits of shallots.

In amongst that were great tasting meat balls wrapped in a fancy pastry. As far as

I could tell, the meat inside consisted of small pieces of pork, shrimp and perhaps
some beef and poultry. We ate our meal in conjunction with a bowl of fried rice
with a dif f erence--instead of being grains of rice, it was rice noodles. We had
genuine Peking duck, sweet and sour squid, sliced beef with capisican, a plate of
some shell fish (which didn't look very appealing, so I didn't try it), and another
plate of something else which didn't appeal to European tastes. In each plate there
was not just a little bit, but a whole mountain of food.

After lunch we went out to have a look at the local Drosera (burmannii , indica and
spathulata) . To get to where the burmannii and spathulata grew we drove for about
half an hour, over bumpy unpaved country roads, until the road got so narrow we had
to get out and walk, slipping and sliding, almost falling, down the very greasy
narrow yellow clay road. After some walking we went across a dried out rice paddy
and on a little dirt embankment, which was used for maintaining the water level of
the paddy field. Above it were growing numerous plants of spathulata with an occa¬
sional clump of burmannii here and there. From here we hopped in the car and drove
for about another 45 minutes, for the last part down roads that were so narrow that
the wheels of the car fitted very neatly in the gutter on each side of the road.

We got out and climbed up an embankment, hopped over an irrigation channel, and
walked along the top of one of the little risen paths which criss-cross the paddies
so as to allow easy access and to maintain the water levels. We must have spent

Volume VI, No. 2

CPN

31

about an hour looking around the edges of this large field and finally on one of
the inside criss-crosses Professor Kuo found a plant of Drosera indica, and a little
way up we found another, then another until all told we notched up four or five
plants. This quite amazed the Professor, as when he visited the same place two
years ago there were hundreds of them everywhere, and it had taken us over an hour
to find four or five. The sharp drop in numbers he attributed to fertilizers.

There was a farmer working the field; he showed him what we were collecting and
asked him if he knew what had happened to all the plants like we had been collecting
that used to grow there. The farmer didn't know, just that there were hardly any of
them anymore.

On the way home to Taipei (the Professor drove me all that way) Prof. Kuo's generos¬
ity came through again — he gave me two copies of his works in Chinese and one English
translation of the work on Utricularias . He also gave me some large cardboard sheets
with a specimen mounted on each--together they were all the CP that grew in Taiwan.

He also gave me six copper incense burners and six boxes of scented incenses to burn
in them. He said for me to give them as presents to my friends back home as a bit of
Chinese culture. The Professor had an incredible sense of humour and would go into
almost fits of hysteria at the drop of a hat. He has invited me back next year to
go and see the Utrioulavias , which, he said, are found on some islands either to the
south or the north (I am not sure which) . All I know is that it will be a three-day
trip, but I doubt that I will have the cash to go back. One last thing before I
sign off with Taiwan (it's probably not of much importance) : the soil in which
spathulata and burmannii grew was a very sandy yellow clay, whereas the indica was
growing in pure greasy yellow clay. It seemed very strange that the burmannii and
indica were growing there as the weather was freezing cold. There was even snow on
some of the mountains (not close, but the breeze was blowing off it) . What all of
this is leading to is that I thought of these as being tropical to semi-tropical
types. Should you like some I have collected seed of spathulata from Taiwan. The
Professor collected some burmannii and indica for me, but they didn't look like they
would last long enough for me to get home with them, so I gave them to Dorothy and
Kenneth U.

Regarding Nepenthes in Taipei: they have quite a few plants, but there is only one
variety. They don't know which one it is, only that it came from Japan. The place
is called SHIH LIN GARDEN, 604, Chung Shan North Road, Section 5, Shin Lin Taipei,
Taiwan, Republic of China. I bought one myself and successfully smuggled it back
into the country.

Some disturbing news whilst in Singapore: I saw my friend from the Botanic Gardens
a few times, and Mahmud told me that all of the Nepenthes in the secondary jungle
where he had taken me out collecting the year before were gone. They had all been
eradicated by the government. This is really mind-boggling if you could have seen
their numbers and how gorgeous they looked in their natural splendor. It is really
sad that where people are breaking their necks to get Nepenthes there are none;
where they are reasonably common and no one grows them, they are out to destroy them
all. Perhaps CPN readers might be interested in Mahmud's name and address: Mahmud
Bin Awang, C/0 Botanic Gardens, Cluny Road, Singapore 10, Republic of Singapore.

They would have to buy the plants from him, but I would say they would not want to
wait too long or there might be none left for him to collect.

MICHAEL HUNT writes: I had the chance to visit a relic bog in the mountains of
northwestern Virginia. I was told one could find D. rotundi folia and S. purpurea
purpurea in this bog. I was not prepared to go into the bog itself so I confined
all of my observations to the outer edge of the bog, which was bordered by a stream.
Sphagnum grew very lushly on both sides of the bog and formed a thick carpet through¬
out. The only CP I could find, however, was Utricularia , which was growing in scat¬
tered clumps in parts of the stream. I think this Utricularia to be U. intermedia ,
but I'm not sure. I did take home a small clump of sphagnum for closer study.

After about three months the clump was covered with D . rotundi folia , which proved
that this Drosera was growing after all in this fairly large bog even though I did
not see it at first, nor did I ever find S. purpurea purpurea. The next time I'm
in this region I plan to give this area closer attention.

The new book, The Swamp, by Bill Thomas published by W. W. Norton & Company is a
very interesting book. It sells for $24.95 and has over 300 color photos. This
book goes into great detail about many large swamps in the United States. It has
many interesting photos of CP, including Sarracenia, Utricularia , and Drosera. But
by far the best photo is that of a prairie in the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia. This
spectacular photo is that of a huge stand of many hundreds of U. inflata in flower
and covers two pages. This book will prove to be most interesting to those with
interests in swamps.

32

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 2

DON SCHNELL writes: I'm glad everyone received their Nepenthes cuttings in good
order. The reason for the large quantity of Nepenthes gracilis being sent out is
because this plant grows like a weed. We also receive many questions regarding the
availability of plants such as N. x Dicksoniana , x dyeriana, rafflesiana and
ampullaria. These plants have short internodes and although they are growing
superbly here, they are slow growers with little prunable stem elongation. When
they do get long enough to cut, the lower stem is getting woody and it is time to
restart new top cuttings, hence I seldom let them go, although slowly over a period
of years I arrive at a point where there are three or four excess rooted cuttings
to give away. Nepenthes ampullaria also grows slowly and I keep it in fluorescent
terraria indoors since it does not seem to take the heat and sunlight in this part
of the country as well as other species.

PHILIP THOMAS writes: After rereading the article in CPN VI, (1), 7 (1977) on the
exchange, I'm not sure that I understand it clearly. I hope that I am not misinter¬
preting it when it states that the list will show what plants that you own ("simple
inventory") and that it will not tell whether or not you have plants and/or seeds
for trade. This will be absolutely terrible!!! If, for instance, someone had to
list all his plants for trade in the "Want Ads," it would cost him a small fortune,
and with only 10 entries per person, it would take two volumes worth of CPNs to com¬
plete his trading inventory. It is such a convenience now, I would utterly go mad

if I did not know who had what to trade. It would defeat the whole purpose of the

"Exchange" which would then have to be changed to a "List." What good would it do
for anyone?

I am strongly opposed to this, if in fact it is actually what is going to happen,

and I hope that other CPN members let you know. If it is not going to change from

its present way of operation, you need to write a short note of explanation for
misled people like me.

ED: The changes the editors are making in the seed-plant exchange setup are the

result of observing the results of the present setup, reading and hearing many com¬
ments about it, and about a year of discussion among the editors and present custo¬
dians of the exchange. What we have proposed for trial is certainly not permanently
engraved in stone: we have no doubt that additional modif iciations will be necessary,
and--depending on total response — possibly returning to a system much like the pre¬
ceding one if necessary. We therefore encourage all readers to follow suit with
Philip Thomas and let us know how you feel. However, we would respectfully ask that
you give the system a try for a year or so in order that your remarks--positive or
negative--will be backed by some experience. The individual chosen to be in charge
of the CPN seed bank is charged with answering all correspondence within a few days
(barring illness and vacation) and submitting a complete list of what is in the
bank for each issue of CPN. Thus the readers will be promptly and completely in¬
formed of the seed situation without having to ask or guess. The fine horticultural
list that Bob Ziemer has worked so hard to develop will continue as such and will be
available for cost purchase — we feel it is quite necessary to know what is in culti¬
vation. The list will be sans triangles, circles, underlines, etc. Finally, the
want-ads (the charge is very modest) will feature only those people who really have
something to trade or sell, and those who wish something to trade or sell, and they
may contact each other directly to work things out. A rough check of triangles,
circles, etc. of the last exchange list under the old system indicates that if all
people (unlikely) list all such indicated material in the want-ads, it would not fill
an issue or for that matter more than a page and a half of a CPN issue, and then
would be pure concentrated exchange-selling information.

GLENN CLAUDI-MAGNUSSEN writes: I also had an idea about how to lessen the cost of
CPN. I felt that the price for the Want Ads could be raised slightly and also that
you should allow companies to have ads about CPs, CP books, terrariums, etc. I
think that you could get extra money to improve CPN.

MAKOTO HONDA writes in to inform us that the magazine "Plants of the World," which
he mentioned in the last issue (Vol. VI, 5) is now available from the publisher.

There are two issues, #64 and #9, which deal with CP. The photos are of suitable
quality for framing and most of them are 8 x 10 inches in size or larger. Issue
#9 deals with Pinguicula and Utricularia, while issue #64 deals with Nepenthes }
Sarracenia and Darlingtonia as well as Japanese Drosera species. Each issue costs
about $1.20 plus $.80 postage or a total of two ($2.00) dollars each (surface mail) .
Please send all requests to the following address:

ASAHI SHIMBUN PUBLICATIONS DEPT.

Tokyo Headquarters

2-6-1 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku

Tokyo, 100, JAPAN

Vol . VI, No, 2

CPN

33

LARRY MELLICHAMP writes: Because Darlingtonia is considered difficult to grow in
parts of the country outside its native Pacific Northwest, Joe and Don thought it
noteworthy that I have three very healthy plants which I have maintained for the
past 2-3 years here in the east. In spring 1975 Bob Ziemer sent me 2-3 plants, and
then I collected 2-3 more when I was in northwestern California in August 1975.

These plants were potted in a mixture of half peat, half silica sand and kept at
the University of Michigan Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor along with the Sarra-
aenias and other CP. They were kept outdoors in full summer during the summers
(which can get hot in southeastern Michigan) with rather minimal daily watering
with distilled water. During the winter they were kept indoors in a cool greenhouse
where the temperature was around 35-40°F. During 1-1/2 years, only one plant myster¬
iously died. In August 1976 three plants were brought down with me to Charlotte,
North Carolina, along with other Sarraaenia and CP. They were still given full sun
(with a little morning and afternoon shading) and more frequent watering with tap
water, which has produced no harm. Winter storage for all CP here is cold green¬
house with a minimum of 30-35°F. This past spring (1977) two of the Darlingtonia
flowered beautifully, I cross-pollinated them, and now have a large seed-pod forming
on one. New, strong pitchers (almost 15" high) are being formed, the largest in
three years; and one plant is sending out new shoots around the top of the pot and
out through the drainage holes in the bottom. Prolific rascal! I do not know what
I am doing right or wrong, but I'm going to try not to change. I am anxious to see
how they survive another hot summer, and am tempted to put one in a controlled
environment chamber and keep it cooler, just as insurance against loss due to heat.

It will also be interesting to compare with outside-grown plants. Perhaps the daily
watering with cool pipe-water is significant, although in Michigan they are watered
with room temperature water. Seedlings germinated in 1975 and kept under more shaded
conditions have grown very little since then. Perhaps I have selected some heat
tolerant strain of Darlingtonia-- it certainly seems to be thriving here. I will
donate the seed pod to the seed exchange.

JIM KOROLAS writes: In Ontario, Canada, Sarraaenia purpurea shows three varieties
which are: S. purpurea forma heterophy lla , S. purpurea var. riplicola (Boivin) and
S. purpurea var. terrae-novae (Pylaio) . So what's the difference? Well, all CPNers
should know that S. purpurea forma heterophylla is yellowish or golden yellow in
color, never showing any red coloration in the veins. Whereas, S. purpurea var.
ripiaola and S. purpurea var. terrae-novae are identical in coloration with the dif¬
ference being pitcher size; the former plant variant has pitchers averaging about
7.62 cm (3") while the latter variant grows in extremely acidic bogs with pitcher
size averaging about 17.78 cm (7").

For those CPNers who want to see S. purp . var. terrae-novae and live near Toronto,
there is only one bog that I know of and had the chance to visit. The bog is
located on Etobicoke Creek, the border between Mississaiga and Toronto north of
Lakeshore Blvd. If you visit this bog, if it's still there, please DO NOT collect
the plants as they are not holding very well. However, I have noticed a good stand
of Drosera rotundif olia in this bog.

Ed. not e--Further editorial discussion with the author confirms that indeed the
plants described as S. purpurea ssp. purpurea f. heterophylla are the real thing.

This is a notable range extension. He noted four plants in a bog of 80 red forms.

The heterophylla forms fit all criteria. D.S.

PAUL LEWIS writes: I have grown CP over sixteen years and have been fascinated by
their different methods of capture but Utricularias topped them all despite their
tiny size. A friend of mine moved to Fairfield, Texas (in Freestone County) , from
Tulsa in March of 1976, and I got the chance to see him in August. I knew Drosera
hrevif olia, Sarraaenia alata and Utriaularia intermedia grew in east Texas. So, one
morning, when we went fishing, I hunted for CP (fishing I could take or leave) . We
went to Red Lake, 18 mi. east of Fairfield. I quickly spotted U. intermedia. There
were millions of little yellow blooms, the middle of the bract was attached to the
peduncle which was 2-3" high, bearing from 2-5 yellow flowers. These plants com¬
pletely surrounded the lake (about 1/4 mile long and from 150-200 feet wide) . Words
could not express the satisfaction felt when finding CP in the field, especially for
the first time, even though I've grown CP over half my life. I could not find
D. brevi folia or Sarraaenia alata at that site even though humidity was quite high
due to a large lake sitting in a valley. I measured the water pH and the reading
was weakly acid (6.8) and the soil (6.6). I'll try to find these two species next
time .

34

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 2

PHILIP SHERIDAN writes: First of all, I bought a P. oaerulea from C.E.G. and one
of the leaves has developed into sort of a "Y" shape. I guess you would call it a
binate Pinguicula leaf. I'll try to get a photo of it and send it in to you. It
is really quite interesting.

An interesting device for growing CP that really require a high humidity is an
aquarium- terrarium. It is sold by Aqua Engineers. It comes with only one fluor¬
escent light fixture; I have been able to fit in another one. I'm just letting the
sphagnum grow right now, but I plan to start some Nepenthes seeds in there and also
grow another tropical CP.

Now here is the really big thing I wanted to tell you. My friends Mike Hunt and
Geoffrey Goodrum are going to start a CP club! We still haven't thought up a name
yet, but we'd greatly appreciate it if you would put a notice in CPN telling all
interested people to write to me and suggest a suitable place for meeting and any
other information that would help us really get our club rolling. We need a good
name for the club, ideas on field trips, etc. (Philip Sheridan, 5729 S. 2nd Street,
Arlington, VA 22204)

PETER TAYLOR has pointed out that the SEM U trioularia trap cover photo on the
December, 1976, issue (CPN V:53) is not Utricularia oornuta but possibly U. subu-
lata. We have rechecked with the photographer who states he received the specimen
(which has never flowered for him) from a commercial nursery as U. oornuta, but
that the same nursery also offers U. subulata, so contamination of the culture was
likely. Peter Taylor states the photo of U. oornuta traps in Lloyd is correctly
labeled. There certainly is a marked difference in that U. oornuta lacks appen¬
dages on the upper lip.

BRIAN HENDRIX writes: I just received my first copy of the Carnivorous Plant
Newsletter, and I must say I enjoyed it very much. You and your associates pub¬
lish a fine newsletter, as it is both educational and entertaining. I would like
to point out that Carolina Exotic Gardens offers not only Sarracenia, Darlingtonia,
and Dionaea, but has Drosera, Pinguicula, Utricularia, and Nepenthes as well.

Might I suggest that perhaps CPN offer space other than the Want-Ads for the various
Carnivorous Plant nurseries. I'm sure they would be willing to pay more than the
price you ask for the Want-Ads.

REVIEW 0_F RECENT LITERATURE

Adams, R. M. and G. W. Smith. 1977. An SEM survey of the five carnivorous pitcher
plant genera. Amer. J. Bot. 64:265-272.

Pitcher SEM examinations on Nepenthes raf flesiana, Sarraoenia purpurea , Heliam-
phora heterodoxa, Darlingtonia oalifornioa and Cephalotus follicularis were
done and comparative discussions undertaken. The authors state they tried to
arrange the photos for maximum clarity to both professional and layman. As a
result of these studies, several new features were noted including previously
unreported glands on the peristome teeth of Cephalotus , and the lack of previ¬
ously reported glands in the smooth zone 3 of S. purpurea. The text and photos
are excellent and very informative. Serious CPers should get a copy of the
paper. (Reprints: Richard Adams II, 190 Pleasant Grove, #M-2, Ithaca, NY 14850.
The author informs us that when his supply of reprints is exhausted. Sun Dew
Environments will stock additional reprints for sale.)

Chandler, G. E. and J. W. Anderson. Uptake and metabolism of insect metabolites by
leaves and tentacles of Drosera species. New Phytol . 77:625-634. (1976).

Authors supplied Drosera binata with fruit flies labelled with radioactive sul¬
fate. Methionine sulphoxide, cysteine, cysteic acid and sulphate of the plant
was labelled. When labelled sulfate alone was given to the plant, a similar
labelling pattern was found except for cysteic acid which was unlabelled. There
were differences in sulfur metabolism between field grown plants and those grown
in axenic cultures. The latter cultures didn't incorporate sulfur label into
methionine sulfoxide.

Frost, T. M. Investigations of the aufwuchs of freshwater sponges: I. A quantitative
comparison between the surfaces of Spongilla lacustris and three aquatic mac¬
rophytes. Hydrobiologia 50 ( 2) : 145-149 . 1976.

The author describes the aufwuchs of the freshwater sponge and the reduced num¬
ber in comparison with other plants, namely Utricularia.

Vol . VI, No. 2

CPN

35

SARRACENIA - TOUR DELUXE

by Dave Kutt

It was September 19th and autumn was well on its way. Ed Orris joined me in southern
Illinois and we departed for along ride to Waycross, Georgia and the Luara S. Walker
State Park. This facility has always provided a conveniently close campground for an
overnight stay near the borderlines of the Okefenokee Swamp Park itself. This time it
was no exception.

Upon arriving at the Waycross area we first noticed Pinguicula caerulea plants growing
on grassy, sunny, slanted banks which usually bordered drainage ditch areas. Along
with the Pinguicula but less conspicuous at a fast glance were two small members of the
Utricularia fibrosa complex. One type displayed a 1/4" wide yellow flower on a six or
eight inch tall scape. The other type, probably Utricularia olivacea, was very tiny,
perhaps 1/4 to one inch tall, and had a very tiny pale yellow flower. In the shallow
drainage ditch waters, we also noticed the pale purple flecks of Utricularia purpurea
flowers. The opposite side of those same drainage ditches contained Sarracenia minor
plants of the Okefenokee area which grow much larger than S. minor found anywhere else.
The plants were entering their dormancy and displayed ripe seed pods. Some had solid
red pitcher coloration and most of them had dark red hues on the underside of the
pitcher hood and on the pitcher "lip". Many of them also approached or even exceeded
three feet in height! These plants grow with a vertical rhizome terminating in an
apex. Often, clonal clusters form and grow up out of the shallow water. Sarracenia
minor found elsewhere do not characteristically grow in water. Instead, they usually
occur in well-drained situations. All of the "Okee" S. minor that we saw were in sat¬
urated mud and often were submerged to just above their apex. All of the larger plants
grew with their apex submerged. The banks themselves, in addition to the Pinguicula,
were covered everywhere with Drosera capillaris . These plants were all positioned to
receive full sun most of the day.

We visited the Okefenokee Swamp Park to see their pavillion with a room dedicated pri¬
marily to the insectivorous plants of the swamp. An interesting group of pavillions
and displays show much about the swamp's natural ecology and wildlife, and among other
things, it features freeze-dried, airbrush painted Sarracenia plants! We were eager to
boat back into the depths of the swamps for a closer look.

To do this, it was necessary to drive 26 miles south to the Okefenokee National Wild¬
life Refuge near Folkston at the southeast end of the swamp. There you can rent a
canoe or motor boat (we chose the latter) for a day at a reasonable cost. As we motored
into the humid swamp, we were constantly on the lookout for alligators and poisonous
snakes, but we saw very little of the reptile life other than an alligator or two. Sev¬
eral areas on the swamp map provided are designated as prairies and we headed for
"Chesser" and "Grand Prairie" which were known areas of the giant Sarracenia minor.
Several times, floating detached masses of Utricularia purpurea almost clogged our
engine's cooling-water intake port. I never thought I'd be scared by a Utricularia
but Ed and I were warned that a clog could soon blow a headgasket and we were 14 miles
into the swamp! It all turned out without mishap though, and we did find large Sarra¬
cenia minor sparsely populating the border areas of deep swamp grasses in "Grand Prai¬
rie". We were unable to deeply penetrate any of the semi-solid land (floating vegeta¬
tive masses) on foot, but it all appeared to be basically suitable habitat for this
pitcher plant. Although, we were also looking for Sarracenia psittacina and possible
S. x formosa hybrids, these didn't turn up until later that day along solid land areas
adjacent to Chesser Island. Before leaving the swamp area, we climbed an observation
tower for an overhead view of the swamp and saw more S. minor, sphagnum moss and bog
plants as well as an alligator nest from the scenic "boardwalk into the swamp" at
Chesser Island. It was all very interesting and unique enough to be well worth our
additional time.

