What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Heliamphora and Good Oral Hygiene . . .

  • Thread starter BigBella
  • Start date
Leave it to Butch to post his threads about gathering Heliamphora pollen; clouds of it, by casually tapping on an intact flower -- something on the order of the Woody Allen cocaine scene from Annie Hall; but I could never pull that off, due to the high humidity, here on the California coast. I felt as though Butch had been kicking sand into my face; depression and, predictably, a murderous rage set in.

I would have to resort to removing the ripe stamens and drying them for a couple of days. Even then, I would have to pry them apart under a dissecting scope and hit them with a tuning fork. Last night, I was ticked off enough to use the Phillips Sonicare toothbrush, to some success; a decent mimic, as it turns out, of a Centris or Bombus bee . . .

 
Last edited:
No pictures of the flower(s)? That seems like a lot of work.
 
No pictures of the flower(s)? That seems like a lot of work.

I'll post pics when I pollinate the next flower in line. The first was, eh, unceremoniosly disassembled, so I could gather the stamens. Here's a shot with only one stamen missing . . .

Heliamphora parva
 
Last edited:
Muwahahahahaha

Don't forget to sprinkle some in bleach and look for the milky trails to see if the pollen is good :-D

(early 80's flashback ref lol)
:beer:
 
Muwahahahahaha

Don't forget to sprinkle some in bleach and look for the milky trails to see if the pollen is good :-D

(early 80's flashback ref lol)
:beer:

I assure you that there are no adulterants in the "pollen," El Chapo . . .

 
Last edited:
Here is a slight variation on Butch's Heliamphora pollen preservation technique, involving the drying of the ripe intact anthers, in lieu of simply the pollen; and their subsequent storage, which has proven effective. This method has also been successfully used with Nepenthes anthers.

They are stored with dessicant in centrifuge tubes and frozen . . .

Heliamphora parva 5 June



 
Back
Top