News

January 2004 : A new species of Pinguicula may be published by Hans Lurhs in the next years : it is a species found in Zaragoza, in Mexico that is grown by Stan Lampard. It was known as a subspecies of Pinguicula immaculata but finally different from this species. The possible name published should be P. nivalis.

I thought that these plants were only grown in Stan Lampard and Hans Luhrs 's collections but Jan Flisek sent me the following information : " These plants are grown in Miloslav Studnicka's collection too. He got the plants from Japan (Mr. Hattori) in 2000 ".

January 2004 : After so many year of studies, the publication of the hairy population of Pinguicula from Sierra Tamaulipas, published under the possible name of Pinguicula pilosa was sent to the ICPS board and may be published in a next CPN issue.

S.J. Casper & A.J. Urquiola Cruz: " Pinguicula cubensis (Lentibulariaceae) - a new insectivorous species from western Cuba (Cuba occidental)" ; Willdenowia 33 (2003), S.167-172.

The famous Dr. Fernando RIVADAVIA is happy to share all his Mexican trips in the article area.

January 2004 : Pinguicula mirandae and few others are now in culture in Europe

September to december 2003 : The famous Dr. Fernando RIVADAVIA was Mexico and we are very proud to inform you that he accepted to join the scientific staff of this website and to help us with his invaluable multi-genus experience...

Fernando Rivadavia (Left), Ed. Read (Top), Ruben (Right) and Marlene (behind the camera)

May 2003 : Just a quick message to tell you that two new species of Pinguicula, have been described from Cuba by S.J. Casper.

It is a new Mexican species from Queretaro and San Luis Potosi states (on the border between the two states).

Summer leaves are very long and shaped like Pinguicula moctezumae with leaves that reach 26 cm ! and winter rosette is shaped like an onion of a diameter of 1 cm only !

April 2003 : I have receive the following informations about new species in culture so maybe one day available to more people :

- Pinguicula from Sierra Obscura : we bought (6 persons) some plants for a golden price in Australia and wait for the delivery in October.

- Pinguicula grandiflora f. chionopetra : I have 3 small plants from a Pyrenean moutains population with really white flowers like the one from Ireland. This species will be soon available at NATURE ET PAYSAGE carnivorous plants nursery for a cheap price.

- Pinguicula variegata : 100 plants in-vitro, coming from the seeds of Hiro Shimai and in culture in my Friend Laurent Legendre's greenhouse in Australia.

- Pinguicula calyptrata : I have been given 1 plant this week-end given by a good and skilled friend J.J. LABAT, owner of the famous carnivorous plants nursery NATURE ET PAYSAGE.

- Pinguicula elizabethiae : 5 young cuttings in Germany are under good care.

- Pinguicula mesophytica : 2 plants are in-vitro in Australia at the greenhouse of Dr. Laurent Legendre coming from the seeds given by Phil Wilson (Hi Phil)

- Pinguicula benedicta and Pinguicula albida, two species from Cuba are also in Germany under culture.

Unfortunately, we don't have germination yet of the seeds of Pinguicula elongata given by Joe Griffin.

- February 2003 : The famous Mexican Botanist Dr Sergio Zamudio published in 1999 a new Pinguicula species belonging to the section Orcheosanthus. The plants comes from Arroyo Toliman and Rio Moctezumae (Area also hosting P. moctezumae) in Queretaro and Hidalgo Mexican states. It is Pinguicula elizabethiae. See P. elizabethiae page.