As we continued our trip south and west into eastern Florida, we saw no Sarracenias
for a while. We noticed a lot of Pinguicula caerulea and always the Drosera capillaris
growing everywhere. One place had a massive display of Utricularia purpurea growing
very profusely in a roadside drainage ditch along route 121. Eventually, we saw Sarra¬
cenia minor again in sparse patches amongst the grass and weeds by the roadside. This
time it was the typical, rather small type, quite different from the huge Okefenokee
plants seen earlier. They grew in moist to wet coastal plain soil comprised of mostly
white silica sand with a small percentage of organic debris. These plants also occurred
in full sun. Finally, we camped for the night in Lake City, Florida.

We headed for the western Florida panhandle along U.S. route 98 and soon saw several
areas containing Drosera filiformis tracyi and a very large form of Pinguicula lutea
which could easily be mistaken for P. caerulea should it be found when not in flower.
They were not in flower in late September but on a previous trip with Rich Sivertsen,

36

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 2

I have seen them in flower in late April. As for the Drosera tracyii, when heading
west in Florida, this plant is seen fairly often in many habitat areas all the way
through Mississippi. Later near Carabelle, Florida, we found large succulent Pingui-
cula ionantha plants growing in black mud and even under water! Some of these plants
were huge — some in excess of six inches in diameter and proved to be larger than any
other Pinguieula species we saw on our trip. They were often overgrown partially by
grasses, but were otherwise growing in full sun. The very wet ground conditions in
addition to the sparse grass cover provided very high humidity levels near the
ground, thus providing a super-humid "micro-environment" for the Pinguieula plants.
There was no evidence of Pinguieula planif olia seen here only two years earlier.

We continued on a south-west course on Florida Rt. 98/319 until we reached Florida
Rt . 71 North. Along route 71, more P. ionantha were seen on back roads along with
S. psittaeina. There were also savannah areas containing Sarracenia flava very near¬
by and we were disgusted with what we saw there. A large, deep drainage ditch sur¬
rounded the grassy moist Sarracenia savannah. One half of the habitat area had been
drained and plowed under already and was completely dried and lifeless. The other
adjacent half had the remainder of a once large Sarracenia flava population. Some
of the plants were huge and yellow-green with only the Florida-typical maroon patch
at the throat. Others were smaller with red veins and large lids. Still others
seemed to combine all these qualities. Most of the plants were large, nearly three
feet tall, and were mostly very bright yellow or browned out depicting various stages
into dormancy. It seemed to be a doomed habitat, as drainage was already in process
for this station too.

We got off U.S. Rt. 71 and headed north for U.S. Rt . 90 on a random exploratory
course using smaller roads. There we found our first traces of Sarracenia leuco-
phylla growing with S. psittaeina in wet roadside areas. The Sarracenia psittaeina
was very profuse in all stages of development from seedling to adult. Later, we
camped in Marianna for the night.

The next morning, we went west on U.S. Rt. 90 where after a short walk we located
an isolated bog near Crestview not visible from the road. This hidden area was a
good example of a natural insectivorous garden. Here in one small area we found
S. purpurea venosa, S. psittaeina , S. flava (the vast majority) , S. rubra and
S. leucophylla. The F-l hybrids were S. rubra x leucophylla, S. purpurea x flava,

S. flava x leucophylla and S. psittaeina x rubra. Other hybrids that were mainly
backcrosses were present also. This same area also contained Drosera traeyi,

D. capillaris , D. intermedia, Utricularia purpurea and Pinguieula eaerulea. All
plants grew in nearly pure white silica sand, moist to wet and in full sun. Some
of the Pinguieula here seemed to back out of the direct sunlight into the mottled
shade provided by pine trees at this habitat's outer border. This site seemed to
be a meeting point for the habitat ranges of many Sarracenia species.

A bit further west at the Yellow River we observed primarily S. leucophylla and
its many hybrids with S. rubra and S. flava. The lower levels of the wet, tall
grass were occupied by S. rubra and S. psittaeina , S. rubra hybrids and Pinguieula
planif olia with beautiful maroon colored foliage. Scattered S. flava were a definite
minority here, but a few were present. Many other hybrid backcrosses were again
evident here in various shapes and sizes.

The following day we went to Alabama where we found huge S. purpurea venosa plants
growing with S. leucophylla and mitehelliana hybrids amongst the tall grass in flat
dished areas. Then in Baldwin Co., Alabama, we witness almost solitary stands of
S. leucophylla which literally covered acres of land. A very close examination
revealed also S. psittaeina which took advantage of the ground-level insect life.

Our visit to southern Alabama was fairly brief and was terminated after examining
a few grassy, flat bogs in the western portion along the coast. Here we turned up
a lot of Sarracenia alata with a very few S. purpurea present and the resulting F-l
hybrids of S. alata x purpurea here and there in the tall grass. A few of the
"Gulf" 5. rubra were seen here as well and also a very interesting and very pale
form of P. planif olia . The S. alata with the dark red inner lining was seen here
as well as bright yellow forms and heavily veined forms. Many S. alata x S. leueo-
phylla hybrids were seen here too. Indeed, once the S. alata range really begins,
pure S. leucophylla is just about impossible to find!

Finally, we headed to north-eastern Alabama to view a remaining stand of the rare
Sarracenia oreophila. This site is next to a small pond and once you get past the
cows, the plants can be found amongst tall weeds at the far side. Wild daisies
and very tall weeds had all but completely overgrown the now dormant S. oreophila
plants. Many of the plants were attempting to grow up through the large woody
shrubs. Their rhizomes were entangled in the shrubs root systems. We gathered

Volume VI, No. 2

CPN

37

seed from some of the plants and rescued a very few plants from being choked out by
the bushes. The S. oreophila plants here occur in a strange, hard clay soil contain¬
ing very fine silica sand. The area was void of apparent pine bogs or savannahs or
habitats which seemed typical of CP. In fact, the majority of the trees in the area
were deciduous.

In summary, we travelled about 2,550 miles in our car and a few more on foot. Al¬
though some plant collecting was done, we collected sparingly and concentrated more
on acquiring seed and good photographs. Don’t let the descriptions in this report
mislead you into believing that Sarracenia occurs everywhere in the south in great
abundance. They do not. Throughout the coastal states only highly specialized
habitat areas allow these plants to exist at all and these habitat areas are quickly
vanishing forever for one reason or another. Many of the even recently CP populated
areas are now void of these plants. The larger stands of these plants took many
years to spread and establish and unfortunately, new habitat areas do not usually
replace the ones that are lost.

DROSERAS OF THE NEW FOREST

by David W. Taylor

The New Forest in unique in the world for its historical interest, its rare animals
and plants and its living traditions. It was created by William 1 about AD 1079,
and it lies in the county of Hampshire down in the south west corner of England.

It is an area of outstanding beauty which is visited by millions of people every
year .

There are three distinct types of vegatation in this vast area of land: heathland
with self sown Scots pine and birch, heather, gorse, and grasses: woodland contain¬
ing many thousands of trees such as beech, oak, and yew; and last of all, marshlands
with large wild areas of peat and sphagnum bogs.

The bogs are many in number, and have magical names such as Bishops Dyke, Black
Gutter Bottom, and Duck Hole Bog. The forest itself is situated about one hundred
miles from the center of London, and is easily reached by the modern motorway.

It was in late August when I drove with my wife Diana and four children down to
Everton, which is a small country village which lies just outside the forest area.

We are very fortunate in the fact that my wife's parents own a retirement cottage
in Everton, and that we are able to go there for the occasional week-end. From
this vantage point, it is only a short car ride to many of the beautiful forest
attractions. As it happened, this particular week-end turned out to be a bank
holiday, and there were many tourists and campers that had made the trip down with
us. A good number of them were at the local carnival that was held on the Saturday.

The following day after a good breakfast, I set off with my packed lunch on the
long awaited field trip in search of the three Droseras native to this country,
and known to be found in the New Forest area. Earlier in the summer, I had been
lucky enough to borrow a very old book from a botanist friend of mine. This was
on the flora of Hampshire. Every major county in England has at one time or other
had a county flora book published. Unfortunately, many of them are old and very
much out of date, and the Hampshire book was a prime example. However, the book
had told me of the colonies of Drosera that were growing in the forest bogs. My
main interest was to find D. anglica, as I had already found rotundifolia and
intermedia on an earlier visit. I was informed by the book that this plant was
to be found in great numbers in an area of the forest known as the Rhinefield, and
particularly in bogs under the names of Holmsley, Wiverley, and Hinchelsea. It was
stated that D. anglica could be found in abundance in Hinchelsea bog way back in
1899. This bit of information did not deter me too much, as I knew that these wild
boggy lands had probably remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Although I did
not expect to find the abundance of plants as described in the book, I felt that I
would find at least a few scattered here and there. The Rhinefield area was only
a matter of about four miles from the cottage, and I soon arrived at the small
stoney car-park. In all parts of the New Forest, there are special walks that are
purposely planned by the forest authorities for the public's convenience. The walks
are planned to take you through the most interesting parts of any one particular
area so that anything of specific interest can clearly be seen.

38

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Vol . VI, No. 2

Having parked the car, I started my walk down the long and stoney foot-path that
twisted its way straight through the middle of the Hinchelsea bog. The whole area
was one big dip which rose up on the other side into woodland and pine forest.

The black peaty bog was either side of the foot-path, and the occasional wild horse
or pony could be seen plodding through the goo in search for green vegetation. I
walked half way down the foot-path until I found a slightly drier part of the bog
to walk on. This was on the left side of the path, and I was able to penetrate
about ten yards into the bog. In my haste to start this venture, the one important
thing that I forgot to bring with me was a pair of water-proof boots. All I had on
my feet was a pair of sandals that I had worn all the way through the long hot summer
and had become quite accustomed to. Eventually I was forced to take the sandals and
my socks off, and with my trouser legs rolled up, I waded into the bog. I soon
noticed that there were many plants of rotundi f olia and even more of intermedia in
the black peat of the bog. A vast number of the intermedia plants were of a deep
crimson colour. This was obviously due the fierce heat of the sun that had been
shining constantly for many days. The plants had no shelter from the sun as the
whole area was very open. There was a small area of shallow water nearby, which was
full of reeds and with hummocks of sphagnum around the edges. There seemed to be
more rotundi folia plants in the moss, whereas the intermedia plants seemed to favour
the wet peaty areas of the bog. I was a bit disappointed that there were no signs
of the rarer anglioa plants described as being abundant in this bog. However, I col¬
lected a few specimens of the rotundi f olia and intermedia plants and trod my way
carefully back to the foot-path, first collecing my sandals and socks. I made my
way up the rest of the stoney foot-path and into the pine forest still feeling
despondent at not finding D. anglioa. I could have walked for miles, but as the sky
was clouding over, I decided to walk back. When I eventually reached the perimeter
of the bog, I thought perhaps I would explore the opposite side to the part I had
walked in earlier on in the morning. This side of the bog was about half a mile
long and when I finally reached the extreme end of it, I found myself on a new foot¬
path. This part of the bog was much wetter than the other side, and a small stream
wound its way into the middle of it. The ground was a mixture of very wet peat
intermixed with sphagnum, and it was not as flat as the other side of the bog.

After studying it for a few minutes, I decided to cast aside my footwear once again
and wade in. It was very boggy, but with the help of a broken off tree branch, I
was able to walk in about seven yards. It would have been impossible to go any
further. There was a lot of long grass about and because of this it was difficult
to see much else. All of a sudden, my eyes fell on something dewy and shining in
amongst the grasses. With much difficulty, I managed to squelch my way to the spot
my eyes had rested on, and there it was, Drosera anglioa in full splendour. There
were quite a number of plants scattered around the area, and if I could have gone
further into the bog, I think I would have found many more. After having collected
a few of these plants which seemed to be the only Droseras there apart from a few
spasmodic intermedia plants, I finally dragged myself from the bog. The time was
one o'clock, and so I decided to sit down and eat my packed lunch. After about
twenty minutes of sitting on the edge of the bog in complete quietness, and having
seen only four people in the time I had spent in Hinchelsea bog, I got up and put
on my foot-wear once more. A sudden clap of thunder heralded my time to depart, and
I slowly made my way around the outer edge of this wild and lonely land, and back to
the car. As I drove out of the Rhineland, it started to rain, but I could not care,
for I had found what I had hoped to find all in the space of one morning, a morning
spent with the Droseras of the New Forest.

CONSERVATION AND CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
by Landon T. Ross

Introduction

Almost everyone who is involved in the study or cultivation of carnivorous plants
is aware, to some degree, of the urgent need for conservation efforts. A number
of taxa are on the verae of extinction, many prime habitats have been destroyed,
and numerous locations are in serious danger. This distressing situation has
been discussed many times (for example, see Schwartz, 1974, p. 9? DeFilipps, 19 ,

Johnson, 1976; Mazrimas and Schnell, 1976; and Schnell, 1976, p. 9) and I will not
belabor it here. Instead, I will try to offer some recommendations on how to be a
CP enthusiast and, at the same time, a benefit to future scholars, hobbyists, and
the plants themselves. These are, of course, my personal opinions which do not
necessarily exactly reflect the views of the editors or the policies of CPN.

Volume VI, No. 2

CPN

39

Field Collecting

1. Never remove specimens of any of the really scarce plants from the field.

This applies particularly to some of the rarer types of Sarracenia and Nepenthes
which have very restricted distributions. If you are fortunate enough to find
such a location, and feel that you must have some of the plants for your own pur¬
poses, time your visit to coincide with the fruiting season so that you may collect
a limited amount of seed. Depending upon local conditions, it may be a good idea,
at the same time, to try to help the population out by sprinkling a few seeds in
the least crowded parts of the site. If done carefully, cuttings may sometimes be
taken for later vegetation propagation without materially damaging the plants.

2. Do not collect plants from small isolated populations of any species. These
often consist of a few struggling specimens which may represent a remnant of a
previously much larger population or even the beginnings of a new distribution
expansion. In any case, these sites are often of great scientific interest, and
may be of some considerable importance to the well-being of the species. Since
this type of location is often characteristic of the distributional limits of a
species, you will often find much more extensive stands of a given plant within a
few miles.

3. When collecting plants, especially in situations contrary to the above recom¬
mendations, try to exercise your self control. In marginal locations and in the
case of scarce species, an altruistic hobbyist gathering specimens for all his
friends can do as much damage as any commercial collector. It is always best,
even when dealing with common plants, to only take what you feel you really need.

If you are at all unsure of your ability to grow a given kind of plant, you should
be even more cautious about field-collecting speciments. Test your horticultural
talents on the common varieties first.

4. Avoid breaking the law. Concern for our environment, and specifically for the
continued existence of some of the more endangered organisms, has led to the crea¬
tion of a large number of conservation-oriented laws at all governmental levels.
Many of these apply rather directly to carnivorous plants. A great deal of scien¬
tific expertise has often (but not always) gone into the formulation of these, and
if they were carefully obeyed, many taxa and populations would be in much less
danger. Since the legal penalties are often relatively severe, this recommendation
should also be considered from a practical standpoint. Although you should check
for yourself, as a general rule the following types of laws will be found: 1) all
plants in parks, wildlife refuges, and similar areas are protected, 2) certain very
scarce CP are protected in all areas, and 3) CP which are rare in a local area, are
often protected there even if they are common elsewhere. In the United States, at
least, you are likely to find that it is illegal to collect most CP unless you have
specific permission of the landowner.

5. Be cautious about informing others of the locations of isolated populations or
rare species. It is now becoming apparent, especially to the scientific community,
that great damage can result from the release of this type of information. Commer¬
cial exploration has historically often followed on the heels of the publication of
even moderately explicit locality data. Because of this, the scientist in particu¬
lar is now placed in the very uncomfortable position of withholding important
information to protect the object of his interests.

Purchasing Plants

6. Buy your plants only from reputable dealers who you can be sure did not
field-collect the plants they are selling. I only know of two such dealers in
the United States, "Sun Dew Environments" and "World Insectivorous Plants,"
although there may be others. Avoid dealers, such as "Peter Pauls Nurseries,"
which have been known to have solicited field-grown material.* There are almost
certainly a considerable number of dealers of this type presently in business.

It would be of great benefit for all CP growers to have seen the ravages which
can be caused by commercial exploitation, the trampled and cratered fields which
were once pristine bogs or savannahs.

Positive Conservation Measures

The above recommendations have essentially consisted of things which you should
avoid doing. If you would like to do something of positive benefit, there are a
number of courses of action available.

* A letter of documentation is on file with the editors of CPN.

40

CPN

Volume VI , No. 2

7. Work for better laws to protect carnivorous plants. If you live in an area
where there are native CP, find out if any of them are in need of more protection
and then contact your local lawmakers. You may find them to be quite helpful, in
the absence of any particular opposition to your request, and willing to add a
"conservation" feather to their caps. Be careful, however, to make your point as
reasonably and logically as possible. It is probably of even more importance, at
the same time, to attempt to find if the existing laws are being enforced. They
are probably not. Since this type of law is usually handled by agencies which
also regulate hunting and fishing, plant protection may be given a low priority.
Report any incident which you feel may be in violation of the carnivorous plant
protection laws. You will probably not have enough evidence to lead to any real
action, but this type of report may lead to an increased awareness of the need for
improved enforcement on the part of the agency. With respect to the type of
activity discussed here, there is no substitute for acquiring some knowledge as to
how your government works (local conservation organizations will be delighted to
help you) , followed by the writing of letters to all appropriate governmental
officials and employees.

8. Make some effort to see that significant CP habitats are preserved. This is
not an easy task at all, but is probably the most important single action you can
take. Many persons involved with carnivorous plants are aware of some prime loca¬
tion which is vulnerable to elimination. Indeed, many are all too familiar with
such sites which have already been destroyed. The most efficient use of your time
can probably be made by contacting local conservation groups and educating them as
to the uniqueness and intrinsic scientific value of such locations. (You should,
of course, also beware of publicizing these places, as previously noted.; They
will often know the right mechanisms for placing these lands in the public trust,
and for seeing that they are intelligently managed in the future. Once again, a
letter-writing campaign may be relatively effective.

9. If you are one of those individuals who is fortunate enough to be growing some
of the rarer or more endangered plants, propagate and distribute them as widely as
possible. I do not have a great deal of faith in the concept that individual
growers will, in the long run, be able to preserve species which have been exter¬
minated in the wild. However, it is fairly obvious that if all growers who were
interested in, for instance, Sarracenia rubra jonesii, had several specimens,
there would be no incentive for the collection of the wild plants.

Cone lusions

Hopefully, it is now obvious that there are many things which any CP enthusiast
can do to further the cause of conservation. Some of these may be accomplished by
a little positive action, but many require only that the grower's interest in
obtaining as many species as possible in the shortest time be slightly curtailed.

I do realize, though, how difficult this may be, and must admit that I have not,
in the past, always followed my own recommendations. This was often due to ignor¬
ance of the real need for conservation measures, but was sometimes caused by a
belief that the only way in which I might obtain a given plant was by collecting
it or purchasing it from any willing seller. There may, previously, have been
some slight validity in this belief, but with few exceptions, it is no longer true.
Many people involved with the CPN Seed and Plant Exchange are willing to help out
less advanced growers, often to the point of distributing scarce material gratis,
and the conscientious commercial sources are doing their best to expand their lists
of available species. You will find, given sufficient patience, that you will
eventually be able to obtain almost any plant you wish and keep an entirely clear
conscience in the process.

Whatever your interests in carnivorous plants may be, try to always keep in
mind their precarious status. Realize the fragile nature of most of their
habitats, the endangered status of some of the species, and act accordingly. To
to so is to assure the future of these marvelously interesting plants.

Literature Cited

DeFilipps, R. A. 1976. Conservation action for carnivorous plants. C.P.N.

5 (1) : 8.

Johnson, P. H. 1976. Carnivorous plants. House Plants and Porch Gardens.

1 (6) : 36-47.

Mazrimas, J. A. and D. E. Schnell. 1976. An editorial statement on conservation
and CPN. C.P.N. 5 (1): 3.

Schnell, D. E. 1976. Carnivorous plants of the United States and Canada.

John F. Blair, Winston-Salem, N.C. 125 p.

Schwartz, R. 1974. Carnivorous plants. Praeger, New York. 128 p.

41

CPN

We will now discuss the reasons for name
changes. Botanical history goes back for
several hundred years during which time new
plants were being discovered and named. In
many cases, due to the lack of efficient com¬
munications, two botanists could get hold of
the same plant and each would give it a differ¬
ent scientific name without knowing what the
other was doing. Years later it would be dis¬
covered that here was one plant species (NOTE:
the word "species" is always used as a plural
form, whether it applies to one plant specimen,
one species, or several species. The use of
the word "specie" is never correct) with two
scientific names, a situation which could not
exist without much confusion.

What was to be done? Well, one of the most
important rules of the International Code of
Botanical Nomenclature, which attempts to
stabilize nomenclature and allow for the fewest
changes, is the rule of priority. This simply
states that the first name to be validly published for a plant is to be the one and
only correct one, and this is usually the oldest name. Valid publication involves
giving the plant a proper Latin binomial name with a brief Latin description, and
published where it has a reasonable chance of being available to most botanists. So,
if there are two scientific names for a plant, one has to be the correct name and the
other becomes a synonym. Thus, one way a well-known name can be changed is for some¬
one to discover that another name had been proposed earlier than the one currently in
use. This applies either to the generic name or the specific epithet. For example,
the names Sarraaenia drummondii and S. sledgii , well-known a generation ago, had to
be changed to S. leuoophylla and S. alata , respectively, when it was discovered that
the latter names were older. These changes would not affect later generations of
botanists and laymen who would be learning "S. leuoophylla " and "S. alata" for the
first time; but they would have to know about the earlier used synonyms if they had
to look up any information about these species in the older literature.

