From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at msn.com> on 2004.12.11 at 14:53:39(12464)
>From: "michael mahan" <agavestar@covad.net>
>Reply-To: Discussion of aroids <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com>
>To: <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com>
>Subject: [Aroid-l] amorphophallus pollen collection & storage
>Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 18:32:46 -0800
Dear Mike,
is a wonderful article on the storage of aroid pollen, your best bet is to
collect the pollen with a brush when the bloom extrudes it, this will occur
after the bloom opens, as the sequence is female anthesis, THEN male
antheses. It will be very visible, yellow powder or strands extruding
from the middle or upper regions of the spadix. Since this bloom probably
will not set seed, you may want to sacrifice it by cutting away 50% or more
of the spatrhe to the base so as to have better sight of the spadix`s entire
length, you will then be able to see the different regions and know for
certain the anatomy of that particular species, it will make the pollen
collection easier, just attach a paper 'collor' to catch any falling pollen,
remove same w/ a paint brush, you may need to moisten the brush w/ sterile
water which may make collection easier, it will depend on the texture of
that particular pollen. I BELIEVE that the article said to store the
collected pollen in a clean glass vial, so maybe a packet of saran wrap put
INSIDE a glass jar (to protect from freezer burn) might do, but I`d also try
storing a portion in the regular fridge compartment of my refrigerator,
another portion in the freezer, especially since you are fairly close to
having another bloom opening with which to work. (just in case, try
self-pollinating the original bloom, you MIGHT get lucky and get some
fruit!) The pollen must be applied to the lowest portion of the spadix
which is where the female flowers are located as soon as the bkloom begins
to open. I`d then wrap the entire bloom in saran wrap to preserve high
humidity, just leave a tiny opening at the top for the tissues/bloom to
'breathe'. Keep it out of direct sun light, remove the saran after about
a week, if the entire bloom does not wilt and drop (it is normal for the
upper male portion of the spadix to dry/rot and fall off leaving the lowest
portion (femele) to develop fruit), you might be lucky, you will see the
female flowers developing, getting larger as the fruit form. In several
months these fruit will be ripe, change color, and fall off.
This should be a lesson to all you 'lurkers' out there to bite the bullet
and join IAS, the mags and newsletters, meetings, friends are worth their
weight in gold to a true aroid lover!
Good luck,
Julius
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