We are Fabio d'Alessi and Filippo Tassara, two of the staff members of the Italian Carnivorous Plant Society (AIPC).
We have been deeply involved in CP cultivation, study and conservation during the past years.
Both of us are involved in the Conservation Project, intended for the study and protection of the Italian carnivorous plants, of which Filippo is the responsible and a reference for local Botanical Gardens.
According with the AIPC staff, we are sending this message to the international cp mailing list with the hope that it will have the widest distribution.
As most of you know, one of the most recent discoveries in the cp world has been Pinguicula poldinii, a wonderful new species from the prealps, in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy). At present there are only few known small populations of this species. The location of these populations is known only to very few people, and we do pay extreme caution to avoid disseminating information about these sites.
Last year AIPC decided to have a survey on the status of the sites of P.poldinii, and we made a sad discovery : the type site, already visited by other groups, showed evident signs of plant removal and, worst of all, there were *no* seed pods. On hundreds of plants found there was not a single seed pod left.
We would like to stat it clearly : THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE SEED POD LEFT ON A WHOLE POPULATION.
We had to look with extreme care to be able to find a few plants, in extremely dangerous and exposed cliffs, which still had their seed pods intact.
The other bad surprise has been seeing seeds of Pinguicula poldinii popping up at different commercial seed banks - obviously at a price. And hearing "rumors" of people "having seeds of the type site of this rarest species" and offering them at high prices or trading them for rarest species...
We do personally think that maintaining a valuable seed repository by commercial firms is a wonderful idea, and actually helps the conservation of plants in their natural habitats.
We do also think that collecting one or two seed pods from a limited population of plants, especially if located in such a distant and difficult site is a rewarding and legitimate desire and, if done in the right way, is fully sustainable by the population itself. (Of course, in the case of protected plants, this is often illegal and permits, generally not impossible to obtain, should be requested to the local authorities). On the other hand we URGE to STRESS the fact that collecting virtually all the seeds of a very small local population is a terrible practice that can lead to the potential destruction of the site itself.
Collecting huge amounts of seeds from a smallest population, to use the seeds trading them for other species or in other affairs is a stupid practice that throws a splotch of mud on the conscience of the whole cp community.
We strongly hope that whoever knows the location of the sites of P.poldinii (and of other extremely rare species as well) will better guard the data of the site location from now on.
If the practice of massive collection of seeds from the site of P.poldinii will continue, we will HAVE TO try more drastic actions than just writing an email like this one, and in the end we will end up with situations like the paranoid status of the single smallest site of P.abruzzensis (where fences make it impossible even to reach the site and it is impossible even to ask for permits even to collect just ONE seed of that species).

- January 24th 2003 : It seems that Dr Zamudio described a new Pinguicula under the name Pinguicula conzattii. It is the Pinguicula population discovered by Dr Alfred Lau in Santiago Nuyoo Pass in Mexico and grown under this name worldwide.

-January 2003 : We are also waiting for the germination of some seeds of Pinguicula elongata from Colombiana always in-vitro this time in Bestcarnivorousplants.com CZ famous nursery...

- January 2003 : update of the Pinguicula mesophytica seeds story : two seeds have germinated in-vitro in ...Australia. I gave half of the seeds to Laurent Legendre in Australia and the other half to a carnivorousplants nursery in Europe. On March 2003, the two plants are still alive !.

- 2003 : an incredible booklet published by Dr Alfred Lau on process : more...

- in "El Nuevo Fénix", newspaper from Cuba : a new location for Pinguicula jackii have been discovered :

"In Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, september 24th, a new location for Pinguicula jackii have been discovered in "Cuatro Vientos" area, near Topes de Collantes. This species was found by Alexander Romero Emperador and Blas Perez Silva, of the Foundation Antonio Núñez Jiménez of the "Nature and the Man". Romero declared that previously single had been reported in a place known like Buenos Aires, in the Mountain range of the Escambray and in the new area a colony of four plants exists. The Pinguicula jackii, endemic of mountains of the Escambray, is a plant of 15 cm.diameter, was discovered in 1944. "

This is a good news because this species was known to be extinct in wild : Paul Temple didn't find any plants in the only known location.

- December 2002 : A wonderfull undescribed species can be found in the Sierra obscura. It is sold in Australia (Triffid Park Nurseries) under two names : var typica and var Chihuahua. According to Alfred Lau (the discoverer and seeds sender of this species), all are from the same location. See the page.

- November 2002 : The well known multigenus Botanist Alfred Lau is in Europe until the end of 2002...

- August 2002 : I have been informed that Pinguicula chilensis have arrived in a collection somewhere in Europe. Do you know where ? I hope that, one day or the other, this plant will be available somewhere.

- 2002. A new species not yet published have been discovered in Abbruzi, Italy. After Pinguicula fiorii and Pinguicula poldinii, this will be the third new species described in the recent years years in Italy. Is Italy becoming a new hollydays destination for Botanists ?

- Summer 2002 : Some Pinguicula grandiflora f. chionopetra have been detected in the Pyrenees mountains in France. This allows to conclude that this form is no longer endemic of County Kerry in Ireland. Can we miss this second opportunity to start growing this plant ?