Re: Survival strategies (bulblets)
- To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L
- Subject: Re: Survival strategies (bulblets)
- From: J* B*
- Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2000 09:38:10 -0500 (CDT)
-----Original Message-----
From: MAIL13A/SHU%SHU@shu.edu <MAIL13A/SHU%SHU@shu.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L <aroid-l@mobot.org>
Date: Wednesday, August 09, 2000 1:34 AM
Subject: Re: Survival strategies (bulblets)
Dear Friends,
Just a quick note to add to this discussion---Dr. Guanghua Zhu, in his as
yet unpublished work on the Neotropical Aroid genus Dracontium, suggests the
same dispersal strategy for Dracontium, with its numerous, large bulbils
located on top of some of the species` tubers. He suggests that wild
Peccaries (which I like ALMOST as much as I like Warthogs!) and other
animals may help to dislodge and so spread these bulbils while feeding on
the starch-filled large tubers. Of course, these bulbils are also ideally
suited for distrubition by humans, who transport these tubers from where
they may be found to where they may travel, and when the tubers are peeled
for cooking, or are being dug, these easily detached bulbils are spread!
(Paper in prep. on this by me).
Cheers,
Julius
>Yes, I see the attraction between the two - the voodoo lily and the
warthog. But then wait a minute, I like them too !
BWM
From: Ellen Hornig <hornig@oswego.edu>@mobot.org on 08/07/2000 02:46 PM
Please respond to aroid-l@mobot.org
Sent by: aroid-l@mobot.org
To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L <aroid-l@mobot.org>
cc:
Subject: Survival strategies (bulblets)
On Mon, 7 Aug 2000 MAIL13A/SHU%SHU@shu.edu wrote:
> The "fiend" writes -
> Sue, still don't have any of those Gonadotopons in my yard, none dropped
> there. That species then may have truly supernatural abilities to spread.
> A thought on bulblet production and the particular success of digging
> around or rototilling in propagating and increasing numbers of some of
> these bulbous species:
> it would seem to me that they would be excellent food for certain rooting
> herbivores such as wild hogs. These may dig up the large bulbs which
would
> have developed an evolutionary strategy to then disseminate bulblets over
a
> wider area.
> Bonaventure
This was exactly the explanation that Rod and Rachel Saunders of
Silverhill Seeds (South Africa) gave me, when they visited here, for the
incredible numbers of tiny cormlets produced by some of the Drakensberg
irids I grow (tritonia, gladiolus, etc). I don't remember which rooting
herbivores they have there, but it's exactly as Bonaventure says: the
animals eat the large corms and spread the tiny ones around.
Ellen
Ellen Hornig
Seneca Hill Perennials
3712 Co. Rte. 57
Oswego, NY 13126
www.senecahill.com
