Arum lily (reed) frog

From: Emily.Yates at mobot.org on 2005.03.29 at 17:18:53(12805) Title: Arum lily (reed) frog Does anyone on the list know of references, reprints of articles, or research on the relationship of the Arum lily (reed) frog, Hyperolius horstocki, and the arum lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica? This tiny frog (I believe endemic to South African Fynbos) inhabits the inflorescence of the Arum lily and can change its color to match its background inside the Arum lily for camoflauge. Beyond that I am having difficulty locating much information on this cool little creature, and would like to know more if anyone has experience with it. Thanks for your help, Emily +More Emily Yates Research Assistant (Araceae) Missouri Botanical Garden P. O. Box 299 St. Louis, MO 63166-0299 (314) 577-5163 Emily.Yates@mobot.org Take a class this spring! arts & crafts to cooking & wine, there's something for everyone! www.mobot.org "To discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life." - mission of the Missouri Botanical Garden _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: Jonathan Ertelt jonathan.ertelt at vanderbilt.edu> on 2005.03.31 at 21:30:31(12811) Title: Re: [Aroid-l] Arum lily (reed) frog Does anyone on the list know of references, reprints of articles, or research on the relationship of the Arum lily (reed) frog, Hyperolius horstocki, and the arum lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica? This tiny frog (I believe endemic to South African Fynbos) inhabits the inflorescence of the Arum lily and can change its color to match its background inside the Arum lily for camoflauge. Beyond that I am having difficulty locating much information on this cool little creature, and would like to know more if anyone has experience with it. Thanks for your help, Emily Emily, Here's a site with an illustration of one clutching a spadix: http://passport.panda.org/campaigns/campaign.cfm?uNC865265&uCampaignId&1 if you enter the scientific name into the google search engine, several sites come up with information. Jonathan +More _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: "Steve Ritchey" sritchey at shreve.net> on 2005.04.01 at 02:28:16(12813) Title: Arum lily (reed) frog Hi Emily, This doesn't only happen in Africa. Z. aethiopica is in full flower here now, not minding the light frosts. Our native "Tree Frogs", what I believe to be Litoria caerula (only mine have black stripes surrounded in white that I have never seen in photos of the species) turn from lime green to a chalky white whether nestled in a Zant spathe or climbing the stuccoed walls of my house. I guess they are lying in wait to gobble up the first pollenator to visit the spadix. It's hard to imagine these litttle 5 cm. frogs eating the Yellow Jacket wasps that are the main pollenators here, but either that, or they just hang in there for the occasisional fly or gnat during warms spells. Also, really enjoyed the last IAS newsletter. After spending most of my adult life travelling for an oil company, I like good writing that makes me feel like I wuz there without ever! getting on a plane :-) Steve +More USDA Zone 7b NE TX ----- Original Message ----- From: Emily.Yates@mobot.org To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 11:18 AM Subject: [Aroid-l] Arum lily (reed) frog Does anyone on the list know of references, reprints of articles, or research on the relationship of the Arum lily (reed) frog, Hyperolius horstocki, and the arum lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica? This tiny frog (I believe endemic to South African Fynbos) inhabits the inflorescence of the Arum lily and can change its color to match its background inside the Arum lily for camoflauge. Beyond that I am having difficulty locating much information on this cool little creature, and would like to know more if anyone has experience with it. Thanks for your help, Emily Emily Yates Research Assistant (Araceae) Missouri Botanical Garden P. O. Box 299 St. Louis, MO 63166-0299 (314) 577-5163 Emily.Yates@mobot.org Take a class this spring! From gardening to photography, arts & crafts to cooking & wine, there's something for everyone! www.mobot.org "To discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life." - mission of the Missouri Botanical Garden _______________________________________________Aroid-l mailing listAroid-l@gizmoworks.comhttp://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: LMassey628 at aol.com on 2005.04.02 at 01:43:02(12817) In a message dated 4/1/2005 12:36:51 PM Eastern Standard Time, jonathan.ertelt@vanderbilt.edu writes: Does anyone on the list know of references, reprints of articles, or research on the relationship of the Arum lily (reed) frog, Hyperolius horstocki, and the arum lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica? Speaking