Pinguicula elongata of Colombia

2009·1.8 MB·English

by  J Heberleyn Hernandez-Melan

Writingsfrom the Readership
PlNGUICULA ELONGATA OF COLOMBIA
J. Heberleyn Hernandez-Melan • Bogota • Colombia • [email protected]
Keywords: observations: Colombia, Pinguicula elongata.
Ibeganto study carnivorous plants afew years ago aftermybotanistfriendRandallPetersongavemeabook
aboutcarnivorousplantsoftheworld.EversinceIfinishedmyuniversitystudies,Ihavewantedtocultivateandlearn
moreaboutcarnivorousplants,butitisextremelydifficulttofindseedsorplantsinourcountry.
Aftertwoyears searchingforcarnivorous plantsinthemountains nearBogota, thecapitalofColombia, with
myfriendJairo Ramirez.Ifoundsomelittleredplantsglisteninginthesungrowingonamountaintop.
Wetooksomepicturesofthesered,healthyplants,somewithtwoorthreevioletflowers.Theplantsweregrow-
m
ing at anelevationofabout 3000 (9800ft) in alittle depression at the top ofthe mountain. They were very dis-
persed,butconfinedtoanareaofonlyabout60 m~(645 ft )growingwithavarietyofotherplantslikegrass,fraile-
jon(Espeletiabrassicoidea,E.argentea),lupinius(Lupinusalbus),romeros(Diplostephiumrosmarinifolium),pinue-
las (Aechmeci spp.) and others typical ofthe Paramo, a neotropical high-elevation ecosystem (see Figure 1). The
underlyinggeologicalformationisarichsandstonecalledFormacionGuadalupe.Becausetheareaisadeclivity,the
groundisnotwaterlogged.Theplantsmaygetsomewaterfromthetypicalnightfog.
Fromourphotos,ImadeadrawingoftheplantandsentittoJuergSteigerinBern,Switzerland. Heidentified
theplantasPinguiculaelongata.IalsosentsomeseedsforJuergtogerminateinhisgreenhouse,butnonegerminat-
ed,despitemanyattempts.
Pinguicula elongata grows in windy mountainregions that have specific seasonal characteristics. During the
short summerseason,fromDecembertoFebruary, thePinguicularosettes aredormant, withonly shortleaves (see
Figure2).Duringthistime,typicaldaytimetemperaturesare28-30°C(82-86°F),andthenighttimetemperaturedrops
to2°C (36°F). There islittleornorainduringthese summermonths,butthenightsarefoggy.Withthefirstrainsin
March,theplantsreviveandproducelongleavesthatarcfirstpalegreentolemonyellow(seeFigure3).InJune,the
plantschangeto adeeprustyreddishcolor(seeFigure 4), andtheplants producethen'firstflowers. Theleaves and
flowers giveanincrediblecontrastwiththegreenmonotonyoftheParamo. Thegrowing season,MarchtoAugust,
israiny andthe nights are cold andfoggy. Temperatures during this time are 5-10°C (41-50°F) during the day, and
-2to+3°C (28-37°F) atnight. During SeptemberthroughNovembertheplantsslowingrowthandpreparefordor-
mancy. Temperaturesduringthistimeare8-15°C(46-59°F)duringtheday, and0-5°C (32-41°F) atnight, andrains
arefrequent.
Theplantshavetwofloweringseasons,thefirstisduringthewintergrowingseasoninJunetoAugust,andthe
secondisduringNovembertoJanuary, astheplantsentertheirsummerdormancy.
ThesePinguiculaplantsarcherbaceousperennialswitharosetteatthebase,elongatedleaveswithstalkedand
sessileglandscoveringtheleafsurface.Theleavescangrowto 15cm(6in),twistingastheyascend,andarecovered
bytheinsectscaughtbythemucilage. Therootsystemisfibrous,buttheroots arenotlong.Theflowersgrowfrom
thecenterofthebasalrosette.Theyarewhitetopalevioletwithfivepetalsandabackwardspointingspur(seeFigure
5). The stigmaiswhite andthe stamens areyellow. Eachplant canproducethreeto five flowers.Afterpollination,
theseedcapsulesturnfrombrowntoblack.Whentheseedsareripe,thecapsulesdryandsplitinthesun, spreading
theseeds.Whentheplantsaredormant,theyarestronglyattachedtotheground,andaredifficulttofindastheyhide
intheothervegetation.
Several months afterourdiscovery, my sonSebastianfoundanothersmallpopulationofplants 85 m (280ft)
south, which wecalledzoneno. 2.Wehavenow foundtwo additional areas,bothwithin 200m(660ft) ofthefirst
twozones.Wevisitthefourzoneswithmysonalmosteverythreemonthstoseetheplants,takepictures,andcount
theplantsinthepopulation.WehavebeenspreadingseedstorepopulatethePinguiculabecausethesemountainsare
veryfragile. In2003, afiredestroyedzoneno. 1 andwe were afraidthatthepopulationwas lost. But,thanks tothe
naturalseedbank,thepopulationwasnotaffected.
Thiscarnivorousplantpopulationisendemictothis areaofthemountains.Wehavesearchedotherareashav-
ing a similar ecosystem, but have found no additional populations. By our spreading seed, we believe we have
increasedthetotalpopulationofPinguiculainzones 1-4by about40%.Weareconvincedthatthisecosystemneeds
tobeprotectedandremainhiddenfromthepeoplethatwanttoreapittoselltheseexoticplants.
Becausetheconditions areexacting andrequireacontrolledenvironment,fewpeople arecapableofgrowing
thiskindofcarnivorousplantincaptivity.
Volume 38 September 2009 83
Figure 1 : Paramo community; the large plants are Espeletia sp., in theAsteraceae. Photo
by Heberleyn Hernandez-Melan.
Figure 2: Pinguicula elongata in its short-leaved dormancy stage to survive the dry
summer. Photo by Heberleyn Hernandez-Melan.
84 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
Figure 3:
A fly struggling on the leaf of Pinguicula
elongata. Photo by Heberleyn
Hernandez-Melan.
Figure 4:
Different Pinguicula
elongata plants, showing
a beautiful array of
colors. Photo by
Heberleyn Hernandez-
Melan.
Figure 5:
A white Pinguicula elon-
gata flower. The inset
shows a more pink
flower. The two photo-
graphs are not at the
same scale. Photo by
Heberleyn Hernandez-
Melan.
Volume 38 September 2009 85