Moctezuma Butterwort

Taxonomie

Famille:	Lentibulariaceae
Genre:	Pinguicula
Commande:	Lamiales

Aperçu

Pinguicula moctezumae is a Mexican butterwort with long, narrow, upright leaves and large pink to violet-purple flowers with a very long spur. It grows only on wet limestone deposits in the canyon of the Río Moctezuma, on the border of Querétaro and Hidalgo, and was discovered in 1994.

P. moctezumae is a perennial rosette plant with two kinds of leaves. The 'summer' leaves, 8 to 15 (rarely 20) per rosette, are erect, linear to lance-linear, pale green, (50) 60-100 (130) mm long and only 5-8 mm wide at the base, with rolled-back margins and a dense covering of sessile and stalked glands. Young leaves have an incurved or spiralling tip. The 'winter' leaves, 20 to 30, are thick, elliptic and only 5-30 mm long, forming a compact resting rosette.

One to five slender flower stalks, 7-14 cm (3-5.5 in) tall, each carry a single large flower 45-55 mm long including the spur. The corolla is deeply two-lipped, pink or violet-purple with a white throat, with round lobes that often overlap; the cylindrical spur is 28-35 mm long. The authors placed it in section Orcheosanthus, subsection Violiformis, next to P. gypsicola, whose narrow leaves it closely resembles; its larger flowers with round, overlapping lobes recall P. colimensis.

Informations géographiques

région natale: Río Moctezuma canyon, Querétaro and Hidalgo, Mexico (endemic)

Zones climatiques: Subtropical canyon seeps with a dry season

It grows on concretions of calcium carbonate (tufa) in the beds of small streams and on rock walls with seeping water, on limestone slopes at 900-1,100 m (2,950-3,600 ft) in the canyon of the Río Moctezuma, which forms the border between the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo. The authors called the habitat subaquatic, a feature that also separates it from P. gypsicola. The type locality lies in the municipality of Cadereyta, Querétaro; the plant was first found between the dam wall and the powerhouse of the Zimapán hydroelectric project.

Caractéristiques physiques

Taille adulte: Leaves 2.4-4 in (6-10 cm) long, up to 5 in (13 cm); flower stalks 3-5.5 in (7-14 cm)

Taux de croissance: Moderate

Type de piège: Flypaper Trap

The upper surfaces of the summer leaves are densely covered with sessile and stalked glands. Sticky mucilage on the leaves holds small insects such as fungus gnats, which are digested on the leaf. As in other heterophyllous Mexican butterworts, the thick winter leaves are not carnivorous.

Guide d'entretien

Besoins en lumière

Bright light: a sunny window, greenhouse or plant lights. Seasonal light cues, with day length changing slowly through the year, help heterophyllous Mexican butterworts keep their cycle.

Natural or seasonally adjusted day length tous les jours

Besoins en eau

Taper: Low-mineral water; a salt crust on the soil surface is a sign to repot

Méthode: In the wild it grows in seeping water on limestone. In cultivation the ICPS tray method works: stand pots in up to 2 cm of water while the plant has carnivorous leaves, and let the tray dry for about a week between waterings when it forms its succulent winter rosette.

Fréquence: Keep moist while in summer leaf; water sparingly in the resting phase

Humidité: Warm and humid while in active growth

Sol

A mineral-rich, well-drained mix such as equal parts peat, coarse sand and perlite with dolomitic lime, or a pure mineral mix in humid greenhouses. Limestone sand suits a plant that grows on calcium carbonate in the wild.

pH: Alkaline (grows on calcium carbonate in the wild)

Température

Été: Warm; normal house temperatures

Hiver: Cooler and drier

Alimentation

Fréquence: Usually unnecessary; catches fungus gnats and other small insects

Mexican Pinguicula appreciate light fertilization, such as a dilute orchid fertilizer foliar spray. Avoid acid-based fertilizers and over-fertilizing trays.

Propagation

Méthodes: Leaf pullings, preferably using the succulent leaves of the winter rosette. Seed after hand pollination, since the flowers cannot pollinate themselves; sow on the surface at 15-25°C (60-80°F), where it germinates in 4-8 weeks.

Difficulté: Easy

Conseils pour débutants

Give it bright light, a gritty, lime-rich mix and pure water, and let it dry out more in winter.

