Re: N. dubia pollen
Bob Beer (bbeer@u.washington.edu)
Tue, 8 Mar 1994 08:19:06 -0800 (PST)
>
> In my limited experience I've seen that it is somewhat
> infrequent for Nepenthes to flower--it happens when the plants
> get fairly large. This observation leads me to believe that
> it must be very difficult to find Nepenthes seeds even in the
> plants' natural habitat. (I've mentioned this before in a
> direct e-mail to you). Nepenthes are dioecious--what is the
> probability that a male plant and a female plant will be in
> flower at the same time, in reasonable proximity? Do they have
> to be in proximity? What insects might carry the pollen from
> the male to the female plant?
>
Well, I think established plants here flower yearly. N. khasiana, for
example, seemed to flower each spring/early summer where I have seen it
bloom. Since it seems to be season sensitive, it probably is back home.
Plants in the wild usually do not flower indiscriminately, and a
dioecious plant would not be able to afford to.
As for pollinators - considering that most of the Nepenthes flowers smell
very much like mouse urine, I would bet the pollinator would be a fly/flies.
Bob