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Post by dvg on Mar 11, 2010 8:01:43 GMT -10
Now would this apply to other large pitchers too? What about N. merriilliana, what do they supposedly feast on? And the "Flesh Eating" N. attenboroughii? Perhaps not a flesh eater? M All good and valid questions, no doubt. I find it very amusing that ideas that were considered to be solidly based on science 'fact' just a week ago, are now suddenly shifting sands beneath our feet, and will now have to be seriously questioned and reconsidered. Always an interesting time when we are forced to restructure our beliefs.
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Post by dvg on Mar 11, 2010 4:57:15 GMT -10
The real fun is to follow ...... when we take this opportunity to explain as many plant features as we possibly can as having evolved to this "purpose". Comparing the rajah to our modern water closet is inevitable. I can see it going something like this. Let's see, We have a lid...check We have a toilet seat/peristome...check We have a bowl/pitcher...check We have fluid in the bowl...check But there doesn't seem to be anyway to flush this rajah though....hmmm...must be some sort of chemical toilet...check ;D
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Post by dvg on Mar 10, 2010 10:57:45 GMT -10
The botanists might just have to create three classes of Nepenthes now: The insectivores...most Nepenthes that primarily capture insects would fall into this category. The herbivores...N. ampullaria and others that rely on falling leaves and other plant detritus for their chief sustenance. The crapivores...To which N. rajah would now belong. A sad day indeed for the once proud King, now forced to abdicate it's former throne, and assume it's new throne position as King of the Crapivores. ;D
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Post by dvg on Mar 10, 2010 9:17:18 GMT -10
Maybe N. rajah's common title as the 'King of Nepenthes' needs to be rethought a little...pondered perhaps. And what better place to do some deep thinking than on the ehhhhhem...throne. That's right, maybe it could be renamed the 'Royal Crapper'. Or even the 'Loo-King'...Loo-King for shrew poo that is. You decide: news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8552000/8552157.stm
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Post by dvg on Mar 1, 2010 14:18:34 GMT -10
March 2010 This plant is now seven inches in diameter, leaf tip to leaf tip. A couple shots of the fuzzy tendril tips. This first one is from the last leaf to unfurl. This one is on the current unfolding leaf. Feeding time at the zoo. And a couple of pitchers.
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Post by dvg on Feb 22, 2010 14:41:24 GMT -10
It's interesting that the outer fringe of this jacq's peristome curls down, rather than flaring up, as in most of the photos i've seen of these plants in situ.
Is this downward curling of the peristome still within an acceptable range of jacquelineae pure species traits, or do you think this might be the result of hybridization or even some other unknown factor?
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Post by dvg on Feb 7, 2010 9:23:44 GMT -10
Dvg said: "And hopefully that bump will develop into something serious." That could be interpreted in a good way, or a bad way. N. naga is an awe inspiring species! I'd like to see it when it when the lid frills out. Clue, most hopefully in a good way. It seems that some of these species with appendages or tongues under their lids have been rather reluctant to show these unique features in cultivation...case in point, N. lingulata. A little off topic here but just a couple of days ago I was looking at pictures of N. izumiae and found that it also has an appendage under it's lid. This appendage is a distinguishing feature between N. singalana and N. izumiae. Seems I'm learning new stuff everyday...which is probably a good thing.
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Post by dvg on Feb 6, 2010 13:28:50 GMT -10
Walterg, now I'm curious as to how many other Nepenthes species have a white band under their peristomes. Dave Evans, that makes sense, because come to think of it, all of the species you have listed above all seem to have yellowish colored uppers with a more viscous/sticky pitcher fluid. I wonder if they are tending to attract more flying insects, in the kind of way that yellow sticky strips attact flying insects in greenhouses and nurseries. Also on a side note, do you know if N. tenuis is closely related to this group of bowl shaped Neps stated above by you? Leilani, I think I was looking for a curveball from you, but you instead served up an offspeed pitch right over the center of the plate...good job of always keeping us guessing.
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Post by dvg on Feb 1, 2010 17:25:37 GMT -10
Going by pictures I've seen of jacquelineae, I am wondering if there isn't an N. inermis influence going on there in Leilani's pitcher. First off, the translucent patchwork veining pattern on the pitcher's body reminds me of my inermis pitchers, and the patterning seems quite different than that seen on my much smaller jacq's. The almost complete absence of wings and the shortened gap of front teeth on Leilani's pitcher, plus the rounded 'chin' of the pitcher, instead of being squared off and more sculpted looking makes me again wonder if inermis could be involved here. I compared Leilani's pitcher to Osmosis' jacq in the 'Year in the life' thread. Interestingly, Osmosis's jacq did have a slight white band under it's peristome as well, but not nearly as pronounced as the band in Leilani's pictures. lhnn.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=s&action=display&thread=1623And lastly, the yellowish green color of this pitcher closely resembles N. inermis' pitcher coloration.
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Post by dvg on Jan 25, 2010 14:47:33 GMT -10
Nice lowii 'n mac.
Leilani, is that N. macropylla the Wistuba 'S' clone?
And is that first photo of a transitional intermediate lowii pitcher or is it a lowii cross? It doesn't have the classic hour glass shape nor the darker color shading of a lowii upper.
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Post by dvg on Jan 25, 2010 14:26:16 GMT -10
My first thought was N. (jacquelineae x albomarginata).
Then I remembered that N. talangensis also has a white collar beneath the peristome. So it could also be N. (jacquelineae x talangensis).
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Post by dvg on Dec 16, 2009 16:51:58 GMT -10
Well good luck with it.
And hopefully that bump will develop into something serious.
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moth
Dec 16, 2009 16:36:20 GMT -10
Post by dvg on Dec 16, 2009 16:36:20 GMT -10
Yeah, gasoline and fire for insect removal, what guy couldn't resist that combo? But glad to hear that you came out of that exchange on the fairer side of extra-crispy. And fair warning to the kids: a lilttle respect has to bee given to gasoline, 'cuzz it can surprise you. I saw a documentary recently on one of the PBS stations about someone in the Hawaiian islands going around to destroy the various yellow jacket nests that have invaded the islands and are wreaking havoc with the native insect populations. They claim to remove an average of over 50 nests each year! They have decimated populations of wild bees and other insects. - Rich Now that's an interesting occupation. Professional Wasp Wrangler is not exaltly a run of-the-mill job description. I wonder what the job qualifications are? I can only guess...... ;D
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moth
Dec 16, 2009 4:13:16 GMT -10
Post by dvg on Dec 16, 2009 4:13:16 GMT -10
Walterg, Haha, I see that I'm not the only one out there feeding them to my plants. I still have a bunch of them in a jar stored in the freezer. I was able to catch quite a few later on in the autumn once the cooler air had slowed them down somewhat. With an empty 500 mL water bottle, I'd plunk the open end down over them, once they had landed, and they would then fly up into the bottle. As long as the upside down bottle is pointed towards the sun, the hornets will fly towards the closed end and the sun. Once I caught each new hornet, I'd just put the cap back on the bottle again. A dozen of them can be caught at a time with this method...and no I didn't get stung.
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moth
Dec 15, 2009 20:46:37 GMT -10
Post by dvg on Dec 15, 2009 20:46:37 GMT -10
A couple of succulent morsels, to be sure...but the moth seems to have escaped...at least from my viewpoint.
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