The Carnivorous Plant FAQ v. 11.5
- courtesy of -
The International Carnivorous Plant Society

Leftover European Pinguicula
Subgen. Isoloba sect. Cardiophyllum
P. crystallina Cyprus, Turkey
P. hirtiflora Italy, Albania, Bosnia/Herzegovina,
Greece, Macedonia, Turkey
P. louisii Albania
Subgen. Isoloba sect. Isoloba
P. lusitanica UK, coastal France, Portugal, Spain,
n Morocco

Q: Leftover European Pinguicula

A: The species on this table don't easily fit into my other pages, so I have relegated them to this mishmash page.

Pinguicula crystallina-hirtiflora-louisii--no doubt, these plants are confusing. Right in the middle of Europe, surrounded by hibernaculum-forming Pinguicula, are these three plants that seem much more like tropical species. The most conservative approach is to reduce all three of these plants to single species, in which case the usual approach is to refer to P. crystallina as P. crystallina subsp. crystallina, while combining P. hirtiflora and P. louisii into the single entity called P. crystallina subsp. hirtiflora (Ten.) Strid. While I am aware that my noting these three entities as separate species on my lists is making a statement, I want to reaffirm that it really is only a weak one. I want to study these more, and am likely to revise my position on them.

Pinguicula lusitanica--this cute little species never gets large. It germinates, lives for only a few months, makes a tiny rosette and an equally tiny flower, and then without further notice it produces seed and dies. The whole process takes less than a year. If you want to grow this plant, you do not have to collect seed because they will germinate without intervention wherever they land, if conditions are suitable. In fact, it can be a small but entertaining little weed. Just keep it away from your seedling pots of other Pinguicula so it does not confuse you.

Page citations: Casper, J. 1966; Rice, B. 2006a; Schlauer, J. 2002.

back forward

bar

Revised: June 2007
©Barry Rice, 2005