Names may be also be changed when a botanist, or layman, studying a group of plants
decides that the classification of these plants must be altered to reflect a more
accurate view of the evolutionary relationships of the plants. He would come to this
decision after exhaustive studies of the plants in the field, in the garden plot, in
the laboratory and in the literature, and it is not a thing to be taken lightly. He
may thus transfer a species from one genus to another, or he may change the rank of
some species, for example, from a subspecies to a species, or vice versa. For
example, "Sarraaenia jonesii from the mountains of North Carolina, may be recog¬
nized as S. jonesii } S. rubra ssp. jonesii , or S. rubra variety jonesii, depending
on your taxonomic interpretation of the biological significance of the plant popula¬
tions. (See C. R. Bell, A cytotaxonomic study of the Sarraceniaceae of North America,
J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 65:137-166 + 14 pi., 1949; S. McDaniel, The genus
Sarraaenia, Bull. Tall Timbers Research Station (Tallahassee, FL) , No. 9, 1971;

F. W. and R. B. Case, The Sarraaenia rubra complex, Rhodora 78:270-325, 1976; D. E.
Schnell, The Carnivorous Plants of the United States and Canada, Blair Publisher
(Winston-Salem, NC) , 1976; and D. E. Schnell, Infraspecific variation in Sarracenia
rubra, Castanea (in press) , 1977 .)

The foregoing two situations indicate that these types of name changes will always
be occurring; and, though inevitable, supposedly they reflect our ever increasing
botanical knowledge and our changing (improving) views regarding populations of
living, dynamic plants. I would agree that this concept goes against the notion of
stability of names and facilitation of communication; but scientific names are still
more specific than common names (because at any one time, there can be only one
scientific name) and scientific names must be flexible to be useful in an ever
changing field. At this point I embarrassingly bring up the case of the Douglas
Fir of western North America. Over the past 200 years or so it has had four differ¬
ent scientific names, but it has always been known as "Douglas Fir." This is
definitely an exception to the general situation.

At the risk of seeming contradictory to the previous discussion, I bring up one
final point. Because name changes are annoying, no matter how important, and because
they may interfere with the availability and flow of information and must be avoided
whenever possible, the Code has a special clause that provides for the conservation

42

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 2

of names to prevent certain changes in the interest of stability. According to
this provision, an incorrect name can be conserved (i.e., preserved) if it is
widely known to and used by horticulturists, botanists, foresters, laymen, etc.
Conservation thus can occasionally be used to avoid an otherwise inevitable name
change which would inconvenience a great many people (See Jeffrey, 1968) . By
legislative action names can be conserved by the vote of a committee of the Inter¬
national Botanical Congress. They are then listed in the Code book along with the
corresponding rejected names. Conservation is thus a limitation to the principle
of priority in that the earliest name may not be used. Conservation itself has one
limitation however: conservation applies only to names of genera and families;
specific names cannot be conserved. As an example of conservation of names, take
the names Darlingtonia and Chry samphora which have both received varying degrees of
acceptance as the correct generic name for the California Cobra plant. Under the
rules of priority, Chry samphora is the oldest legitimate name that applies to these
plants because when the name Darlingtonia was proposed to refer to the cobra plant,
the same name (Darlingtonia) had already been given to another entirely different
species--and the same name can't be used twice (so Darlingtonia for the cobra plant
had to be dropped, theoretically) . However, by time this confusing situation had
been discovered, the name Darlingtonia had been in use for a long time and had become
well known as the California cobra plant. (The original "Darlingtonia" being a much
more obscure member of the legume family) . Thus, it was decided by a very narrow
vote that Darlingtonia-- as the California Cobra plant — should be conserved over the
other use of the name, and therefore conserved over Chry samphora also. Consequently,
by legislative action, Darlingtonia is now and forever more (no matter what else
might turn up) the correct name of the California cobra plant.

In conclusion, this has been a brief and highly simplified article in which I have
tried to indicate that though botanists and laymen alike are annoyed by name changes
of well-known plants, we must realize that there are special reasons for the changes;
and taxonomic botanists are not to be scourned as merely name- jugglers , playing some
silly game. Names can only be changed in accordance with the very specific rules
layed down in the ICBN. You cannot alter the name of a plant just because you want
to, or because you think the name is inappropriate, objectionable, misleading, etc.
Scientific names are very important to botanists and laymen and they have their
special uses, just as do common names. We must make the best of things and not let
anything dampen our interest in the plants we enjoy, which after all, is the most
important part of our concern. Fortunately, the plants remain unchanged and intrigu¬
ing no matter what their names.

COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUE . . .

"Notes on Tuberous Droseras of Western Australia" by Steve Rose

"Notes on Nepenthes mirabilis and other Carnivorous Plants in Queensland"
by P. S. Lavarack

More pictures

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY. CIRCLE
CORRECT LETTER BEFORE EACH ITEM.

NAME _

STREET

CITY & ZIP _

W T S B 1) _

W T S B 2) _

W T S B 3) _

W T S B 4)

W T S B 5) _

W T S E 6)

W T S B 7)

W T S B 8)

W T S B 9)

W T S B 10) _

Make checks or money orders payable
to the ARBORETUM FOUNDATION FUND.

Robert Syrlik, 217 Drake Ave . , Apt. 3 J , New Rochelle, NY 10805.

(B) Cephalotus follicularis

Lenny Hoffman, Jr., 365 Beach St., Berea, OH 44017

(B) 0. petiolaris, any Nepenthes; (W) Any Utricularia
Joseph P. Cantasano, 2717 Jerusalem Ave., North Bellmore, NY 11710

(B) Cephalotus , Nepenthes rafflesiana , N. burki, N. dycriana, N. villosa, N. x kinabaluensis,

N. edwardsiana, N. harryana, N. bicalcarata, N. ampullaria
Patrick Dwyer, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 49 Killean Park, Albany NY 12205
(WT) Androvanda plants or seed, Genlisea sp. plants or seed, Mexican Pinguicula sp. (not
P. caudata) plants or seed, seed of CP's, Drosera regia plants or seed.

Robert Cantlay, 30672 Paseo Del Niguel, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

(WB) Aldrovanda plant, Cephalotus FI plant, Byblis gigantea plant, Drosera regia plant
Paul F. Kukuchka, P.O. Box #631, Montgomeryville , PA 18936
(WB) Nepenthes maxima , Drosophyllum

Scott Plamondon, 6639 S.E. Yamhill Ct., Portland, Oregon 97215

(wtb) Heliamphora, Cephalotus follicularis, Drosera schizandra, Drosera peltata
(TS) Darlingtonia calif omica

Thomas Crisalli, 145 Nelson St., Brooklyn, NY 11231

(B) Drosera rotundifolia, D. linearis, D. anglica, D. intermedia, D. capillaris, D. filiformis ,
U.S.A. hybrids, S. purpurea ssp. venosa, Dionaea musaipula large., Byblis
Aric Bendorf, 1121 North Signal St., Ojai, CA 93023

(WB) Nepenthes plants, cuttings or seeds, Cephalotus follicularis plants or seeds, Byblis
gigantea plants or seeds

Steve Smith, P.O. Box 544, Hancock, NY 13783

(W) Single specimen Cephalotus follicularis
Archibald F. Mills, 1517 Glenwood Lane, Bishop, CA 93514

(B) Drosera binata, D. capensis, D. capillaris, D. filiformis, D. spathulata, Cephalotus
follicularis, Byblis gigantea. Nepenthes dicksoniana , N. gracilis, N. rafflesiania
Henry Peltz, 1511 Calvin Ave., Muskegon, Mich. 49442
(w) Drosera petiolaris

When submitting Want Ads, please be sure to print clearly for best results and
to eliminate mistakes. Please circle the correct letter before each item (Want,
Trade, Sell or Buy). Want ads are limited to carnivorous plants, terrariums,
greenhouses and moss. There is a charge of ten cents per item, with no limit to
the number of items you may submit per issue.

Send coin or check along with the form to: Arboretum, Want Ads

California State University
Fullerton, CA 92634

SEND YOUR PHOTOS!

We like David Taylor's suggestion (see News & Views) that subscribers send in
pictures of themselves for publication in CPN. Contributors to Short Notes and
News & Views should also send in pictures relevant to the article submitted. Photos
should be glossy, black and white with good contrast (preferably with a light back¬
ground) , and not too large (3x5 is a good size) . Please include a description.

vsn fr£9Z6 YD 'uo;j9nnj
AqxsxaAxun aqeqs exujojxqeo
saouaps -[Boxfiotoxg jo quauiqxpdaa

wnianoanv am

.AKraVUKUUd

PLANT

NEWSLETTER

VOLUME VI, No. 3
September, 1977

Drosera spathulata Sundew

Photo by Steven A. Frowine
The Garden Center of Greater Cleveland

44

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 3

EDITOR ' S CORNER

The past year has indeed been a busy one filled with accomplishments to advance the
stature of CPN, but there have also been problems. We have been informed that all
mailings, especially to places outside the USA, must now be wrapped — that is, enclosed
in some sort of cover other than the type we have used for so many years. It is with
this in mind, as well as the possibility of putting out a more professional looking
newsletter with an added bonus — COLOR--that the following is proposed.

The present looseleaf 8-1/2 x 11 inch format would be changed to a 6 x 9 inch booklet
such as used by the Begonia Society and the Los Angeles International Fern Society
(LAIFS) . We would be working with Kandid Litho Company which specializes in this
type of newsletter. The booklet would have a color cover with occasional bonus color
in the inside pages. Typeset would be double column "journal style" in 10 point type.

For example, under the new format, Larry Mellichamp's Botanist's Corner in the June
issue would take one page without the logo. There would be 24 inside pages plus the
three sides of the cover, but since we would have to print all the covers at once,
only non-timely information would be on these pages--probably black and white pictures
with a caption of a few paragraphs. Upon examining a sample copy of CPN, the typeset¬
ter said that 24 inside pages would be sufficient with room for a few pictures.

Weightwise, in an envelope, the whole package comes to well under two ounces, which we
use as a standard mailing weight since the airmail rates we use for overseas come in
two ounce increments.

The present format now costs about $400 per issue for 1000 copies. The proposed format
would cost about $610 per issue for 1000 copies. Therefore, rates would have to be
raised about $2 to cov£r the increased printing costs. Now, the decision will have to be
made as to whether the increase be applied across the board or should the domestic sub¬
scribers, which comprise the bulk of the total membership, partially subsidize
the overseas subscribers? Due to currency and cost of living differences, overseas sub¬
scribers are in effect paying double the posted rates. In conversing with other societies,
such as the Los Angeles International Fern Society, we find this is essentially the case;
that is, they have only one subscription price with the idea that since the domestic
subscribers far outnumber the overseas subscribers, the differences in postal rates, cost
of living, etc., balance out.

We solicit your opinions. Please use the enclosed ballot and mail as soon as possible,
as the results will have to be announced in the December issue along with the rates for
the following year. The present format has been cut one sheet to cover the weight of
the envelope, which results in the loss of one page of text since the Want Ads must now
be incorporated into the paginated section of CPN.

SEED BANK

As announced in the last issue of CPN, the Seed Bank will be handled by Patrick Dwyer,
Director, St. Michael's Episcopal Church Gardens and Arboretum, 49 Killiean Park, Albany,
N.Y. 12205. Contributions and orders should be addressed to him.

To send seed: Please remove seed from the seed capsules and place it in small envelopes
(preferably paper so that they dry out enough to prevent mold) . Label with the origin
and date of collection, including habitat if it is exotic. Fold the envelope over once
or twice before taping so that the seeds don't stick to the tape. After the seed is
received it will be placed in smaller packets; donors will be informed of how many
packets they have donated. A donation of 10-19 packets earns one free seed pacxet of
comparable rarity, with one free for each additional 10 packets.

Do not ask to trade for seed from the bank. Everyone will have to buy all but their
free packets. When you send seed, indicate whether it is for the seed bank, for Pat¬
rick's seed project or for a personal trade. The seed bank is separate from his
collection .

CO-EDITORS :

D.E. Schnell
Rt. 4, Box 275B
Statesville, NC 28677

J.A. Mazrimas
329 Helen Way
Livermore, CA 94550

T.L. Mellichamp
Dept, of Biology
UNCC

Charlotte, NC 28223

Leo Song
The Arboretum
Dept, of Biology
California State Univ.
Fullerton, CA 92634

PUBLISHER:

The Arboretum, Dept, of Biology, California State University, Fullerton,
CA 92634. Published quarterly with one volume annually. Circulation:

786 (474 new, 312 renewal). Subscriptions: $5.00 annually (U.S., Canada,
Mexico); $7.00 annually (all others, airmail).

Vol . VI, No. 3

CPN

45

To order seed: Please enclose payment. List the seeds desired and an equal number of
substitutes in order of preference. If requested, Patrick will add any cultural instruc¬
tions of which he is aware. Patrick will answer all letters and orders as quickly as
possible; if you receive no response within two weeks (U.S.) to a month (outside U.S.)
please write again.

Each issue of CPN will include an update of the inventory. Please do not ask for a
list unless you have joined after this initial listing.

PATRICK DWYER, director of the botanical garden at St.
Michael's Episcopal Church in Albany, N.Y. , is a recent
graduate of the State University of New York at Albany
with a B.S. degree in Biology. The garden at St. Michael's
occupies 2+ acres and contains approximately 750 species
of plants. It includes gardens of native wildf lowers,
ferns, and orchids of northeastern U.S. A., alpine plants,
herbs and "normal" cultivated flowers. In several small
greenhouses are collections of CP's, cacti, bromeliads,
palms, ferns and native orchids. Visitors are welcome.

Although carnivorous plants are his primary interest,
Patrick has many others, including several collections
(ranging from fossils to stamps) . He plays USVBA volley¬
ball and coaches a high school team; he also helps with
the church youth and younger children of the parish four
nights a week. He is a member of ten conservation groups
and nearly as many plant societies and hopes that by
overseeing the seed bank he can be of service and fulfill
a need. "I would like to ask everyone that subscribes to
CPN to please send as much seed as you can spare) The
seed bank will only work if everyone does his or her part!"

SEED BANK INVENTORY - August, 1977

Cost: $. 50/packet. Please list substitutes.

Darlingtonia calif ornica
Dionaea muscipula

Drosera affinis [2)*, D. aliciae , D. anglica, D. auriculata {6), D. binata [3), D. binata
hybrid (3), D. brevi folia (4), D. burmannii, D. capensis, D. capensis (narrow leaf),
D. capillaris, D. capillaris? "Spathulata Type" (1), D. communis (.2), D. erythror-
hiza, D. filiformis filiformis , D. glanduligera, D. heterophylla (2), D. indica (3),
D. intermedia "Roraima Type" (1), D. linearis (4), D. montana , D. peltata ( 3 ), D.
pygmaea (1), D. rotundi folia, D. spathulata ( 2 ), D. spathulata "Australian Type" (2),
D. spathulata "Kanto Type" (2), D. trinervia (10), D. villosa (4), D. sp. "v.

Capelle" - Holland (1)

Dro sophy Hum lusitanicum
Nepenthes macfarlanei (10)

Pinguicula alpina (1), P. alpina & P. vulgaris mix, P. Corsica (4), P. grandi flora, P.

grandi flora f. pallida (7), P. grandiflora ssp. rosea, P. leptoceras (3), P. pumila
(1), P. vallisnerii folia (2), P. vulgaris f. bicolor (6)

Roridula gorgonias

Sarracenia alata (x-ray treated, 100 rads), S. x exornata ( 5 ) ^ S. flava, S. leucophylla,

S. x mitchelliana (8), S. oreophila x alata (5), S. purpurea venosa, S. rubra, S.
rubra var. jonesii

Utricularia longifolia (3), U. nipponica (1), U. subulata (1)

♦Number of packets is listed if there are fewer than 15.

NEWS & VIEWS

WALTER BARNETT writes: I would like to report a method of killing algae and bacteria
colonies in the trays of pygmy Drosera that I grow. I am currently growing several
species of pygmy Drosera under fluorescent light. After many weeks of good growth,
a slime-like algae invaded the area. I treated this with several applications of
Benomyl. One month later, after three treatments, the algae was still existent.

Recently, white mold appeared throughout the trays. Everyday, for one week, I placed
the trays out in direct sunlight for 60-90 minutes. The ultraviolet and infrared
light of the sun slowly burned off the bacteria and algae. The fluorescent lights
do not contain sufficient quantities of invisible light to eradicate the hardy
vari-eties of algae. The key to remember is not to overexpose fluorescent grown
plants to long periods of sunlight. One treatment of sunlight is not enough to
kill algae and fungus. Often, several weeks of one hour exposures are necessary.

46

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 3

TERRY BROKENBRO observed some ants crawling up the stem of his Drosera binata (T-form)
and one which got caught seemed to inject some formic acid into the leaf and managed to
kill off the whole leaf. He hasn't come across this before, and ants seem to become

trapped by Drosera capensis and Dionaea muscipula without any problems.

On another subject regarding an up-date for the Round Robin Letter Exchange, Terry
reports the following:

IN OPERATION: 1) Seed germination/raising robin (9 participants)

2) Drosera robin (8 participants)

3) Nepenthes robin (11 participants)

A LISTING AWAITING MORE PARTICIPANTS:

1) General robin (6 listed)

2) Pinguicula robin (2 listed)

3) Sarraoenia robin (2 listed)

4) Darlingtonia robin (2 listed)

5) Cephalotus robin (2 listed)

6) Pygmy Drosera robin (2 listed)

7) Heliamphora robin (2 listed)

You will notice from the above that several interesting subjects are listed as possible
future RRs. During the past couple of months, I have not had any RR inquiries so perhaps
it is time for another call for more members to join. How about this, CPN members?

Write to Terry at: 37, Laburnham Gardens, Upminster, Essex, Great Britain RM14 1HX.

BILL COOK'S ramblings from The Plant Shop's Botanical Gardens, Reseda, CA: My partner
Bob Cole and I own and operate a small botanical garden. In over 15 years of chronic
collecting, we have amassed a large and impressive collection, which in the last few
years has been open to the public, without charge, five days a week. Our Nepenthes
collection, housed in the main tropical house, is about 50 feet long and is suspended
over one of the walks so that one may better see and examine, against ceiling light,
the insects in the liquid of the traps.

We pride ourselves on our one-to-one relationship with customers and find that they
will return if they are successful with the plants. We have a fairly constant supply
(though limited variety) of Nepenthes for sale. Drosera seem to be most popular,
probably because they are easy to grow in small areas. Sarraoenia trail right behind
the Drosera , slowed only by their average height. Some customers are making plexi¬
glass tubes by bending single sheets of plastic to make extending devices for terraria,
thus obtaining taller "clean" traps.

One of the few plants we refuse to sell or keep is Darlingtonia . In this climate
they must be field collected and have a short life span in cultivation. There are
other plants that are more rewarding.

Unfortunately, along with several other collections in the L.A. area, we have had
three recent burglaries and lost the bulk of our Cephalotus , D. schizandra and more.

We have had to remove some one-of-a-kind plants from the public area, though the
entire Nepenthes collection and a sampling of others are still on view. A word to
the wise . . . know not only your material but where it comes froml

In the latest issue there was a reference to Bacillus . We have been using dormant
Bacillus thuringiensis , distributed in the RO water, for some time. I have found
soaking to be the best method of application in the carnivore house; outside we
spray. We've been using insecticides (such as Plantfume, Cygon and Enstar) for
years. We have hopes that 50% Sevin wettable powder will keep down the damage which
occurs from petroleum base carriers and heat. If this proves as successful for us
as the liquid Sevin has been, we will then offer it to customers. By fogging in
with Enstar (a synthetic juvenile insect hormone which halts development) , we can
reach areas and ceilings without worrying about danger to us or to customers. The
$42/pint price is worth it to us but prohibitive for the average collector. We've
also used Cygon, Malathion, Kelthane and Zectran; the latter two cause the most
phytotoxic reaction, and the others will do some foliar harm. We are getting some
signs of damage on Ixora and Adiantum with the rather new Orthene, so we will pro¬
ceed slowly with the carnivores and will advise you of results. We are using Beno-
myl combined with Truban with success, but there is some tip burning in Sarraoenia.

A bone of contention or two: hybridizing and stone-throwing! Hybridizing should not
be done without good reason! Many species are already tenuous in their identifica¬
tion and indiscriminate hybridizing will only further confuse the issue. Often a
surge of plant interest will cause a rash of mislabeling and confusion will occur.

Place the correct cross information on each tag, e.g., Nepenthes alata x N. raffle-
siana, and don't name them unless you plan to publish a description. It is exciting
and fun to create a new plant, but please proceed slowly.

About throwing stones ... I don't feel it fair to clutter such a fine publication
with personal attacks. (Refer to CPN VI92) : 38-40. Conservation and Carnivorous

Vol . VI, No. 3

CPN

47

Plants.) If one wishes to make a point about field collecting, well and good.

The article was informative and much appreciated until it became personal.

*A later note from Bill indicates delayed damage which may have been caused
by Orthene and which resulted in the death of many CP. It is therefore recom¬
mended that caution be used until further evaluation is available. They have
discontinued use of Orthene for the time being. ED.

ROBERT GRIESBACH reports further locations of Sarraeenia purpurea ssp. purpurea
f. heterophylla farther west (see also CPN 6:33): Early this summer, I went
canoeing in the Superior National Forest of northern Minnesota. The first location
of heterophylla was on the eastern half of the Trost River. It was found growing
at the water's edge. The second location was about ten miles further east on an
island in Glee Lake. The total number of plants in these two locations was four.

JIM KOROLAS writes: I think the idea of pictures of CPN members is a great idea.
However, I think the co-editors should also have their pictures published (on the
front cover or on the back of the front cover) .

JIM LAVRICH writes: In the previous issue of CPN Phillip Thomas wrote concerning
Dionaea collected in Hampstead, N.C., which possessed an irregular number of trigger
hairs. I have also discovered this phenomenon on some specimens which I have been
cultivating for some time now. These traps contained an average of one extra trig¬
ger hair per trap. Upon testing of these trigger hairs, I found them very operable.
However, the only traps which possessed extra trigger hairs were the larger ones
between 25 and 30 mm. in length. From this fact I have hypothesized that perhaps
larger traps occasionally have more trigger hairs to better aid the capture of prey.
Since there is more surface area on the larger traps, there would be less chance
that an organism would be effectively captured by a trap with the normal numbers of
trigger hairs.

