Re: [Aroid-l] Cryptocoryne Propagation by Leaf Cuttings
From: ExoticRainforest <Steve at ExoticRainforest.com> on 2010.06.18 at 00:45:18
If we have any PhD candidates out there working on their doctoral
degree in botany this could make a useful and great research study!
Thanks Ted!
Steve
On 6/17/2010 12:31, Theodore Held wrote:
I should probably add that at least one Cryptocoryne species
(aroid) can be reproduced from a leaf cutting. The species escapes me
at the moment, but it has been reported in the European literature and
the same species has done so for me and for my friend and neighbor
Chris Newell. I have tried several others without success.
The technique I used was to simply take a leaf and lay it and
its petiole on an organic-rich substrate (wet, of course, since Crypts
are aquatic or semi-aquatic), and partly cover the leaf edges with
additional substrate. (I did not use any rooting hormone, but maybe
that would help.) Then wait. And wait. Many months later I found an
offset coming from the leaf portion. No bulblets. Just right off the
leaf edge.
As I said, several other attempts with other clones and species
were not successful for me. When it fails the exposed parts of the leaf
just turn to mush. In my successful try the leaf stayed firm and green
the whole time.
It would be fascinating to know if there is a physiological
reason that allows this to happen. Perhaps a careful catalogue of
species that can be so reproduced and those which cannot would
differentiate a parting evolutionary pathway.
For any of you with access to Crypts in the wild (Peter?), next
time please poke around a little and see if any rooting from leaves can
be detected in a wild population.
I'll see if I can dig out the species ID from my notes. Don't
hold your breath, though; it's been a while.
I have not done it myself, but, Peter Boyce told me
that certain clumping species of Schismatoglottis can be propagated by
leaf cuttings. I have no idea if this extends to the whole genus, but,
perhaps Peter will respond. This conversation arose due to the habit
of certain Schismatoglottis that pup and the mother plant dies. While
I am on this forum, I'd love to see more species of Schismatoglottis in
cultivation. It is like Philodendron and Anthurium...large genera, but
relatively few species in cultivation. Unfortunately, this is not
likely to change in the near future.
We detailed our research on rooting
amorphophallus from leaf cuttings in an article published in Aroideana,
Volume 30, 2007. Pinellia can also be rooted, as can some tropical
arisaema.
Tony Avent
Plant Delights Nursery @
Juniper Level Botanic Garden
9241 Sauls Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 USA
Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F
Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F
USDA Hardiness Zone 7b
email tony@plantdelights.com
website http://www.plantdelights.com
phone 919 772-4794
fax 919 772-4752
"I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least
three times" - Avent
I am again doing some digging as a
result of an ongoing discussion with a group of growers. It is the
opinion of some that aroids can be induced to generate a totally new
plant by placing growth hormone on the petiole of a leaf. I have read
all I can find and do not believe this information to be accurate.
From the text of The Genera of Araceae it
appears the only two aroids that are capable of the regeneration of a
new plant from a leaf are Zamioculcas zamiifolia and Gonotapus
boivinii. This unique ability is the result of a bulblet being
formed at the juncture of the blade and the petiole and appears to
happen as a survival form during hostile seasons of the year. From
TGOA: "Regeneration of tubers, leaves and roots from leaf segments
is well known in Zamioculcas zamiifolia and Gonotapus boivinii (Engler
1881, Schubert 1913, Cutter 1962). Isolated entire leaflets of
Zamioculcas and Gonotapus spontaneously develop a basal swelling,
followed by the formation of roots and up to 3 buds, over a 6-9 week
period for Zamioculcas. Leaf regeneration in Gonotapus is more rapid.
The results of experimental manipulation of isolated leaflets grown in
culture show that any part of the compound leaf is capable of
regeneration".
One gentleman appears to be insisting any of the other four Gonotapus
species is capable of the same thing. I have read and reread the
section in TGOA on this subject and there is a mention of a few other
aroids that produce bulblets at the juncture of the leaf and petiole
but other Gonotapus are not mentioned. More from TGOA:
"Leaf tubercles and regeneration. Tubercles regularly
develop at the juncture of leaflet and petiole in Pinellia fernata
(Hansen 1881, Linsbauer 1934, Troll 1939) at the apical end of petiole
in Typhonium bulbiferum (Sriboonma et al. 1994) and at the first and
second order divisions of the leaf of Amorphophallus bulbifer (Troll
1939). Tubercles in Pinella may also form spontaneously along the
petioles or can be induced at the basal part by cutting into segments
(Linsbauer 1934) Tubercles may develop in Typhonium violifolium at
the leaf apex, pale apex and the apex of this sheath (sriboonma et al,
1994)." Do any of the other four species of
Gonotapus actually do leaf regeneration? And if
not, can any of our scientists give me a source of documentation as to
why leaf regeneration does not happen in aroids? If any grower has
obsserved this behavior, can you document it?
I am not trying to "win an argument, I just want to make sure I
understand this growth form as it relates to aroids.
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