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D. whittakeri in the wild...

Thought I should start a new post rather than follow one from the last, due to the number of pics.

These were taken yesterday on my parent’s 21 acre property just outside of Melbourne.  Its been raining a bit so the ground looks much wetter than it usually is.  All of these are growing on a Sth facing slope (Southern hemisphere).

This is just to show a bit of how the area looks.  You can make out some of the red patches:
DWField1.jpg


These show some of the patches:
DWBunch4.jpg


DWBunch3.jpg


DWBunch2.jpg


DWBunch1.jpg


In all there is probably about 5 acres of Whittakeri.  My parents bought the place about 9 years ago.  It had cattle running on it just prior to them buying it and the pastures and bush were in a terrible state. A pair of horsed is all that has been run since and they have been fenced out of any area we know has Drosera (and Green-hood orchids).  In fact they are trying to get much of the pasture to revegitate naturally with indigenous plants.  Over the 9 years the number and area that Whittakeri appears has increased dramatically, with this year seeming to be a bumper crop.
 
Now for some close-ups:
DWGreen1.jpg


DWGreen2.jpg


DWRed1.jpg


DWRed2.jpg


DWRed3.jpg


DWRG3.jpg


DWRG2.jpg


DWRG1.jpg


DWRed4.jpg


Hope you enjoyed!

AJ
 
Forgot one....

Ever wondered how they deal with fertile soil?

Looks like they have no issue coming up through a nicely composted horse dropping:

DWManure.jpg
 
Wow! That is amazing seeing all those D. whittakeri in their natural settings instead of a plastic pot in some window or greenhouse. Thanks for posting them!
 
Outstanding post, and my jaw has returned to the position it was in when Phill Mann first visited and stayed with me. He brought a slide show. Back then, it was hard to even find a photo of a CP...no computers and durn few books with any photo's. I had to get the scientific papers just to get an idea of what a certain Drosera species looked like. Then he hit me with that. Now you hit me with this! Thanks a lot, LOL. I have a standing invite to visit Australia with Phill and Robert Gibson as my tour guides, but I have a fear of flying. Photo's like this are as near as I will likely ever come to OZ, and I really can't thank you enough. What a happy population, it does the heart good. Don't let any of your countrymen havest them for resale, as is sadly done - but I sense you would never. As to the horse product....it must be the Aussie plants don't read the books written about their cultivation, lol. Phill once told me the biggest happiest clump of Cephalotus he ever saw was in a pile of it. I think the difference is that the winter rains in Australia likely leach out the salts before they become too concentrated. In my own cultivation I have found salts to be fairly lethal to most Drosera species, but I dunno....maybe some horsing around is needed if I am ever fortunate enough to find another Whittaker's Sundew here in the up over. I hope you will continue to share your photo's! I was really struck by the deep red ones. I have never been able to even approximate that color with my plants. Do you find a wide variation in color under the same conditions? If that is a stable characteristic from amongst the many many individuals, it would be worth propagating as a cultivar. You have some very beautiful sundews there. Are there other species as well? I would expect D. peltata would feel right at home there.
 
Tamlin,

Glad the pics please you
smile_m_32.gif


[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Do you find a wide variation in color under the same conditions?

That is something that has puzzled me!  Yes, there is variation in colour from deep red to green.  It is clear that they go redder with more sun, as I have seen this in the few samples I have grown from seed from the same site.  But on the site this seems to not be the only factor. There are places where both red and green grow side by side.  Same soil, same moisture, same light.  I figure that they are either a slightly different variation, OR, there is something in the chemical makeup of the soil that causes it.  I really don't know though.

What also varies is size.  In a given area they will al be about the same size, but from area to area they seem to vary.  I found one patch (first picture in the close-ups) where they were huge at maybe 7cm diameter.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Are there other species as well?

You are right, D. peltata is there, but it does not come up until later in the season at this site.  I'll take pics when it does.

AJ
 
WOW!!! those are beautiful. I'm glad there somewhere where they can grow wildly and safely. You don't get poachers do you? I just think it's amazing how many there are. The red ones look really nice, now I just gotta find this and add it to my collection, it's not a rare one is it?
 
Wow! I am stunned. I'm sure you appreciate the fact that we over here appreciate your photos, but I doubt you have any idea of the emotional impact, particularly to those of us with an Aussie jones. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
(aside, to Tamlin -'here in the up over' ? As a linguist I am constantly fascinated by your 'word dancing' in English. If you and your husband would ever like to marry an old hippie, please keep me in mind)
 
Would I get to wear a sexy wedding dress that shows off my stunning body?
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Tamlin Dawnstar @ June 26 2006,3:57)]Would I get to wear a sexy wedding dress that shows off my stunning body?
It's recommended, actually.  
smile.gif

(Although totally optional)
 
  • #11
Tamlin in a wedding dress...that I'd love to see. *snicker*
laugh.gif
I'm sure HE would look lovely.

Stunning photos. I too was struck by the color variance. But such beautiful plants growing the way nature intended.
 
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