Dépannage

Plants that never form a resting rosette and decline over time: give seasonal light and water cues. Salt crust or crowded roots: repot. Leaves eaten near the soil: fungus gnat larvae.

Conseils de culture

Let it rest Seasonal

When the long leaves give way to a tight rosette of short, thick leaves, water less until the long carnivorous leaves return.

A limestone plant General

In the wild it grows on wet calcium carbonate. Add dolomitic lime or limestone sand to the mix rather than using acidic bog soil.

Faits intéressants

It was found during environmental surveys for the Zimapán hydroelectric dam.
In the wild it has been seen flowering throughout the year.
It keeps its summer leaves as long as its seep stays wet, and forms a tight resting rosette only when the site dries out.
Its long leaves are passed on to hybrids: the cultivar 'Aphrodite' (P. agnata × P. moctezumae) has arching, elongated leaves.
The name refers to the canyon of the Río Moctezuma where it was discovered.

Histoire

Ricardo Zirahuen Ortega and colleagues discovered the plant in January 1994 while surveying the Río Moctezuma canyon between the dam wall and the powerhouse of the Zimapán hydroelectric project, where it was growing on the bed of a small stream. Sergio Zamudio and Ortega described it as a new species the same year in Acta Botanica Mexicana, from a type specimen collected on 3 March 1994 at 1,050 m in the municipality of Cadereyta, Querétaro, by E. Pérez-Calix. The related P. elisabethiae was found during the same surveys.

The species is now widely available from carnivorous plant nurseries and has been used as a parent of hybrids. 'Aphrodite', P. agnata × P. moctezumae, was raised by J. Flisek and K. Pasek in the Czech Republic in 1998 and registered in 2000.

Sources

Questions fréquentes

Bright light: a sunny window, greenhouse or plant lights. Seasonal light cues, with day length changing slowly through the year, help heterophyllous Mexican butterworts keep their cycle. Visez environ Natural or seasonally adjusted day length de lumière par jour.

Low-mineral water; a salt crust on the soil surface is a sign to repot. In the wild it grows in seeping water on limestone. In cultivation the ICPS tray method works: stand pots in up to 2 cm of water while the plant has carnivorous leaves, and let the tray dry for about a week between waterings when it forms its succulent winter rosette.

A mineral-rich, well-drained mix such as equal parts peat, coarse sand and perlite with dolomitic lime, or a pure mineral mix in humid greenhouses. Limestone sand suits a plant that grows on calcium carbonate in the wild. pH du sol : Alkaline (grows on calcium carbonate in the wild).

Il n'a pas besoin de dormance. Températures hivernales : Cooler and drier.

Mexican Pinguicula appreciate light fertilization, such as a dilute orchid fertilizer foliar spray. Avoid acid-based fertilizers and over-fertilizing trays. Fréquence : Usually unnecessary; catches fungus gnats and other small insects.

Río Moctezuma canyon, Querétaro and Hidalgo, Mexico (endemic). It grows on concretions of calcium carbonate (tufa) in the beds of small streams and on rock walls with seeping water, on limestone slopes at 900-1,100 m (2,950-3,600 ft) in the canyon of the Río Moctezuma, which forms the border between the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo.

Leaf pullings, preferably using the succulent leaves of the winter rosette. Seed after hand pollination, since the flowers cannot pollinate themselves; sow on the surface at 15-25°C (60-80°F), where it germinates in 4-8 weeks.

Plants that never form a resting rosette and decline over time: give seasonal light and water cues. Salt crust or crowded roots: repot. Leaves eaten near the soil: fungus gnat larvae.

Oui. C'est l'une des plantes carnivores les plus faciles si ses besoins en lumière, en eau et en sol sont satisfaits.

Espèces apparentées

Butterwort 'Sethos'

Pinguicula 'Sethos'

Giant Butterwort

Pinguicula gigantea

Mexican Butterwort

Pinguicula moranensis

Restez informé sur Moctezuma Butterwort

Abonnez-vous pour recevoir des conseils d'entretien, des guides de culture et des mises à jour spécifiques à Moctezuma Butterwort et d'autres plantes carnivores.

S'abonner à la newsletter