Hardy Tropicals UK

Here in The Netherlands we have a very rare carnivorous waterplant. Its Aldrovanda vesiculosa and it has the same snapping mechanism to catch insects as Dionaea muscipula, the venus flytrap.
In most parts of Europe its has became extinct during the last century. The area where it grows is about 25 km south of Amsterdam.

Here a link to it.

http://waarneming.nl/soort/info/149786?_popup=1

Alexander

Interesting

New to me Alexander, I don't know if it has ever inhabited the UK.
I think we only have three native insectivorous plants, Sundew, Butterwort and the Aquatic Bladderwort.

Clive60 wrote:New to me Alexander, I don't know if it has ever inhabited the UK.

Nope, no record from Britain. Reading about it, it seems to need more summer heat than Britain has, to be able to do well.

Clive60 wrote:I think we only have three native insectivorous plants, Sundew, Butterwort and the Aquatic Bladderwort.

Three genera, but there's three species of Sundew, four Butterworts and six Bladderworts native to Britain, so 13 species altogether.

Clive60 wrote:New to me Alexander, I don't know if it has ever inhabited the UK.
I think we only have three native insectivorous plants, Sundew, Butterwort and the Aquatic Bladderwort.

Its has inhabited the UK a long time ago in some warmer interglacial period. They have found fossilized material of it.
But not in the Holocenic period as far as I know.

Alexander

Here some more info about Aldrovanda and a few videos.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 9372,d.Yms

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 9372,d.Yms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H-0UkhVwtk

http://youtu.be/0RVT7dKoNwk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYp6CR3Gn_Q

http://youtu.be/YHM8Rz9Unyc

http://youtu.be/ynIi59Ossaw

Alexander

From one of Alexander's links: relatively warm water in summer (optimum 25-28°C)

Methinks one can forget about it growing in Britain!

Conifers wrote:From one of Alexander's links: relatively warm water in summer (optimum 25-28°C)

Methinks one can forget about it growing in Britain!

Well they grow here in the Western parts of The Netherlands very well. And summers are very similair here with the central, southeast and southern part of the UK. With arround 16 C they will grow allready. But during summer the water will warm up till arround 20 to 22 C wich is enough for rapid growth. During warm periods like last summer growth can be very fast. These waterwheel plants just growth below the water surface where you get the highrest temperaturtes.

So I think provide you get the right sort of habitat it will grow very well there. Well not in the colder northern parts like Scotland.

Alexander

i know this thread is a little old but i only just found it . the waterwheel does very well in britain and is a native (or was). it grows on 5 continents and is very adaptable. the only problem i find with cultivation is algae kills it

James1991 wrote:i know this thread is a little old but i only just found it . the waterwheel does very well in britain and is a native (or was). it grows on 5 continents and is very adaptable. the only problem i find with cultivation is algae kills it

Aldrovanda is not an esy plant to grow, far from that. For more informations have a look at:

www.bestcarnivorousplants.com/aldrovanda/

Alexander