of Zantedeschia aethiopica - is there any trick to getting one to bloom ? I have had mine for years now, the plant is beautiful and healthy. It is grown in a large pot that I have sitting in a bird bath for constant moisture. It gets filtered sun. Does it need full sun ? What can I do to get flowers ? Thank you. Linda +More _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: "Julius Boos" ju-bo at msn.com> on 2005.04.04 at 10:43:06(12826) >From: Jonathan Ertelt <jonathan.ertelt@vanderbilt.edu> >Reply-To: Discussion of aroids <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com> >To: Discussion of aroids <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com> >Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Arum lily (reed) frog >Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 15:30:31 -0600 Dear All, This discussion about the tiny frog inhabiting the bloom of the native African Zantedescia sps. ("Arum lily") brings to mind something that I know of in Trinidad, W.I. Many years ago I was trying to collect one of the rarest of the many frog species we have on Trinidad, Flectonotus (Gastrotheca) fitzgeraldi, the Trinidad Marsupial frog, called that because it incubates its few large eggs in a 'marsupium' or pouch/groove along its dorsum. I was told that the way to see this little (finger-joint sized) frog was near the Bat caves near Tamana in Central Trinidad`s jungle. One of my Mentors, Dr. Jack Price, had collected it there when working w/ Dr. Jake Kenny on the frogs of Trinidad and Tobago. HERE COMES THE AROID CONNECTION!! Jack told me that it lived in the basal leaf-sheaths of a giant Xanthosoma sp. (Xanthiosoma cf. undipes), known locally as 'wild tannia' that grew there. I made a trip and climb to these caves where we discovered this plant was abundant near the entrances to these smelly bat caves, and after much chopping and searching we did see this little tree-frog slipping effortlessly in and out of the sheaths, NOT easy to catch! I wonder if perhaps this plant , besides providing a moist/wet safe haven in its basal leaf sheaths for this tiny frog, might also provide a higher temp. than that of the surrounding air?? I was also thinking that perhaps the higher temperature produced within the spathe of Zanthedescia would be advantagous to a tiny frog, plus of course the insects provided as food and attracted to the scent of the bloom at anthesis???? All food for thought and further research! Cheers, Julius +More Does anyone on the list know of references, reprints of articles, >>or research on the relationship of the Arum lily (reed) frog, >>Hyperolius horstocki, and the arum lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica? >>This tiny frog (I believe endemic to South African Fynbos) inhabits >>the inflorescence of the Arum lily and can change its color to >>match its background inside the Arum lily for camoflauge. Beyond >>that I am having difficulty locating much information on this cool >>little creature, and would like to know more if anyone has >>experience with it. >> >>Thanks for your help, >> >>Emily >Emily, > >Here's a site with an illustration of one clutching a spadix: >http://passport.panda.org/campaigns/campaign.cfm?uNC865265&uCampaignId&1 > >if you enter the scientific name into the google search engine, >several sites come up with information. > >Jonathan >_______________________________________________ >Aroid-l mailing list >Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com >http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: "Deni Bown" deni at yaxhampark.co.uk> on 2005.04.04 at 14:01:20(12828) Title: Arum lily (reed) frog The reference I gave in my book Aroids – Plants of the Arum Family is Whitfield, P., ed. 1984. Longman Illustrated Animal Encyclopaedia. I don’t have anything more scientific. As a matter of interest, when peering into the open spathe of a Typhonodorum inflorescence in Madagascar recently, I saw a perfectly camouflaged yellow and white frog nestled between the white spathe and yellow spadix – obviously a different species from the one in S Africa but suggesting that this topic might indeed be an interesting piece of research. Hope this helps. Would be interested to hear if you uncover more info, as after plants (and aroids in particular), my main interest is amphibians. Deni Bown +More From: aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com [mailto:aroid-l-bounces@gizmoworks.com] On Behalf Of Emily.Yates@mobot.org Sent: 29 March 2005 18:19 To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com Subject: [Aroid-l] Arum lily (reed) frog Does anyone on the list know of references, reprints of articles, or research on the relationship of the Arum lily (reed) frog, Hyperolius horstocki, and the arum lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica? This tiny