Byblis liniflora Flowers - Pollination

Byblis liniflora Pollination & Seed Collecting

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Pollinating Byblis liniflora Flowers

Byblis liniflora flowers are very small, 1/4" - 1/2" at most across. Byblis flowers will open for a few hours each day, over the course of a fwe days. The flowers generally open mid morning and close early in the afternoon, only staying open for 3 or 4 hours. Your exact environment will dictate how long and often they are open. Bright indirect sunlight is dest during this time. Be careful not to warm them too much though, temps over 90 can upset, even kill, Byblis.
Byblis liniflora can produce flowers at the tip of any of its leaves. It tends to flower prolifically once started.

The stigma is about the same size as the head of a stick pin.
Click pic for bigger pic and labeling/diagram. Byblis flowers can self seed but helping them along is best to ensure pollination. It generally takes time for the pollen to ripen, often after the flower closes for the last time. So the best way to get the ripe pollen into the stigma is to vibrate the flower. This can be accomplished with tunning forks or anything that has some vibration of that nature. Personally, I use my forceps. I bang them on something and then gently touch a closed flower to vibrate it around. Do this after it has closed for the last time, I do it once a day for three days just to make sure. Take care not to damage the plant. Seed set without the vibration will be iffy at best. That has been my experience anyway. I average about 80% with the vibration on byblis flowers.

When to Remove the Flower

Allow the flowers to remain on Byblis for several days, if not weeks. If the pollen managed to make it to the stigma the ovaries will swell. Fortunately it is very easy to notice this. The swelling generally starts a couple days after pollination. The ovaries on this one have gotten about as large as their going to. Click the flower pic above for the larger detailed view to see what ovaries look like to start with. The ovaries are also called the "seed pod".

You want the byblis seed pods (ovaries) to remain on the plant until they start to dry. The leaf holding the flower is usually dead by the time the pod is ready to be removed. Once the pod has turned brown and started to dry you can cut it free with sharp scissors. Place the seed pod in a small bag or container to allow further drying. You don't want to put them in a sealed container though, unless its paper.

Check on the pods every couple days. Eventually the seed pods will dry enough to start to shrivel and crack, exposing the seeds. You can open it at this time to collect the seed or wait a few more days and they will easily fall out. Byblis liniflora seed are almost as big as flytrap seeds so keeping track of them is fairly easy. You should still work over a white dinner plate to prevent loss.
Click for bigger pic

Byblis are very delicate plants. BE CAREFULL COLLECTING THE FLOWERS. Just cut the seed pod free, leave the rest of the leaf. You can take an 1/8" to a 1/4" of leaf off with the pod to use as a "handle", best to leave the rest intact though.

You can sow the seeds over any peat based media immediately. Or you can store them dry in the fridge for many years (wrap in foil/place in envelope/seal in ziplock/place in fridge). Sow them on the container they are going to grow in, transplanting usually leads to death. Optionally, you can remove them as soon as they germinate to place in separate containers. This needs to be done before the roots have penetrated the media and its still dangerous.

As with most Australian plants, Byblis likes to be on the cooler side (50° - 80°F) and damp all the time but not wet. Do not re-pot and even moving should be done with utmost care if at all. Protect from wind. These are stunning plants when grown in groups.

Byblis gigantea seeds need special treatment before sowing!

Byblis gigantea seeds need smoked before they will germinate.