Pollinating P. primuliflora

My P. Primuliflora has two flowers on it....Can I use pollen from the same plant, different flower, or is this species not self-fertile?
   Do they self pollinate without my help?  Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm just starting to appreciate my pings....

I find that mine have expressed the ability, on occassion to be self-fertile, while at other times I have been unable to obtain successful pollination by self-fertilization.

Good luck.

Thanks Pingman, and for the spelling correction too!
I'll give it a shot and let you know what happens....

Ok...attempted to self-pollinate the two flowers today...we'll see what happens.

Also, I noticed that some of the older leaves that were lying directly on the medium had sprouted what looked like little platletts. I cut one off and potted it, so we'll see.

Do I have to remove part of the petal, or can I put a q-tip or something with pollen on it deep into the flower?

Thanks

Below is an excellent sketch of the Pinguicula flower structure found at the CP Database website:

From the CP Database "Slideshow of Pinguicula"
http://www.omnisterra.com/botany/cp/slides/pings/pings.htm



Basically you have the ovary. At the end of the ovary and mostly blocking the opening of the flower is the stigma (this is a flap that is connected at the end of the ovary and it covers the two stamens), filaments with attached anthers are hidden underneath the stigma. The upper surface of the stigma is where pollen is received to accomplish pollination, while the underside of this stigma cover is where the plant keeps its own pollen. This reduces the chance that pollen from this same plant will reach the upper surface of the stigma and self-pollinate the flower.

When pollinating Pinguicula extra caution must be used because the connection of the stigma to the ovary is very tenuous and fragile while the stamens are more substantial and firmly attached to the base of the ovary.

Frequently pollen is released and accumulates under the covering stigma, which can then be collected with a flat toothpick and gently placed on top of the stigma surface to effect pollination.

I myself have found it easier to first photograph the flowers for posterity and then to carefully remove most of the petals to make it easier to access the reproductive parts of the flower without damaging them.