Utricularia humboldtii
Utricularia humboldtii, Illustration
Utricularia humboldtii is a carnivorous plant in the genus of the water hoses in the section Orchidioides. It occurs in parts of Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela and lives both terrestrial, aquatic and as epiphyte.
Description
Stolons
The plant forms in the substrate few up to eight inches long and two to three millimeters thick, fleshy stolons, which are often branched dichotomously and their extremities are only a few millimeters long and 0.1 to 0.2 millimeters thick, but occasionally flattened leaf-like, then up to two inches long and one to three millimeters wide. Stolons, which grow out of the substrate, so-called " air rungs " are stiff, up to two feet or more in length and reach a thickness of up to two millimeters. About this plant can " shimmy " from one location to the next.
Utricularia humboldtii forms only a few leaves. Up to nine inches to find the up to twenty centimeters long, erect, rigid leaf stalks long and nineteen inches wide, wedge -shaped to inversely egg-shaped, brittle, thick, leathery leaf blades. These are highly variable in shape and size.
Emanating from the stolons, shortly stalked traps of Utricularia humboldtii are dimorphic: the more numerous small traps are 1 to 1.5 mm long, the opening is directed downward at their peak, there are two elongated appendage. The rarely occurring large traps reach a length of up to 1.2 centimeters ( see picture) and thus represent the largest of the genus, has here the opening away from the axis and appendages are absent.
Flowers
The flowering of Utricularia humboldtii is the largest of the genus. The upright, little or unbranched inflorescence can reach a height of up to 130 centimeters, the stem is hairless and two to five millimeters thick. At the flower stems can be found close to the approach a few, two to four millimeters long, oblong- shaped delta -leaves, and oval to delta-shaped, oblong, five to seven millimeters long stipules; the bracts are oblong and significantly shorter than the bracts.
In a casual grape can be found at a distance of one to four centimeters five to sixteen individual flowers on upturned, flattened, one to two centimeters long pedicles. The oblong- ovate sepals are up to 2.5 inches, the blue-violet petals five to seven inches long. The upper lip is ovate and rounded at the top. It is only slightly larger than the sepals and carries the approach starting a significantly protruding "imprinting ". The up to ten centimeters wide, transversely elliptical lower lip bears heavily on the swollen approach a two yellow stripes Saftmal. The under the lower lip extending, tapered spur protrudes slightly out from under her.
The curved stamens are about five millimeters long, the ovary ovoid, the style very short. The scar is split into an upper and lower lip, the upper lip is oblong- round and considerably smaller than the semi-circular lip.
Fruit and seeds
After fertilization, the plant forms a up to two inches long, ovate, nodding capsule fruit with solid walls, which opens through a single long gap. The capsule contains numerous flat, winged seeds in the form of scales, which are up to 2.5 mm long, their skin is extremely thin and are dispersed by the wind ( Anemochorie ). In its interior are already clearly seen through the transparent skin of the embryo leaf plants that already contain chlorophyll. The seeds germinate within just minutes after they have touched the water, break through the seed coat after a few hours and anchor themselves immediately whenever possible in the substrate in order to prevent subsequent progression Rinsed If by heavy rains.
Distribution and habitat
Utricularia humboldtii can be found in Guiana, Venezuela and northern Brazil in partial shade to full sun preferably at altitudes 1200-2500 m mainly on tepuis, but sometimes well into savannas, where it descends to up to 300 m. They settled as an epiphyte the crotches of trees, the leaf axils of Orectanthe species, the funnel of marsh pitchers ( Heliamphora ) and the funnel of Brocchinia tatei, Brocchinia micrantha and Brocchinia reducta. In the latter case, there arises the unique case that a carnivorous plant is the habitat of another carnivorous simultaneously. Equally, however, it also thrives subaquatisch in shallow water or terrestrial on wet rock or in very wet soil ( so common in savannas and glades in the bush ).
Systematics and Botanical History
Utricularia humboldtii was first described in 1841 by Robert Schomburgk; the epithet honors Alexander von Humboldt. However, it was already known to the native Arawak, which they called Iperua ( " beautiful flower " ), the name was Peter Taylor in 1986 as the name of the donor in the first description of the section, which he then assigned Utricularia humboldtii. Molecular genetic studies demonstrated unequivocally in 2005 but the membership of Utricularia humboldtii to section Orchidioides.
Swell
- Peter Taylor: The Genus Utricularia - A Taxonomic Monograph. London 1989, ISBN 0947643729
- Wilhelm Barthlott, Stefan Porembski, Rüdiger Seine, Inge Theisen: carnivores. Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-4144-2
- Entry on www.fleischfressendepflanzen.de