Date: Wed, 22 Jul 98 19:12 EDT From: dave evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2437$foo@default> Subject: Re: D.rotundifolia
Sorry a late reply, but this didn't seem to go through the first time...
Dear Richard,
> same feature... I'm wondering now, since most of the plants are very weak
> from flowering, how exactly to know when to snip the fluorescence and cross
> fingers for seed... All the flower pods are now very dark brown/black but
> the flower stalk itself is still green/red in nature... I don't want to let
> this go much longer or I'm going to lose plants (Not a real problem, one
> mature rotunda has put out nearly 5-9 leaf cuttings already)... Any
> suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I'm not sure what to tell you. Some of my Drosera die every year
also. While D.rotundifolia is not an annual, they have a fairly high
turn over rate from year to year. They are very good at producing seed
and some do appear to exhaust themselves to death producing their seed.
I can tell you that the seeds are very viable and I have more plants
coming up in the bogs every year!
You can tell when seeds are ready for harvest on nearly all plants
(not just CPs) when: 1) the fruit is ripe. 2) the seed heads start
shedding seeds. Some plants shed seed slowly over days, others literally
explode their ovaries to scatter their seed. D.rotundifolia's ovaries
are shaped so the seed can be held inside, though not for long. To find
out if the seed heads are ready, take a white sheet of paper, up-end
flower stalks (they act like salt and pepper shakers) over the paper and
tap on them to see if the seed falls out. They should be easier to see
on white paper as they are small, long, black, and pointy at one end.
You may be able to see the seeds directly in the flower with your eyes
or using a magnifying glass as they a greyish compared to the brownish
colored flower remains. When viewed against white paper they both look
black, though.
Dave Evans
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