Worlds Most Rare Drosera

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Here is Drosera anglica as it first appeared in the distant past, in the dawn of its creation when the first fertile seeds of an otherwise sterile hybrid fell from a seed pod and grew.

I am often asked what is the most rare plant in my collection, and this would be it.  The plant was produced as a man made hybrid of Drosera linearis and D. rotundifolia by Ivan Snyder, and polyploidy was induced through the use of colchicine.

Ivan shared this plant with me, one of the 2 he had managed to produce and propagate.  Ivan lost his his plant which he was cultivating, leaving me with the somewhat awesome burden stewarding this one of a kind species.  So far the plant has not flowered, so I have not been able to propagate from seed.

You can see that the lamina more closely resembles D. x obovata than they modern day D. anglica, but this is how it would have started, before evolutionary pressures selected for the thinner lamina and more upright habit of our present day D. anglica.

The broader leaves would have overlapped each other, and there would have been competition for both prey and sunlight needed for photosynthesis.  Plants with more narrow lamina and longer more erect petioles would have been more successful, and this trait would have been selected for.

Ivan has asked if I register this plant as a cultivar that I name it in honor of  Donald Schnell, and this I will do.  Ivan also did the same colchicine experiment producing a fertile D. x obovata, which he calls "Ivan's Paddle".  To honor both Ivan, and Don I have decided on the name "Schnell's Paddle".  I hope to be able to send the Donald Schnell a plant of this in the near future when I make an all out effort to propagate by hibernacula buds.

So gentle viewer, gaze on that which few before have ever seen: the prehistoric Drosera anglica!

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Another view:

 

[Joseph Clemens]

Nice photographs, as usual and a very interesting plant history.

 

[NickHubbell]

Thank you for sharing this rare drosera with us.

Have you tried leaf cuttings with any success?

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Not yet Nick. This is about to become a major focus though, in fact I will begin this attempt today!

 

[Copper]

Thank you for sharing!!  I wish you the best of luck with this most rare of plants.

 

[SnowyFalcon]

Wow! I wish you luck in your endeavor, Tamlin!

SF

 

[PlantAKiss]

Beautiful plant. It couldn't be in better hands.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Famous last words!

 

[Zongyi_Yang]

Wow, cool plant. just a question. i don't understant how its prehistoric? and how could a man made hybrid of Drosera linearis and D. rotundifolia be a D. anglica? i thought D. anglica was a pure species (or am i wrong?). do you mean its prehistoric as it looks like a old anglica or do you mean its litterally prehistoric like a seed that lived from the past? thanks to help tie my loose ends

. thats a relly pretty plant. thanks. Zongyi

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Hi Zongyi,

Thank you for your interest.  I hope I can clarify this for you (between you and Fernando I am getting quite a workput in genetics this week, lol).

Drosera anglica is indeed a species, but as with many other true species, it's origin was a result of hybridization.  In this case D. linearis and D. rotundifolia were the parents where they naturally occurr within the same area.  These species are said to be sympatric.

Hybrids are known amongst the temperate species, but such hybrids are typically sterile.  This is because their randomly distributed chromosomes do not line up properly, and the result is defective sperm and eggs.  However, in certain very rare instances, all the genetic material gets included in one daughter cell by accident during the process of meiosis (cell division): one cell has no material, the other has a full set of chromosomes, and is then fertile. Chromosomes can also line up properly through sheer "luck of the draw" and the result is the same.  Such cells have double the original chromosome count, and when these cells divide, each cell has a full set of chromosomes, and in turn are fertile.  This happened in the far distant past with our fertile D. anglica. Chromosome counts show 2N=20 for the respective parents, but in D. anglica they are double that: 2N=40.  There are also sterile hybrids to be found in these habitats which were not so "lucky".  This proscess is assumed to have happened in many parts of the range of D. anglica at many different points in time, and the process continues today where the species are sympatric.

The plant Ivan produced produced by crossing D. linearis with D. rotundifolia would normally have produced sterile seed, because the plant would not have a full set of chromosomes.  When he treated the plant with colchicine, the chemical prevented the formation of the spindle fibers that draw the chromosomes apart during one phase of meiosis, so one cell got none, and the other got a full set of chromosomes.  This is known as amphiploidy, and is one of the most important mechanisms by which new species are formed.  Sterile D. anglica is known as D. x anglica, and it's chromosome count is 2N=20.

