Post by Jason Ksepka on Feb 16, 2018 23:27:06 GMT -5
So I was out in the Panhandle looking at the amazing Drosera filiformis "floridana" a few years ago with Jim Bockowski. There were several acres of sundews growing out of the white sand with great densities concentrated along seeps that ran from the margin of the basin into the lake of the sink-hole. After years of looking for these little gems, I finally had found them on an excursion about two years prior. The first two pictures are out of sequence as they are plants that I had propagated from this site and was growing at home in NJ. These are the hibernacula waking up in the spring. They were growing in the same conditions right next to each other. I want to call your attention to the color difference in the growing foliage.
Notice that the bottom one is quite a bit redder than the top one. This in and of itself is not particularly unusual because this kind of variation is often seen and can be genetic or more often due to differing light conditions. Stronger light usually giving more red color. But as I said, these plants are growing in the same conditions, and subsequent years have shown that this color difference is stable. All that being said, who cares, it is not that big of a deal. Except that the next two photos are the mother plants as I found them in the wild that day with Jim. The order is the same as the waking hibernacula above.
This plant is typical of the all-red plants found in the Florida panhandle. The flower color is a nice pink, as with other D. filiformis.
This plant is both redder in color, and has nice white flowers.
This trait is stable, and genetic as seedlings from this plant also have a stronger red color and white flowers. Anecdotally, these plants also appear to be more cold tolerant that the typicals from the same exact site. Though this can be microclimate issues and has not been tested correctly.
Something else peculiar is that I recognize this trait, or it's analog in the genus Liatris. In NJ I have found plants where the vegetative portions of the plant were much more red than the typical form, and had white flowers instead of pink/purple. In Florida I have seen the same trait in Liatris spicata growing in savannahs with Sarracenia. And in Missouri I have seen Liatris cylindracea doing the same.
The NJ Liatris pilosa, grass-leaved blazing star.
The Liatris spicata, dense blazing star in Florida.
And the Liatris cylindracea, Ontario blazing star. This one does not exhibit nearly as strong of a reddening, and that could be due to lower light on this inividual, or white flower trait may not have any correlation to the increase in anthocyanins and the above examples are outliars. In any case, I find this interesting and hope to figure it out in years to come.
Does anyone else have any experience with this kind of color presentation in Drosera or any other genus?
Notice that the bottom one is quite a bit redder than the top one. This in and of itself is not particularly unusual because this kind of variation is often seen and can be genetic or more often due to differing light conditions. Stronger light usually giving more red color. But as I said, these plants are growing in the same conditions, and subsequent years have shown that this color difference is stable. All that being said, who cares, it is not that big of a deal. Except that the next two photos are the mother plants as I found them in the wild that day with Jim. The order is the same as the waking hibernacula above.
This plant is typical of the all-red plants found in the Florida panhandle. The flower color is a nice pink, as with other D. filiformis.
This plant is both redder in color, and has nice white flowers.
This trait is stable, and genetic as seedlings from this plant also have a stronger red color and white flowers. Anecdotally, these plants also appear to be more cold tolerant that the typicals from the same exact site. Though this can be microclimate issues and has not been tested correctly.
Something else peculiar is that I recognize this trait, or it's analog in the genus Liatris. In NJ I have found plants where the vegetative portions of the plant were much more red than the typical form, and had white flowers instead of pink/purple. In Florida I have seen the same trait in Liatris spicata growing in savannahs with Sarracenia. And in Missouri I have seen Liatris cylindracea doing the same.
The NJ Liatris pilosa, grass-leaved blazing star.
The Liatris spicata, dense blazing star in Florida.
And the Liatris cylindracea, Ontario blazing star. This one does not exhibit nearly as strong of a reddening, and that could be due to lower light on this inividual, or white flower trait may not have any correlation to the increase in anthocyanins and the above examples are outliars. In any case, I find this interesting and hope to figure it out in years to come.
Does anyone else have any experience with this kind of color presentation in Drosera or any other genus?