Anthurium plowmanii flowers

From: Al Wootten <awootten at NRAO.EDU> on 1998.10.02 at 02:16:00(2641) Of the plants I have grown from seed Dewey distributed perhaps two years ago, I have my first flower. I'll try to take a photo and post it to the WWW. It has a faint but pleasant scent. Can the flower be self-pollinated? Any advice on technique woulr be very welcome. +More Clear skies, Al +---------------------------------------------------------+ |Al Wootten, Slacktide, Sturgeon Creek at the Rappahannock| |Astronomer (http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/) | |genealogy homepage http://members.tripod.com/~astral | |Deltaville, Virginia (804)776-6369 | +---------------------------------------------------------+

From: Krzysztof Kozminski <kk at netgate.net> on 1998.10.02 at 14:12:37(2642) Al Wootten wrote: > Of the plants I have grown from seed Dewey distributed perhaps two > years ago, I have my first flower. I'll try to take a photo and > post it to the WWW. It has a faint but pleasant scent. Can the > flower be self-pollinated? Any advice on technique woulr be very > welcome. +More I tried to pollinate the one that bloomed for me in the spring (shown in http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Anthurium/plowmanii.html), but without success. I wasn't even sure where this beast had female flowers - as can be seen in the photo, the pollen was produced on the lower portion of the spadix. Just in case, I smeared it all over the other one, but nothing took. Come to think of it - would it be by any chance one of those plants that change sex with maturity? ====================================== Krzysztof Kozminski http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/ kk@netgate.net "Applying computer technology is simply finding the right wrench to pound in the correct screw."

From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 1998.10.03 at 14:39:19(2646) >>Of the plants I have grown from seed Dewey distributed perhaps two years ago, I have my first flower. I'll try to take a photo and post it to the WWW. It has a faint but pleasant scent. Can the flower be self-pollinated? Any advice on technique woulr be very welcome. +More Clear skies, Al +---------------------------------------------------------+ |Al Wootten, Slacktide, Sturgeon Creek at the Rappahannock| |Astronomer (http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/) | |genealogy homepage http://members.tripod.com/~astral | |Deltaville, Virginia (804)776-6369<< | +---------------------------------------------------------+ Dear Al, Some species of Anthurium will produce fruit/seed without another plant/flower being present (I forget the tech. term for this), but usually you need a second flower at the right stage to achieve pollenation, and fruit/seed production. In Anthurium the spadix is at the "female ready" stage as soon as the spathe begins to, or is open, and you can see/feel this, as the little "points" along the entire spadix are wet, and covered with a tiny drop of liquid for the pollen (from another more mature spadix) to adhere to. After this stage, the "points" turn brown, and the pollen begins to be produced, starting at the top of the spadix and continuing downward. This strategy prevents self pollenation, and ensures cross pollenation. Hope this helps. Maybe Dewey of Tom Croat can say if your species is one that will develop fruit/seed without pollenation. Cheers, Julius ju-bo@msn.com

From: Don Burns <burns at mobot.org> on 1998.10.03 at 15:10:34(2647) Julius and Al, The term Julius is searching for is apomixis. I just 'plowed' (could not resist) through my literature and could not find reference to A. plowmanii being apomictic. All of mine I grew from seed, and the seed came from Dewey. +More Don Burns Plantation, FL USA Zone 10b

From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 1998.10.03 at 22:51:09(2651) Al Wootten wrote: > Of the plants I have grown from seed Dewey distributed perhaps two > years ago, I have my first flower. I'll try to take a photo and > post it to the WWW. It has a faint but pleasant scent. Can the > flower be self-pollinated? Any advice on technique woulr be very > welcome. +More >I tried to pollinate the one that bloomed for me in the spring (shown in http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Anthurium/plowmanii.html), but without success. I wasn't even sure where this beast had female flowers - as can be seen in the photo, the pollen was produced on the lower portion of the spadix. Just in case, I smeared it all over the other one, but nothing took.< >>>Come to think of it - would it be by any chance one of those plants that change sex with maturity?<<< Dear Krzysztof, I do not believe so, as the genus Anthurium is one with bisexual flowers (female and male parts have separate phases, but not all those of the same sex mature together, and flowering is often prolonged) as opposed to unisexual flowers, where the female and male flowers are separate, with the female flowers at the base of the spadix, the male at the upper portion and usually a sterile portion separating them, usually with a short flowering period. I believe the "sex change" has been recorded in the latter group, where younger plants are male only, and produce pollen, but never develop fruit/seed, and as plants becom larger, they become "female" (but also produce pollen). I have noticed that in some bisexual plants a simular thing MAY be occuring (but this has not as yet been documented, as far as I am aware) where a smaller/younger, or even a "sick" plant will sometimes bloom and produce pollen, but even if that plants bloom is hand pollenated at the correct phase, the spadix will not develop fruit/seed. It is a strategy that makes sense, as the small/ sick plant is still able to contribute to the gene pool, (pollen) but is not large/strong enough to produce the energy needed for the prolonged fruit/seed production. Cheers, Julius ju-bo@msn.com ====================================== Krzysztof Kozminski http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/ kk@netgate.net "Applying computer technology is simply finding the right wrench to pound in the correct screw."

From: "Walter V. Turner" <turner at mailgate.urz.uni-wuppertal.de> on 1998.10.05 at 01:04:57(2652) All this talk about pollen and seeds encourages me to ask about Dieffenbachia seeds (I have hesitated for months, because you all have such exotic species). I have several species of Dieffenbachia, and most have never produced any pollen. This year, however, several bloomed at the same time and there was at least some "dust" on the upper end of the spathes. I brushed this generously over the lower parts of the spathe of the same plants and of some others of various species. I have to say, however, that the result looks to be the same as in other years, when there was no pollen visible: no seeds swell up, the female flower parts just turn dark brown or black, and the flower wilts and rots. Inside, as always, the spathe is now coated with gum (not even soap will wash the stuff off). Is there any chance that the little black things are seed? I have never seen any pictures or descriptions of Dieffenbachia seed or of how to raise the plants from seed. Some of the commercial plants are supposed to be hybrids, so SOMEBODY must be doing it. Can anyone help? Walter Turner +More Wuppertal, Germany

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