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Genlisea aurea, also called the Corkscrew Plant, is
endemic to Brazil, where it is widespread on sandstone
highlands. It is a perennial plant, typically found at
altitudes varying from 550 m to 2550 meters. The plant
size is around 3-5 cm in diameter. These plants are
terrestrials or semi-aquatics. They are a very recent
discover, only entering cultivation in the mid 1980's.
Genlisea aurea is one of the largest species in the genus
Genlisea. It has unique rosettes made up of dozens
of almost linear leaves. Although the leaves are usually
5 to 50 mm long, the rosettes are at maximum around 5 cm
in diameter because only the leaf tips are visible at
soil level. When not in flower, Genlisea aurea is the
easiest Genlisea species to recognize in Brazil, because
of its rosettes composed by dozens of narrow leaves
covered by a thick layer of gelatinous transparent
mucilage, especially in shady habitats.
The flowers are a bright-yellow to golden-yellow.
Genlisea aurea can be found in flowers year round. The
flower scapes of Genlisea aurea are very robust, usually
10-30 cm in height, but sometimes surpassing 40 cm, and
densely covered in both simple and glandular hairs. Each
inflorescence commonly bears one to three open flowers at
its apex, but may produce a total of eleven flowers.
Most of the Genlisea are generous flowerers from Spring
until Fall, and if pollination occurs, abundant seed is
produced. Growth is relatively quick, and flowering
plants can be grown within a few months. They have lovely
flowers and once they start to bloom, will bloom
basically continuously. Dead growth and expired flowers
should be removed to prevent fungus.
Genlisea is a genus related to both Utricularia and
Pinguicula with perhaps the strangest trapping method of
all the carnivorous plants. They have very unusual traps,
which are essentially undergroud. It specializes in
protozoa and attracts its prey chemically. The trap
extends downward from the plant in a cylindrical stalk.
Between 1 to 3 inches, down from the plants this stalk
opens to a bulb-like digestion chamber. The trap
continues down from here in a hollow, tube-like structure,
until it branches in to two corkscrew-like extensions.
There is a slit in the corkscrews that begins at the
branching. Any creature small enough to enter this slice
opening finds itself in a tubular tunnel. Once in the
trap, the prey is forced forward, for hairs prevent it
from moving back out. It eventually winds its way up to
the digestive gland where it is digested, furnishing the
plant with nutrients lacking from the impoverished soils
in which they grow.
Hardiness zone 11, (4°C/40°F) in Winter. The compact
rosettes are usually covered by a film of cold flowing
water. Genlisea Aurea habitats are usually wet year round.
Keep the plant wet and warm for the whole year.
Containers should be water tight, keeping the water level
up to the surface at all times. Genlisea are tropical in
nature and prefer temperatures above 20°C at all times
and they prefer high humidity. You can keep them on a
sunny windowsill, but beware of the cold. You can grow
your Genlisea in pure peat moss, or a mix of 3 parts of
peat moss for 1 part sand.
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