Wow, this is strange for me, but I had accepted what I had read concerning the lack of floral scent of Pinguicula flowers, especially Mexican species and hybrids.
So tonight, killing some time, sitting on the carpet in my CP grow-room, with lots of plants in bloom, much more variety than usual, thanks to having taken steps to ensure a cooler room this winter than I have usually kept. In seasons past, day or night, it never went below about 80F (~27C), at any time of the year, and was often at or near 100F (~38C), even during the winter whenever the lights were on.
Anyway, back to the subject. Mexican Pinguicula flowers have scents. At least most of those I have taken the time to carefully sniff. Most curiously for me, Pinguicula esseriana has a different scent than Pinguicula jaumavensis. If they actually had a scent, I thought they would be pretty much the same, I discovered that they do have a floral fragrance, and it is not the same. The scent of Pinguicula jaumavensis is reminiscent of Petunia, yet Pinguicula esseriana, though sweetly floral, does not smell like Petunia. All the many clones of Pinguicula gigantea that I am growing, all smell nearly the same, a scent reminiscent of roses. I even noticed a fragrance from my newly acquired Pinguicula pilosa, which, thank goodness is very free flowering. I need to do some more sniffing and take notes of what I experience. This is quite exciting. WOW.
Since the flowers were there, I thought, why not do a little sniffing. Many had no obvious floral fragrance, though those still sometimes had a unique fragrance, similar to the non-floral odor of vegetation. I did not expect what I had discovered. For awhile I was shocked, very few of the fragrances I have experienced from these plants has been, what I would consider, obvious and intrusive, except in some ways for Pinguicula agnata (CSUF) and Pinguicula gigantea. Perhaps it is my "unnatural" growing conditions that has made it possible to notice these ephemeral scents that have, until now, gone unnoticed.
So tonight, killing some time, sitting on the carpet in my CP grow-room, with lots of plants in bloom, much more variety than usual, thanks to having taken steps to ensure a cooler room this winter than I have usually kept. In seasons past, day or night, it never went below about 80F (~27C), at any time of the year, and was often at or near 100F (~38C), even during the winter whenever the lights were on.
Anyway, back to the subject. Mexican Pinguicula flowers have scents. At least most of those I have taken the time to carefully sniff. Most curiously for me, Pinguicula esseriana has a different scent than Pinguicula jaumavensis. If they actually had a scent, I thought they would be pretty much the same, I discovered that they do have a floral fragrance, and it is not the same. The scent of Pinguicula jaumavensis is reminiscent of Petunia, yet Pinguicula esseriana, though sweetly floral, does not smell like Petunia. All the many clones of Pinguicula gigantea that I am growing, all smell nearly the same, a scent reminiscent of roses. I even noticed a fragrance from my newly acquired Pinguicula pilosa, which, thank goodness is very free flowering. I need to do some more sniffing and take notes of what I experience. This is quite exciting. WOW.
Since the flowers were there, I thought, why not do a little sniffing. Many had no obvious floral fragrance, though those still sometimes had a unique fragrance, similar to the non-floral odor of vegetation. I did not expect what I had discovered. For awhile I was shocked, very few of the fragrances I have experienced from these plants has been, what I would consider, obvious and intrusive, except in some ways for Pinguicula agnata (CSUF) and Pinguicula gigantea. Perhaps it is my "unnatural" growing conditions that has made it possible to notice these ephemeral scents that have, until now, gone unnoticed.