LARRY McCULLUH just purchased a new book called Wild Flowers of America, ed. H. W.
Rickett, 12th printing. It has 400 color plates of American wild flowers by Mary
V. Walcott. Included in these are seven plates of the Sarraeenia from her rare
book. North American Pitcher Plants that he has. There are also plates of Dionaea ,
Pinguicula vulgaris, Pinguicula elatior (caerulea). Reproduction of the plates is
very good and can't be distinguished from the originals. It can be obtained from
Crown Publishers for $7.99.

JOE MAZRIMAS informs us that there is a third issue of the magazine "Plants of the
World" which is available from the publisher. In addition to issues #64 and #9
mentioned before (CPN VI, 32, 1977) showing Nepenthes, Sarraeenia, Drosera, Pin¬
guicula and Utricularia , the new issue (#46) shows one page of Cephalotus. Send
$2.00 for each issue to:

AS AH I SHIMBUN PUBLICATIONS DEPT.

Tokyo Headquarters

2-6-1 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku

Tokyo, 100, JAPAN

Another issue of Garden Life 16(7) 1977 features additional CP. This magazine
from Japan was first mentioned in CPN 2:51 (1973) which at that time featured
Nepenthes. Now, this new issue features a great number of beautiful pictures of
representative CP species with a text in Japanese. Send $3.00 per issue to:

Seibundo Shinkosha Pub. Co., Nishikicho, Kanda Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN.

There are extra copies of Kurata ' s book "Nepenthes of Mt. Kinabalu" still available
from me for $5.00 postpaid. This book is 80 pages in length and has an English
text with numerous color photos of the finest pitchers in the Nepenthes genus.

Anyone who is really interested in Nepenthes should own a copy. Please send check
for $5.00 to Joe Mazrimas. Address is on inside back page of cover.

BOB NELSON writes: Seeds of Nepenthes khasiana may be obtained by first obtaining
the catalog from GEO. W. PARK SEED CO., INC. P.O. Box 31, Greenwood, South Carolina
29647. There is no price for the catalog. The price for the seeds is: 25 seeds
for 75C, 50 seeds for $1.25. Darlingtonia californica ( Chry samphora) seeds and
plants are also available.

DON SCHNELL writes: Since finishing my paper on Sarraeenia rubra (see Literature
reviews this issue) , I have continued further exploration of the area north of
Montgomery, Alabama, with the kind assistance of several local and other informants.
While most typically mature pitchers of S. rubra ssp. alabamensis have a moderately
red veined upper pitcher interior with a yellow-green exterior mostly lacking vein
pigment, I have come across many clones now where there is equally strong red vena¬
tion of the pitcher exterior, the vein network pattern being typical of S. rubra.

48

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 3

In addition, these pitchers often assume a dusky red color in mid and late summer.
These locations are very much off in the bush and apparently have not been previously
evaluated since property owners recalled no one else with interest in these plants.

By the way, some have made statements implying that only varying degrees of S. rubra
hybrids assume a diffuse red color anytime, that "pure" plants of the species never
do so. This is quite erroneous as anyone who carefully follows plants in the field
in all seasons and cultivates them properly can attest.

From the "THERE's STILL HOPE" Dept.: On 8 July, 1977, it was announced that The
Federal Paper Board Company would donate 13,850 acres of the Green Swamp (Brunswick
County, North Carolina) to the Nature Conservancy for permanent preservation. The
Conservancy will administer the land until the State is prepared to take it over.

The land will be treated as a natural area and recreational development will not
occur. This very generous parcel includes many fine CP areas that have been little
tampered with due to drainage problems the company encountered. Green Swamp trekkers
will appreciate that such areas as the well-known, large spring-fed bog of Sarracenias
along and east of NC 211 will now be preserved. Tough luck, commercial collectors!

I would like to remind readers that those CPN members who have papers published to
be sure and send reprints to the co-editors and to indicate if they wish to have a
reprint availability and address announcement at the end of the review. This helps
those readers with little or no library access to the scientific literature.

Just got back from the east coast the other day. There is essentially no winter
damage at all, and all of my CP outdoors here in the cooler piedmont also came through
with flying colors, including the Gulf species. The main problem in the eastern
coastal plain this year has been early spring drought. In late April, the area was
almost desert. Now there has been rain, but all ditches, pools, bays, etc. are still
only wet up to about 50% capacity, but that is better than dry, as they were earlier.
Flowering occurred on time, but leafing is much later, about a month behind, likely
because of the drought. Species such as S. rubra and S. minor which should be in
mature pitcher by now are just coming up or opening. Utricularia are far fewer
(flowers) this year, even in good pools and ditches. This may be a reflection of
the cold winter, but while species such as U. inf lata and U. purpurea seem to have
roughly alternate good and bad years anyway, this is the lightest year I have
seen .

While travelling through the Mississippi town of
Escatawpa, located in the heart of Sarraaenia alata
country, late one weary field trip afternoon, I
noted this street sign. It was worth a second look
and some photos because I wondered if I was suffer¬
ing from field fatigue — too many warm, humid sun-
shined hours looking at and for Sarraaenia and
beginning perhaps to see them everywhere. The town
was not botanically partial: It also boasted a
Mimosa St. and an Azalea St. close by. If I had
been so inclined, further explorations of other parts
of the town may have disclosed additional street sign
oddities. However, then it was time to be done with
asphalt bogs and to be back into live bogs, but car¬
rying the thought that perhaps it would be appropriate
one day if on this road someone built a home for aged

and retired CP botanists who in senior and calmer years, somewhat like old warriors
looking back on ancient battles, might sit on a wide veranda and discuss old times
in fields long grown over, and yes, even be serene and mellow with such once great
issues as the S. rubra problem.

PHILIP SHERIDAN writes: About the aquarium- terrarium, I forgot to give the address
of Aqua Engineers which is 250 Cedar St., Oronville, Michigan 48462. The cost of
the catalog is $1.00. I have had a little salt build-up and I would recommend using
distilled water. The best light can be achieved by using "Spectralite" or "Vita-
Lite". For growing Nepenthes from seed it is best to start them in a chamber with
bottom heat and then transplant to the aquarium- terrarium.

Now about our club. We will shortly be coming into the use of the neighborhood
recreation center for meetings. We plan on having plant shows, lectures and slide
shows. I would like everyone to know that we would greatly appreciate any slides
that could be loaned us. We need anything that anyone is willing to contribute in
the way of a presentation on CP. So, if you have any pictures or slides lying
around from a CP trip or related topic, please let me know.

I would also like to say that our club is open to anyone who would like to
join. We now have plans for a color bulletin and the more people that join the
cheaper the price. It stands now at about $1.75 per bulletin. So if you'd like
to join just drop a line to me at 5729 S. 2nd Street, Arlington, VA 22204.

I

Vol . VI, No. 3 CPN - 49 -

From OWEN TALLMAN: Just remembered there were two mentions in last CPN that you
should allow commercial firms to advertise as a source of revenue. Good idea,
but also something to consider very carefully as you can get trapped when, in the
future, you come to count on the ad money too much and you feel the pressure to
compromise. I have a suggestion. Take commercial advertising in a strictly con¬
trolled form. Rather than a yearly March listing gratis have one annual, complete
list, free, then carry a part of a page as a paid listing (every issue, with the
same content) — sort of a controlled classified where you determine exactly what
can be said. For instance, each firm that paid $20.00 for an ad would get name and
address listed, perhaps a slogan or "line of advertising" as in the phone book, and
perhaps a list of available genera, whether plants and/or seeds are sold in general,
or perhaps if books and supplies are sold. I would appreciate it if, should such a
thing come about, the distinction between field-collected and our horticultural CP
could be made. I think in general that such a listing would eliminate jousting
for space and keep the editors from having to consider the truth of claims made in
the ads.

SHORT NOTES

NOTES ON NEPENTHES MIRABILIS AND OTHER
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS IN QUEENSLAND

by P. S. Lavarack

Over the last five years I have spent several weeks each year travelling in remote
parts of North Queensland. Much of this work has centered on Cape York Peninsula,
with the objective of locating areas suitable for National Park Reservations, but I
have taken the opportunity to indulge my botanical interests which include carni¬
vorous plants and orchids. Here I must admit that while my orchid work has been
scientific, including the discovery and formal description of a few new species,
my association with carnivorous plants has been rather more casual, taking the
form of general observations. Nevertheless the following notes may be of interest
to readers of CPN.

Cape York Peninsula is a large triangular
mass of land about 550km at the base and
700km in length. The climate is hot all
year round with an average maximum for the
hottest month (January) of 32°C and for
the coldest month (July) of 27 °C. Respect¬
ive average minima are 23 °C and 18 °C.

There is a marked dry season between May
and November during which about 10% of the
yearly rainfall occurs. Most of the area
is low lying, there are few high mountains,
but there is a plentiful supply of small
streams and rivers, particularly near the
eastern coast. The soil is uniformly poor,
being derived from mesozoic sediments. The
major vegetation types are open Eucalyptus-
dominated forest, heath and some limited
areas of rain-forest.

In describing the carnivorous plants of
this area I will divide the Peninsula into
two parts: Firstly the bulk of the area
and secondly a small area in the southeast
corner situated between Cooktown and Towns¬
ville and west about 100km.

The major feature of the Peninsula proper in terms of carnivorous plants is undoubt¬
edly Nepenthes mirabilis . This is a locally very abundant plant from about Coen
north. It also occurs in New Guinea and many other localities in southeast Asia

and is, in fact, the most widespread of the genus. Cape York provides an extensive

area of habitat suitable for N. mirabilis , particularly near the east coast. It is
always found in areas that are at least seasonally boggy — in swamps and on stream
banks. In some areas the soil may dry out in the long dry season, and I have quite

often seen plants growing in dry sandy soil in full sun. Many of the moister swamps

have only very low vegetation and in these sunny positions Nepenthes is usually a
low shrub of up to lm. Such plants often have a lot of red colouring in leaves and
pitchers, but are nonetheless healthy. In more shady positions this plant often
grows into a long vine climbing up to 10m into the trees and bearing very few pitch¬
ers .

50

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 3

The pitchers vary in size from about 4cm to about 25cm but most are in the 8-12cm
range. Colour is also variable but green predominates--of ten with a red lid. The
upper parts of the pitcher may be red or red-spotted while occasional plants may
have evenly red coloured pitchers. This colouring does not appear to be entirely
governed by sunlight but it is not clear just to what extent it is environmental.

As in other places, a peculiar relationship between insect larvae and the pitchers
has been noted. Dr. E. N. Marks of Brisbane has reported three species of mosquito
which, quite probably, breed only in pitchers (Marks 1971) , while larvae of other
insects have also been observed doing very well in the same fluid which means
death to most other insects.

N. mirabilis has been collected in flower in August-September . I have found mature
seeds only in December and these proved to have a good rate of germination.

Drosera. Five species of Drosera occur on the Peninsula — all except one are wide¬
spread species outside Australia.

D. indica occurs across the north of Australia and at least as far south as Fraser
Island. It occurs in wet, but sunny areas and appears to be in evidence at all
times of the year.

D. burmanii with its rosettes of usually green leaves and small white flowers
appears to favour more sheltered areas. It occurs at least as far south as northern
New South Wales.

D. spathulata . A common plant in the open swamps in heath vegetation. It has
apparently not been recorded north of Cairns previously but this must surely be
because no one bothered to look.

D. petiolaris . A common species in Northern Australia, it prefers better drained
positions than the previously described species. It survives the dry season by
forming a compact resting bud which quickly grows with the onset of the wet season.

D. banksii. A dwarf species with elongate stems, this plant is reasonably common
across the northern part of the continent but has not been recorded outside Australia.
It is often overlooked due to its small size. I have seen it only once, on the
margin of a swamp in half shade.

Utricularia are the most abundant carnivorous plants in Eastern Australia, but
identification remains a problem. I have been sending specimens to Peter Taylor at
Kew and so far the following species have been recorded: U. chry santha , U. oaerulea,
U. uliginosa, U. bifida, U. exoleta and an undescribed species. Utricularia species
are particularly abundant in many areas and there is a good chance of discovering
further new species in the future.

One other genus of carnivorous plants occurs in this area. This is Byblis lini flora,
and although it is apparently quite common, I have not yet stunbled across it. It
occurs in the Northern Territory and south to about Rockhampton.

In the southeast part of the Peninsula between Cooktown and Townsville, the climate
is much less seasonal, and rainforests are widespread. Soil types vary, being
derived granite or from basalt over much of the area, but on the whole are more
fertile than those further north. This is a mountainous area of year-round humid
climate and high rainfall.

It is isolated from the moister parts of the Peninsula by a very dry belt of low-

lying land. These conditions have given rise to a group of three species of Drosera

which are found nowhere else. These are D. schizandra, D. adelae and D . prolifera.

D. sohizandra, which has a broad leaf, is a plant of the humid, shady rainforests
and occurs at moderate elevations (300-1000m). D. adelae is more common usually
along creek banks and in swampy areas at low altitudes. It occurs in the area near

Cardwell where plants with leaves up to 15cm long have been collected.

Much more rarely seen is D. prolifera , which apparently is restricted to the area
near Thornton's Peak. The original collection was made in 1932 and since then no
further specimens have been collected to my knowledge. I can recall several years ago
seeing a colony of plants which can only have been D. prolifera near a creek in the
foothills of Thornton's Peak at low atlitude. When opportunity permits I will visit
this area and confirm my identification.

Reference :

Marks, E. N. (1971). Mosquitoes that breed in pitcher plants.

News Bulletin Ent . Soc. Qld. 78-8-10.

(Received April 28, 1977)

Vol . VI, No. 3

CPN

51

NOTES ON TUBEROUS DR OS ERA OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
by Steve Rose

The notes will list Drosera species in a similar sequence as appears in Rica
Erickson's book Plants of Prey. Numbers correspond to book.

19. D. species is, according to N. Marchant and myself, really the "hills" form
of D. bulbosa. It goes deep maroon as it matures. It is found quite wide¬
spread in loams, gravel and silty sands. Plants grow from 4-10 cm in diameter
depending on climatic conditions. Usually the leaves vary very little in
shape but leaf color is variable depending upon age, soil and sun concentra¬
tion. Usually I can count as many as 15 leaves in one particular specimen.

The flowers often appear before the rosette and even more so after a bushfire.

20. D. bulbosa (sand form). This species is smaller and rarely grows more than
six leaves. It always is found deeply colored because of poor soils, and
proportionately sparse shrubs and less overhead shade. It grows in several
slow drying sand swamps in association with D. menziesii , D. heterophylla ,
D. gigantea and U. menziesii . The tubers
are very small and white or pink, rarely
deep red. The "hills form" tuber is
always dark orange and size varies from
a few mm to 2 cm in width. It has char¬
acteristic scales whereas the "sand form"
does not. The "sand form" tuber is nearly
round in shape but the larger sized "hills
form" is heart-shaped. (Fig. 1)

o

SAND FORM HILL FORM

Fig. 1

D. bulbosa (Mount Many Peaks type) . This form grows in shallow soils over
laterite rock in an area that is very impoverished and poorly drained. The
plants are extremely small compared to the other forms. The miniature rosettes
rarely exceed 1 cm in diameter. There are usually 1-2 flowers which are nearly
as large as the rosette. Only a small percentage of the plants flower but they
seem to divide adequately by vegetative means. The plants are deep red in color
even in the shade of shrubs which are 10-30 cm tall. There are normally only
3-5 leaves per plant.

21. D. macrophylla . This plant is extremely rare because of the destruction of its
habitat and grows under Jam trees around York and Northam, about 50-60 miles
east of Perth. I feel that no one has this species in cultivation. I have
never collected it, and I have misnamed D. erythrorhiza "hills form" as D. mac¬
rophylla. There are many differences and Erickson's descriptions are accurate.
This species does not develop red pigment at all.

22. D. erythrorhiza . There are two main forms: the sand and hill forms. The sand
form is the one drawn in Erickson's book. It has 3-5 leaves and sometimes 6
leaves which are somewhat more blunt than the "hills form". Strangely enough, it
never turns a deeper color than the "hills form" and is shorter lived in terms of
surface life. It goes dormant weeks before the "hills form" and also tends to
flower less but forms dense colonies by simple division. This form grows in
association with D. macrantha, D. menziesii (sand form) 3 D. pallida and some¬
times D. paleacea. It is widespread and common where conditions are favorable.
Always found in well drained sand.

The "hills form" is a robust plant that is found in laterite gravel, peaty loam,
loam, silty sand and heavy soils. It grows best in deep shade and deep leaf
mold. It requires well drained conditions and can be grown in fully to semi-
exposed sunlight. Those that are more exposed are naturally redder and longer
lived in surface life. The number of leaves are usually 8-10 in number and
rarely up to 13 leaves. The tuber size averages about 1. 5-3.0 cm in diameter
whereas the sand form is much smaller. Both tubers have scales and are deep
red in color. The "hills form" flowers more readily without fire but almost all
plants of adequate size will flower after a fire, even if the plant completely
exhausts itself and dies. This is not uncommon. This form is by far the most
luxuriant rosetted Drosera in W. A. It grows up to 15 cm (actually more) across
and that is big! Perhaps, I have seen some larger ones but the measuring tape
was not at hand. The big ones grow in filtered sun (never direct) in 45 inches
of rainfall per year, well drained, deep leaf mold and loose laterite gravel
which are all perfect conditions.

23. D. zonaria. This is a beautifully colored Drosera which grows in a variety of
locations but always in deep, well-drained silica sand. It comes up late and
is short lived on the surface. It readily divides but usually in 2-3 smaller
tubers. I've seen it literally carpet the ground where it flourishes in cleared
bush and where conditions are right. I have not found it north of Perth but a
lot south and east of here. It turns up in some small, sandy pockets at the
washouts of old streams that may cover a total area of 20-30 square meters.

I really don't know how they get there especially when they rarely flower!

I noticed that the tubers go down comparatively deep (about 15-20 cm) and are
adequate in relation to the size of the plant. The tubers are scaled and deep
red in color, never pale. As the plants dry out, they turn a unique golden
orange only. This species is extremely constant.

26. D. stolonifera. There are about three main forms of this species. The forms
vary in emergence habit and branching.

The upright form (Fig. 2) . This form resembles D. platypoda but is much more
robust and goes redder in color with leaf differences. This form likes to
grow in sand as well as laterite soil and is not as common as the other forms.

The flower is at its apex of growth late in the season after most of the stem
has developed. It develops more red pigment than other forms since others are
more orange.

The center flowering form (Fig. 3) . This form is as common as the form below
and the only difference is the pre-emergence of the flower spike in the center
and usually there are no flowers on the stems bearing leaves.

The leaf-stem flowering form (Fig. 4) . Here the flower usually terminates at
the apex of the leaf growth which is present on many branches beginning at
ground level.

The two forms above vary greatly in habit in different locations. They are
inconsistent but still remain distinct from the upright form by the flowering
habit and the non-creeping vegetative bud. The creeping bud can grow and break
surface and then meander under fine or deep leaf mold for a few to 10 cm or more.
Then the bud will rise a little and slowly swell over a period of time. Finally,
it will grow in a burst and complete its growing cycle above ground. D. stolon¬
ifera always flowers best after brushfires although they are not absolutely
imperative. One extreme form of D. stolonifera grows in Cannington swamps area.

It has black pigmentation on all of the glands and vivid green elsewhere. Lack¬
ing red pigmentation for the most part, this form comes from very wet sandy peat
and is an uncommon habitat for the species.

Usually, all the forms grow in well-drained soils of differing nature. Commonly,
it is found in laterite soils of the hills area and in part shade in leaf mold.
Although the most colorful plants rarely grow in very exposed areas, the tuber
is always deep red, scaled and dished at the top with a very rounded base (Fig. 5)
It is kidney-shaped in cross-section. Its range occurs over most of the state
with the finest specimens found in the heavier rainfall areas (35-45 inches per
annum) .

27. D. platypoda. This species is very consistent within my limited experience with
it. In a place where there was a previous brushfire, I have seen it flower only
at the Stirling Range. The soil here was stony laterite mixed with white sand
and a heavy concentration of humus. The soil appeared to be rather poorly

drained. However, in an area east and west of Albany, the soils
are mostly well-drained sandy loam or sandy clay. In these
locations, the soils dry out in summer and are wet again by win¬
ter rains. The tuber is small in relation to the size of the
plant (Fig. 6) . It is usually or almost always oval-shaped with a

Fig . 6

Vol . VI, No. 3

CPN

53

point to the bottom. I have never seen D. platypoda or D. stolonifera growing
together or even in close proximity. In the Stirling range, D. platypoda grows
with a form of D. platy stigma and around Albany, it grows with or near D. pallida
(swamp form), D . sulphurea, and another unidentified climber.

28. D. ramellosa. I haven't seen this species yet.

30. D. macrantha. This beautiful species is extremely common. The leaves and stem
contain no red pigments but develop a golden green color of pure brilliance. It
turns slightly orange as it matures after flowering. The flowers are scented and
are large. I found it growing in a variety of conditions and soils over the
southwest. The sand growing specimens develop sooner and recede to larger
tubers than the hills or heavier soil forms. It seems that the heavier soil
forms not only emerge later but recede later. In both extremes of soil types,
the species develops to its utmost. It does seem more prolific in sandy soils
surrounding swampy areas. The tuber is white to pale cream in color and when
bruised there is a reddish brown scab formed. On exposure to sun the tubers
can take on a pinkish color. Usually the tuber is kidney shaped and has small
warts all over the surface (Fig. 7) . There are no scales. This species is very
This species is very consistent throughout its range
although very poor soils and harsh conditions do contribute
to extreme growth variations. However, standard cultivation
makes equal characteristics of all. I found that the soils
are almost always well drained, fairly rich, and it prefers
shade or the necessity of having* a host to climb upon. In
cultivation, this plant can grow to more than 6 inches in
length but soon recedes at the end of flowering regardless
of moisture and temperature.

