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Of flowers and seeds

Hi everyone!

I don't think I've seen any of you saying that you have Pinguicula seeds anywhere. Why is that?

My P. moranensis is currently gifting me with a nice purple flower =) and was wondering if I should pollinate it to get seeds I could give to friends who find them nice and cute.

So, is there any recommandation against? How do you guys propagate your pings?
 
I have had P. lusitanica seeds and will soon be receiving P. 'Sethos' seeds. Most pings do very well in propagation via leaf cuttings - especially the Mexican pings.
 
Probably, but I feel it's too small for me to be starting cutting off leaves yet. Besides, that flower is just sitting there, looking pretty.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I don't think I've seen any of you saying that you have pinguicula seeds anywhere. Why is that?

Hello Sszvein. There has been Pinguicula seed giveaways at times. I've seen lusitanica, ionantha, pumila for instance. It is true I haven't seen any posts on pollinating Mexican varieties, but I guess you just hand pollinate them like the rest
smile.gif
Use a toothpick or small paintbrush and collect the pollen from deep inside the flower and then brush it around. Let us know how the germination goes.

-Homer
 
Not so long ago I donated a fairly large quantity of Pinguicula ionantha seed to the ICPS seedbank. Many people reported success at germinating it.

Most, if not all, Pinguicula seed is only viable for a very short time post harvest. I'd say on average 4 weeks or less.
 
Although the seeds are best sown fresh, I have germinated Mexican Pinguicula seeds as old as 6 months. The germination rate was very low though.
Many of the Mexican species(including the common pink flowered moranensis from tc) are self-sterile and require cross pollination to produce seeds.
 
<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>Here is link to a rough sketch to show how the Pinguicula flower is designed. If pollen is produced, it is generally released between the top of the ovary and the underside of the stigma flap (often yellow filaments produced by the corolla are mistaken for pollen). For me the easiest way to effect the capture of pollen and transfer it to the desired upper stigma surface is with a wooden toothpick, flat or round. I color the tip of the toothpick black with an indelible marker pen, then it is easiest to see anything on the toothpick tip that is lighter than "black". To capture pollen with a toothpick, I first gently remove most or all of the corolla. While gently holding the stalk below the flower I insert the toothpick under the stigma flap, between the ovary and the stigma flap. If there is any quantity of released pollen often some will be captured by the toothpick. I then gently touch the toothpick with captured pollen on its tip against the upper surface of the receiving stigma, optimally near its center. You can see my hand drawn diagram here:

Illustration of Pinguicula Flower</span>
 
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