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Drosophyllum
is a genus of insectivorous / carnivorous plants containing the
single species Drosophyllum lusitanicum ( Portuguese
Sundew or Portuguese dewy pine). In appearance, it is similar to
the genus Drosera (the
sundews), and to the much more distantly related
Byblis (the rainbow plants).
Drosophyllum lusitanicum is native to the western
Mediterranean region (western Portugal, Southern Spain and
Northern Morocco), and is one of the few insectivorous plants to
grow in dry, alkaline soil. The 20-40 cm glandular leaves, which
uncoil from a central rosette, lack the power of movement common
to most sundews, but have the unusual characteristic of being
coiled outward when immature. The plant has a distinct sweet
aroma, which attracts the insects it preys upon. When insects
land on the leaves, they find themselves stuck to the mucilage
secreted by the stalked glands on the leaves. The more the
insects struggle, the more ensnared they become, ultimately
dying of suffocation or exhaustion. The plant then secretes
enzymes which dissolve the insects and release the nutrients
which are then absorbed by the plant. The plant uses these
nutrients to supplement the nutrient-poor soil it grows in.
Drosophyllum bears bright yellow flowers that are 4 cm. in
diameter and are born in groups of 3-15 between February and
May. The translucent seedpods bear 3-10 opaque black pear-shaped
seeds, 2.5 mm. in diameter. Seed germination may be aided by
scarification.
The genus had always been assumed to be closely allied to
Drosera and was previously placed in
the Droseraceae. But with recent
molecular and biochemical studies, it's now has been place
in the monotypic Drosophyllaceae which makes it allied with the
Dioncophyllaceae (Triphyophyllum).
Cultivation : -
If you dip into current or even previous literature and articles
about Drosophyllum cultivation, you will probably find
information stating how artificial cultivation is difficult and
almost impossible. Over several years of cultivating these
plants, some have found that growing Drosophyllum is
really very easy if you follow several basic principles of
cultivation.
Despite some unaccounted-for data about asexual propagation in some
places, The plant can be propagated by sowing seed only. One of
the morpholgic peculiarties of this plant is that it does not
produce adventitious roots and so stem cuttings cannot root (
D’Amato, 1998). The fibrous root system is very susceptible to
any damage and that is why the plant can not be re-potted. The
best time to sow the seed is in early spring.
You can sow seed and subsequently grow plants on a medium consisting of
acidic, fibrous peat moss and mild, non-alkaline sand (1:3). We
sometimes add cut dry Sphagnum moss, perlite, vermiculite
or milled charcoal, but this is not necessary. The plants
tolerate loamy-sandy planting medium too. It's always best to
use unglazed ceramic pots 12 cm or more in diameter. Some stems
of sphagnum moss are put through the drainage hole to act
as a wick. We fill a pot with the planting medium to 2 cm below
the edge and press the substrate down. The filled pot is placed
in a tray of water to moisten the substrate. Now we are ready to
sow the seed.
The plant has minute black seeds that have a hard seed coat. For
successful and quick germination, scarification is necessary –
you must scratch the seed coat. We recommend the following
methods:
1) Before sowing you can soak the seed in water or
0.1% solution of giberellic acid
(GA3, stimulator of germination) for 24 hours. Then you
carefully cut very thin slices of the soft seed coat using a
knife blade. We cut at the peak of the seed, while other authors
recommend cutting the side or a wider part of the seed.
2) Dry seeds can be abraded using sandpaper or a
rasp. This procedure crushes up the hard seed coat. It is better
to use method A).
3) You can sow the seeds without scarification and
place them in a heated greenhouse. Seed will naturally germinate
in the spring. While method 1) allows a more precise timing of
germination, method 3 ) unfortunately does not.
Your prepared seeds should be sown on the moist planting medium in 3 – 5
pits about 1 cm deep (dug by a finger). You should put one seed
into every pit. The seed has been found to germinate normal
light in your greenhouse. The statement that only one plant
should be left in a pot after germination has been found to be
untrue. It has been reported that you can grow several plants (1
– 5) in a single pot without any problems.