31. D. subhirtella. This species is another brilliantly yellow-flowered semi¬
climbing Drosera. It grows in poor soils of heavy texture with other CPs. It
grows in the wheatbelt areas with rainfall 10-20 inches per annum. Later in
the season, the plant does turn reddish as it matures. In one location, I have
seen plants up to 80 cm tall under ideal conditions, but this is uncommon. At

a location close to Perth, they grow in a layer of heavy soil over granite rocks
with D. bulbosa and D. erythrorhiza . The tuber is smooth, round to kidney shape
and bright yellow in color.

32. D . strictacaulis . A golden green plant with attractive flowers which is uncom¬
monly found in its normal habitat because of destruction, or salt intrusion
through land clearing as well as other pollutants. It prefers shady conditions
with soils of a heavy texture and poorly drained, but drying in late spring-
summer. The tuber is oval and small, red, scaled and usually not too deep. The
growth habit is in the form of clusters of up to 3, 4, 5 plants with several
seedlings surrounding it. It's quite a beautiful sight on a sunny, humid day.

33. D. andersoniana . Not seen as yet.

34. D. menziesii . This species is a variable erect or semi-erect sundew with three
main forms and possibly two distinct species, but not enough information is
known .

Swamp form. Sometimes called the heath form which commonly grows in nearly all
swamps in the northwest that can be habitable to CPs. It grows from a few centi¬
meters to about 20 centimeters. Its tuber is dark red, small and buried not too
deep. The plant develops an intense maroon pigment to the extent that there is
no green to be found on the plant at all. These Droseras appearing with thousands
of large pink flowers swaying in a gentle breeze is something not easily forgotten.
The swamp form grows in a variety of locations and soil types. Soils range from
very poorly drained sands to pure peat or to mud or clay. Often, they form
clumps of plants up to 20-30 in number. These tufts appear at a distance like
dark red shrubs or small bushes. It grows with D. pulchella, D. heterophylla,

D. gigantea, D. neesi and others.

Wheatbelt form. This form is unusual because of the definite blood red or crim¬
son flower as compared with the pale to dark pink or even light mauve in the
sand form. Under good conditions, this form grows a little larger than the
swamp form but generally is much smaller in very exposed areas. Again, this
form has the deep red-maroon pigmentation. I found it growing in association
with D. leucoblasta, D. pycnoblasta and sometimes D. zonaria , and D. pallida
in the low rainfall areas.

Sand form. This form is very large — up to 70-80 or even 100 cm high. It is
erect but large plants are always in company of a leaning post. This form has

54

CPN

Vol VI, No. 3

< t ■

a pale mauve to pink flower and is larger than the other forms. The tuber is
unusual, being pale pink in color, small and very deep. Most tubers are
found so deep that it's almost unreasonable to dig them up since they go down
about 30-50 cm in hard soils. Usually, they go down 25-30 cm but break off
easily when the final move is made. The plants go redder as they mature, but
usually most retain some green coloring. It grows always in well-drained areas
and is found in association with D. macrantha , D. pallida, D. paleacea , D. eryth-
rorhizia (sand), D. zonaria , D. stolonifera (sand form) . At one location this
form grows in abundance on the slopes of a stream and in association with
D. platy stigma, D. miniata, D. erythrorhiza and D. bulbosa "hills" form. The
soil was laterite of a heavy texture with thick scrub and small trees. This
may be an unclassified species but right now it's known as D. menziesii.

35. D. microphylla . This is an attractive, erect and uncommon

sundew. Its leaf and stem have a combination of deep green
and almost irridescent red. The flower is bizarre and easily
noticed when in flower. I find that this plant is hard to
find but usually grows in shady locations and in leaf mold
around tall trees in laterite soils. It forms clumps up to Fig. 8

six or more plants with seedlings nearby. The tuber is small

and oval, deep red and scaled (Fig. 8). Erickson reports that this species
grows in tussocks on granite rocks but as yet I have not seen it in this
habitat. Plants are much larger further south in wetter areas.

36. D. huegelii. Only once have I seen this species (about five years ago)
but I can't remember much.

37. D . heterophylla . This species is fairly common in wet areas that dry in summer.
It is not fussy with soil just as long as it's wet in winter and spring. It
often forms dense colonies and usually in associaton with D. bulbosa and

D. menziesii. The tuber is white, smooth and round with a slightly

top. Sometimes it is slightly scaled. It turns yellow-brown when bruised.

The tuber is never found buried too deep and is usually covered with black rem¬
nants of previous growth. The flowers are white and many petalled, large and
faintly perfumed. The leaves and stalk are semi-irr idescent orange-green while
the glands are black pigmented. It's a rather colorful plant with many contrasts
that is easy to grow and often forms consistent dense clumps.

38. D. pallida. This species is a variable climbing sundew— a smooth mostly green

plant. It is very rarely that this plant develops any dark pigmentation at all.
An extreme form I once gathered at Badginarra, north of Perth, had tubers about
4-6 cm in diameter and grew extremely tall (2m) . They grew with D. drummondi in
very well-drained coarse quartz sand with about 10-20% laterite rock. They were
on a slope of a laterite hill. Nowhere within one hundred miles did I see any
more D. pallida to match these for their robust habit. These tubers developed
mostly yellow and rarely pink pigment. Specimens from local haunts are varied

in size but vegetatively consistent. It grows in most soils around here and

down south but favors sandy conditions where it can climb on a host.

The tuber is white or very pale cream, sometimes yellowish when exposed to the
sun, or rarely pink (pale) . It has warts similar to D. macrantha but not as
pronounced. (More like pits than warts!!) The shape varies with the shape of
the surrounding soil, but usually is round to kidney shaped. One form that
grows down in the swamps with Cephalotus f ollicularis has small pink or reddish
tubers and is almost smooth in texture. This form grows more than 8 feet in
length and may be a new species. It is rather long lived above the ground.

40. D. bulbigena. I've seen this species only once growing near Waterloo in a swamp

by the side of the road. The soil was sandy peat that dries out in summer. It

was hard and very poorly drained. Unspoiled or intact plants are almost impos¬
sible to find since the plant is very small. I never saw the tubers.

41. D. modesta. I've seen this species only once, also in South Sterlings, growing
in sandy soil in relation with supporting shrubs. This yellow-green plant is
usually found in well-drained soil.

42. D. sulphurea. This uncommon species is limited in its range to constantly damp
swamps with adequate exposure. It's associated with Cephalotus and other swamp
Drosera and Utricularia. The flower is a very conspicuous brilliant yellow.

The soil ranges from sandy peat to pure peat moss and the yellow colored tuber
is slightly pitted sometimes. It seems to have a long life above the soil line
in Spring and Summer, but it is late rising as other Southern swamp species are.
The leaves and stem rarely develop darker pigment because it is nearly always
sheltered somewhat. Finally, it grows fairly consistently throughout its range.

Vol . VI, No. 3

CPN

55

43. D. neesii. This species is fairly common in varying habitats that are always
dry by summer. It never develops any red pigment and appears always golden-
green with a pink flower. The tuber is a smallish pink color and round to
kidney shape and smooth. Being a very late riser, it is still around when other
tuberous plants are going dormant even when the soil has dried somewhat. This
species is also very consistent throughout its range.

44. D. myriantha. This uncommon species grows in mossy swamps around Cephalotus in
soils ranging from sandy peat to living moss. It can continue to grow after
flowering as can the other swamp growing climbing species and shows consistent
characteristics throughout its range.

47. D. gigantea. This plant resembles asparagus shoots as it emerges from dormancy.

It is late in rising from its deep cool hideaway in the soil. The shoots come
up with folded scales with a smooth appearance and are either yellow-green or
deep red in color. Pigmentation is very diverse varying from pale yellowish
green to deep maroon. The whole plant is very striking especially when seen in
colonies around the perimeters of some swamps. It is rather common and as long
as there is slow moving water in winter and little competition for summer mois¬
ture, then you will probably find this species there. Its habitat usually dries
out in summer but does so very slowly. The flowers are small, white and numerous.
The whole plant usually keeps on growing until conditions become too inadequate
and then it recedes to the deep tuber. Tubers of mature plants can be 3-4 cm
in diameter with a deep red outershell but orange inside, scaled, kidney shaped
and easily damaged.

It grows in association with many other CPs, although in some habitats this is
the only species that can survive. This is especially so in salty creeks or
heaths where other CPs have been wiped out years ago. Vagrant and introduced
grasses and annual herbs which colonize wetlands do not seem to worry this species
unduly but seedlings cannot survive--only the mature plants.

D. species (El Cabello Blanco) . This new species is found from the Great Eastern
Highway, near a horse stud farm called El Cabello Blanco. There is only one small
location left near this place and soon it will be gone. Although this species
resembles others in the D. rosulata group, much more work has to be done. It seems
that the plant never develops red pig¬
mentation but instead remains golden
green with darker glandular pigmen¬
tation that's almost black in some
plants. It grows in a heath of an
even textured poorly drained loam.

Nearby, D. bulbosa (hills form) and
D. menziesii and several native ter¬
restrial orchids grow here. D. macro-
phylla is closely related to this
species .

This ends my list of tuberous Drosera
of SW. - West Australia, but there
are a few more species identified or
unidentified as yet that I have not
found or seen. So, in a future
article I will describe them for you.

(Received May 6, 1977)

We owe a debt of gratitude to PHIL MANN
for providing us with the information
and plot of the various tuberous Droseras
which grow in Western Australia. The
numbers refer to the species described by
STEVE ROSE and some of their locations.
The enclosed numbers refer to major high¬
way routes in the area.

TEMPERATURE AND DORMANCY by Don Schnell

I think the question most often asked regarding temperature is about the extremes:
How high or how low a temperature will my plants withstand? The answer is not at
all simple and generalizations may not apply to your particular species or situa¬
tions .

Generally, the upper extremes of temperature a "typical" carnivorous plant will
endure without dying are related to the character of its native habitat, and
whether humidity elevation also accompanies an increase in air and soil tempera¬
tures. Regarding the first factor, a cool growing plant of S. purpurea ssp.
purpurea or Drosera linearis native to cool bogs of northern Michigan or Canada
will not do as well transplanted to outdoors Florida as would a plant of S. pur¬
purea ssp. venosa or other Drosera obtained much further south. Obviously, as
anyone who has bogged in the north knows, summer air temperatures midday can be¬
come awfully stifling — but plunge your hand into the sphagnum and note how cool
rhizomes and roots are due to the percolation of cold spring waters and the nat¬
ural cooling effect of sphagnum. The problem of growing Darlingtonia in very hot
climates has been discussed often in past issues of CPN, as another example.

The second factor involved in upper temperature extreme endurance is a bit more
ephemeral and relative. Generally, many CP can endure higher temperatures during
the active growing season if the humidity is also elevated. During particularly
bright (and dry) days, the temperature of my Nepenthes house often rises to 120°F,
but there is no harm since I keep the relative humidity up to 80%+. However,
Nepenthes root systems clearly must be genetically more tolerant of higher tempera¬
tures since this same concept would never work with our previous examples of north¬
ern Sarracenia and Drosera.

As far as low temperature extremes, again refer back to the plant's native habitat.
In North America, I do not believe any of us would subject our exotic tropicals to
freezing, but they will adapt to temperatures just above freezing during dormant
periods. A friend once lost all of his Drosera capensis during a power failure
and they came back from roots the following spring. This brings out the point that
as long as rhizomes and roots do not freeze hard, many CP are quite hardy to at
least short periods of very cold temperatures. In North America, all native CPs
can be overwintered outdoors as far north as Michigan as long as there is some
protection against deep freezing, such as burying pots or tubs in the ground,
mulching or snow cover. However, I would strongly advise an outdoor overwinter
experiment with some excess plants if you have any doubts about your area. Also,
beware of frost "heaving" which gradually works previously buried rhizomes up
into freezing air.

Regarding dormancy, all temperate growing plants require a period of winter
dormancy. If you are growing outdoors, you will have no problem. In greenhouses,
you will have to reduce temperatures and watering (to just barely damp soil) as
photoperiods decrease and winter comes on. Under lights, you will have to do all
of the above plus shorten your photoperiod in daily increments. If you try to
force plants prematurely from dormancy or try to bypass it altogether, you are
inviting rot. Dormancy and light (see previous Beginner's Corner) are the two
most difficult areas I have seen with beginning growers.

Even tropicals have a modified period of dormancy, this most often corresponding
to dry periods in the native habitat rather than winter cooling and shorter photo¬
period. These rhythms will most often continue into cultivation and you will note
a slowdown in plant growth, often during warm weather. At this point, give the
plant a bit more shade and decrease watering until it again shows increasing growth
at which time gradually place back into optimum light and watering conditions for
that species.

Dormancy has evolved in plants as a natural protective mechanism against inclement
conditions. A tender, growing plant is less likely to withstand freezing than a
metabolically resting plant or a hibernaculum or over-wintering bud (e.g. Drosera
filiformis, D. intermedia, etc.). Further, biological clock mechanisms are often
built in so that the plant must have a minimum time in dormancy or be exposed to
a minimum temperature before it will properly resume growth, and then must be in
appropriate conditions. You may wish to experiment with refrigeration, but again
do so only with material you can spare.

Next is Water and Growing Medium by Joe Mazrimas.

Vol . VI, No. 3

CPN

Flowers, Sex, and Hybridization
in Carnivorous Plants

The flower is a remarkably specialized plant
organ. It is characteristic exclusively of the
Flowering Plants ( Angiosperms) of which there are
some 300,000 living on the earth today. They are
by far the dominant life forms in most habitats,
and they owe a large part of their success to the
efficient functioning of the flower in sexual
reproduction.

Sexual reproduction is important in the life of
plants and animals because it allows for the com¬
bination of different genetic material from two
parents into the offspring, creating a great deal
of genetic diversity necessary for long term adap¬
tation to continually changing and diverse habitats.
Flower production is one of the most highly tuned
and coordinated processes in the plant kingdom.

The flower is specifically designed to bear sex organs (male stamens, and female
pistils) and to attract the insects (and other animals) so important for ensuring
cross pollination. The large, colorful petals are the main attractive organs while
nectar may also act as a lure and a reward. In order to be more successful with
routine seed production and special attempts at hybridization of different species
when dealing with our hobby of growing CP at home, it is desirable to understand how
the flower works and what the possible arrangements can be.

The most desirable situation from the plant's point of view when engaging in sexual
reproduction is of course for outcrossing , that is, for the -pollen (containing sperm
and produced by the stamens) of one flower to be carried to the stigma (receptive
portion of the female pistil) of another flower on a different plant of the same
species. This brings about the uniting of the most different genetic material from
the parents to the offspring (seed) . Most plants go to great lengths to ensure out-
crossing; the following is an enumeration of the possible situations.

Flowers may be perfect (a single flower bearing both male and female organs) or im¬
perfect (a single flower being either male or female, but not both) . We will con¬
sider perfect flowers first:

PERFECT FLOWERS

Set f -pollinating : while most plants want to cross-pollinate , if this does not

happen, self-pollination may occur. This happens when the pollen is deposited
on the stigma of the same flower. Self-pollination is usually a last resort
when an insect does not come to transfer pollen to another flower; it ensures
that at least some seed are produced for the next generation. Mechanically,
this is accomplished by the movement of the stamens, or the stigmas, so that
they come in contact with one another. You can do it with a small brush gent¬
ly moved about inside the flower, making sure all stamens and stigmas are
touched in the process.

CP which exhibit self-pollination are: (at least some) Sundews and Cephalotus (?).
Some Sundews and very small Bladderworts may exhibit a type of self-pollination
where the flowers never open. This is termed cleistogamy , and seed production
occurs only by self-pollination. We do not know why this occurs, but it seems
to be successful for the plants which exhibit it.

Cross -pollination may be ensured in two ways:

Self -incompatibility (genetic): this occurs when, even though both sex organs
are produced in the same flower, the pollen will not function on the stigma of
the same flower in which it was produced. Thus each flower can both give and
receive pollen, but another flower must be involved in every case of successful
seed production. There is usually a chemical factor involved which prevents
"self" pollen from functioning. In some cases, two flowers on the same plant
will be different enough genetically to cross, while in most cases, the two
flowers must be on entirely different plants to overcome the genetic incompati¬
bility factor. This implies that two plants which originally came from the
same clump, or rootstock, even when separated and grown as individuals, will
not produce seed when crossed. Each parent must be from a separate original
plant, and not from a clone, or clump of vegetatively propagated individuals.

This is the most common way of ensuring cross-pollination and is best exhibited
by Venus' Flytrap.

- 57 -

BOTANIST'S CORNER

M

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1

1

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h

a

m

P

58

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 3

While many CP can be self -pollinated by hand, cross-pollination is
desirable and can be accomplished by taking pollen on a brush from one
plant and gently brushing the stigmas of the flowers on another plant,
and doing the reciprocal. Thus you cross-pollinate two flowers at the
same time. There is very little knowledge about which CP are actually
self -sterile , as it is termed. The more common situation is the following:

Mechanical prev ention of self-pollination: In this case, the stamens and
pistils of each flower are positioned in such a way that the stamens can
never deposit pollen on their own stigmas — an insect (or human!) must
intervene. Usually the flowers are irregular in shape and the stamens
and pistils are hard to see; you almost have to dissect the flower to
find them. Thus, hand pollination is difficult and practice is needed.

In all cases, however, nature has "fixed" it so that certain insects are
perfectly adapted to "fit" into each species of plant's flower. Thus,
each size and shape of flower attracts a particular size and shape insect
to pollinate it, sometimes exclusively. This keeps natural hybridizations
between species to a minimum.

The CP which exhibit this situation are Utricularia , Pinguicula, Sarracenia ,
and Darlingtonia . Small bees and flies effectively pollinate the former
two; while large bees, such as bumble bees, work on the larger flowers of
the latter two. Very little work has been published on the pollination
biology of CP.

To cross these types at home, you must first find the stamens, then trans¬
fer pollen by brush to the stigma of another flower on the same plant, or
more likely, different plant (depending on whether or not that species is
self compatible) . Sarracenia are self-compatible. Try different combina¬
tions and keep records of your crosses and see what works.

IMPERFECT FLOWERS

Separate male and female plants: In CP, there is one situation where cross¬
pollination is absolutely ensured. This occurs in Nepenthes where the
flowers on a given plant are unisexual , either male or female, but not
both. The plants are thus either male or female. (In some other species of
plants, the male and female flowers may be in different places on the same
plant.) In Nepenthes, then, an insect must carry pollen from one plant to
another. In nature this may sometimes present a problem if the two plants
are not growing near one another; but usually the insect can locate the
opposite sex with no trouble. In cultivation, it is another problem because
female plants of Nepenthes are relatively rare; and when a grower has both
sexes, they may not always bloom at the same time as they do in nature.

When they do coincide, it is a simple task to transfer pollen. If you are
dealing with the same species, or two species which are capable of hybridizing,
good seed set should occur.

(To be continued)

In the next issue:

"Unseasonal Blooming in Sarracenia in Western Florida" by Landon T. Ross
"Of Barn Swallows and Droseras" by Owen Tallman

"Building Your Own Solar Water Distiller" by Scott A. Richardson
"Carnivorous Plant Companies" by Glenn Claudi-Magnussen

"Where We Came from and Where We Hope to Go" by Joe Mazrimas and Don Schnell

REVIEW 0£ RECENT LITERATURE

Casper, S.J. and K. Kondo . 1977. A new species of Pinguicula from Mexico.

Brittonia 29:112-115.

Annual or bienniel Pinguicula sharpii (Sect. Isoloha, 2n=16) from Chiapas,
Mexico is described for the first time. The plant is quite small and must
be reproduced by seed.

Chhabra, S.C., Gupta, S.R., Seshadri, T.R. and Sharma, N.D. Chemical investigation
of Dikamali gum: Isolation of two new flavones. Indian J. Chem Sect B Org.
Chem Incl . Med. Chem. 14 ( 9) : 651- 6 53 1976.

Two new flavones were isolated from the above gum. One of them is isoscutel-
larein which was previously isolated from Pinguicula vulgaris.

Vol . VI, No. 3

CPN

59

Clancy, F.G. and Coffey, M. Acid phosphatase and protease release by the insectivor¬
ous plant Drosera rotundi folia . Can J. Bot. 55 ( 4) : 480-488 1977.

When plants were given gelatin, enzymes were released 1-2 days after feeding.
Maximum was reached after 4 days and declined. Both enzymes had optimal
activity at acid pH. The authors discuss the apparent induction of the acid
phosphatase enzyme.

Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and
Canada. L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell Univ. 1290 p. Macmillan Pub. Co.,

New York, N.Y. 1976. $99.50

This 7 lb. book is a monumental opus which is concise and is really a dictionary,
not an identification manual, on many types of plants including our beloved CP.
This dictionary joins the other classic productions from the Bailey Hortorium
which also describe CP in historical perspective. They are: Cyclopedia of
American Horticulture (1900-1902), Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture (1914—
1917), Hortus (1930), Hortus Second (1941), and Manual of Cultivated Plants
(1940, 1949) .

Jung, W., Utricularia turions (winter buds) from the interglacial period of Zeifen/
upper Bavaria. Mitt. Bayer Staatssamml. Palaeontol. Hist. Geol 16, 99-104
1976.

A number of hairy turions were found in West Germany in the Eemian (Quaternary)
which were determined to be of the genus Utricularia.

Kohlmeyer, J. New records of angiosperms and terrestrial fungi from Carteret Co.,

N.C. J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 92(l):27-30 1976.

One of the rare plants listed is Sarracenia rubra.

Komiya, S. Exotic species of the Lentibulariaceae in Japan Part 2. Bull. Nippon
Dental Univ., Gen. Ed. Vol 6 1- 21 (1977).

This article diagrams and pictures 25 species of carnivorous plants grown in
Japan belonging to three genera: Pinguicula, Polypompholyx and Utricularia .

Kondo, K. Segawa, M. & Nehira, K. A cytotaxonomic study in four species of Drosera .
Mem. Faculty Integrated Arts & Sciences. Ser. IV, Vol. 2:27-36 1976.

The chromosome numbers of three species of Drosera are: D. diehrosepala Turcz.
(2n=18) , D. pulchella Lehmann (2n=18) , and D. pygmaea DC. (2n=28) . The basic
chromosome number of the former two species, X=9 , may cover the gap between
X=8 and X=10 in the aneuploid Drosera. The D. adelae F. Muell listed here
(2n=30) differs from that published previously (2n=28; Kondo 1976).

