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This plant is native to Ndumu Game reserve (among other places?) My research is in complete at this time. It has been known since ??. This plant has thin stems and spade-shaped very succulent leaves without marks. The flowers are a bright chartreuse and they are plentiful when the vine starts to bloom. Flowers will follow each other at the same node so there are flowers and buds in all stages at the same time. |
The plant itself seems to be fairly easy to grow, I 've had this one for about a year and it began to bloom early-mid-September. It also seems to bloom fairly close to the root and has been happy in a 3" hanging pot. All last winter it was in the house hanging from a flourescent light fixture where it was watered about once a week to keep the succulent leaves firm, otherwise it seemed to be dormant.
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The most remarkable feature of this flower is the purple fringe above each opening. The slightest breeze will set it in motion so it seems to be constantly 'breathing'. |
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I wanted to see the inside of the flower, so I took a razor blade and cut through the top. There was a small gnat inside under the parisol part, when I cut further down the stem I was surprised to find more insects apparently trapped by the hairs inside the corolla tube. I was surprised because I hadn't seen anything flying around the bloom like I had seen on the arabica a couple of weeks ago. |
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After the flies left. I was able to get this picture of the basal extentions. It will be interesting to see if the flies were able to pollinate any of the other flowers. I'll keep you posted. September 26, 2002 |  |
Here's a picture of some other insect "visitors". 