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Pinguicula lilacina in the Etla Valley

2024-10-31T00:00:00+00:00

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Among Oaxaca’s eight socio-geographic regions, the Valles Centrales is not known for harboring a great diversity of Pinguicula species. Nonetheless, those hardy souls willing to wander in the mountains can find at least four in the area.

Until a few days ago, I did not know that Pinguicula lilacina can be counted among the region’s residents.

I found these small plants totally by accident while traversing an oak woodland to reach a population of Pinguicula orchidioides and P. heterophylla. Both those larger species are common in the more thoroughly-hydrated nooks and crannies of the mountains surrounding Oaxaca’s Central Valley. In my experience, the two species are usually found growing together or near each other, at least in this area. Pinguicula moranensis also grows near this population of P. lilacina.

I had walked in this same area on multiple occasions but this was the first time that I noticed Pinguicula lilacina. Perhaps the species also grows in many of the other areas where P. orchidioides, P. heterophylla, and P. moranensis also reside?

At this site, P. lilacina plants grow in clayey soils below the canopies of short oak trees. It looks like the sticky little herbs mainly find uninhabited soil surfaces and adequate luminance in the openings left by the downhill side of the oak trunks.

In some instances, tufts of grass also appear to form apt places for the plants to grow.

Stylidium debile in Cultivation

2023-10-22T00:00:00+00:00

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Years ago, I grew Stylidium debile in California. After a long period of not growing any carnivorous plants, a friend gave me this division, which just began to flower.

Yes, yes, this is the most common Stylidium species in cultivation, and yes, it is exceedingly easy to grow. While that may reduce its cache with certain horticulturalists, it a pretty little plant. It features glandular carnivorous or protocarnivorous inflorescences, as well violently articulate anthers, as with all members of the genus.

While some have argued that the sticky trichomes that populate Stylidium flower scapes and buds are carnivorous (Darnowski 2017), others have concluded that members of the genus do not rely on captured prey as a source of nitrogen (Adamec, Matušíková, and Pavlovič 2021).

Either way, while the odd pollination distribution technique makes a certain amount of intuitive sense, the positioning of sticky traps so close to the plant’s reproductive bits are a curiosity, both in appearance and function.

References

Adamec, Lubomír, Ildikó Matušíková, and Andrej Pavlovič. 2021. “Recent Ecophysiological, Biochemical and Evolutional Insights into Plant Carnivory.” Annals of Botany 128 (3): 241–59. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcab071.

Darnowski, Douglas W. 2017. “Further Evidence of Carnivory in Triggerplants (Stylidium Spp.; Stylidiaceae).” Carnivorous Plant Newsletter, March. https://doi.org/10.55360/cpn461.dd972.

Carnivorous Plants at Phu Kradueng

2022-10-17T00:00:00+00:00

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Far away and long ago, in a time pre-COVID, I visited the Phu Kradueng National Park in northern Thailand.

The park is home to a number of carnivorous plants. I observed Nepenthes smilesii, Drosera burmannii, Utricularia hirta, U. graminifolia, U. bifida, and U. caerulea.

Drosera burmannii is a plant that I have seen before and cultivated extensively, but it remains exciting.

The plant is clearly effective at attracting and trapping insects. Those long, articulate outer tentacles move remarkably fast and the other, slower tentacles are tipped with such a wonderful abundance of goo.

Drosera burmannii flowers are highly light sensitive. To photograph one open, I had to work while the sun was out, then set up the camera first before setting a light or other photographic implement in a place that might block the sun. Working in the opposite order tended to result in the flowers closing before I had made a picture.

Many of the Drosera burmannii at Phu Kradueng grow in sand.

It is tempting to describe the habitat as sandy, but that is a bit like describing a tornado as windy.

Many of the plants were growing on the side of trails.

I sometimes feel under-ambitious when photographing plants that border trails. In this case, there weren’t many places where it was possible to find Drosera burmannii that weren’t practically underfoot.

This was one of the larger areas I encountered with Drosera burmannii.

As in other areas, it was challenging to find plants that didn’t look a bit desiccated.

There were lots of them though.

I encountered Utricularia graminifolia at a few places in the park. This spot is a ways upstream from one of them.

