Triantha occidentalis (western false asphodel)

[stevebradford]

Some pictures from our cpsc bog outings of this newly described carnivourous plant.

I was given some seed of this plant from my brother but he didn’t know if they were fertile/viable. All these seeds are spoken for, repaying some generous growers.@jeff This is how the seeds look, notice how sticky the stalk still is with seeds stuck to it.

 

[jeff]

excellent , I am always interested by them

 

[jeff]

a big thank you to you for the seeds

can you tell me in which environment you found them, especially in which substrate ?

 

[stevebradford]

We found it in peat bogs, open exposed peat, the areas free of deep sphagnum. If you zoom in I believe you can see a couple in boom here.

 

[jeff]

many thanks ,the picture speaks for itself indeed

the pink plants seem to be sundew ?

 

[Felix]

Hello

Around 3/4 months ago, I went with my family, on a trip to BC (mostly around Vancouver and Victoria). At the same time, a new carnivorous plant was discovered: triantha occidentatis. I had the chance to see some, and with even more luck, there was ripe seeds (well I hoped they were ripe). I took a few flowers stalk and when I got home I put them in the fridge for stratification. Fast forward around 95 days, I have a lot of germination, more than I thought I would get.
I think the soil is 4 parts peat and 1 part perlite but i am not sure.

 

[stevebradford]

Yes sundews, three different types there actually Drosera anglica, Drosera x obovata and Drosera rotundifolia.

@jeff any success with germination of those Triantha occidentalis seed I sent you?

 

[jeff]

for instant no germination

 

[stevebradford]

Some Western False Asphodel or triantha occidentalis pictures from this year.

Growing with Drosera x obovata

Also found a few growing in a Sphagnum hummock this time.

 

[Olivera]

Some Western False Asphodel or triantha occidentalis pictures from this year.
View attachment 20601

Growing with Drosera x obovata
View attachment 20602

Also found a few growing in a Sphagnum hummock this time.
View attachment 20603

Like it,found this article interesting.

Oops...

New Lineage of Carnivorous Plants Discovered | Sci.News

The newly-identified lineage of carnivorous plants is represented by the western false asphodel (Triantha occidentalis), a species of flowering plant from North America.

www.sci-news.com

 

[gertrude]

I've heard others had no luck with the asphodel seeds that Steve passed on. But I may have had success.

In my bog pot I have a moss hummock (not sphagnum moss) with bog laurel and an unknown species of grass. This hummock sits atop dead peat with live sphagnum around it. I sowed the asphodel seeds in the moss hummock.

I just noticed tiny seedlings near where I put the seeds, and the seedlings look very much like false asphodel. They seem extremely late. For the record, I'm in Esquimalt/Victoria in a relatively hot dry microclimate.

Here is a picture of the two seedlings, with a nickel for scale.

 

[gertrude]

Update: better pictures and more seedlings found!

The bog pot: not very aesthetic at the moment. The moss and sphagnum really struggle with the drying breeze and full exposure. Perhaps the water table could be higher as well. Birds or squirrels keep digging in it which also doesn't help.

The original two asphodel seedlings at the base of a willow-ish(?) plant that really likes to spring up anywhere I put sphagnum:

And another three, one of which is quite far along (the other two visible in the background):

 

[beetl_3]

Hello all!

It appears the seed head has finally split on my plant. I'm nervous about the viability but the photos I've taken appear to show a seed casing (or other membrane) around a much smaller seed that looks decent. Sorry for the printer ink splatters and poor focus, I'm new to this camera.

I've promised some of these seeds already last year and will have to check in to see if those people want some, but have a few packets avaliable for those who feel alright betting on their germination rates. You'll get at least 10 seeds, though the packs have more than that. Please don't get your hopes up in case the seeds do not sprout well. Because of my worry about germination, people will only have to pay postage, as long as you're okay with me sending it by lettermail it should be very cheap. If you're international, please ensure you can recieve seeds from Canada

I have (last revised 09/28/2024) 2 packets currently

If someone who knows about seeds sees this, do they look half-decent? lol

 

[Smilodonichthys]

Great photos! That seed looks good to me. Those show perfectly the reticulate (net-like), inflated seed coat that is one of the main ways to distinguish Triantha occidentalis from Triantha glutinosa. Triantha glutinosa would not have a seed coat. https://nwwildflowers.com/compare/?t=Triantha+occidentalis,+Triantha+glutinosa. Would you happen to know the provenance of your plant? I'd really like to get some seed from you. Most of what I grow is Triantha glutinosa and I really want as many plants from as many locations as possible to compare characteristics like I mention above. It'd be neat to key them out to subspecies level.

 

[beetl_3]

Triantha glutinosa would not have a seed coat. [...] Would you happen to know the provenance of your plant?

That's so neat to learn! Thank you for the information. I assumed because they had this coat that they could be underdeveloped, but am glad that's not the case. I still have seeds to send. I do indeed know the location as it's a piece of property of my family's on the Sunshine Coast in BC. I'd be happy to include a more specific information on where it is, I'll provide it in a PM where we can discuss seeds as we've unfortunately had an influx of bad-faith trespassers lately and I'm hesitant to mention it publicly now.

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

Interesting article about Triantha carnivory.

 

[WillyCKH]

Triantha occidentalis is growing well from seeds! (Thank you @beetl_3)
I used GA3 to treat the seeds, soaking them for about 24 hours at 1000ppm. Germination occurred in 2 months.
It is not a fast grower at all; I might need to increase the nutrient levels to see if that'd help speed up the growth.
If it does well in TC, I should have some to share in the future.

I started working on the seeds in October.
Dec:

March:

30 days timelapse:

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

You might be the only person with Triantha in vitro.