I call it prehistoric, because the form of this plant is similar to the very first fertile D. anglica plants!  Evolutionary pressures have not streamlined its form as they have with modern day D. anglica which is both taller and has narrower lamina.  Evolution works by natural selection: survival of the fittest. Those traits which lead to species survival get passed on to later generations.  In this case, I speculate that the wider lamina of these plants created competition amongst themselves for prey and sunlight.  The broad leaves would be more likely to overlap, restricting prey capture.  Taller plants with more narrow lamina were able to lift above the crowd.  They captured more prey, and had more access to sunlight.  They were therefore, better able to thrive, reproduce, and pass these characteristics on to their offspring.  After countless generations, they became more numerous, and the less successful broader leaved forms were out competed: their form was lost as a result, and this is why our present day D. anglica is much different looking than this plant.  The final stage in speciation is reached when the new hybrids can no longer cross back with their progenitors, but it is likely that amphiploidy is responsible for the creation of many of the forms we regard as "true" species.

In this case, there is only one plant on Earth, and it is under my care.  It sort of makes me gulp when I think of it!

 

[Zongyi_Yang]

ah, thanks for clearing things up for me

. really intresting stuff. hope you can take the pressure of haveing the fate of an intire species in your hands

. Zongyi

 

[Emesis]

Quote[/b] ]when I make an all out effort to propagate by hibernacula buds.

Tamlin,

I am unaware of this propagation method. Could you elborate? Also, thanks for sharing the pictures.

 

[Colieo]

Only one in the world!

No pressure there or anything...

Cole

 

[PaleShadow]

It's beautiful!! If you get seeds from it...I am very interested. so keep me in mind

haha. It is an extremely beautiful plant though, and thanks for all the info about it.  

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

The propagation method is the same as for leaf cuttings. The hibernacula buds are carefully peeled off, and behave like gemmae, striking roots into the medium. Or so I hope. I have not experimented with the method myself, but I hear it works well.

Paleshadow....that name strikes some vibration. You must be a poet! Welcome to the Forums, and I will do my best to get that seed!

 

[goldtrap2690]

beautiful plant and a very interesting topic indeed , but i have a question , in donald schnells second edition book of cp's of the united staes and canada it shows a map ofthe distribution of d. rotundifolia which is alot of places and there is also a map of the distribution of d. linearis which is only in small locations around the great lakes , but when you look at the d. anglica distrubtion map , the plants are all over the place at places where the 2 parent plant ( d. rotundifolia and d. linearis ) don't even live at , so how did this plant get all over around the US ? i think donald schnell said something thats its a big mystery or bird might be migrating with seeds on their feet but i can'nt really remember .

 

[Zongyi_Yang]

another question to your list. you say that this is the rarest drosera in the world. is that because there is only one in the world? wouldnt any new hybrid taht pops up in your collection be the only one in the world? hope im not bothering you, but im just curious. thanks. Zongyi

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

I guess that we will never know how extensive the sympatric D. linearis or D. rotundifolia really were, since Fernando wasn't around back then.  Probably the range was much greater "back then" though and what we see now are relic populations.  It's more likely that the plant arose in different parts of the world through isolated examples of amphiploidy in different geographical locations, then to assume it radiated through migratory or aqueous transportation.

As to being the most rare Drosera in the world, you got me!  You're correct that any new hybrid would also have to be considered the most rare plant in the world, but only if the grower had just one remaining plant ;-) and this means that neither may be called by that adjective.  So, henceforth, I will ammend my writing to refer to it as "POSSIBLY the most rare Drosera on Earth".  Fair enough?

Another loophole is that allopolyploidy in the sympatric range of D. rotundifolia and D. linearis is actually an ongoing process (Schnell, 1989).  There is therefore the possibility that the "prehistoric" event may have repeated itself just yesterday somewhere in the range, or just recently in the past.  If this were so, then one would expect to find intermediate forms within the population range that demonstrated this primitive form.  This is indeed the case: Schnell reported finding these broad leaved forms in his field studies.

Nope.  You're not bothering me.  What good is having answers if no one asks any questions?

 

[Zongyi_Yang]

Ah, thanks for clearing things up for me again. thanks

. Zongyi