The seeds germinate in
ambient or slightly higher air humidity conditions within one or
several weeks. Too high air humidity leads to death of the
germinating seedlings. If seed is treated with
giberellic acid (GA3) ( Click link
for more details ) they will start to germinate after about one
week. Otherwise, seed germinates within 2 – 3 weeks. As soon as
the seed germinates you must decrease air humidity and increase
air circulation. Also we add substrate to the germinating plants
so that we cover the sowing pits with the substrate and
replenish the surface of the pot. High air humidity will
certainly kill all the young seedlings. Drosophyllum
requires maximum light. About 40% of the germinated plants die
during the first 2 – 3 months.
When your plants have grown a few centimetres, you have
several possibilities on how to proceed. The first possibility
is for growers who have the time to care for their plants. The
pot is kept standing in a tray, adding water only when the
plants require it. The planting medium on the surface is kept
dry or very slightly moist. Watering ensures a moist lower layer
of the planting medium in a pot. You must closely watch for
signs of wilting of the plant, especially on hot summer days.
This is an indication to add water. Intermittent overwatering of
the planting medium or temporarily reduced lighting is not a
problem for mature plants. These plants can be grown very easily
in trays on windowsills, where the plants are watered from below
as needed. The planting medium must be kept moist not
water-logged. The construction of so called “double pots” has
now been found not necessary. In comparison to the fragility of
the young plants, but mature ones can tolerate water-logging and
dry spells better and seldom die from this.
If you wish you may like to put your plant in an outdoor peat bog,
by digging a spot into the soil 5 – 10 cm deep for
Drosophyllum. The lower part of the pot can be set into the
hole you made, while the upper part of the pot will stick above
the surface. The upper layer of the substrate will dry up
completely during hot summer days. The emergent part of the pot
can be masked with some aerial or porous material such as large
stones to give it a better look. Your Drosophyllum should
be placed outdoors at the beginning of spring and brought
indoors with the first frosts. The plants do not need protection
against a few days worth of rain, as excess water flows through
the substrate in the pot very quickly.
Drosophyllum lusitanicum loves full sunlight all year round. The
plants like high temperatures during the summer and fall and a
range of 5-15°C in winter. Permanent high air humidity is bad.
This plant may be grown successfully in pots on the windowsill
receiving full sunlight (south exposure is ideal). Of course,
the greenhouse is an excellent location, especially in winter.
it's recommend outdoor cultivation of Drosophyllum during
the summer, e.g. balconies, gardens or peat bogs. Using these
methods, some have been able to grow they plants for several
years without any problems or loss. The plants will survive
temperature falls to 0°C and even light frosts without damage
(-7°C). The plants spend their dormant period in a cold and
bright room. During the dormant period the planting medium must
be drier. Before plants are winterized, it beneficial to remove
all old dry leaves, which could become a source of rot and fungi
infection.
In cultivation, the plant can flower all year round, mostly at the end of
winter and during early spring. In exceptional cases, the plant
starts to flower when it is only two months old. It is usually
best to remove this flower in its early stage. The plants
usually start to flower from 6 – 9 months when they are 40-55 cm
in diameter.
It has been noted that rain does not wash away freshly captured or
partially digested prey, but light rain washes away completely
digested insects. The plants remain "dewy" with clammy mucilage
in the rain and water does not wash away the digestive
secretions on the tentacles. Contrary to sundews (Drosera),
these plants can capture large flies without any problems. In
our experience the plants that capture plenty of prey grow more
quickly than starving plants.
I hope that this has given you all that is needed for you to cultivate
this rarity! You can see for yourself that cultivation is not
overly difficult. Good luck!!!
( The locality of this plant has been put in details has been
posted about on the internet and I find it may led to some going
to take plants out of the wilds and as there is only one type of
this plant in the world like Venus flytraps, it may end up to be
grown only by a few and never seen again in the wild.) (
Please made sure you know where all your insectivorous seed and
plants come from )
. If you have any
experiences with growing Drosophyllum, and use any other
methods of cultivations different from the ones described above
please e-mail me.
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