The huge rocks that compose the riverbed have many worn depressions. The plants were growing in and around a few of them at a point where a very small seep entered.

The flowers are the image of elegance.

Doesn’t that look much better than seeing Utricularia growing in plastic 5cm pots under the hum of artificial lights?

The Utricularia graminifolia stolons also extended into the water.

Traps were also visible.

Here is a wide view of that Utricularia graminifolia location for context.

The plants are visible on the right side of this frame.

This patch of Sphagnum was growing along the same river. No carnivorous plants were obviously visible in its vicinity.

In a different part of the park, Utricularia graminifolia was also growing along this stream.

The habitat is quite similar to the other Utricularia graminifolia location, with the plants bordering pools in the rock. There was more water movement in this spot than at the other one though.

A section of a trail was embellished by a carpet of these Acer calcaratum leaves.

Should you get a hankering to see fall colors in early February, try Phu Kradueng!

Utricularia bifida was also present at the park.

It was growing on the margins of Anodard Pond.

Motivation is unclear, but it appears that someone thought it very important that everyone who visits know the name of Anodard Pond.

This open, meadow-like section of trail is located between Anodard Pond and the campground area at the park. There were some Nepenthes scattered along this trail, but they weren’t numerous nor vigorous.

Another trail section, also on the way back to the campground, that traverses more of an open woodland.

Utricularia hirta was an interesting species to encounter. The flowers are quite small but assertive in their own way.

The plants were growing in a sandy ditch along this trail, relatively close to the campground.

If you look very closely, there is a flower on the right side of this frame.

It was impressive to see Utricularia growing in essentially pure sand.

There were also plants growing among mosses.

Utricularia caerulea was also represented in the same spot as the U. hirta.

The flowers are really tiny!

There are no carnivorous plants in or near this spot, but doesn’t it look cool?

Nepenthes. Nepenthes are cool and all but I don’t find them as exciting as the members of other carnivorous plant genera.

Phu Kradueng is home to Nepenthes smilesii.

N. smilesii has pitchers that can be better looking than Nepenthes mirabilis but I feel like I have to apologize for not finding the species particularly thrilling. The plants are very pleasant.

Anyway, most of the Nepenthes were growing near the cliffs that are so very popular in the park.

The largest populations of the plants were close to Lom Sak Cliff, along the trail.

There was some pleasant variation in pitcher shape.

This spider appears to live in the pitchers, perhaps in a form of symbiosis.

Many plants were growing in grasses. That may work well for the Nepenthes but is not very photogenic.

Plants are visible on the right side of this frame, along the trail to Lom Sak Cliff.

Here is another trailside view of the plants, on the trail near Lom Sak.

The Nepenthes don’t seem to be of particular concern to the park. Some plants had been burnt.

Other plants had been bulldozed in the process of trail maintenance.

I suppose that is simply a hazard of growing along a trail.

Pinguicula medusina and moranensis in the Ixtepeji

2022-09-20T00:00:00+00:00

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For some, the ideal walk in the woods leads to a stunning destination. For others, it is a mad dash against the clock. Then there are the saunterers, those who aspire for an unhurried, Jon Muir-like communion with the wilderness.

I like to be surprised by something along the way.

A few weeks ago, a friend and I set off to walk between two towns in Oaxaca’s Ixtepeji municipality. The objective, as such, was to see what was there, not expecting anything in particular.

Soon, we began to encounter Pinguicula moranensis plants.

For over half the length of trail, the plants were a common feature lining the sandy clay banks.

There was some variety in flower form and color, although not as much as I have seen elsewhere.

Likewise, some foliar rosettes exhibited sprawling, even etiolated green forms, while plants in brighter locations were more compact, with maroon hues.

In cultivation, the Pinguicula species from Mexico appear more vigorous when they receive enough light that the leaves begin to color up. When observing the plants in situ, I’m not sure that they actually grow better in brighter conditions, of if I simply prefer the aesthetic attributes of plants that receive more light.

These Pinguicula moranensis plants seem to flourish and flower as abundantly in relatively shaded areas as they do in brighter spaces. Perhaps light is a less important environmental component than other aspects of a given microclimate. Are attributes like water availability or lack of competition more determinate?

