| Species of Africa and Madagascar | |
|---|---|
| Subgenus Genlisea | |
| G. africana Oliver1 | Zaïre, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia |
| G. angolensis Good2 | Angola, Zaïre |
| G. barthlottii Porembski, E.Fischer & Gemmel3 | Guinea |
| G. glandulosissima R.E.Friesr4 | Zaïre |
| G. hispidula Stapf5 | Nigeria, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa |
| G. margaretae Hutchinson4 | Tanzania, Zambia, Madagascar |
| G. pallida Fromm-Trinta & P.Taylor6 | Angola, Zambia |
| G. stapfii A.Chev.7 | From Guinea-Bissau to Cameroun, Central African Republic, Gabon, Zaïre, Angola |
| G. subglabra Stapf7 | Zaïre, Rwanda-Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia |
| G. taylorii Eb.Fischer, Porembski & Barthlott8 | Angola |
|
1Flowers violet or blue or mauve or pink (rarely green, yellow, or white), with white splotch and yellow spur. 2Flowers violet or blue or mauve or whitish. 3Flowers violet to mauve, with white 4Flowers mauve to violet, with white and yellowish palate. 5Flowers violet or blue or mauve to pink (rarely yellow or white), with white splotch and green to yellow spur. 6Flowers cream with yellowish palate. 7Flowers violet or blue or mauve or with yellow to green spur. 8Flowers mauve or purple with white marks between purple reticulations on palate; upper lip whitish. |
|
Q: Old World Genlisea species
A: All these species are restricted to tropical and South Africa, with the exception of
Genlisea margaretae which also occurs in Madagascar.
Nearly all have African Genlisea bear flowers with some variation of pink, lilac, or violet petals.
Genlisea pallida is the only species with flowers of a regularly pale color.
Hybrids may occur within the African species. Plants have been observed in the field which may be
Genlisea margaretae × glandulosissima and
Genlisea angolensis × pallida.
Many of these species are the most under-studied in the genus, and many are not in cultivation. This is partly because they live in difficult
to access habitats. Most live on one of two kinds of somewhat exotic habitats---inselbergs and ferricretes.
Inselbergs are large, dome-shaped granitic or gneissic rock outcrops which lack much of a soil covering. Plants live on their nutrient
poor surfaces only during the short time of the year when rainwater drains off its surface. African inselbergs are rich in carnivorous plants,
such as Drosera, Genlisea, and Utricularia.
A ferricrete is a kind of soil profile. Ferricretes are areas with loosely consolidated
gravels that are cemented together by iron-rich compounds like iron oxide. They are indicators of long periods of tropical or subtropical
weathering.
G. margaretae
G. hispidula
G. hispidula
G. hispidula
Genlisea hispidula--In my experience, this is the easiest species to grow. It produces large foliage,
large traps, and many flowers that look strangely like Cephalotus traps. It can be propagated by
seed, leaf cuttings, and trap cuttings.
Genlisea margaretae--This species seems to be a little on the delicate side. I have grown it for a few
years now, and it has not gotten very large. I am growing it in a sphagnous mix, and it is persisting but not thriving.
Page citations: Barthlott, W. et al. 2007;
Fischer, E. et al. 2000;
Porembski, S. et al. 1997; Rice, B. 2006a;
Schlauer, J. 2002; Taylor, P. 1988, 1991a.