Lichtner, F.T. and S.E. Williams. 1977. Prey capture and factors controlling
trap narrowing in Dionaea (Droseraceae) . Amer. J. Bot. 64:881-886.

Having defined and described the nature of and action potentials involved in
the fast phase of closure, the authors now turn to aspects of capture and
the second or "narrowing" ("sealing") phase of closure. The data indicate
that this latter phase as well as secretion are initiated by mechanical stimu¬
lation (action potentials detected on trap surface for many hours after capture)
and maintained by chemical stimulation (of hemolymph contents) after death of
the prey. Various chemical substances were evaluated for their effects (or lack
of effect) on narrowing and secretion by instillation into closed traps in the
laboratory, and results are tabulated. A list of field prey indicates that
there is no particular attraction to particular insects and most seem to be
trapped as they wander in or seek a resting place. Nearly a third of such prey
in June in the study location were ants, another 27% were spiders, and flies were
only 2%. This is an information packed study and must be read in its entirety
by serious students. (Reprints available from author for $0.50 in U.S. Address:
S. E. WILLIAMS, Dept, of Biology, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA 17003)

Paul, S.R., New plant records for Bihar from Netarhat Plateau. I. Botanique (Nagpur)
7(1) : 29-32 1976.

This paper reports among other plants that Drosera pelta'ta is a new species in
Bihar State in India.

Schnell, D.E. 1977. Infraspecific variation in Sarracenia rubra Walt.: Some obser¬
vations. Castanea 42:149-170.

Five infraspecific disjunct variants of the species are described, discussed and
illustrated. The author feels there is insufficient discontinuity of characters
to declare any of these separate species, and detailed reasoning and comparisons
are offered. It is recommended that the combination S. rubra ssp. jonesii be
retained and that it not be re-elevated to species level as recently proposed by
another author. Two recently described "species" from this group are reduced to
subspecies: S. rubra ssp. alabamensis and S. rubra ssp. wherryi. (Reprints:

D.E. Schnell, Rt. 4, Box 275B, Statesville, NC 28677)

60

CPN

Vol . VI, No. 3

When submitting Want Ads, please be sure to
print clearly for best results and to elim¬
inate mistakes. Please indicate the correct
letter before each item (Want, Trade, Sell or
Buy) . Want ads are limited to carnivorous
plants, terrariums, greenhouses and moss.

There is a charge of ten cents per item, with
no limit to the number of items you may submit
per issue.

Send coin or check along with your want ad to:

Arboretum, Want Ads
California State University
Fullerton, CA 92634

Jan Anthony, 10 Walnut St., Narragansett , RI 02882. (WB) Cephalotus follicularis, Drosera sahizandra,

D. peltata, Sarraaenia leuaophylla , Pinguiaula planifolia , P. primuliflora, Heliamphora
Andrew Arvai , 4 Indian Trail Ct. , Novato, CA 94947. (WB) Nepenthes raffle siania, N. sanguinea ,

N. Hookeriana, N. Kampotiana , Cephalotus follicularis
Bryce R. Augustine, 768G. Cypress Wk. Goleta, CA 93017. (WB) Pinguiaula oaudata , P. primuliflora,

P. grandi flora, Sarraaenia oreophila, S. psittaaina, Drosera adelae
Mark Bankey, 309 Orchard, San Marcos, Texas 78666. (WB) Byblis gigantea, Drosera regia
Jay Brodie, 10 Brookside Dr., Apt. 3H, Greenwich, CT 06830. (WTB) Drosophyllum seed, Byblis gigantea
seed, Sarraaenia oreophila seted, S. hybrids (seed or rhizome cuttings), aquatic Utrioularia (not
U. vulgaris) , Drosera montana plants, D. filiformis v. traayi plants
Rick Chapman, Box 22, Versailles, N.Y. 14168. (WTB) Heliamphora, Dionaea musaipula (very large 15-20
years), Drosera sahizandra, D. capensis (seeds), live or milled moss. (WTS) 2 young Pinguiculas
(var. uncertain)

Harvey Dickler, CLU, 33 Cloverfield Road, Valley Stream, NY 11581. (B) flava x rubra, flava x

psittaaina, minor x rubra, alata x psittaaina, flava (heavily veined)

Paul Duval, 25138 Andreo, Lomita, CA 90717. (WB) Nepenthes x nobilis, N. nigro -purpurea, N. trunaata,

N. veitahii, N. x mastersiana, N. villosa, N. ampullaria, N. x hookeriana, N. x excelsa (don’t
confuse with excelsior or exaellens) , Cephalotus

Ken Griffo, 33 Sherbrooke Dr., Florham Park, NJ 07932. (WB) any Cephalotus, any Nepenthes, Heliam¬
phora, Drosophyllum, Byblis

James D. Hummer, 134 Lido Way, Upland, CA 91786. (WB) Dionaea musaipula. Nepenthes , Sarraaenia,

Drosera petiolaris

Michael Hunt, RFD 25, Box 11714, Oakton, VA 22124. (S) Cephalotus follicularis, N. alata.

(B) 5. purpurea forma heterophylla (TB) S. flava x S. minor
Jim Korolas, 36 Eastlea Cres., Agincourt, Ont., MIT 3A6, Canada. (TS) S. purpurea var. ripliaola

(WTB) S. flava (no red), S. oreophila, S. oreophila hybrids, any Nepenthes (WT) S. flava (red
top) , S. flava (red throat)

Scott Plamondon, 18018A S.E. Blanton, Milwaukie, Oregon 97222. (WTB) Heliamphora, D. sahizandra,

D. petiolaris, Byblis gigantea, Drosophyllum lusitaniaum, any Nepenthes , Aldrovanda
(TS) Darlingtonia

The Plant Shop's Botanical Gardens, 18007 Topham Street, Reseda, CA 91336. Want to buy rare
carnivores .

Alan Schueler, 16345 Martincoit, Poway, CA 92064. (WB) any Nepenthes seed, plant, or stem cutting,

Cephalotus follicularis, Drosera peltata

Peter A. Taverna, c/o P.O. Upper Sturt, S.A. 5156, Australia. (W) D. anglica, D. linearis, D.
longi folia, Genlisea seed (T) D. pygmaea, D. glanduligera, D. whittakeri, D. planchonii,

D. peltata, D. auriaulata

Philip Thomas, Rt. 4, 144 Monticello Road, Weaverville, NC 28787. (TS) Drosera binata, D. burmanni
(Taiwan) seed, D. capensis (narrow leaf) seed, D. aapillaris seed, D. filiformis traayi seed,

D. x nagamoto, D. filiformis filiformis seed, D. intermedia seed, D. spathulata, D. spathulata
(Japan, spathulate form), D. filiformis traayi, Dionaea (seedlings), Sarraaenia flava seed,

S. flava, S. minor seed, S. rubra jonesii seed, Utriaularia subulata, Pinguiaula pumila seed.

(wtb) Any Nepenthes (seed esp.), N. gracilis, S. rubra jonesii (yellow flower), P. primuflora,

D. peltata, Roridula ssp.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Due to the low number of orders for copies of the 1977 Plant List, and the desire to
provide more up-to-date information, Lynn Macey, Carnivorous Plant Information Service,
511 N. Eby , McPherson, KS 67460 (USA) , has agreed to store the information for retrieval
on demand. A computer copy of the Plant List is available from him for $1.00 postpaid.
Bob Ziemer has also requested that due to this new service, all updates of plant
inventories be sent directly to Lynn. People who have ordered the Plant List from The
Arboretum will receive their copies from Lynn. Payment will be forwarded to him from
The Arboretum.

We apologize for failing to mention in the March issue that Sundew Environments is also
a source for the books by Lloyd, Darwin and Schnell.

CARNIVOROUS
PLANT

NEWSLETTER

VOLUME VI, No. 4
December, 1977

Pinguicula plani folia Butterwort

Photo by Steven A. Frowine
The Garden Center of Greater Cleveland

62

CPN

Volume VI, No. 4

EDITOR'S CORNER

First, let us start by wishing everyone a happy holiday season and a most success¬
ful New Year. We will be starting the New Year with the new 6X9 inch color
cover booklet format. Only about 25% of the total ballots sent out were returned,
and of these the change to the new format (versus retaining the original 8-1/2 X 11
inch format) passed by about three to one. With regards to the dues structure, the
vote on the $7/$9 and $7 worldwide was so close that we have decided to adopt the
$7 worldwide price. Therefore, the 1978 dues will be $7 anywhere. The same policy
of accepting all comers will still be in effect, but please try to send in all re¬
newals before March, 1978. Subscriptions will continue to be on a calendar year
basis. For those subscribers who have joined us recently, please do not be taken
aback that it is already time to subscribe to Volume VII. The rates for the back
volumes have also been revised. See enclosed leaflet. Please feel free to dupli¬
cate and distribute it to spread the good word.

We hope to be able to hold the line on dues and, if so, we will be in a position
to accept multiple year subscriptions. More on this later next year.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEPENTHE E CUTTINGS. Once again Joe Mazrimas and Don Schnell will have some spare
Nepenthes cuttings to send to CPN subscribers in the spring of 1978 (April) . We
are now accepting requests; 'in your letter of request, please include the follow¬
ing information:

1. Your current growing conditions and dimensions of the Nepenthes area.

2. A current listing of Nepenthes species you are growing.

3. A list of desired species, but final selection will depend on available
material .

Send all requests to Joe Mazrimas (who will collate all requests) before March 15,
1978. We regret that this offer is only available to U.S., Great Britain and
continental Europe because of strict import and inspection certificate restric¬
tions elsewhere. This offer is an attempt to effectively and rapidly spread
Nepenthes plants among new growers of this genus for a cost of twice the postage
on the package to be paid promptly upon receipt of the package.

For this year we are also offering, on a limited basis, one other rare plant.
Seedlings of the rare Sarracenia rubra ssp. jonesii (grown from seed of cultivated
plants) will be given away to those CPN subscribers who wish to grow them. All of
the above plants will be sent off in the spring of 1978.

JOE MAZRIMAS (329 Helen Way, Livermore, CA 94550) still has plenty of copies of
the book Nepenthes of Mt . Kinabalu by Kurata left for $5.00 postpaid. It would
make an idea gift for a friend who is interested in these unusual but beautiful
plants. It has an English text with many fine color photos.

LOST OR DAMAGED- IN -THE -MAIL ISSUES OF CPN? We regret any inconvenience resulting
from our mailing difficulties this year and will gladly replace any issue lost
or severely damaged in the mail. Please address requests to Pat Hansen, CPN,

The Arboretum, Dept, of Biology, California State Univ., Fullerton, CA 92634.

BOB HANRAHAN ( Rt . 1, Box 338-T, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420) is an amateur radio
operator (call letters WB6GWY) . He would like telephone numbers of subscribers
in the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. Perhaps he will be calling you via
short wave and phone patch.

CO-EDITORS :

D.E. Schnell
Rt . 4 , Box 275B
Statesville, NC 28677

J.A. Mazrimas
329 Helen Way
Livermore, CA 94550

T.L. Mellichamp
Dept, of Biology
UNCC

Charlotte, NC 28223

Leo Song
The Arboretum
Dept, of Biology
California State Univ.

Fullerton ,
Circulation: 842

worldwide. Reprints

PUBLISHER: The Arboretum, Dept.

CA 92634. Published
(527 new, 315 renewal) .
of Volumes I-VI available

of Biology, California
quarterly with one volume
Subscriptions: $7.00
at $5 . 00/volume.

State University
annually .
annually

Volume VI, No. 4

CPN

63

NEWS & VIEWS

RICHARD ADAMS (L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University, 467 Mann Library,

Ithaca, NY 14853) and OWEN TALLMAN (Box 111, Denver, NY 12421) wish to announce
they have started preparation of a comprehensive horticultural treatise covering
Drosera, Dionaea, Aldrovanda, Byblis, and perhaps Roridula. They solicit any in¬
formation concerning cultural tips or idiosyncracies that readers may wish to
contribute based on their own experience. Such outside information and input is
widely sought in scientific writing, and Rich and Owen feel it could greatly for¬
tify the popular literature. It is understood that such ideas and information
are contributed without compensation or any restriction on use or disclosure, but
contributors' ideas that are used will be acknowledged if possible. Information
concerning the availability of high quality color slides or black and white glossy
prints for publication is also solicited. (Please write before sending photos.)

JAY BRODIE (54 Butler St., Cos Cob, CT 06807) sends us a newspaper clipping
from the New York Times, Oct. 6, 1977, page B1 titled "The Countless Mysteries of
Peatland" by Jane E. Brody. The article describes the ecological research taking
place in the BIG BOG by Dr. Gorham and his students in the state of Minnesota. In
this sphagnum bog, there are Sarraoenia purpurea and Drosera rotundi folia plants.
Some species of Utrioularia were also observed in flower among the mosses, irises
and ferns. In previous studies, it was shown that this bog existed for over 4,000
years since the bottom layers 85 inches beneath the surface showed evidence of
peat accumulation.

JOE P. CANTASANO (2717 Jerusalem Ave. , North Bellmore, NY 11710) writes: I spoke
to some CP growers and most of them did lose some CP due to the heat, but I have
not lost one. I mist my plants twice daily, and I have gone as far as to dig the
middle section out of my greenhouse. I removed the soil a few inches in depth
from the greenhouse and lined the trench with plastic, then filled it with sand
and water to create a small bog. The sun beats down on this and evaporates the
water, resulting in a very moist atmosphere inside. The humidity is close to 100%
day and night, and although this bog is a watery mess, my plants never looked so
good .

The San Francisco County Fair Flower Show which took place on August 26-28 featured
among the roses, fuschias, begonias and many other plant genera, carnivorous plants
as a separate division. Some 30 plants representing seven genera were spotlighted
in an interesting display planned by Anthony Rae and Raul Hernandez. Seven parti¬
cipants donated their plants to make this display a real showstopper. Prizes and
ribbons were awarded to the first, second and third place winners. Among the par¬
ticipants were Harold Charns, Byron Aarstad, Antonio Brito, Raymond Triplett, Larry
Logotetta, Joe Mazrimas and Anthony Rae. The organizers hope to make next year's
show of CP even bigger and better. So start growing those showplace plants now)

BILL HANNA (32 Allen St., New Lambton, Newcastle, NSW, Australia 2305) sends us
an article: The Overlander magazine Aug/Sept, 1977 describes on page 63 a trip
taken by some adventurers into the Queensland area of Australia. They found
Nepenthes mirabilis , Drosera and some Utrioularia in the rugged areas they were
exploring .

BOB HANRAHAN (Rt. 1, Box 338-T, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420) writes: I experienced
a severe problem this year with my Dionaea in that the plants grew normally until
mid-June and then began to defoliate and rot away. I grow my Dionaea fairly dry
in a 2 to 1 mix of #4 vermiculite and Candian peat moss to prevent rot which can
easily overcome this species. I began weekly applications of benomyl 50 WP at
1/2 strength as a precautionary measure against fungus. In late July, a plant
tissue specialist, Mr. Martin J. Crehan, stopped by to chat and view the collec¬
tion. I had him examine the infected Dionaea to get his expert opinion. He was
just beginning to work on meristeming Dionaea and was unfamiliar with this problem.
A few days later, I received from Mr. Crehan a copy of the Plant Disease Reporter
for May, 1972. It was titled "Foliar blight of Dionaea musoipula incited by
Collet otriehum gloeosporioides . " This paper described a study of a fungus and its
control .

The disease begins as a small, water-soaked elliptical spot that soon becomes
light grey with a black center. These lesions turn black and join together to
cover the leaves of the plant. Defoliations follows with a general decrease in
the size of the rhizome. Photos of the diseased plants included in the article
duplicated the spots on my plants perfectly. Effective control of Collectotrichum
gloeosporioides can be attained with benomyl 50 WP (3/4 lb/100 gal, or 1-1/2 tbsp/

2 gal.), chlorothalonil 75 WP (1-1/2 lb/100 gal) or zinc plus maneb 80 WP (1-1/2
lb/100 gal.) weekly until eradicated (2-4 applications).

64

CPN

Volume VI, No. 4

There was no plant damage (phytotoxicity) evident from the application of any of
the fungicides. It was noted in this article that leaves of Dionaea should be
kept dry to assist in erradicating the fungus. After following the prescribed
prescription with benomyl , the mysterious defoliation problem with Dionaea has
disappeared as well as my nightmare.

(Ed. note: Growers who use tightly sealed terraria or similar setups to grow
Dionaea and are constantly losing these plants should note the above problems
and solution. J.M., ed . )

Ref.: Plant Disease Reporter, Vol. 56, No. 5. May 1972, pp. 391-3.

SCOTT HENDERSON (215 N. Cuyamara St., El Cajon, CA 92020) writes: Recently I
visited the CP display at Sea World. Chuck Kline has made some nice improvements
since I first saw the display a year ago. A whole set of graphics that explain
many of the abilities of CPs is mounted in wood over two large terraria. Right
now he is using wide spectrum fluorescent lights, but he mentioned that the plants
still need a little more light. Nevertheless, his Nepenthes hybrid had a number
of large colorful pitchers, and the rest of the plants were doing quite well. The
display contains a sampling of the following genera: Drosera, Dionaea, Sarraoenia,
Pinguicula, Utrioularia (terrestrial), and Nepenthes.

LYNN MACEY (511 N. Eby, McPherson, KS 67460) is offering a five year complete
index for CPN. This index includes an author index, a subject index and plant
species index for Volumes I through V, and it's available from him for the price
of $1.00. Lynn will send a fpee copy of the index to anyone who supplies him with
journal articles on CP that they have recently published or copies of articles that
he doesn't have. Lynn has a list of 1,107 CP references on which he would like
more information or, better yet, a copy of the article.

JOE MAZRIMAS (329 Helen Way, Livermore, CA 94550) reports that the recent edition
of Hortus Third reviewed here in CPN under the Literature Review section
(CPN VI (3): 59) has some interesting information regarding the names of certain
hybrids commonly used by many CP people. According to Hortus Third, the following
names DO NOT have any botanical standing: Nepenthes x hoissiense, N. x goettin-
gensis, Drosera x oapulata ( a reputed hybrid between D. oapensis and D. spathu-
lata) , D. elliptioa. D. longifolia is a confused name applied to both D . anglioa
and D. intermedia . Those who are exchanging plants under the above names should
be aware of the shaky status of these names.

Report on drought conditions in California: I have visited several bogs in the
Sierras and it seems that the two year drought is taking its toll on many carni¬
vorous plants. In one place, where there was once a fairly large pond about 100
meters across, I now saw only a small puddle of about three meters in diameter
which was rapidly evaporating in the hot summer sun. This pond once had thousands
of Utrioularia vulgaris plants and other Utrioularia . Darlingtonia bogs seemed to
be intact, although I noticed several dead plants around the edges. The companion
plants of Drosera rotundi folia seemed to be surviving the worst drought in a cen¬
tury, perhaps due to mountain spring waters which flow quite briskly from aquifers
of unknown size or capacity. How many more years of subnormal rainfall these bogs
can survive is not known at this time, but it's clear now that CP sites which de¬
pend on rainfall to supply moisture are in jeopardy, while those that depend on
spring water from underground sources are still in good shape.

Our only hope for the rainfall-dependent bogs is that the seed from previous years
will sprout upon the return of the rains, which should be torrential.

PETER McLAUGHLIN (Dana Lane, Colts Neck, NJ 07722) writes that last summer he had
a chance to visit the New Jersey Pine Barrens twice. Observations were made on
Drosera intermedia, D. filiformis v. filiformis, D. rotundi folia, Sarraoenia pur¬
purea ssp. venosa and Utrioularia intermedia. On both of these trips, each to a
different location, similar observations were made. He noted that D. rotundi folia
grew mainly on or near cedar root balls in the shade, while D. intermedia grew
near the water's edge in very wet conditions in full sun. S. purpurea grew farther
up the bank in semi-wet conditions. Being familiar with the root system of S. pur¬
purea, he said that the roots probably reached the water table.

D. filiformis was noticed only by the presence of its small purple flowers growing
in what he thought was quite dry conditions and was not associated with the afore¬
mentioned species. U. intermedia grew in both sunny and shady waters. The sun
plants were smaller, and they had more bladders. These two trips have given him
a good insight in the cultivation of D. intermedia , D. filiformis , D. rotundi folia,
S. purpurea and U. intermedia.

Volume VI, No. 4

CPN

65

LARRY MELLICHAMP (Dept, of Biology, UNCC , Charlotte, NC 28223) sends this SPECIAL
NOTE: All subscribers to CPN will soon be receiving in the mail a colorful bro¬

chure announcing the availability of a limited number of high quality collector's
prints. The prints are reproductions of an original painting done by a renowned
wildlife artist in North Carolina, Josette Gourley. The painting is entitled
"Carolina Swamp" and depicts the native carnivorous plants of North Carolina (four
species of Sarracenia, Dros era, Dionaea , Pinguieula , and Utricularia growing in
their native habitat with associated plants. Each print in this limited edition
is numbered and signed by the artist. The size of the print is 24 X 18-1/2 inches
The cost is $25 plus postage. Watch your mail for information regarding this
beautiful and important work of art which uniquely captures the spirit of our
beloved CP.

EDMUND PALMER (#70 Eagle Point Community, Punta Gorda, FL 33950) has found at
least one answer to a frequently asked question: Where can one buy live sphagnum
in the US? He has found that Mosser Lee Co., Millston, WI 54643, can supply
live sphagnum for $2.95 per bushel, but the bushel weighs nearly 35 lbs., and so
UPS shipping costs are high (about $7.00 to Florida, for example). However, the
moss was of good quality and definitely alive upon arrival. Mosser Lee is a
dealer in gardening material and can supply dried long fiber sphagnum quite rea¬
sonably. Catalog is free.

PETER PRAGER (10923-1/4 Ayres Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90064) notes the following
observations in his cultivated Drosera this summer: On the stem, just below the
flowers of D. spathulata (unknown variety) grew several leaves. Though they were
only half the size of normal basal leaves, they appeared typical in all other
aspects. On a leaf of D. binata dichotoma, at each of the four leaf tips, the
ends had curled inward and a plant grew!

