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B. aquatica

Cindy

Cindy

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I mislabelled the plants and grew them as B. filifolia in moist LFS. :blush: They are now flowering at the height of 6cm and THEN I realise that they are actually the aquatic species.

byblis_aquatica_060712.jpg


The flowers do not open fully in my conditions.
byblis_aquatica_flower_half_open.jpg


The seeds were labelled as "copper coloured stems up to 20cm tall".
byblis_aquatica_copper_coloured_stem.jpg


Dark purple petals
byblis_aquatica_flower.jpg


Compared with mauve/lilac B. filifolia petal
byblis_aquatica_vs_filifolia_petal.jpg


Anther cf filament length
byblis_aquatica_vs_filifolia_stamen.jpg
 
Will you get seeds?
 
I read that the species self-polliates. The flower opens, closes and drops off in less than 2 days. I am trying to pollinate the flowers manually...not easy as they do not open fully. Hoping for seeds too as these are the only to grow well for me. And flower continuously!
 
Yo, jimscott.... :boogie:

byblis_aquatica_flower_fruit.jpg
 
Great plants, Cindy. It's funny that you say that the flowers do not open fully. They don't open properly in my conditions either. Have you noticed that the tentacles of this species are particularly short? I have also noticed that the droplets of mucus seem to readily detach from the tentacles. I think it probably captures prey in a manner similar to Drosophyllum, only in minature. I think that the differences between this species and B filifolia and guehoi are particularly stark.

Cheers,

Greg
 
Hi Greg,

Take a look at the photos here. It seems that they don't open up like other Byblis flowers.

The difference in stature already sets this species apart from the rest. B. filifolia and guehoi plants of the same age are at least 2-3 times as tall. B. rorida of the same age is also taller - easily distinguished by the long tentacles on the sepals. The leaves and pedicels are also shorter than for the other species of the same age.

The B. aquatica also self-pollinates, which is similar to B. liniflora. Both these species have the anthers very close to the stigma and the anthers shorter than the filament.

The tentacles are as you have noticed (very short) and the dew drops are particularly large too. I have not noticed about the mucilage of this species (will check it out)...but of the others because I get it on my hands while trying to cross pollinate the flowers.

Cheers!
 
Hi Cindy,

Yes, I agree. I have also noticed that B aquatica has a disproportionately stout stem compared to other species, and that, other than on the undersides of its leaves where the mucilage is very profusely profused, the gland density is very sparse. I wonder whether it is more advanced in terms of adaptions to carnivory than the other Byblis species? As for the flowers, I have a CD that I got from Allen Lowrie in which there are several photos of B aquatica in habitat some of which are displaying fully open flowers. A couple of the plants have flowers that are fully open, but others haven't. There is also a photo of a B aquatica with white flowers. Have you got Stewart's CPs of the World Vol 2? He records that B aquatica can survive the dry season in the wild (seemingly just the stem) and then resume growth once the rain returns. I think that B aquatica is a particularly interesting species.

This is a shot of one of this year's plants with larger cousins (B filifolia seedlings) in the background:


cimg2907h.jpg


Also, a couple of older shots of plants displaying some of the characteristics you describe (no shots of the anthers/filaments, but I can confirm that I have observed similar proportions on my plants:

byblisaquaticasanamerel.jpg


byblisaquaticasanamerel.jpg


I can't see how it can be the same species as these two:

B filifolia
bfilifoliaplant1cimg316.jpg


B guehoi
bguehoi3cimg3071.jpg
 
Last edited:
Interesting thread, Cindy! Does this species sprout as easily as B. liniflora?
 
bluemax said:
Interesting thread, Cindy! Does this species sprout as easily as B. liniflora?
Click to expand...

If you mean sow fresh seeds and they germinate easily like B. liniflora, then I wouldn't know. I use GA3 for all Byblis seeds. If the B. aquatica seeds are viable, they germinate as quickly as other viable seeds of the rest of the species after treatment.

I am puzzled by why other B. aquatica plants never did well for me....they either died very quickly or never flowered. These two were mistaken for B. filifolia and one of them is even branching! :crazy:
 
  • #10
Plants of the same age and all flowering.

B. aquatica and B. filifolia (left)
byblis_aquatica_vs_filifolia.jpg


B. aquatica and two forms of B. rorida (2 pots of "thick stem, stocky" form and 1 pot of "typical")
byblis_aquatica_vs_rorida.jpg
 
  • #11
Cindy said:
I am puzzled by why other B. aquatica plants never did well for me....they either died very quickly or never flowered. These two were mistaken for B. filifolia and one of them is even branching! :crazy:
Click to expand...

That is interesting, too. I seem to recall that aquatica has a reputation for being difficult to grow. Maybe you have an extra-hardy strain?
 
  • #12
Hi I have a question do i wait till seed pods brown to harvest byblis seeds or does the whole stalk brown. I'm asking because one of the seed pods are starting to brown but just the seed pod not the stalk its on and its my first time growing them and want to save seeds. Thanks in advance for any information.
 
  • #13
Hi BOB,

I harvest the fruits when they split open. But my ambient humidity is high all the time so the seeds are not flung out when the fruits are left to dry in the sun.

The seeds are viable when the fruit is cut off the stalk once it is completely brown and when the stalk just begins to turn brown.
 
  • #14
Ok, thank you cindy.
 
  • #15
Four seed pods collected so far. Amazing speed at which they develop and mature...considering that the first flower was pollinated at the beginning of this month! :-O

byblis_aquatica_fruit.jpg
 
  • #16
Two years on and I am attempting to grow this difficult species again.

From my experience,
1. Germination rate is the poorest compared to the other tropical species. The seeds do not seem to keep as well as other species i.e. old seeds ended up mouldy or did not germinate with GA3 treatment.
2. It takes forever to grow up.

Here are the two plants that germinated the same time as the others in the 3rd pic below.





From left to right: B. "Pilbara", B. rorida, B. liniflora, B. guehoi and B. filifolia
byblis_species_3months_zps29c46755.jpg


So I treated and sowed another 40 seeds...


Germination took just about 3-5 days but let's see what happens next.
 
  • #17
'Fingers crossed for luck! :water:
 
  • #18
Two weeks later, the plants have grown! Only a little if compared to the other species. LOL



 
  • #19
Those little guys look great, Cindy! About how many germinated from the 40 seeds you planted?
 
  • #20
Hi Cindy,

I forgot to tell you in the email- I strongly suspect that b aquatica benefit greAtly from being fed. Try feeding them small flies (aphids are ideal) or tiny drops of milk.

Cheers,

Greg
 
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