RE: [Aroid-l] amorphophallus pollen collection & storage



>From: "michael mahan" <agavestar@covad.net>
>Reply-To: Discussion of aroids <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com>
>To: <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com>
>Subject: [Aroid-l] amorphophallus pollen collection & storage
>Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 18:32:46 -0800


Dear Mike,

From MEMORY, as I am unable to put my hands on Aroideana Vol. 26 where there
is a wonderful article on the storage of aroid pollen, your best bet is to collect the pollen with a brush when the bloom extrudes it, this will occur after the bloom opens, as the sequence is female anthesis, THEN male antheses. It will be very visible, yellow powder or strands extruding from the middle or upper regions of the spadix. Since this bloom probably will not set seed, you may want to sacrifice it by cutting away 50% or more of the spatrhe to the base so as to have better sight of the spadix`s entire length, you will then be able to see the different regions and know for certain the anatomy of that particular species, it will make the pollen collection easier, just attach a paper 'collor' to catch any falling pollen, remove same w/ a paint brush, you may need to moisten the brush w/ sterile water which may make collection easier, it will depend on the texture of that particular pollen. I BELIEVE that the article said to store the collected pollen in a clean glass vial, so maybe a packet of saran wrap put INSIDE a glass jar (to protect from freezer burn) might do, but I`d also try storing a portion in the regular fridge compartment of my refrigerator, another portion in the freezer, especially since you are fairly close to having another bloom opening with which to work. (just in case, try self-pollinating the original bloom, you MIGHT get lucky and get some fruit!) The pollen must be applied to the lowest portion of the spadix which is where the female flowers are located as soon as the bkloom begins to open. I`d then wrap the entire bloom in saran wrap to preserve high humidity, just leave a tiny opening at the top for the tissues/bloom to 'breathe'. Keep it out of direct sun light, remove the saran after about a week, if the entire bloom does not wilt and drop (it is normal for the upper male portion of the spadix to dry/rot and fall off leaving the lowest portion (femele) to develop fruit), you might be lucky, you will see the female flowers developing, getting larger as the fruit form. In several months these fruit will be ripe, change color, and fall off.
This should be a lesson to all you 'lurkers' out there to bite the bullet and join IAS, the mags and newsletters, meetings, friends are worth their weight in gold to a true aroid lover!
Good luck,
Julius

>What would the best way to prepare/process pollen for storage? & what is
>the best way to collect that same pollen ? I have a nova species from
>Madagascar,Mahajanga that is blooming with the flower beginning to unfurl
>,it's about 6 foot tall . I also have three more tubers of the same species
>that are just now pushing new growth .i want to save some pollen so that if
>the other tubers are pushing up a flower I can try my hand at pollination .
>I would also be willing to share some pollen .I could use some pollen if
>anyone were to have a flower &/OR pollen ,more than willing to share any
>seed that might come of this endeavor .I've read the pages on collection on
>this site but the links don't work that have the exact way to do it .Mike
>Mahan
>
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