Spring, and the Synandrospadix are blooming ...

From: Steve Marak <samarak at arachne.uark.edu> on 1998.03.25 at 17:28:45(1982) And therefore time for my annual Synandrospadix post. This year I am particularly interested in information on pollination and self-compatibility of Synandrospadix, as I have two inflorescences. One has just opened, the other should open within the next day or so. These are on two offsets of the same clone, hence the self-compatibility question. Also, has anyone else done any testing of the hardiness of this plant? Since my plant forms offsets slowly (as in 1 each year, maybe 2 in a good year), I put one outside in 1996. Unfortunately, it was not a good test - while the tuber survived the winter without any sign of rot, it was damaged by "itchy finger blight" in the spring, so I've no idea if the climate or my impatience killed it. Can anyone offer advice? Steve +More -- Steve Marak -- samarak@arachne.uark.edu

From: Wilbert Hetterscheid <hetter at vkc.nl> on 1998.03.26 at 15:11:20(1983) Dear Steve, Last year I pollinated a Gorgonidium, which may be a lesson for Synandrospadix too. Take pollen of the oldest inflor as soon as it is released. Then open the other one (provided is is already well-developed but still closed) by cutting away the entire spathe and brush the pollen on the stigmas of that second one. Then wait.................... My Gorgonidium produced a huge and spectacular fruiting cone with deep purple berries but the seeds were sort of semi-aborted. Cheers, Wilbert

From: "Mr R.a McClure" <Rob.McClure at sci.monash.edu.au> on 1998.04.02 at 16:11:39(1998) > Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 11:33:08 -0600 > From: Steve Marak > Subject: Spring, and the Synandrospadix are blooming ... > To: rob.mcclure@sci.monash.edu.au +More > Reply-to: aroid-l@mobot.org > And therefore time for my annual Synandrospadix post. > > Also, has anyone else done any testing of the hardiness of this plant? > Since my plant forms offsets slowly (as in 1 each year, maybe 2 in a good > year), I put one outside in 1996. Unfortunately, it was not a good test - > while the tuber survived the winter without any sign of rot, it was > damaged by "itchy finger blight" in the spring, so I've no idea if the > climate or my impatience killed it. > > Can anyone offer advice? > -- Steve Marak > -- samarak@arachne.uark.edu Hi Steve, Good to hear someone else grows this beaut. plant. I am in temperate zone 9 so I don't know if it will help but my plant ( in a pot ) grows happily through spring and summer then seems to thrive on a dry winter rest. I don't re-water until I see the first shoots. I think the dry cold is the important bit. Grown from seed in July '96 it took 3 months to germinate outside in temps. 6 - 20 C. It has 2 large leaves now but I am not expecting a flower for a couple of years. How long did yours take to flower ? Two years ago I emailed Eduardo in Brazil to quizz him on this Sth. American aroid. He told me it grows from low elevation up to 1500 m, can cope with cold winters and 40 C summers. It flowers from Oct. - Dec. and fruits in Feb. It is dormant in the cold , dry winter ( May - Sept. ). Any more information I have forgotten Eduardo ? Melbourne is having a cool / mild autumn, a welcome relief from summer. It still will not rain though. Eduardo will you please take back your El Nino ! The Arums and Biarums are flowering and Dracunculus canariensis and Ambrosinia bassii are shooting like crazy. Hope your spring has sprung. Cheers, Rob. Rob.McClure Biological Sciences Monash University, Clayton 3168 Victoria AUSTRALIA. Phone:(03)9905.5625 Fax:(03)9905.5613 e-mail: Rob.McClure@sci.monash.edu.au

From: Steve Marak <samarak at arachne.uark.edu> on 1998.04.03 at 19:42:33(2001) Rob, It certainly is a beautiful plant. Mine came from Tom Croat at MoBot, and flowered the following spring, so I don't really know how old it was, or if it was a seed-grown plant or an offset. (I'm sure Tom has that information; maybe I should dig out the accession number.) As I say, it offsets regularly if slowly, which I'm told may be unusual behavior for the species. I'm curious as to how many clones are in cultivation and how widely they vary in provenance. I'm also interested in getting another clone myself, especially from whatever area may experience the coldest winter temperatures, but this does not seem to be an easy plant to come by - not many people are growing it. If it is an infrequent offsetter, this may be cause and effect. I also grow mine very dry during the winter rest - as close to no water at all as I can get until I see growth in the spring. It will do quite well in the greenhouse all year, but I intend to move it outside after frost danger has passed for some stronger light this year. In my climate, this means it will get some of those +40 C temperatures you mention. We get the majority of our rain during winter, which may make establishing it outdoors here hard even if it should prove technically hardy. That's a big problem for us with many western US natives. Steve +More -- Steve Marak -- samarak@arachne.uark.edu

From: Eduardo <eggon at guarany.cpd.unb.br> on 1998.04.03 at 20:22:19(2002) Mr R.a McClure wrote: > Two years ago I emailed Eduardo in Brazil to quizz him on this Sth. > American aroid. > He told me it grows from low elevation up to 1500 m, can cope with +More > cold winters and 40 C summers. It flowers from Oct. - Dec. and fruits > in Feb. It is dormant in the cold , dry winter ( May - Sept. ). > > Any more information I have forgotten Eduardo ? No, you didnt forget anything, Rob! I must add an important information. The plant can cope with a wide range of temperature, but I dont think it can grow in a substrate with bad drainage. With the exception of Gearum brasiliense and Spathicarpa lanceolata (that are seasonal water-dwellers), the other Spathicarpeae (like Synandropadix) are always found in well-drained soil. If any of you are willing to grow it on the floor, it is better to put the plant in a slope or provide an extra-drainage in the beds. > > Melbourne is having a cool / mild autumn, a welcome relief from > summer. It still will not rain though. Eduardo will you please take > back your El Nino ! Man, here in Brazil the weather is absolutely crazy. We are having an ultra-hot and ultra-rainy autumn. Yesterday night, the rain was so strong that some tubers was unpotted! (Better say: the tubers still was in their pots, but the soil was out). No thanks, we already have Ninos enough!! Cheers, Eduardo.

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