frog (I believe endemic to South African Fynbos) inhabits the inflorescence of the Arum lily and can change its color to match its background inside the Arum lily for camoflauge. Beyond that I am having difficulty locating much information on this cool little creature, and would like to know more if anyone has experience with it. Thanks for your help, Emily Emily Yates Research Assistant (Araceae) Missouri Botanical Garden P. O. Box 299 St. Louis, MO 63166-0299 (314) 577-5163 Emily.Yates@mobot.org Take a class this spring! arts & crafts to cooking & wine, there's something for everyone! www.mobot.org "To discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life." - mission of the Missouri Botanical Garden _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

From: "Steve Ritchey" sritchey at shreve.net> on 2005.04.04 at 23:49:54(12830) It turned too cool for the wasps to be out on the callas this weekend, but had plenty of small flies. The instant one lands on the spathe, the frogs' eyes open and zap!- lunch. Then they close their eyes and become virtually invisible again. They either can't detect the flies landing on the spadix behind them or just ignore them til another one lands directly in front of them on the spathe. I have some aethiopica 'Kiwi Blush' getting ready to flower. It will be interesting to see if they can match this spathe color, or just stay green parked on the leaves. Steve +More ----- Original Message ----- To: Sent: Monday, April 04, 2005 5:43 AM Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Arum lily (reed) frog >From: Jonathan Ertelt <jonathan.ertelt@vanderbilt.edu> >Reply-To: Discussion of aroids <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com> >To: Discussion of aroids <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com> >Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] Arum lily (reed) frog >Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 15:30:31 -0600 Dear All, This discussion about the tiny frog inhabiting the bloom of the native African Zantedescia sps. ("Arum lily") brings to mind something that I know of in Trinidad, W.I. Many years ago I was trying to collect one of the rarest of the many frog species we have on Trinidad, Flectonotus (Gastrotheca) fitzgeraldi, the Trinidad Marsupial frog, called that because it incubates its few large eggs in a 'marsupium' or pouch/groove along its dorsum. I was told that the way to see this little (finger-joint sized) frog was near the Bat caves near Tamana in Central Trinidad`s jungle. One of my Mentors, Dr. Jack Price, had collected it there when working w/ Dr. Jake Kenny on the frogs of Trinidad and Tobago. HERE COMES THE AROID CONNECTION!! Jack told me that it lived in the basal leaf-sheaths of a giant Xanthosoma sp. (Xanthiosoma cf. undipes), known locally as 'wild tannia' that grew there. I made a trip and climb to these caves where we discovered this plant was abundant near the entrances to these smelly bat caves, and after much chopping and searching we did see this little tree-frog slipping effortlessly in and out of the sheaths, NOT easy to catch! I wonder if perhaps this plant , besides providing a moist/wet safe haven in its basal leaf sheaths for this tiny frog, might also provide a higher temp. than that of the surrounding air?? I was also thinking that perhaps the higher temperature produced within the spathe of Zanthedescia would be advantagous to a tiny frog, plus of course the insects provided as food and attracted to the scent of the bloom at anthesis???? All food for thought and further research! Cheers, Julius Does anyone on the list know of references, reprints of articles, >>or research on the relationship of the Arum lily (reed) frog, >>Hyperolius horstocki, and the arum lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica? >>This tiny frog (I believe endemic to South African Fynbos) inhabits >>the inflorescence of the Arum lily and can change its color to >>match its background inside the Arum lily for camoflauge. Beyond >>that I am having difficulty locating much information on this cool >>little creature, and would like to know more if anyone has >>experience with it. >> >>Thanks for your help, >> >>Emily >Emily, > >Here's a site with an illustration of one clutching a spadix: >http://passport.panda.org/campaigns/campaign.cfm?uNC865265&uCampaignId&1 > >if you enter the scientific name into the google search engine, >several sites come up with information. > >Jonathan >_______________________________________________ >Aroid-l mailing list >Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com >http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l _______________________________________________ Aroid-l mailing list Aroid-l@gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l

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