Congratulations Tamlin,
I knew that if anybody could get it to germinate it would be you!
BTW Trashcan, the name is pronounced "Bugle hole eye". It was named by my friend Robert Gassin in honour of A.C Beauglehole, an Australian botanist who explored and collected botanical specimens from areas around south eastern Australia, particularly in the state of Victoria around the city of Melbourne.
You have gotten past the difficult part- to germinate the seeds. It should be easy from here
My seed of the species was "sown" around 8 weeks ago. The seed was not exactly sown by myself but fell naturally onto the pot by the parent plants I collected back in November.
I have collected seed of this species numerous times in the past 13 years and have never managed to get any germination until this attempt. I also have seed which I have not sown yet and now may not have to.
Germination began around 3 weeks ago when I noticed a couple of small lolons growing away from the parent plants. At first I thought these may have been grass or something similar until they produced a couple more leaves which were distinctly U. beaugleholei. Since then I have had another 50 or so small leaves appear and each is forming its own little plant. The great thing about these little plants is that they form bladders on top of the potting mix that you can actually see. They are largish "for a Utric" blackish with a distinct open mouth which faces upwards.
Until now the growing techniques for this species are quite unknown as very few people have had the opportunity to grow the plants. They were assumed to be an annual plant due to the conditions in which they grow. In all areas I have seen them they have grown in wetlands or fields that are seasonally wet in winter and spring but dry out rapidly in late spring. At this time of year the wetlands are bone dry.
Since obtaining the plants in November they have continued to grow after flowering and many have begun to send out runners with new leaves. With some luck I may be able to fill a couple of pots with them. It seems that is possible to grow the plants as perennials, time will tell.
Tamlin, I'm sure this plant will be much easier to grow and reproduce than the D. uniflora so with some luck others may begin to see this plant appear in collections in the future.
The plant itself is a beautiful relative of U. dichotoma. I believe it to be a far superior plant than the typical dichotoma due to-
1. the size of the plants. They are much more robust than any dichotoma.
2. the size of the flowers. These are at least 3 times the size of dichotoma.
3. the number of flowers. The flowers grow in whorls of 3. Sometimes plants can have as many as 12 flowers. You'll never see 12 open at once, but I have seen 9 on some plants.
4. The traps are visible on top of the soil and quite large. A great feature that many Utrics including dichotoma typically don't have.
5. Flower form. Extra ribs on the palate, beautiful darker purple veins on the lower corolla and an enlarged upper corolla than folds back around itself.
The plants and seedlings are growing in pots of peat and sand in a small fishtank on the floor of my greenhouse. I have kept the waterlevel constantly at the rim of the pot to ensure the plants stay wet and almost submerged at all times. So far this technique seems to be working.
Tamlin, you must keep me updated on the progress of the seedlings to compare with mine.
Once again congratulations and good luck!
Oh, and here are a couple photos for those who haven't seen the plants to relate to-
Firstly a shot of a bunch of flowers growing in a wetland very close to my house. They are a truly stunning plant when seen in full flower.
And a shot of the tiny prized seedlings taken a couple of days ago-
And finally a shot of one of the parent plants where you can make out a couple of the bladders and the runners heading off in a couple of directions-
If there are any experienced Utric growers (by this I mean those who specialize in Utrics with a considerable collection) out there who are interested in a few seeds let me know as I may be able to spare a few. I would prefer if only those who are proven growers of this genus to receive the seeds at the moment as I would like to ensure the plants have the best chance possible to germinate, grow, thrive and be passed on to more interested growers in the future. Please PM me and let me know your credentials
Regards,
Sean.