Everything about Genlisea Margaretae totally explained
Genlisea margaretae is a
carnivorous species in the
genus Genlisea (family
Lentibulariaceae) native to areas of
Madagascar,
Tanzania, and
Zambia.
The
inflorescences, which can grow to be 20-60 cm tall, emerge from the center of the rosette and produce
mauve or violet-colored flowers. Each inflorescence can produce more than 10 flowers on a congested
raceme. The upper part of the inflorescences is densely covered with glandular
trichomes while the lower part has fewer trichomes and is often
glabrous. Individual flowers have rounded upper lips on the
corolla instead of being lobed and a relatively straight
spur.
At least one natural
hybrid among the African species that involves
G. margaretae has been described.
Genlisea margaretae × glandulosissima is a product of
G. margaretae and
G. glandulosissima.
Distribution and habitat
G. margaretae is one of the several
Genlisea species native to Southeast
Africa. It has been discovered in
Tanzania and
Zambia and is the only
Genlisea species reported to exist in
Madagascar.
Carnivory
G. margaretae, like all
Genlisea species, is a
carnivorous plant that attracts, traps, kills, and digests prey, which are typically protozoans. Evidence of this behavior had been postulated ever since
Charles Darwin's time and has mostly relied on circumstantial findings of the occasional dead aquatic invertebrate in the utricle (digestion chamber). In 1975, however, British botanist Yolande Heslop-Harrison discovered
digestive enzyme activity in
G. africana. Later, in 1998,
Wilhelm Barthlott and his colleagues concluded through experimentation that
Genlisea attracts prey
chemotactically, traps them in the corkscrew "lobster pot" trap, digests them with enzymes produced by the plant, and then absorbs the nutrients. This study represented the first conclusive evidence that
G. margaretae was carnivorous.
Cultivation
According to
Barry Rice in his 2006 book on carnivorous plants,
G. margaretae is an easy terrestrial species to grow. Leaf and trap cuttings can easily produce new plant clones.
G. margaretae requires high humidity and medium to bright lighting conditions with soil composition similar to that of other carnivorous plants, especially the terrestrial
Utricularia species.
[Further Information]
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