TOM PUMMER (11 Gray Circle, Lynn, MA 01902) writes: While many of the notes
sent to CPN deal with observations of plants in the field, I would like to com¬
ment on some carnivorous plant models I happened to see recently. The Botanical
Museum at Harvard University includes among its public exhibits the Blaschka Glass
Models of Plants. This collection is one of the most amazing achievements I have
ever seen because the models are so accurately executed that it becomes difficult
to tell that they are not real plants) The collection includes Nepenthes maxima,

N. sanguinea , Drosera filiformis, D. rotundi folia , Sarraoenia flava, S. purpurea,
Pinguieula vulgaris , Dionaea muscipula, and Darlingtonia calif orniea . The
Nepenthes models were done from live specimens obtained from Veitch's Nurseries,
London, in 1906.

KIM SIKORYAK (2101 Cheyenne St., Golden, CO 80401) writes: A note on
Burbidge ' s hypothesis concerning the teeth of N. bicalcarata : Granted their
function needs more study , but we may as well at least get the identification
cleared up a little. I have seen the critter supposedly snared by the above
plant variously described as a rodent, an insectivore, and a lemur. Tarsius
spectrum , the little fellow in question, is none of the above but a member of the
family Tarsiidae. Tarsiers are primates, as are men. In fact, they are thought
by some to be the most ancient group in the order. Nocturnal, arboreal, carni¬
vorous; these are creatures of scrub or second growth jungle. Adults are 85-160mm

in length with 135-270mm tails and weigh between 80-150 grams. They can be tamed,
so for those looking for the right touch for their Bornean greenhouse.... As for
their vulnerability to N. bicalcarata, only the tarsier knows for sure.

JOHN TURNBULL (Dept, of Botany and Genetics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
CANADA NIG 2W1) writes: While you and the other co-editors are rethinking the
format of CPN, I would like to suggest that the address of the author of short

notes and News & Views letters be published under the title. Readers could then

write to the author to enquire. As you know, this is the normal policy of most
journals .

(We have decided to do just that beginning in this issue. Ed.)

BOB ZIEMER (P.O. Box 4562, Areata, CA 95521) mentions a book translated from
Russian called Interrelation of Forest and Bog, N. I. P'yavchenko, ed. and pub¬
lished by Amerind Pub. Co., Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1976. It contains a series of
chapters on plants and bogs found in Western Siberia.

66

CPN

Volume VI, No. 4

SHORT NOTES

GENERAL CULTURAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR GROWING TUBEROUS DROSERAS

by Steve Rose

(125 Edward St., Bedford Park, West Australia 6052)

Although the tuberous droseras come from very varied conditions, they can be
nearly all grouped together for common cultivation as long as correct procedures
for dormancy and pre-emergence are followed.

There are two main groups of tuberous droseras:

1. Well-drained type: a) Sand forms or drained heavier soils.

b) Drained laterite soil.

2. The not-so-well-drained type: a) Swamp (wet).

b) Swamp (drying) .

Emergence, I believe, is controlled mainly by temperature although water must
be adequate or emergence may be retarded.

Dormancy can be triggered by several factors; maturity through flowering, tempera¬
ture or water restriction. The two latter reasons are not usually the dominant
ones because tuber formation takes place as soon as flowering in most plants
begins. By the time flowering has ended, tuber formation is either finished or
partly completed. The dormancy after flowering can be retarded by cool damp
conditions, even to the extent of producing secondary growth. The tuber does not
increase in size but can even lead away to rotting by not drying out enough with
rise in temperature.

I regard the actual drying out of the plant as the MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT IN THE
WHOLE CULTURE OF TUBEROUS DROSERAS. The drying out process must be slow and never
wet, the period being at least one month to total dryness from moist conditions.

The pots containing unexposed tubers can then be even exposed to very high tempera¬
tures up to 140°F. But this is not at all necessary. The pots can be stored in a
sheltered shed away from wind, sun and rain until autumn. As soon as the plant
shows signs of die back after maturity or flowering, it MUST be allowed to DRY off
or else the tuber will be lost.

All tuberous droseras develop fibrous root systems. The extent and concentration
varies from species to species and most of all on the particular soil. Most roots
grow close to and extend below the tubers (Fig. 1) .

So, keeping this fact in mind, potting a tuberous
drosera would mean using a deep pot and a good,
well-drained soil mix. For the latter, I use two
main components, sand and peat moss. The ratio of
the mixture varies with the species but common
sense tells one that more sand is needed for well-
drained species and more peat for the swampy types.

For well-drained species use two parts sand to one
part peat in a 6-8" pot. For the swamp species use
one part sand and two parts peat in a 5-6" pot. The
medium should always be loose.

Watering should also be practised using common sense.

Never overly wet even for the swamp species. It's
better to give them semi-shade and cool and humid

conditions than too much sun and water. Fig. 1

Fertilization IS GOOD FOR TUBEROUS DROSERAS. But please, use common sense on
this. Foliar feeding is effective in increasing tuber size toward the end of
the season but not so for increasing leaf size in rosetted ones. Erect and
climbing droseras nearly always produce mature size leaves regardless of height.
Fertilization will increase vigor and tuber size for next year. Feeding should
not be heavy at any time or else the roots will burn. About one-fourth strength
once every two weeks is all right.

(Received for publication May 6, 1977)

Volume VI, No. 4

CPN

67

UNSEASONAL BLOOMING IN SARRACENIA IN WESTERN FLORIDA
by Landon T. Ross

(1012 Ridge Road, Tallahassee, FL 32304)

The phenomenon of unseasonal blooming in Sarraeenia is briefly noted by McDaniel
(1971), but otherwise seems to have gone unmentioned by most students of the
genus. It is not uncommon in cultivated specimens which are often subject to
rapid environmental changes and the concomitant physiological shock, although
examples among wild populations seem to be a good deal less frequent.

During the interval between the spring blooming seasons of 1975 and 1977, about
fifteen field trips were made through western Florida. One goal was to record
unseasonal blooming. Five separate instances were observed, and these are listed
in the accompanying table. All plants were large, mature specimens, and there
was no evidence of any particular damage or recent habitat modification which
might have been expected to have triggered flowering. It seems notable that only
single flowers were produced by each of the plants, except for the S. purpurea
venosa which had two. The size of the plants was such that considerably more
flowers would have been expected under normal circumstances. Also, the flowers
which were produced were not always of normal dimensions. Those of the S. pur¬
purea venosa were about 25% smaller than usual, and in both cases the S. leuco-
phylla flowers were approximately 50% of the typical size and were borne on abnor¬
mally short scapes.

Expected approximate date

Date and day length and day length during normal

Species when observed blooming blooming cycle _

Sarraeenia leueophylla

4 Sept. 1976

10

April

12 hr. 40 min.

12

hr. 45

min .

S.

leueophy lla

17 Sept. 1976

10

April

12 hr. 18 min.

12

hr. 4 5

min .

S.

minor

19 Oct. 1975

30

April

11 hr. 21 min.

13

hr. 20

min .

S.

purpurea venosa

1 Sept. 1975

25

March

12 hr. 48 min.

12

hr. 15

min .

S.

rubra *

18 Sept. 1975

19

April

12 hr. 17 min.

13

hr. 0 :

min .

Observations of unseasonal blooming in Sarraeenia

To facilitate further observations, the plants of Sarraeenia minor, S. purpurea
venosa, and S. rubra were moved to an artificial bog. These plants bloomed nor¬
mally during the spring of 1976, and failed to produce any further unseasonal
blooms. The specimen of S. minor did, however, continue to bloom through 6 June,
1976, considerably later than is usual for the species.

It might be expected that unseasonal blooming bears some relationship to length
of day. For this reason, day lengths for the subject area for the observed bloom¬
ing dates are included in the table. Also listed are approximate dates and day
lengths for the midpoints of the normal blooming periods for the same general area
These are somewhat modified, based on recent observations in western Florida, from
blooming periods given by Bell (1952) . The data in the table lead one to suspect
that this relationship does actually exist to some degree, particularly since no
unseasonable blooms were observed during periods of very long or very short day
length (excepting the continuation of blooming under cultivation of the S. minor) .
Further records are needed, however, for any type of accurate analysis to be made.

It may be of interest to note that unseasonal blooms were not observed in either
Sarraeenia psittaeina or S. flava. Since populations of S. psittaeina are not
likely to be particularly dense, and since the plants themselves tend to be con¬
cealed by other vegetation, particularly during the later part of the year, the
lack of observations for that species is not surprising. In the case of S. flava,
however, more individual plants were probably examined than in all other species
combined, without a single instance of unseasonal blooming being noted.

Literature Cited

Bell, C. R. 1952. Natural hybrids in the genus Sarraeenia. I. History, distri¬
bution and taxonomy. J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 68:55-79.

McDaniel, S. 1971. The genus Sarraeenia ( Sarraaeniaeeae ) . Bull. Tall Timbers
Research Station. 9:1-36

*Shows slight signs of introgressive influence from S. leueophylla
(Received for publication Julv 11. 1977)

68

CPN

Volume VI, No. 4

OF BARN SWALLOWS AND DROSERAS
by Owen Tallman

(P.O. Box 11, Denver, NY 12421)

In early May this year I returned from an early morning errand to find the green¬
house quite warm from the bright sun. I went in to see how everyone was doing and
found that a barn swallow had gotten in and was sitting on top of one of the struc¬
tural members.

When he saw me he took off towards the bright end of the greenhouse, and I saw
that he had fallen for the light-window effect, for the way out was not towards
the light of the sun but back through the dark shed on the north side of the
greenhouse through which he had entered. The light end offered no escape; only
the dark shed did. The shed functions as a kind of winter airlock and general
workspace .

I tried a few times to chase him out through the shed but he persistently swooped
around my gesturing arms toward the light, consistently finding no way out there.

I thought momentarily of the similarity between this situation and that of a fly¬
ing insect inside a window, or inside the hood of a Sarracenia minor. In the
house, I could either open the window or swat the bug. Here, as inside a pitcher
plant, there was only one way out. It did not help me to try to imagine what I
would do inside a pitcher plant, so I forgot about it and went outside where I
found two large pieces of cardboard. I thought with these I could make it clear
to the bird what he had to do by putting a barrier up wherever he tried to fly
past me in the wrong direction.

Now this greenhouse is set up in several levels, each consisting of a pair of
rows of plastic flats (or trays) about 12" x 24", suspended on wooden frames with
a walkway in between. Chasing this poor bird, who eyed me in terror and puffed
and panted in the heat, I was standing on the frame/bench structure about three
feet off the ground, waving my cardboard shields above my head so that I blocked
the walkway with my body and the passsage above my head with the cardboards.

Faced with this the bird plunged headlong into a flat of about 70 rather large
narrow-leaf Drosera oapensis and stopped.

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 or this army of sundews had got him wing, foot and tail. If he
thought these plants would provide a landing platform he misjudged, though he was
acting in panic. I watched him struggling for a few moments to be certain that
he was caught then picked him up, slippery and tacky, and tossed him out the door.

He flew straight away.

I suppose that I might be accused of missing an opportunity to document the animal¬
trapping and digesting ability of these large South African sundews, but it was my
fault the bird got stuck, and in fact the whole episode arose from my interference,
since in all the years the swallows had lived in these buildings they'd had no
reason to expect to end up in a greenhouse/trap after flying into a dark shed.

I don't know if the bird could have escaped, but having seen similar groups of
plants in inadvertent cooperation capture and literally draw and quarter very large
moths, I had no inclination to test the idea. Besides, I couldn't see myself ex¬
plaining with any aplomb the feathery remains on this group of plants to visitors.
People have enough strange ideas about CP as it is.

(Received for publication July 11, 1977)

CARNIVOROUS PLANT COMPANIES

by Glenn Claudi-Magnussen
(26861 Queredo Lane, Mission Viejo, CA 92675)

There are many CP companies, which vary greatly in quality, price, etc. I have
received plants and catalogs from some of these companies, and here are my reactions.

World Insectivorous Plants (Rt. 1, Box 338S, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420) . This com¬
pany is one of the best. The plants are all greenhouse grown, which lessens
the strain on the plants in their natural environment. All the plants are
very healthy and are rather mature (i.e. no seedlings). Many are blooming
or ready to. They are also very prompt in sending the plants. The prices
are very good, much better than for most plants taken from the wild. They
carry Sarracenia as well as the plants mentioned in CPN VI (1) :20. Their
selection is very large.

Volume VI, No. 4

CPN

69

Sun Dew (or Sun Dew Environments) (P.0. Box 111, Denver, NY 12421) . This
company is also very good, and they do grow their own plants. As with
WIP, the quality, price and shipping are very good. The only disadvantage
is that the plants are often younger and smaller, but don't let this stop
you from buying from them, because they are a good company. About four
times a year this company sends updates, increasing the number of avail¬
able species. They are now limited to Drosera, Byblis and Vtricularia,
but soon hope to get other genera.

Peter Pauls Nurseries (Darcey Road, Canandaigua, NY 14424) . This company offers
a wide variety of plants. They are also the only company I know that sells
CP seeds. The plants are in good condition, but they are rather expensive.

Edelweiss Gardens (54 Robbinsville-Allentown Road, Robbinsville , NJ 08691) .

This company carries only about 10 species, all of which are expensive.

Arthur E. Algrove (North Wilmington, MA 01887) . Again there are only a few

species sold by this company. They do not carry Darlingtonia or Drosera,
as CPN VI (1) :20 says. The plants they do have, though, are very inexpensive

Harold Welsh (Black Copper Kits, 266 Kipp St., Hackensack, NJ 07601). This

company has some of the American CP, especially Sarracenia. The plants are
in very good condition and are rather inexpensive.

Carolina Exotic Gardens (Box 1492, Greenville, NC 27834) . This company sells a
wide variety of plants. Aside from the genera listed in this year's CPN,
they also sell Nepenthes khasiana , many Drosera, some Pinguicula , and Utricu
laria. The prices range from very expensive to very cheap.

Conclusion

All of these companies have advantages (some more than others). When looking
for a plant, I suggest going to World Insectivorous Plants or Sun Dew. All of
the other companies sell plants taken from the wild, and are generally not as
good. There are enough greenhouse grown plants available or soon to be available
to satisfy most CP collectors.

(Received for publication August 10, 1977)

BUILDING- YOU R OWN

by Scott A. Richardson
(333 N. Bender Ave. , Covina, CA 91724)

When I moved my carnivorous plants out of the sealed aquaria and into a small
greenhouse, I knew there would be both advantages and disadvantages.

On the bright side, I could give them more sun because the greenhouse was venti¬
lated; they would also be able to catch more insects by themselves. I found,
however, the major disadvantage was thay they needed much more water than before
because of the added ventilation.

Unfortunately, the water here in Southern California is very hard and mineral¬
laden, so I was forced to buy distilled water which becomes slightly expensive
at lOt a half gallon, not to mention the inconvenience of constantly getting it.
Distilling my own water seemed to be the answer, but the question was how.

One possibility was to boil tap water on the stove and condense it, but, being
somewhat energy conscious, I knew there must be a better way. That's when I
decided to invent a solar water distiller that would be simple to build and
maintain.

The idea I hit upon utilized the old aquaria I had left over. I remembered how
the moisture inside the aquaria would condense on the sides and drip down when
the sun hit them. That is the basis for my design.

The distiller consists of a 10-gallon aquarium propped up about 10° on one end.
This will let the condensed water fall down to the lower end of the aquarium.

A black 8" x 10" photographic developing tray full of tap water is put inside
the aquarium and leveled. A piece of glass is then put over the top to seal the
aquarium. The sealed aquarium is then positioned so that it will receive as much
direct sun as possible.

70

CPN

Volume VI, No. 4

The principle on which it works is that the black photo tray absorbs the sun's
rays and converts them to heat thus heating the water to between 135° and 150°F.
The water begins evaporating and, eventually, the air inside the sealed aquarium
becomes saturated with water vapor. The water begins to condense around the sides
and forms droplets which fall to the shaded bottom of the aquarium under the photo
tray. This is distilled water, made using only the sun's rays. I collect this
water by squeezing it up with a baster or an auto battery bulb and then store it
in jugs.

By using this method, I can distill between 10 and 16 oz. of water per aquarium
each day. Presently, I have three solar distillers operating, and they give me
nearly all the water I need.

The mineral crust that develops in the photo trays attests to the fact that the
minerals have been left behind. This crust, incidentally, should be cleaned out
periodically.

I used 10-gallon, "bargain" aquaria 10-1/2" wide, 12-1/2" deep, and 20" long.

The photo trays are standard 8" x 10" black plastic and are available at photo
stores. Be sure to use black trays as they will get the water hottest. The
tray is placed about 1/4" away from the walls of the aquarium in order to let
the condensed water fall to the bottom.

Efficiency of the solar water distiller will depend upon the time of the year and
the amount of sunlight it receives. I will be happy to receive any comments
or questions about the solar distiller.

(Received for publication July 20, 1977)

CPN--WHERE WE CAME FROM AND WHERE WE HOPE TO GO
by Joe Mazrimas and Don Schnell

Many newer subscribers have wondered and asked what CPN is and how it came about,
so we thought it worthwhile recounting CPN's history briefly along with a few
ideas on the present and future. You old-timers just reminisce along awhile.

Back in 1970, the two of us were independently studying and growing carnivorous
plants when we were introduced into correspondence by a mutual friend — to this
day we have never laid eyes on each other. We both carried on a wide-ranging
correspondence with others, often the same people, and, of course, these letters
were often packed with an interchange of useful bits or masses of information
regarding the cultivation of CP, their response in culture, transplanting and,
of course, much on natural history. Our letters and interests knew no national
boundaries and often each of us handled dozens of letters each week, many of
these covering similar ground.

In August of 1971, we began asking each other, why not some other system of
exchange to avoid repetitions and reach correspondents better, something more
efficient than a round-robin, perhaps a sort of small newsletter? We took our
cue from some zoologists (well, they're not too far from CP) and their Bat-
Research News, a mimeographed quarterly of 6-8 pages, $1.00 annually, and fea¬
turing news, short notes and current literature reviews.

Next, we needed a name, a bannerhead to distinguish this little newsletter to
be dashed off quarterly. AMPHORA, which means "pitcher," was one suggestion,

Volume VI, No. 4

CPN

71

but seemed a bit esoteric and less likely to identify in the potential reader's
mind as the final selection,1 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter , which also lent itself
conveniently to the now rather famous "CPN."

It is now January, 1972, and if this thing was going to get off the ground some
work was needed. We devised a rather nondescript one page mimeo introductory
letter which we sent out to all our mutual correspondents as well as major uni¬
versities and botanical gardens throughout the world, 300 of these having been
sent by February since we wanted the first quarterly issue to appear in April,
1972. In that initial letter the well-known, and we hope sustained, principles
of CPN were stated, "and English speaking communication among people with our
common interest in these fascinating plants," and the amazingly low subscription
rate of $1.00 was to cover costs with no profit. Since, of course, those costs
have risen along with the cost of everything else.

We waited with great anticipation the flood of mail in response to our letter.
There seemed to be hundreds of things to do and coordinate for the big day.

Joe agreed to handle the dreary chores of subscriptions, literature review and
mailing. Don arranged the final copy, cajoled his secretary to be typist for
five years, and saw to the printing. We had decided the 8-1/2 x 11 format
would be best in the beginning since it was convenient for binder storage and
there was sufficient space for pictures and text. Dr. Ritchie Bell of the
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, graciously helped with the printing
which was done with a new rapid photo-offset now in rather common use by rapid
printing establishments throughout the country. The equipment could also pro¬
duce black and white pictures for us. Meanwhile, Katsu Rondo, who was a
graduate student at UNC at that time donated his considerable artistic talent
and came up with our bannerhead, still used to this day. We received about
25 years' worth of the bannerhead blanks for front pages, so someone had faith
in us I

Subscriptions only dribbled in so that by mid-March of 1972 we had less than
two dozen! We did not worry too much about this but plunged ahead to get the
first issue out by April. We hoped that the subscriptions would increase as
word spread during the year so that towards the end, we might be able to sell
out and recoup costs from an inventory of 100 issues. Everything was rolling
now. Copy was set up and typed to masters, then sent over to UNC for printing.

In April, the first slightly fuzzy (old typewriter) 15-page copy rolled off
the press, and this seemed to solidify our thoughts and aims and did away with
doubts that the massive project could be accomplished. We had initially
envisioned a 4-6 page newsletter, but the need for communication immediately
sent us into the 15-20 page issue, and later we were able to add 1/3 more words
per mailing weight of 20 pages by a print size reduction method. Pictures were
also improved by at first using separate plates for the covers and special pic¬
ture pages (when we could afford it) , then the rapid photo offset process also
improved so we could get away from plates.

This first issue was sent to the meager subscriber list, which did leap ahead
at one crucial point when our Japanese friends who had had a newsletter of
their own for many years joined us with a mass of subscriptions from their
organization. We exchanged letters of excitement when one after another CP
expert subscribed, complimented or made positive suggestions for the newsletter.
We were pleased with letters indicating how happy those with an amateur interest
in CP were with some means of communicating, sharing, and acquiring knowledge.
People with CP interests who lived in the same city, sometimes blocks from each
other but never knowing there was someone nearby with similar intersts, were
thus able to meet.

Growth then came at an unpredictable rate, from all over the world, as word
spread through personal communications and those authors kind enough to mention
us in their articles and books. Reprints were needed. Off-prints of special
articles in CPN were printed. Special projects such as the World List were
started, and volunteers Bob Ziemer and Lynn Macey conceived the seed and plant
exchange and an information service. The number of subscribers passed 600 in
July, 1976, and the work of keeping records, typing, printing and mailing
became so much that Leo Song kindly arranged to have all this taken over by
Pat Hansen at The Arboretum at California State University, Fullerton, so we
could concentrate on editing and solidifying long range plans and conceptions.

To this end, Leo and Larry Mellichamp (a professional botanist at the University
of North Carolina, Charlotte) also became co-editors to help us bring you a
better, more useful newsletter with even more services. All this in five years.

