|
BACPS | Newsletter |
| Winter 2007 |
A special bulletin will go out once meeting arrangements have been finalized.
by Judith Finn
February 10, 2007
Attendance: ~40
President Stephen Davis began the meeting by asking for volunteers to help with the August annual Carnivorous Plant Show. It is important to have people participate and bring in plants for show or sale. Last year about 100 plants were displayed.
He discussed the possibility of having one of the meetings next year at the Randall Museum in San Francisco or at Peter D'Amato's nursery.
Stephen told us about a trip that he made with Barry Rice to see Darlingtonia growing near Donner. They discovered both American and European bees pollinating the plants. They collected seeds to distribute to good growers in the society to help bring more genetic diversity into cultivation. Some of the seed were an all-green Othello (~125), some were a cross (~125-150), and some the normal-colored Darlingtonia.
The North American Sarracenia Conservancy
is encouraging people to help preserve
plants by growing seeds of S. rubra and S. gulfensis. They suggest
wrapping the seed in moist sphagnum, keeping them in a plastic bag,
planting them, and tagging and keeping track of the individual plants.
Lisa Van Cleef, Curator of Education at the Conservatory of Flowers, informed us of the coming exhibit at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. The exhibit is called Chomp and runs from May 4 to November 4, 2007. It features carnivorous plants supplied by Peter D'Amato and Lois Ochs and written material by Barry Rice. Model makers from George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic special effects company will fabricate big models to show the trapping mechanisms of a Heliamphora and a Dionaea. National Geographic's kids' website amongst many others will promote the show, and 100,000 people are expected to view the exhibit. Lisa asked members of our society to be docents this summer at the show. This should be great fun and great exposure for our favorite plants. [See Lisa's appeal for volunteers below.]
Harry Tryon reminded members that he would be happy to lead tours of the Darlingtonia reserves near the Oregon border this summer or autumn when they are at their best.
Harry Tryon
P.O. Box 24
Gasquet, CA 95543
Forbes Conrad and Noah Elhardt gave us an adventurous six-week trip through Mexico stalking Pinguicula, the African violets of the carnivorous plant world. They saw 15-25 different species by traveling on buses, hitchhiking, biking, and walking. They started their journey in Guadalajara.
They showed us beautiful purple-flowered Pinguicula heterophylla growing in gypsum in Oaxaca, and great stick insects that blend into their surroundings.
Growing in very dry conditions were plants of Pinguicula medusina with its asexual propagation that it displays on the tips of its very narrow leaves. Its growth is dimorphic: it has large leaves in summer followed by small dormant rosettes in the winter.
Forbes and Noah added to their talk by showing slides of local market
places, town squares, and hotels.
They met in Mexico City with Fernando Rivadavia. He told them of a location 10 miles away at 6,500-foot elevation that contained the rare Pinguicula laxifolia that was discovered in 1995.
Forbes first said that he and Noah found P. moranensis growing not only on the ground but on the moss-covered bark of trees. They displayed a variety of color and petal form. They also saw Pinguicula esseriana growing on tree bark. Finally they came upon the elusive Pinguicula laxifolia perched on rocks with pendulous leaves as opposed to the usual symmetrical rosette.
Our brave adventurers brought along on their trip blankets, umbrellas, some cooking supplies, and a global positioning device. I cringed at the very long arduous "day" trips with very little rations and protection from the elements. They explained that rental cars are very expensive so they would have a bus driver drop them off in the middle of nowhere.
At one point they met up with Fernando Rivadavia to search for P. moctezumae, which unfortunately eluded them because the road became inaccessible and their habitat is only one mile long. They did see P. agnata and the purple and white P. elizabethiae.
They then proceeded to go into a cloud forest to see P. orchidioides,
which has stolons and is very slow growing and very rare in
cultivation. They discovered large plants of P. hemiepiphytica with very
large pink flowers. The conditions were dim and wet so it was hard to
obtain clear photos.
We thank Forbes and Noah for sharing their "most excellent adventure."
[Editor's note: Forbes has posted pictures of his Mexico trip at http://www.glasshousenursery.com/galleries/cp/in-situ/mexico/index.html]
Max Schaefer brought in a Nepenthes singalana, a highland Nepenthes, growing in a perfect rosette form in a San Francisco basement under fluorescent lights in a mix of long sphagnum moss, fir bark, and charcoal.
Michael Drabinsky displayed a Drosera falconeri and a Genlisea violacea
'Giant.' The Drosera is grown in a terrarium with a fish tank heater.
The Genlisea was grown on a windowsill in a small plastic-covered container.
