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D. spatulata or capillaris?

nepenthes gracilis

Nepenthes Specialist
Any ideas on this one? It has pink flowers (spathulata possibility) but popped up in my pot of S. purpurea spp. venosa outside and tolerated frost (perhaps capilaris frost tolerance?) Anywho here's a pic, any idears out there?
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Well, there aren't many clearly visable features in these photos, so I feel like I am shooting in the dark. I am going to hope I hit a duck, and say D. capillaris, but this is soley on the few number of flowers on the scape (and this could be due to lack of optimal growing conditions, esp. if it was a stray). Read the post on the differences between the 2 forms on the Drosera Forum, and other posts in this ID Forum. Maybe some details will be apparent to you in comparison with your plant. A good thing is to look at the seed: as previously mentioned, D. capillaris will be bumpy, vs. D. spatulata which is smooth or grooved. Sorry I can't be more definite: both species are highly variable, and I have been wrong in the past regarding them.
 
OK I'll just keep it alive until your our next encounter!
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If it lives that long haha.
 
Besides, after the last 3 weeks all I can see in front of my eyes are little green gemmae, thousands and thousands of little green eggs......................................................................................
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<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>Having spent much time observing many Drosera capillaris in situ. Translation: crawling on my hands and knees, sometimes in old-fashioned, one piece, heavy, all-rubber hip waders, in the hot, wet, humid, insect-infested bogs, swamps, etc. of the Southeastern USA, for weeks at a time, off and on over several decades observing the CP of that area and having the hard won privilege of personally observing many thousands of Drosera capillaris in scores of locations, sometimes where its populations covered vast areas of hundreds of acres. Yes, there was much variation among the Drosera capillaris, yet atypical plants were the exception, the vast majority were not very large, almost of a uniform size over most of their range. Even most of the atypical plants were just larger, or their proportions were a slight bit different than the usual Drosera capillaris, but they still could be matched to their description, their lamina were not longer than their petiole and neither did they have an acute shoulder angle (where the lamina meets the petiole), but a gentle one.

My vote is that this plant is other than a Drosera capillaris, probably a Drosera spatulata. My reason is in red. You may want to make some measurements and examine the flowers, seed, and stipules as well.

Here is an excerpt of the description of Drosera capillaris from Carnivorous Plant Database with botanical terms explained in parentheses:

6. Drosera capillaris Poir. Petioles 0.6-4 cm long, sparsely glandular- pilose (hairy, especially with soft hairs). <span style='color:red'>Leaf-blades broadly spatulate (spoon-shaped), 5-10 mm. long, 3-5 mm. wide, usually shorter than the petioles.</span>Stipules free, or adnate for the first millimeter, then breaking into numerous setaceous (bristle-like) segments 3-5 mm. long. Scape glabrous (smooth), 4-20 cm. long, Bearing 2-20 flowers. Flowers pink, 10 mm. wide. Sepals oblong (longer than broad with nearly parallel sides)-elliptic (narrow at the ends and broad near the center), 3-4 mm. long, obtuse(blunt or rounded at the end). Petals 6-7 mm. long. Capsule 4-5 mm. long, surpassing the calyx. Seeds brown, elliptic (narrow at the ends and broad near the center) to oblong-ovate (longer than broad with nearly parallel sides---egg-shaped with the broader end at the base) 0.4-0.5 mm. long, asymmetric, coarsely papillose (covered with minute nipple-shaped projections)-corrugated (wrinkled or in folds) in 14-16 ridges.

Following is an enhanced cropping of one of your images, it should help us see some details more clearly:

What I see is that most of the leaf blades (lamina) are much longer than the petioles and this appears to be true for nearly every leaf on the plant. Contrast that with the second image. However, that word, "usually" still bothers me. This might yet be Drosera capillaris. Lets see some flowers and seed. An image of one of my Drosera capillaris plants.

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Yeah, the "usually" thing always creeps up behind you to bite your ..... back!

I've found in cases of ambiguity it's best not to rely on plastic morphological details (and yes, these characteristics are plastic. I have seen D. capillaris with nearly spathulate lamina, and D. spatulata with lamina nearly suborbicular). In this example from the CP Database, the only feature that may be addressed at all with any certainty contains this disclaimer "usually", so caution is merited in the face of no additional support. If I could see the stipules it would help, but I am looking at the relatively few flowers, and lack of "spatulata like" seed pods. The seed or flower would nail it, but the lamina.......hmmm. I wouldn't bet my cat on it.

At the same time, I am not saying I am right and you are wrong, just that a cautious approach in this case is more desirable. In fact, the more I look at it, the more D. spatulata sounds good until I look at that long and apparently more tetrete petiole in the photo at 3 oclock, that is!
 
Oh crud did I forget to mention it was repotted from under the purpurea pitchers? It was VERY etiolated and that leaf was one of the stretching ones.
 
  • #10
I'm also placing my bets on D.spatulata. Butmaybe... it could even be something in the D.dielsiana/ natalensis mess.

Fernando
 
  • #11
This is my second post. For some reason the other one did not go thru and I was then logged out somehow.
Anyway, I was not going to respond to this, but had I thought the same thing that Fernando had mentioned as a possibility.
This plant has a S. African look to it and my first thought was an etiolated D. dielsiana.
My experience is far less than Joe, Fernando and Tamlin.

Regards,

Joe
 
  • #12
Fernando interesting, if it is indeed in that complex I'm surprized it survived outside in northern NY. Honestly I'm just going to leave it unlabeled..it is a pretty plant but I think I'll wait till William has another opportunity to visit and see the plant for real.
 
  • #13
Fernando,

LOL, D. dielsiana/natalensis mess - you have a good prespective there! Yes, it could indeed fit the bill there too. Really though, without the peduncle, label it as another Drosera roundandstickya.

Nep G,

You have some idea of how hardy the South Africans can be from your experience last winter with D. slackii, so the fact that it survived the cold doesn't discount the D. dielsiana possibility in and of itself.
 
  • #14
LOL yes Willliam I forgot my whole drosera collection froze to 15F! Um....guess I'll just keep it alive and growing for now.
 
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