So ends the beginning. What about the present? What plans for the future?

More to come ....

72

CPN

Volume VI, No. 4

orner

WATER AND THE GROWING MEDIUM by Joe Mazrimas

One of the most overlooked factors that is indispensible to healthy growth of
carnivorous plants is the quality of the water. Taking nature's course, one of
the best sources of water is rainwater simply because it contains a low concen¬
tration of salt. If rainwater is not available, then a good substitute is either
distilled or deionized water. These substitutes can be purchased but over a long
period of time they can become very expensive especially if you need large quan¬
tities .

Carnivorous plants grow best when the salt content of your water does not exceed
150 ppm in total salt content. You can inquire from your local water company
office on the hardness of your water. One must use water with low salt concen¬
tration in order to minimize the damage that occurs to the soil medium. Most CP
grow in acidic soils or soil that contains a high concentration of peat or sphag¬
num moss. These acidic substances can act like ion exchangers by substituting
hydrogen ions from the plant for cations that are in the water. The most common
cations are sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium with smaller concentrations
of metal ions such as mercury, lead and iron. When these cations bind to the
moss (either dead or alive) , the moss in turn releases hydrogen ions which, of
course, is responsible for the production of acidity needed by the plants. If
the water contains a very high concentration of salts, then the exchange capacity
of the moss is exceeded rather quickly (the moss can't grow fast enough) and you
have a rapid salt buildup changing the growing medium from acidic to alkaline.

It is this high salt buildup and alkaline medium which spells doom for your plants.

If you choose to grow your plants in a closed system such as a terrarium, then I
would recommend using distilled water since only small amounts are needed to re¬
place that which evaporates. Most of it gets recycled. In open systems, evapora¬
tion will be considerable and cost of distilled water becomes prohibitive and so
some other substitute must be found.

One system that is simple to use is to make your own water with a process called
reverse osmosis. A previous article in CPN described its function, and so I won't
go into detail here (CPN IV: 43, 1975) . Usually, such systems can give you water
that is about 10 times lower in salt content than your tap water, and it uses no
other energy source than the water pressure from your tap. A unit that will give
you a minimum of five gallons a day of low salt water can be rented for less than
$10/month. A home unit is available from the Culligan Water Co. called the H-5
model. The artificial membranes which filter the water will last a year or more
depending on use.

For CP to thrive over a long period of time, they require an acidic soil with
good drainage but still capable of holding moisture. I find that a good soil
mixture consisting of Canadian sphagnum peat moss and perlite makes a light and
ubiquitous medium for almost any situation that confronts CPs. This peat moss
is good because of its homogeneous consistency which lends itself to starting
seeds of any size from Utrioularia to that of Drosophy Hum . I add either perlite
or sand in various amounts up to 50% by volume to aid in keeping the roots well
oxygenated and to allow for good drainage. By adding sand or perlite, there is
less tendency for the surface to form a hard crust which later becomes impervious
to water and discourages the formation of surface algae.

For those growers who prefer to use living sphagnum moss, it is important to
remember that this moss doesn't like to be packed tightly but instead prefers a
loose but firm structure in order to sustain growth. Perlite can be used to
increase the volume of chopped sphagnum moss which keeps the moss healthy and
contributes to good drainage. One can use up to 50% by volume of perlite mixture
for most of your CP needs.

In conclusion of this series of articles, I want to say that carnivorous plants
are normally slow growers in comparison to other plants such as crop or house

Volume VI, No. 4

CPN

73

plants. This means that for the effort expended, one must exercise extreme
patience in growing your plants. Never try to hurry them up into fast growth
since that would only result in abnormal growth or form. Some species only put
out a few leaves (pitchers) a year, but that is probably normal under the circum¬
stances and not to worry about this. All we ask is that you grow your favorite
CP the best way you know how, and that's where all the fun of growing these plants
begins !

NEXT: A series on PROPAGATION

BOTANIST'S CORNER

Flowers, Sex, and Hybridization

in Carnivorous Plants (aont.)

HYBRIDIZATION

I should make a final comment regarding hybridi¬
zation. This is usually considered to occur
when you successfully cross two different species,
The more closely related genetically two species
M l/jfo I are, the better the chance of hybridizing them,

e wpJJ It rarely occurs in nature because of the differ-

1 / ences between habitats, pollinators, and flower-

1 \ 1 ing dates. It is much more likely to occur in

i \ cultivation where the grower can control all

c 1 / environmental factors , in addition to the actual

h / pollen transfer. Some species will hybridize

a readily, others will not. Sarracenia are a

m 1 classic example of species which are all capable

p [y of hybridization with one another, and the hy¬

brids can then in turn be used in further hybrid¬
izations to produce some spectacular results.
Other species, such as in Pinguicula , are more difficult or impossible to hybridize
because the species are just too different genetically.

Any attempts at hybridization in cultivation could be important and produce novel
plants, as well as indicate something about the genetic relationships of the plants
involved. It is worth the practice to become proficient at crossing (both within
and between species) to produce seed for exchange and preservation, and for orna¬
mental purposes. Whenever you make artificial crosses at home, keep good records
indicating what the species are, which is the female parent (received the pollen) ,
and what the success of seed production is. Any seeds of pure species made avail¬
able for exchange should indicate whether they are from cross or self-pollinated
individuals. (If cross-pollinated, make sure both individuals are good, pure,
typical specimens for that species.)

Problems encountered with artificial crossing can usually be attributed to poor
timing (old pollen or unreceptive stigmas) ; actually not getting pollen on the
stigma; plant in such poor health that it cannot produce a seed crop (unlikely,
if the plant produces flowers in the first place) ; the crossing of incompatible
plants (either flowers on the same plant, or plants of the same genetic clone) ; or
the two species involved just will not hybridize (you can never be sure of this
until you've tried many times) . If you are doing critical hybridization work,
whenever you cross two plants it is best to put bags made of silk stockings (or
similar lightweight material) around the pollen-receiving flowers to keep insects
from bringing additional unknown pollen to that flower.

For additional practial discussion of hybridization in CP, see appropriate portions
of D.E. Schnell's Carnivorous Plants of the U.S. & Canada and Pietropaolo ' s The
World of Carnivorous Plants (see CPN VI (1) for publishers) . A good introductory
botany textbook would provide further information on flower structure and terminology.

NOTE: I would be pleased to receive comments from readers regarding the contents

of this column. I hope I am presenting information that is useful and interesting
in a manner that is understandable. Although I have ideas for future articles,

I would rather have ideas from you, the Reader, as to what you would be most
interested in knowing more about. How about: a list of the pronunciation of CP
names; the meanings of the scientific names of CP; the history of the discovery,
naming, and early horticulture of CP. Send your comments and suggestions on a
postcard or in a letter; none of your questions or suggestions will be considered
inappropriate. DO IT TODAY! (T.L. Mellichamp, Biology Dept., UNCC, Charlotte,

NC 28223) .

74

CPN

Volume VI, No. 4

LITERATURE REVIEW

Barber, John. Mucilaginous seeds: Interactions with microorganisms. Abstract
in Plant Physiology 59, No. 6, June 1977.

The author demonstrated that mucilaginous pellicles (coverings) surrounding
certain seeds possess protease (protein decomposing) activity which are
capable of attracting, entrapping and killing mosquito larvae in the labora¬
tory. He presumes that the prey is digested and products of digestion are
taken up by the seed. In the nautral environment, the seeds may actually
attract and digest nematodes, protozoans and motile bacteria.

Cooper, J. & Williams, S. Decay of the activated state induced by stimulation
of the trigger hairs of Dionaea. Abstract in Plant Physiology 59, No. 6,
June 1977.

Debuhr, L.E. Sectional reclassification of Drosera subgenus Ergaleium ( Drosera-
ceae) . Aust. J. Bot. 25 ( 2) : 209-218 . 1977.

The new species of Australian Drosera, D. fimbriata , was placed into a new
Drosera section Stolonif era .

Lichtner, F.T. & Spanswick, R.M. Ion relations in Dionaea. Abstract in Plant
Physiology 59, No. 6, June 1977.

These authors show that changes in ion concentration in the inner wall of
the trap take place before and after stimulation. The monitored ions were
K+, Na+, aCl" .

Marton, L. Early application of electron microscopy to biology. Ultramicroscopy
1 (4) : 281-296 , 1976.

Did you know that the very first biological electron micrograph made was that
of a thick section of Drosera intermedia strained with OSO4 in 1934?

Schnell, D.E. 1977. Pitcher plants. Plants Alive 5:24-25.

A popular article on sarracenias. Six black and white photos accompany a
brief discussion of natural history and conservation problems.

Stauffer, R.E. Insectivorous Plants. Swamp News XX(3):l-7, September 1977.
General review article on insectivorous plants illustrated by five black
and white photos.

Tinaglia, S. Drosera binata. House Plants and Porch Gardens, Dec. 1977, pp.
17-21.

A description of the Drosera species with three color photos are given.

Williams, Stephen E. The response of Dionaea traps to raindrops. Abstract in
Plant Physiology 59, No. 6, June 1977.

Plants of Dionaea were observed both in clear weather and during heavy rain.
The closure rate for the traps during the night with no rain was 0.16
closures/leaf/week with 40% containing insects. The same population of
traps had a closure rate of 0.24 during the rainy night but had zero cap¬
tures. Therefore, closure rate was 50% higher when it rained while the
capture rate was 100% lower.

ft

Nepenthes ampullaria ground pitchers.

Bark chips are about 1.5 cm at most.
Plant was sent as a seedling/rooted
cutting to California State Univer¬
sity, Fullerton, by P.A. Morrow.

Photo by Leo Song.

Volume VI, No. 4

CPN

75

SEED BANK

Complete List of Seed Bank
November 1, 1977

PATRICK DWYER (49 Killean Park, Albany, NY 12205) writes: I would like to tell
everyone that there has been an amazing response (over 200 packets in the first
five days!) . Unfortunately we quickly ran out of many kinds. We need donations
of all species, especially the rarer ones. A list of contributors to the Seed
Bank will be published in the next update.

Byblis gigantea (5)*, B. liniflora
Cephalotus follicularis (4)

Darlingtonia calif ornica
Dionaea mus aipula

Drosera aliciae (2), D. arcturi (1), D . burkeana (1), D. burmannii, D. x califor-
nica (10), D . capillaris, D. capillaris (long leaf) (1), D. capillaris (long
leaf) - D. capensis (narrow) mix (5), D. capensis, D. capensis (narrow leaf),

D. filiformis filiformis , D. gigantea (13), D. intermedia , D. macrophylla (14),
D. menziesii (4), D. montana (7), D. pulchella, D. pygmaea (3), D. rotundi-
folia , D. spathulata (4), D. stonolifera , D. sulphurea (3)

Nepenthes khasiana, N. mirabilis

Pinguicula alpicola (probably P. vulgaris) (1), P. grandiflora ssp. rosea (4),

P. ionantha (1), P. leptoceras (1), P. macroceras (4), P. planifolia (2)
Polypompholyx multi fida (8)

Sarracenia alata, S. alata (x-ray, 100 rads), S. alata (x-ray, 550 rads) (12),

S. flava, S. flava (copper lid) (10), S. flava (red veined) (8), S. leuco-
phylla, S. leucophylla (x-ray, 100 rads) (5), S. leucophylla (x-ray, 1000
rads) (4), S. minor , S. oreophylla (10), S. psittacina (2), S. purpurea
purpurea, S. purpurea riplicola, S. purpurea venosa (1), S. purpurea venosa
(x-ray, 100 rads) (6), S. purpurea venosa (x-ray, 550 rads) (3), S. purpurea
(pink flower) (3), S. purpurea (white flower) (2), S. rubra (4), S. rubra
"Gulf" (5), S. rubra jonesii, S. alata x leuco., S. alata x leuco.? (14),

S. x catesbaei, S. x chelsoni (5), S. flava x leuco. (1), S. x harperi (15)

S. leuco. x minor? (2), S. leuco. x rubra? (13), S. x mitchelliana (10),

S. purp . x minor (3), S. rubra x leuco. (8), S. rubra x oreo . (2),

Utricularia longi folia, U. montana (10)

*Number of packets is listed if there are fewer than 15.

Is it OK to feed a Utricularia plant live
brine shrimp? What's the best thing to feed
Nepenthes plants? L.H., Berea, Ohio.

It's all right to feed brine shrimp to Utri¬
cularia provided you wash the shrimp in fresh
water before you add it to the culture.
Nepenthes can be fertilized on the roots with
a mild fertilizer such as fish emulsion 5-2-2
J. A.M.

Q. The traps of my Sarracenia flava and my S. psittacina are being destroyed
by some kind of bugs. What should I do? D.H., Greensburg, PA.

A. The trouble you describe sounds like the pitcher plant moth, Exyra riding sii ,
which infests principally S. flava, and/or Exyra semicrocea, which is found
throughout the South, according to CPN 3:35. They can be dispatched by
cutting off the top of the pitcher and killing the larvae with a wire or
toothpick. There should be only one per pitcher. Examine all dead pitchers
for pupae. Damage consists of the inside tissue being eaten, leaving the
outer epidermis only. A web of silk usually covers the pitcher mouth. (The
pitcher moth is one of the hazards of material that has been field collected.)
L.S.

76

CPN

Volume VI, No. 4

A larger form of Nepenthes alata from
the vicinity of Quezon City, Luzon,
Phillipine Islands, growing in a hang¬
ing pot in the greenhouse at California
State University, Fullerton. Culture
medium is medium size orchid bark chips.
Pot size is one gallon. Photo by Leo
Song.

A portion of the one gallon section of
Sarraoenia in the lathhouse at California
State University, Fullerton. Species as
well as hybrids are evident in this photo
by Leo Song.

Drosera eunei folia in a 2-1/4" pot
Photo by Bob Hanrahan

Drosera cuneifolia flower, side view.
Note how flat the flower is, probably
to present maximum surface area for
landing platform for pollinators.
Photo by Bob Hanrahan.

77

Volume VI, No. 4

CPN

WANT ADS

When submitting Want Ads, please be sure to
print clearly for best results and to elim¬
inate mistakes. Please indicate the correct
letter before each item (Want, Trade, £ell or
Buy) . Want ads are limited to carnivorous
plants, terraria, greenhouses and moss.

There is a charge of ten cents per item, with
no limit to the number of items you may submit
per issue.

Send coin or check along with your want ad to:

Arboretum, Want Ads
California State University
Fullerton, CA 92634

Ronald Bell, 9534 Alta Mira, Dallas, TX 75218. (WB) Sarracenia psittacina , Drosera peltata,

S. purpurea var. ripicola (Boivin)

Aric Bendorf, 1121 North Signal St., Ojai, CA 93023. (WTB) Live sphagnum, Drosera brasiliensis ,

D. cuneifolia, D. gigantea, D. neo-caledonica , D. pallida, D. whittakeri, Heliamphora,

Nepenthes merrilliana, N. burkeii, N. mirabilis, D. zonaria

Jay Brodie, 54 Butler St., Cos Cob, CT 06807. (t) Drosera montana plants, D. filiformis v. traoyi

plants

Joseph Cantasano, 2717 Jerusalem Ave . , North Bellmore, NY 11710. I will send Nepenthes khasiana
"female" cuttings to anyone willing to pay the postage.

Robert Cantlay, 30672 Paseo Del Niguel, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677. (WB) Nepenthes alata, Utrieularia
maororhiza, Pinguicula plani folia

Gordon D. Hanna, 168 Kilaben Road, Kilaben Bay. 2283, NSW Australia. (W) Byblis gigantea, Drosera
cicti folia. (T) Nepenthes maxima

Trevor A. Kuchel, Box 110, P.O., Murray Bridge, S.A. 5253, Australia. (WB) Any Nepenthes (seeds or
source) , any Heliamphora (seeds or source) , seeds of the following: Sarracenia alata albi flora,
S. alabamensis, S. flava (red), S. flava (green swamp), S. flava (short savannah), S. flava
(tall Gulf Coast), S. flava (giant), S. leucophylla var. Alba Reade, S. leucophylla (red
pitcher), S. minor (giant), S. minor (tall Gulf Coast), S. purpurea var. riplicola, S. purpurea
venosa (maroon pitchers), Sarracenia psittacina (giant), S. rubra (longbeak), S. rubra (tall
Atlantic Coast), Sarracenia complex hybrid 'studs' (seeds or plants), Drosera regia (seeds)

Scott Henderson, 215 N. Cuyamaca St., El Cajon, CA 92020. (WB) Heliamphora, Sarracenia leucophylla
x S. psittacina, S. oreophila (seed or plants) , Byblis gigantea. Nepenthes bicalcarata, N.
ampullaria, N. maxima, Pinguicula planifolia, Drosera zonaria, D. gigantea (tuber or seed) .

(w) S. minor, S. psittacina. (T) S. purpurea purpurea, Byblis liniflora , Utrieularia longi-
folia, U. prehensilis, P. caerulea, D. capensis (narrow leaf), D. x nagamoto, D. intermedia x
filiformis, D. brevifolia, S. rubra.

Alan Schueler, 16345 Martincoit, Poway, CA 92064. (WB) Drosophyllum plants or seed, Drosera

schizandra plant or seed, Drosera linearis plant or seed, any Sarracenia plants, any Pinguicula
plants, Cephalotus follicularis , rooted Nepenthes or cuttings, Byblis gigantea, D. binata,

D. spathulata

Cephalotus follicularis

Mature pitchers

Photo by Bob Hanrahan

78

CPN

Volume VI, No. 4

INDEX TO VOLUME VI

GENERA INDEX

Aldrovanda . . . . ,

.. .22,63

Nepenthes .

. . . 5,6,7,13,25,28,30,31,

Bijb Us . .

. . .5,6,18,28,29,50,63,69

32,34,39,45,46,47,48,

Capse lla . .

. . . 3

49,50,56,58,62,63,64

Cephalotus . . . . ,

.. .20,25,28,34,46,47,54 ,

65,69, 74,75,76

55,57,77

Pinguiaula ....

. .. 5,7,12,25,26,27,32,33,

Chry samphora . . .

. . . 42

34,35,36,45,46,47,58,

Davlingtonia . . .

...3,19,29,32,33,34,42,

59,61,64,65,69,73

45,46,47,56,58,64,65,

Po lypompholyx .

.. .17,59

69

Roridula .

.. .18,45,63

Dionaea .

. . .3,4,6,12,13,14,15,16,

Sarraaenia ....

. . .5,6,7,8,12,17,18,19,

17,18,23,26,27,29,30,

26,27,31,32,33,34,35,

34,35,45,46,47,59,63,

36,37,39,40,41,45,46,

64,65,74

47,48,56,58,59,63,64,

Drosera .

. . .1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11,12,

65,67,68,69,73,75,76

13,16,18,19,20,25,26,

Utvicularia . . .

. . . 7,8,12,16,17,19,20,25,

27,28,30,31,32,33,34,

31,32,33,34,35,36,45,

35,36,37,38,43,45,46,

47,48,50,51,54,58,59,

47,50,51,52,53,54,55,

56,59,63,64,65,66,68,

69,74,76

63,64,65,69,72,75

Drosophy Hum . . ,

...9,45,72

He liamphora . . . ,

...34,46

Lentibularia . . .

. . . 30

SHORT NOTES

TITLE INDEX

Building Your Own Solar Water Distiller . 69

Carnivorous Plant Companies . > . 68

Conservation and Carnivorous Plants . 38

CPN--Where We Came from and Where We Hope to Go . 70

Droseras of the New Forest . 37

Frost Protection for Dormant CP . 8

General Cultural Instructions for Growing Tuberous Droseras . 66

Notes on a Trip to North Carolina . 12

Notes on Nepenthes mirabilis and Other CP in Queensland . 49

Notes on Tuberous Drosera of Western Australia . 51

Of Barn Swallows and Droseras . 68

On the Foraging Strategies of Carnivorous Plants . 14

Possible Alternative Food for Carnivorous Plants . 9

Propagation of Nepenthes by Layering . 13

Sarraaenia--'Touv Deluxe . 35

Seeking the Pygmy Droseras . 10

Unseasonal Blooming in Savraoenia in Western Florida . 67

AUTHOR INDEX

Adams, R .

.63

Honda, M .

. .5,32

Prager, P .

... 65

Barnett, W .

.45

Hunt, M .

..5,31

Pummer , T .

... 65

Brokenbro , T . ...

.6,8,

Kaufman, L .

. .3,12,

Richardson, S.

... 69

13,46

14

Rose, S .

. . .5,10,

Brodie, J .

.63

Korolas, J .

.. 33,47

11,28,51,66

Burden, D .

.30

Kutt, D .

. .35

Ross, L .

. . .38,67

Cantasano , J . ...

.63

Lavarack , P . . . .

. .49

Schnell , D . . . .

. . .6,32,

Cook, B .

.46

Kavrich, J .

. .47

47,48,56,70

Claudi-Magnussen ,

G.

Lewis, P .

. . 33

Schwarzbeck, M.

. . 14

32 ,68

Lutz, R .

. . 4

Sheridan , P . . .

... 34, 48

Del Col, J .

. 9

Macey, L .

..7,64

Sikoryak , K . . .

... 65

Dwyer, P .

.45,75

Mazr imas , J . . . .

. .1,3,

Song, L .

. . .2,74,75,76

Frowine, S .

.23,44,

6,27,47,64,70,

72,75

Tallman , 0 . . . .

. . .49,63,

61

McCulluh, L. . . .

. . 47

68

Graber, D .

. 27

McLaughlin, P. .

. .64

Taylor, D .

.. .27,37

Griesbach , R. . . .

.47

Mellichamp, L. .

. .17,25,

Taylor, P .

... 34

Hanna, B .

.27,30,63

33,41,57,65,73

Thomas , P .

...29,32

Hanrahan, B .

.63,76

Muller, R .

. . 5

Turnbull , J. . .

. . .65

77

Nelson, B .

. .47

Wallace , B . . . .

. . .28

Haynes, R .

. 6

Netherby , B . ...

. .28

Williams , S . . .

... 3

Henderson , S . . . .

. 64

Palmer, E .

. .65

Ziemer, B .

Hendrix, B .

. 34