Tony Gridley brought in fine specimens of Utricularia flaccida, U. calycifida, U. sandersonii, and a Drosera peltata.
Stephen Davis showed several different genera, including Pinguicula agnata, which he grows inside, Pinguicula laueana, P. esseriana, and P. emarginata, and an attractive display of Pinguicula grown on a rock that he keeps in his basement under lights. He also brought specimens of Utricularia reniformis and U. nelumbifolia, which he grows in glass containers on a windowsill, and a lavender-flowered Genlisea.
Tony Gridley supplied us with Pinguicula gigantea, Nepenthes sanguinea, and Sarracenia alata.
Max Schaefer brought in five Sarracenia plus Nepenthes cuttings.
by Lisa Van Cleef
Hello BACPS members.
Come share your knowledge! The Conservatory of Flowers is launching
a carnivorous plant exhibit May 4, Chomp! The exhibit will run
through November 4. We're working closely with Peter D'Amato for
our plants, and Barry Rice has written our content panels. This is
our most anticipated show yet.
To get the public better informed, we'd like to get BACPS members in here as carnivorous plant experts. As you well know, the public loves these plants, and the more information we can provide, the better the experience will be. We'll provide an introduction to the exhibit and give you the basics on the Conservatory, then rely upon you and your experience to get the public fired up about carnivores. Volunteer shifts are three hours long, Tuesdays-Sundays.
For those BACPS members who like working with kids, we've got a special Flytrap Theater where we'll "feed" Dionaea and dissect Nepenthes. Training for the youth program is April 26, 9:30-10:30, and the same material is covered again on May 1, 9:30-10:30 at the Conservatory.
If you're interested in sharing your passion for carnivores, please contact the Conservatory's volunteer manager, Lee Edwards, at nocooklee@aol.com. Let her know if you're interested in working with the general public and/or kids!
by Evan Wolf
I'm a BACPS member but haven't been too active recently. However, I have co-authored two Species Conservation Assessments for the US Forest Service Region 2 (Rocky Mountain region) on Drosera rotundifolia and Drosera anglica. The reports deal broadly with all aspects of the species, and then more specifically with the distribution within the Rocky Mountains (which may be a little less interesting to those in the Bay Area), but there is some information about California occurrences as well, for comparison. They are available to the public on the US Forest Service website in PDF format:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/projects/scp/assessments/droserarotundifolia.pdf
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/projects/scp/assessments/droseraanglica.pdf
by Larry Logoteta
The first thing I do is prepare the soil. I sift peat moss through a typical window screen to have just the fines with no big clumps. After that is done I do the same exact operation with perlite, and when I think I have enough mixed up I like to add just enough fine sand to make it look nice. I use a 50% ratio on both mixes -- as for the sand, just enough to cover up the mixture. On the bottom of the plastic pot I use needle-point plastic to cover up the drain holes, then I add just enough perlite to keep my mixture from going through the drain holes. I select a nice deep pot to add my mixture to. I like to moisten my mixture before adding it to the pot. I fill the pot to within 1/4 inch of the top.
Then here comes the fun part. I select Drosera gemmae in the late autumn when mature. I put on my jeweler glasses and proceed to pick up the gemmae one at a time with fine-tip tweezers and select a place in the pot to put them, spacing them out so they have room to grow. They are planted deep enough so the narrow tip of the gemmae is sticking slightly above the sandy surface. It takes quite a while to put them in, but the results are well worth it. When they begin to grow the pot looks like a group of jewels glistening in the sun. I would like to add that it's quite relaxing and enjoyable to watch them grow.
by Steven Millar
It is fairly common knowledge that Venus flytraps require good sun in order to grow. In the field, they are often found hiding in tall grasses where the sun gets to them but filters the light. Yet these plants, grown more in bright shade than full sun, are brilliant with color. I have wondered about this for 30 years until a series of self-imposed experiments brought me my answers. Everyone knows that anthocyanin is responsible for the colors in all CP. I have heard for years to just put them in full sun, and they will turn red. NOT!!!
Genetics is responsible for how they respond to certain light conditions. There are some plants that respond to full sun without the filtering that have intense color, while others in the same area did not turn red at all. I recalled a few incidences that helped me understand the way it may work with some plants. Rare for me was the plant that turned red in full sun. Almost everything I bought way back when was from Antonelli Brothers in Santa Cruz. Their plants were grown in a greenhouse with heavily whitewashed panels. Their plants were phenomonal! Reds, burgundys, bandeds, red teeth, pink teeth, purple teeth--name it! The choices were fantastic! I don't know if they even have VFTs now -- have not been back there for 30 years. However, when the plants got home with me, out into full sun they went. Immediately they lost their red coloration and became yellow with a reddish blush, or no color at all. I was perplexed!