After exiting the trail for a dirt road leading into town, a splash of bright green filiform leaves caught my attention.

It was Pinguicula medusina!

On the first visit to the site, I didn’t realize that the plants were P. medusina, not P. heterophylla. Returning later to photograph the plants, I started to see plantlets forming on the tips of many leaves, a key feature that distinguishes the two species.

There are some Drosera that sometimes produce plantlets on leaves if the cultural conditions align. The habit is unusual in Pinguicula.

Fascinating, aren’t they?

Like Pinguicula moranensis, the P. medusina inhabit a variety of areas, some bright, others less so. In the case of P. medusina, none of the plants took on substantially darker coloration than others. This is totally unlike the plants in the type locality, which have a bright red hue.

The specimens in these photos are all from a relatively bright roadside location, where the plants appear more vigorous and numerous than in more heavily shaded areas.

Surprisingly, the plants did not have any seeds of flowers from this season. Do they bloom from their winter rosettes in the Sierra Norte? These plants are quite far from the type location in the Mixteca region of the state. Will the flowers conform to those of the type description?

Likewise, the soil conditions here are vastly different from the limestone of Laguna Encatada, the type location.

Drosera burmannii in Zhuhai, China

2022-04-30T00:00:00+00:00

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Although not known for carnivorous plants, south China hosts a substantial diversity in relevant species. Multiple Drosera and various Utricularia. Nepenthes too, which we will disregard; who wants to hear about Nepenthes, after all?

Even though I spent over a decade living in south China, I did more botanizing in Thailand during that time than in Mainland China. These images are among of the last plant pictures I made there, fully five years before departing the country.

View larger map

How could one possibly neglect such fertile ground for exploration, you may ask? Take a look at the pin on the map above, the location for these Drosera burmannii and Utricularia bifida. Most of the development currently present on the map did not exist in 2014 but one thing that was present on Hengqin Island was that unmarked compound due west of the Drosera. That is apparently a military compound of some variety. I know this because a platoon from said compound ended up intercepting my departure from the hillside. Their leader was keenly interested in my activities and in delivering my passport to headquarters for further inspection.

While the episode was no more than a disquieting inconvenience, it was also not the first time that I had been detained while photographing things I found interesting in China. Non-Chinese people are supposed to visit factories, hotels, and major tourist sites; those aberrant foreigners discovered in less popular spots are automatically assumed to be spies or, worse, journalists, particularly when they carry tripods and conspicuous cameras.

Anyway, these Drosera burmannii were growing on a steep, rocky hillside with an abundance of seeps. Nepenthes mirabilis were also present elsewhere on the hillside, along with the Utricularia bifida seen in the images. Hengqin Island is extremely close to Coloane Island in Macau; the Drosera spatulata and Utricularia caerulea found there are, or where, likely present on Hengqin Island too.

I say “were” because Hengqin has undergone an extreme transformation in the past 10 years. It rapidly metamorphosed (or metastasized) from a rural outpost of sleepy fishing villages and farm fields to being enveloped by immense office towers and sprawling apartment complexes. There are probably still some carnivorous plants there, but I wouldn’t count on them sticking around for very long.

North Head, Sydney Drosera and Utricularia

2017-03-14T00:00:00+00:00

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Upon arrival at Sydney’s North Head peninsula, many visitors may first venture out to explore the surprisingly walkable streets that line Manly’s quaint commercial district. They may hike out to view parts of the rugged coastline that offer scenic glimpses of city views.

…or they might elect to marinate in their own fluids then burn to a crisp on Manly Beach.

I, however, went straight out to visit an unceremoniously mowed roadside power line cut near the North Head Quarantine Station.

This is, of course, because I have delicate, refined taste in tourist attractions. I was also looking for Drosera. Drosera pygmea, to be precise.

The Quarantine Station, by the way, is now a luxury hotel complex but used to be a literal quarantine site for inbound peoples. The thing was started in response to the 1829–51 cholera pandemic. The smattering of socially-distanced “Officer’s Cottages,” “Heritage Suites” and “Q Rooms” look lovely in their current incarnation; they are also clearly priced out of my tax bracket.

