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Re: [SANS] stunting Sansevierias

Dear Juan,

Once again you are reading into my postings things I did not say. I was
making a comparison/contrast but you missed that point. If one reposts a
previous posting, it is best to repost it in its entirety as I have always
done and not just rearranging bits and pieces of it out of context. That
was not my definition. This is what is called in logic a "Straw Man
Argument".

I never said Sansevieria trifasciata 'Hahnii' was a stunted form. I said it
was the result of a probable genetic mutation that makes the plant form
only cataphylls not mature leaves. The technical term for this phenomenon
is neoteny. It is NOT the result of growing conditions.

However, in the classic case of neoteny in the salamander, the Axolotl, it
was shown that the perpetual juvenile is the result of the animal lacking
the gene that makes it produce a certain growth hormone and when that
hormone is provided artificially, the animal will grow up into the adult
tiger salamander.

Could something similar to this occur in Sansevieria? It probably already
has in the case of Sans. 'Hahnii'. How would you go about proving or
disproving that?

You are saying that Sansevieria canicaulata 'Dwarf' is spontaneous form
that reverts back to the typical form with more generous growing
conditions? Either that means it is dwarfed by growing under severe
conditions or you are just contradicting your previous statements.

It is very easy to simply say one is wrong but the actual proof is in
providing actual examples.

Its time to move on to some other topic unless someone can provide some new
information one way or the other. Hermine tried to provide a fresh
perspective and it seems we need still another point of view.

Cereusly Steve

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

•Subject: Re: [SANS] stunting
•From: Juan Chahinian <Chahinian@AOL.COM>
•Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 09:52:06 EDT

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Hi all,

Sorry I am reproducing Steve´s comments, so that there will be no doubt
that
he actually said them.  They were copied and pasted from his postings.
Steve wrote:

Is there a name for this stunting phenomenon? Could we call it the "Bonsai
Effect"?
The stunting in Sansevieria trifasciata 'Hahnii' is a result of the plant
being a perpetual juvenile forming only cataphylls and never the adult
leaves

Juan says:
Sansevieria trifasciata 'Hahnii' is NOT a stunted form of S. trifasciata.

Steve's definition of stunting in his own words:
Stunting by under potting, under fertilizing and root pruning to maintain
juvenile forms is a practice used for a wide variety of plants not just
Sansevieria. Is that not one of the purposes of Bonsai?

Juan says
One cannot get the former from the latter by stunting.
S.t. 'Hahnii' is a sport, a neoteny that occurs spontaneously and cannot be

obtained by overcrowding the pot. Yes, it has happened again and again, but

not by crowding the mother plant.

Steve wrote:
Sansevieria canaliculata 'Dwarf' would then be a stunted dwarf not a
juvenile.

Juan says:
S.c.'Dwarf' was a spontaneous form, NOT obtained by stunting.
I doubt very much that a commercial enterprise as Abbey Garden would have
tried to stunt plants they received from Heidelberg.

Again, I disagree with your personal comments.

cheers,
Juan
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