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Drosera meristocaulis

Fernando Rivadavia asked that I post his fabulous photos of the rare D. meristocaulis.

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D_meristocaulisFlowerNew.jpg
 
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That is one cool Drosera! Is is some type of Pygmy? It looks like one sort of.
Is it currently in cultivation?
 
Very cool. Really small for a "big" Drosera, lol. I mean, it was supposed to be one of the larger Drosera of S. America(though that was from drawings, I guess).

Cheers,

Joe
 
Very cool plant! Is anyone growing it in the States?

Glenn
 
It does look small, but it is from South America. It is not in cultivation as far as I know.
 
now thats a cool Drosera. i hope it gets introduced into cultivation here in the states at some point. anyone have anymore info on the plant?

Rattler
 
Hi guys,

It's not in cultivation yet, but will be soon! ;)

As some of you may have noticed, it DOES look like a pygmy and is apparently most closely related to the pygmies (look at the 3 unbranched styles in the flower). It's almost a perfect pygmy, right out of an Allen Lowrie book, except for the apparent lack of gemmae and single flowers tucked between the leaves (sessile flower scapes).

It seems to be a relict species lost on one of the most isolated spots of the Americas: the Neblina Massif on the Brazilian/ Venezuelan border, in one of the most well-preserved areas of the Amazon rainforest.

Old herbarium specimens from when D.meristocaulis was discovered in the 50's show plants up to 30 or 40cm long, but this is an extreme, when growing among tall vegetation. Usually plants are much smaller as in the pics.

Take Care,
Fernando Rivadavia
 
Hi,

Many thanks for sharing the pictures with us, Fernando!! So far I have known D. meristocaulis only from drawings and have always wondered how living plants would look like. Now i do have a better imagination of them. I must come to South America one day myself. It must be one of the greatest things to see some of the south american plants in habitat!

regards,
Christian
 
Hey Christian,

Fortunately most S.American Drosera are native to areas ***FAR*** more accessible than D.meristocaulis and its darn Neblina Massif!!
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:)

Take care,
Fernando
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Fernando Rivadavia @ Nov. 22 2004,10:20)]It's not in cultivation yet, but will be soon! ;)
do i take this to mean you have collected some seed and will be passing it along to some capable growers to get it introduced?

Rattler
 
  • #11
Fernando thank you very much for sharing such a beatiful site. What a fantastic plant.
 
  • #12
Jim Miller told me about a month ago not to say anything to anyone about this, but since Fernando let it out, what the heck!. Stew McPherson may be collecting seed caps. Britain may get the benefit of this species, but Jim Miller might get some from Stew. If that is the case, they will be here soon. They still have some expedition time left on this trip, so waiting is the usual. If Jim gets any, I will alert some of you folks.
 
  • #13
To all,

Please keep your eyes open as D.meristocaulis seed will soon be available from Allen Lowrie. To obtain his seed list, please write to:

6 Glenn Place
Duncraig 6023
Western Australia
Australia

Take care,
Fernando Rivadavia
 
  • #14
very cool. ill wait patiently for ppl with a bit more experiance than me to get them settled in and growing in private collections. anyone who gets the seeds PLEASE keep us updated on your progress.
 
  • #15
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Fernando Rivadavia @ Nov. 27 2004,2:24)]To all,

   Please keep your eyes open as D.meristocaulis seed will soon be available from Allen Lowrie. To obtain his seed list, please write to:

6 Glenn Place
Duncraig 6023
Western Australia
Australia

Take care,
Fernando Rivadavia
Thanks for bringing this rare and exciting species in cultivation, but why did you give it to a cp dealer? Now everyone can buy them. I doubt that the beginners will get them to germinate!!! For conservation reasons I would have given those seeds only to real experts...(so they can propagate them for the masses).

Please explain? Did you got a ton of those seeds?

Jan
 
  • #16
Hello Jan,

Don't worry, plenty of seeds are also going to expert hands. Allen Lowrie's seed list is simply a democratic way of getting them around without giving me much trouble. Furthermore, I'm certain that even those people who have the smallest of CP collections have money to spare to buy a packet of seeds from Allen Lowrie. Allen will not be charging US$100 for each seed packet, believe me. (But even if he did, it's still a very cheap price to pay for such rare seeds which nearly cost me my knee!)

Take Care,
Fernando Rivadavia
 
  • #17
Very interesting and nice pictures.:) Are those white stem part of this plant? It probably developed with the pygmys when the earth was still pangea correct?
 
  • #18
Boy, that's one heap of elitism you're spewing there. If its not in general cultivation then I think pretty much everyone classifies as a beginner with this species and nobody is a "real expert". I also imagine that "experts" have batches of seed that do not germinate and plants that do not grow well or do not grow at all. I have been a grower since the early 70"s and certainly would not consider myself an expert at any of these plants. Also if you want to bring in the topic of conservation, lets not worry as much about providing plants for the masses as doing something to protect the original locations.
 
  • #19
Hey Buster, you are certainly right in saying we're all beginners when it comes to this species, since nobody really knows how it will behave in cultivation. That's why I'm taking no risk and am doing my best to see that it gets spread as widely as possible...

Take Care,
Fernando
 
  • #20
buster i also agree you are absolutly correct but would like to add one point. if someone has been growing the more difficult species for a long time they are more likely to have success. im not saying someone who has never grown anything from seed will not succeed in germinating them its just more unlikely. hey look at me i have had great luck growing all kinds of species but i cant keep a VFT alive to save my life and cant seem to germinate Nepenthes seed either although most any type of Drosera ive tried i have had great luck. anyways ill wait and see if anyone else can get them started than i will do my best to talk them out of a plant
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