ISSN 1033-6966 VICTORIAN CARNIVOROUS PLANT SOC IETY Inc. March 2007 No. 83 Drosera madagascariensis Darlingtonia californica Heliamphora macdonaldae Dionaea muscipula Nepenthes hurrelliana S. purpurea ssp venosa Pinguicula esseriana Nepenthes villosa Heliamphora minor x heterodoxa VICTORIAN CARNIVOROUS VICTORIAN CARNIVOROUS PLANT SOC IETY Inc. PLANT SOC IETY Inc. Annual Subscriptions Issue No. 83 March 2007 Australian membership $25.00 Office Bearers: July 2006 – June 2007 Overseas membership $25.00 Payment from overseas must be in Australian dollars. President Stephen Fretwell All cheques or money orders should be made payable to the Victorian Carnivorous Plant Society Inc (VCPS). Vice President Sean Spence Payment by credit card is NOT available at the time of this journal issue. General Secretary Peter Bloem Correspondence Minutes Secretary Sean Spence Please forward all correspondence regarding subscription, change of address, Other Publications Gordon Ohlenrott articles for the journal and back issues to: The Secretary VCPS Journal Editor Stephen Fretwell P.O. Box 201 SOUTH YARRA 3141. Assistant Journal Editor George Caspar AUSTRALIA Internet Co-ordinator Paul Edwards Journal articles, in MS-Word, ready for publication, may be Emailed to the Editor or Secretary. Treasurer Ken Neal Librarian Andrew Gibbons Meetings Seedbank Administrator Ron Abernethy Most VCPS meetings are held in the hall at the rear of the Pilgrim Uniting Church on the corner of Bayview Road and Montague Street, Yarraville – Melway map reference Hardware Co-ordinator Andre Cleghorn 41K7. These meetings are on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 8 PM. However, some meetings may be at the home of members during a weekend. Show Co-ordinator Peter Anderson Details of meeting dates and topics are listed in each journal. Field Trips Organiser George Caspar If unsure of the location or date of any meeting, please ring a committee person for details. Public Officer Alexander Whitehouse The VCPS Annual General Meeting, usually held at Yarraville in June, provides substantial benefits for each and every member able to attend. Sales Administrator Ron Abernethy 2 – VCPS VCPS – 3 Contents MEETING TOPICS & DATES for 2007 FRONT COVER: Pinguicula esseriana VICTORIAN CARNIVOROUS P LANT SOC IETY grown by Sean Spence . Photo: Stephen Fretwell This year we have scheduled the following discussion topics, and events: January (14th) New Year BBQ, Darlingtonia , Dionaea . Utricularia petertaylorii grown by Sean Spence. BACK COVER: Clockwise from top February (28th) Sarracenia species and hybrids, beginners night. left: Heliamphora macdonaldae – I Drosera madagascariensis March (28th) Nepenthes and Heliamphora . grown by Sean Spence. April (25th) Drosera , video and information night. The Forgotten Marsh Pitcher Plant 6 I Darlingtonia californica grown by Ron Abernethy. May (23rd) Growing conditions, pygmy Drosera gemmae Trekking to Gunung Mulu 9 I Heliamphora macdonaldae collection, 'best' and 'worst' plants. Photo: Stewart McPherson. June (27th) AGM, plant give-away, any CPs. VCPS 2006 Annual show 12 I S. purpurea ssp venosa “Grand Champion” grown July (25th) Seed growing and tissue culture, potting Carnivores and the Big Dry 18 by Ron Abernethy. demonstration, any CPs. I H. minor x heterodoxa “Reserve Champion” grown August (25th) Meeting at President Stephen Fretwell’s House 12pm. Seed Bank by Jenny Brownfield. Tuberous/Winter growing Drosera , show We now have a huge collection of N EW fresh CP seed available, and I Nepenthes villosa grown by preparation, displays, and companion planting. our seed list has become quite extensive. Peter Anderson. With over 250 varieties of CP’s, we are now providing the list in September (26th) Cephalotus, Brocchinia, Catopsis and swap night. I PDF format on our website, www.vcps.au.com. Dionaea muscipula grown by Sean Spence. Photo: Peter Wolf October (28th) Field trip to Triffid Park, any CP’s. The new seed consists of over 200 types of Sarracenia species and hybrids, Darlingtonia seed obtained from the US and Drosophyllum . I Nepenthes hurrelliana November (28th) Byblis, pygmy Drosera, Drosophyllum, Genlisea, Seed was collected from plants late 2006, so be quick, while (Centre) Photo: Greg Bourke Pinguicula, Roridula, Utricularia . stocks last. For inquiries or to order seeds, please contact our Seedbank Officer. December (TBA) Annual show at Collectors Corner. Journal Design: Stephen Fretwell The articles that are found within are copyright but can be copied Please note: All meetings, other than those where a specific venue is given, will freely if the author and source are acknowledged. The views are of the Printed by: be on the FOURTH WEDNESDAY of the month in the hall of the Pilgrim Uniting authors and are open to review and debate. Please send all material to Snap Printing (Box Hill) Church in Yarraville – corner Bayview Road and Montague Street, Melway Map the editor for consideration to be included in our quarterly journal. Reference 41K7. 