Back to the plants. There were also Drosera binata var. dichotoma in the same power cut but this is the closest image I made of them. The intention was to return to the spot to address the D. binata on a more individual level; that didn’t happen.

After a rather tumultuous night in an exceptionally awful, blindingly expensive hostel in Manly (there were no “Officer’s Cottages”), the Quarantine Head and Fairfax Track areas were next on the agenda.

Along Hole in Wall Track and surrounding areas, there are many lovely seeps that host more Drosera pygmea as well as Utricularia.

Utricularia uniflora was particularly exciting to see scattered in peaty areas among sedges.

Here is a slightly wider view of the habitat.

Utricularia lateriflora also occupied some of the same areas.

Here is another of the coastal seeps.

Drosera pygmea had more abundant representation on some of the areas lining the South Head Heritage Trail. It grew both in peaty areas…

…and in sandy spots as well.

Thanks to Robert Gibson for wonderful information on the carnivorous plants here and in the Blue Mountains. There were many other plants to see around Sydney, throughout the state of New South Wales, and of course in Australia. My visit, unfortunately, was a very brief one.

Drosera and Utricularia in the Blue Mountains

2017-03-13T00:00:00+00:00

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Australia has long been something of an aspirational destination for me; the countryside, people, and, most of all, plants have all been a great source of fascination. Mostly the plants though.

On a two week trip to the country last fall, I was left with a bit over two days at the end for botanizing. One of those days was spent in the Blue Mountains around Blackheath. Robert Gibson was kind enough to describe a well-known spot for carnivorous plants along the trail between Govetts Leap (pictured above) and Horseshoe Falls.

Drosera binata was by far the most impressive plant along the walk. Here is a leaf found along the trail that appears to conform to the unofficial var. dichotoma morphology.

This wet cliff face is visible from the trail between Govetts Leap and Horseshoe Falls and sports an impressive colony of Drosera binata hanging hundreds of meters above the forest below.

These Drosera binata are growing in a similar manner to those above but on the side of a large boulder rather than a cliff face. The rock is located on Popes Glen Track shortly after it splits off from Govetts Walk. The spot was fantastic to see in person but the plants themselves were not nearly as impressive as those on the cliff face above due to the etiolation resulting from the shade of nearby vegetation.

Drosera binata leaf detail.

The trail between Govetts Leap and Horseshoe Falls is also home to Drosera spatulata…

…as well as Utricularia lateriflora. Robert mentioned the presence of Drosera auriculata, D. peltata, and Utricularia uniflora but I did not spot those species here (although I did see Drosera auriculata further down the trail on Popes Glen Track).

This is a typical section of trail between Govetts Leap and Horseshoe Falls near the Drosera spatulata above.

This trail section is quite close to Govetts Leap. Check out the arborescent ferns!

I encountered numerous Drosera auriculata on the Popes Glen track leading back to Blackheath. The plants were in a lightly-wooded area above Popes Glen Creek that was substantially less wet than the areas where I encountered Drosera spatulata and the Utricularia earlier

For the photography nerds out there, I feel compelled to mention at this point that the macro lens I brought on the trip was almost completely unusable the entire time; the iris assembly was loathe to stop down over f/8. Even when the camera reported smaller apertures, only about one in ten exposures was at anything near the reported setting… That made focus stacking impossible and all exposures extremely hit-and-miss as well as exceptionally time consuming. Suffice to say quality control at Canon Professional Services Hong Kong has room for improvement.

Drosera auriculata inflorescence.

Drosera auriculata leaf detail.

Drosera auriculata with other trail-side foliage. It is very challenging to show the plants in habitat due to their clambering nature.

Drosera auriculata habitat.

A few clumps of Drosera binata also were growing near the Drosera auriculata on Popes Glen track but were not particularly impressive.

The Govetts Leap lookout is within walking distance of the Blackheath train station; I ended up walking down the mountain a bit, past Horseshoe Falls, then looped back up through a trail tributary to arrive back to the train station a few hours later. A rental car would have been nice to have in some regards - it certainly could have allowed slightly more time for hiking and botanizing - but also would have been extremely expensive (like everything else in Australia), not to mention difficult to park in and around Sydney.

