[rs79]

If we ignore pygmae, there seem to be 3 Crypts of note in the Philippine islands: C. usteriana, C. coronata and C. aponigetifolia.

The odd thing is, C. coronata has leaves like usteriana but a flower very much like aponigetifolia.

This causes me to speculate: is coronata a hybrid of UST and APO?

Is coronata the plants from which both APO and UST evolved?

Chromosome counts and karytypes would help. Jan has a few but not many that I can see. Anybody have any ideas about this stuff?

 

[rs79]

One more datum:

According to Jan:

"Another (form of) C. usteriana found by Christensen from Panay is not in cultivation"

So..... how do we get some?

 

[SCMurphy]

I'd like to know how to get some of that giant red crypt into cultivation that we read about in TFH.

 

[rs79]

I'll trade you for a Karyotype series on Philippine crypts

They're just cordata. All of charlies plants grow that big. Manure and sand and many years and that's what you get. Kai has the same plants.

When Crypts are in tall tanks underwater they do what they do in nature. Send leaves up to the surface to grab all the light that can.

Any Crypt that's 8" in the wild should in theory be able to stretch to 18-20" in a tall tank if there isn"t too much light, they send leaves up to catch the light but if there's a lot they make small leaves as they doin't need to waste energy sending them up there.

If you have a tank of cordata (submersed) change the light from low to strong and back and forth and what I've seen is when the light is strong the leaves are flat almost on the ground, but when the light is weaker they reach up towards it.
This change can and does happen overnight. The friggin leaves move.

But yeah, Ill arrange to get some material out in the spring (about 2 mos from now). Mark your calander and remind me then.