4 – VCPS VCPS – 5 Gleason collected and preserved specimens of the multitude of new plant and animal Heliamphora macdonaldae – species that surrounded him on the moun - taintop – species which no one had previ - ously seen. Among the multitude of amazing The Forgotten Marsh Pitcher Plant discoveries were three interesting carnivo - STEWART MCPHERSON rous pitcher plants that were eventually named Heliamphora tatei, Heliamphora tyleri he beginning of the twentieth century and Heliamphora macdonaldae . represents an age of discovery and Heliamphora tatei is perhaps the most Texploration – a time when our picture extraordinary – it is unique and habitually of the Earth remained incomplete and still grows on a tall woody stem up to two filled with the unknown. The Guiana Highlands metres in length. The plant’s carnivorous The immense cliffs of Mount Roraima. of Venezuela, northern Brazil and Guyana lay water filled leaves form a compact rosette at the forefront of the minds of explorers – a atop the tall vertical stem and so stand con - the pitcher plants Gleason named H. tatei remote land dominated by immense sand - spicuously above the surrounding scrubland and H. tyleri . H. macdonaldae grows as a stone plateaus, very few of which had been vegetation. The leaves of H. tatei are large, compact rosette on the ground much like climbed, explored or even named. (up to 25 – 35 cm in length), infundibular all other species of Heliamphora except H. Indeed even as World War Two raged in and brightly coloured (predominantly yel - tatei . Occasionally old, established speci - Europe, the gigantic mountain range of lowish green with variable red coloration). mens of H. macdonaldae form a short, Neblina which stands over three kilometres The interior of the foliage is lined with short decumbent stem, similar to that of H. nebli - tall, had not even been discovered. The Guiana downwards pointing hairs, although in some nae but very different from that erect, Highlands remained a blank on the map. strains, a glabrous stripe extends down the woody growing habit of H. tatei . In 1928, American botanists Henry back side on the interior of the leaf. Furthermore the leaves of H. macdonaldae Gleason and his colleagues began an epic Heliamphora tyleri is now thought to be a are unique in terms of morphology and The little known, but very beautiful journey into this remote province to variant of H. tatei and today is not regarded colouration. The interior of the foliage is explore a little known peak called Cerro Heliamphora macdonaldae. Photos: Stewart McPherson as a valid, independent species. Its leaves are glabrous except for a narrow line of spine Duida that lies in the heart of the Venezuelan largely the same as those of H. tatei – the like hairs that line the perimeter of the open - had to be carried in – mostly by men – Amazon, hundreds of kilometres from only appreciable difference being the shape ing of the leaf. The nectar spoon is conical, namely Amerindian porters. Caracas and well beyond all hope of rescue. of the ‘nectar spoon’ – the nectar containing but the back of the leaf is not elongated as in Gleason’s expedition began by boat, Previously, the mountain had been visited structure at the apex of the leaf. Although H. tatei and perhaps most remarkably of all, only on a handful of occasions and its sum - however as the watercourse diminished to the plant Gleason named H. tyleri seems to the interior of the leaf is lined with variable mit remained unexplored and unknown. shallow streams and finally became impassa - differ from H. tatei in that it does not habitu - red or purple veins that suffuses pure crim - The challenges of visiting this isolated ble, the expedition set out on foot and ally grow on an erect stem, variants of son in some strains – colouration that is corner of South America were formidable began weeks of difficult trekking through the H. tatei have been discovered on surrounding unique in the genus. The exterior of the leaf indeed, as they still are today – the water - dense, dark jungle of Guiana. After weeks of mountains (notably Cerro Avispa and Cerro is consistently yellowish green and the nectar course of the Orinoco River and its tribu - painstaking travel, Cerro Duida lay in view, Aracamuni) which bridge the differences and spoon is pure red. taries were obstructed by rapids, abrupt but since unlike a normal mountain it is suggest the plants once named H. tyleri are In 1978, Maguire decide to reduce waterfalls, violent currents and rocky shal - encircled on all sides by near vertical cliffs, part of the natural diversity of H. tatei . H. macdonaldae to a variety of H. tatei lows and the land lacked roads of any kind – Gleason was forced to find a break in the The situation of Gleason’s third pitcher (H. tatei var. macdonaldae ) and six years steep ridges, deep valleys and crevasses cliff sides and eventually reached the summit plant – H. macdonaldae – is however more later, Steyermark renamed it as a form of made travelling extremely difficult.