Drosera oblanceolata in Hong Kong

2014-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

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The Drosera on Lantau Island are confusing; there are lots of little rosetty plants that resemble an abstract intermediate point between typical Drosera spatulata and Drosera oblanceolata, but nothing that is clearly Drosera spatulata. Are the sundews simply a particularly aberrant form of D. spatulata? Are they hybrids of some sort, or perhaps a new species due to be split out on its own in an upcoming taxonomic revision? I certainly don’t know.

Drosera oblanceolata was described from material collected in mainland China’s Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, but is known primarily from a location at Hong Kong’s Sunset Peak. I have visited Lantau Island a number of times hoping to see real D. oblanceolata but only found it recently. With its erect posture and thin lamina, the species looks more interesting that D. spatulata; it also may have exerted genetic influence over the form of the other local sundews at some point and thus be an interesting genetic keystone of sorts.

The Flora of Hong Kong describes Drosera oblanceolata habitat as “sunny meadows and bogs.” I previously assumed that description of the habitat was made in error; most carnivorous plants I know from mountains occupy wet slopes a significant distance down from the apex itself, which is often a bit dry and hostile to water-loving plants. Sunset Peak has meadows, but only quite near the apex of the peak; there aren’t any bogs I have been able to spot.

The Lantau Trail runs along the side of the mountain and ascends to a point near the peak, but doesn’t quite reach the top. A smaller side trail juts off for those who feel a strong urge to summit mountains; I am not of that persuasion so hadn’t bothered on earlier hikes.

Drosera oblanceolata grows in an area that could be called a rocky meadow. It’s close enough to the top of the mountain that all water it receives appears to come from rain or mist, not drainage off higher elevations. Sunset Peak is often shrouded in clouds or fog, so this perhaps shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

Drosera spatulata (or whatever you want to call it) also grows at the peak. D. oblanceolata is at right in the image below and D. whatever plants are on the left.

Drosera oblanceolata prominently differs from the non- D. oblanceolata plants at Sunset Peak in shape and posture of its lamina (which are narrower and more erect). It also flowers more abundantly than the other Drosera and its inflorescences have thinner, more wiry scapes. A D. spatulata (or whatever) is below for reference.

Drosera spatulata and Drosera oblanceolata are supposed to be separated, in part, by hirsute vs. glabrous scapes; since all the Drosera at Lantau have more or less glabrous scapes, that characteristic seems to be of little use in defining the local flora.

Bibliography

HK Herbarium - Drosera oblanceolata

Darlingtonia at $8 Mountain in October

2014-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

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These images are from a large Darlingtonia californica site I have visited many times at $8 Mountain in southern Oregon. Here are other images from the same location, and here are yet more. These pictures are from an October visit; I find it interesting to compare the state of the Darlingtonia and habitat with that of other seasons.

Macau Carnivorous Plants

2014-08-14T00:00:00+00:00

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Known primarily for casinos, egg tarts, and its proximity to Hong Kong, Macau is also home to a small selection of carnivorous plants. Drosera spatulata, Nepenthes mirabilis, Utricularia bifida, and U. caerulea may not be the sort of exotic rarities apt to excite the botanical cognoscenti; nonetheless, observing them growing together on a rugged maritime hillside is not an everyday occasion for most plant nerds.

The Macau peninsula itself and Taipa island may have once had populations of carnivorous plants; now, the territory’s insectivorous inhabitants are relegated to Coloane island. Coloane is the least-developed section of Macau but is facing increasing development, as is nearly all south China. This site is situated on a rocky granitic hillside between Hac Sa and Cheoc Van beaches on Coloane’s southern apex. The spot seems relatively unlikely to sprout a forty floor luxury apartment complex or mega resort anytime soon.

Nepenthes mirabilis

Drosera spatulata

Utricularia caerulea

These flowers are a few millimeters long; even with high-speed strobes, photographing them on a windy hillside is extremely difficult.

Drosera spatulata and Utricularia bifida

Nepenthes mirabilis

Nepenthes mirabilis flower

Nepenthes mirabilis