Finally, I moved to Davis, California, and got my first shock. I visited their greenhouses, and asked those in charge if I could grow my plants there. I was given a thumbs-up. I moved my washed out VFTs into the Davis greenhouses. These were the old original houses, not the ones they have now. I loved it when they went in. I visited them every day to see my plants. I moved them in in the early spring. For three weeks they sat there looking the same, and eating like pigs. Then, I visited one day,and they had whitewashed the greenhouses. I went in to check on "the kids". All was well, but I was concerned about the whitewashing. I was going to take them out, then decided to let them stay. It was bright shade instead of full sun. But they had whitewashed them all, so there was no place to put them. I worried but gave it a try. By the end of the first week, the new traps formed by the plants were red. Bright red! Looking the same as the plants I had originally purchased in Santa Cruz. No change in the older leaves, but every new leaf that developed in that scenario turned beautiful colors. My eyes, and brain, were beginning to wonder, and observation was the order of the day. They were GLORIOUS!!!! Late in the season, I moved again, and took them with me. Full sun again.
Right off the bat, the washed-out look returned. Still robust and healthy, but rather dull compared to what they were. I have alternately tried filtered sun through grass, and color reappeared. Through the dappled sunlight shining through the branches of a willow tree, brilliant color appeared. Full sun once more, washed out again. Hmmm. I may be on to something!
So for years I have alternately tried several different things with varying degrees of success, or no success at all, but the time and observation have been worth everything to me. Then Barry Rice wrote an article about one of his many trips, and talked in one page about the VFT he found growing under a bush, just brilliant with color, but one leaf, sticking out beyond the bush's confines, was fairly colorless. It supported everything I had been learning all these years. I had to tell him about it, too, and did.
So, don't listen to the old adage -- throw 'em in the sun for best color. You may be terribly disappointed. Instead, try putting them in a filtered light situation and observe the results. Keep trying until you discover how your VFT reacts to every different sunlight situation. Filter the light, whitewashed greenhouse panels, shade cloths of varying shading ability, dappled sunlight through a tree or tall grass. See what works -- you may be pleasantly suprised.
My name is Steven Millar, and I have grown CP for 45 years now. A member of the BACPS since it started, I read every newsletter. I have a large collection of species, and natural hybrid Sarracenia from specific locations. You can talk to me anytime at Terraforums.com and see pics of my Sarracenia collection and the Mike Ross circulating bog that works just like a real bog. My forum name is Bugweed. Come and visit.
by Tony Gridley
Of course it is unfair to visit any nursery in the dead of winter. So, when viewing these photographs of Hortus Botanicus (www.hortusb.com) in Fort Bragg, I ask you to keep in mind that this was mid-February. Though the plants certainly appear to be glorious, please try to imagine just how breathtaking everything would be six months later.
If you've never been, this is a superb destination for CP lovers. Christina Palmer and I spent a good three hours there, and I would like to thank owner Robert Goleman for his time and generosity. I would also like to thank Lily (last photo) for being an excellent companion.
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by Tony Gridley
Bug Day! The flier says it all.
Last year's volunteers -- Ron LaPedis, Christine Lam, and I -- are returning this year to host the CP table at this wonderful annual event for kids at the Randall Museum in San Francisco. Other BACPS members would be very welcome, especially if they just happen to have some plants that the kids could take home for a couple of bucks each. We want to foster a new generation of potential members, after all!
Bug Day is Saturday, April 21, 2007, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Randall Museum (www.randallmuseum.org) is located at 199 Museum Way in San Francisco.
by Joe Mazrimas
| BACPS TREASURY REPORT | |||
| ASSETS | DEBIT | BALANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raffle | $100.00 | ||
| TOTAL | $100.00 | ||
| F. Conrad Honorarium | $50.00 | ||
| Current Balance (02-10-07) | $50.00 | ||
| Previous Balance (11-11-06) | $2757.91 | ||
| TOTAL | $2807.91 |
April 21, 2007: Bug Day at the Randall Museum, San Francisco
TBD: Next BACPS meeting
May 4 - November 4, 2007: Chomp! at the Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco
U. calycifida, U. sandersonii -- Stephen Davis; all other photos -- Tony Gridley
The BACPS Newsletter is a quarterly publication produced by the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society. Please send newsletter submissions to Tony Gridley (tgridley@comcast.net). For more information on membership, subscriptions, or events, please visit our website: www.bacps.org.
