Characteristics of the plant, recommendations for home cultivation of cephalotus, breeding rules, possible difficulties in the cultivation process, facts for the curious. Cephalotus, or as it is often called Cephalot, belongs to the genus of herbaceous flora, which are insectivorous plants and belongs to the Cephalotaceae family. In this genus, there is only one specimen, which bears the name Cephalotus follicularis, whose native lands are in the western regions of the Australian continent. Moreover, the plant is endemic to these places, that is, it is impossible to find it anywhere else in natural conditions. There, cephalotus prefers to settle on the damp banks of the waterways that flow in large numbers between the towns of Perth and Albany. Cephalotus has much in common with members of the Saxifragaceae family.
The plant bears its name due to the fusion of Greek words that mean "kefali" - "head" and "otos" translated as "ear". This, apparently, was the description of the anther heads of the plant by the ancients. And according to another version, "kephalotos" means "two-headed", which indicates the shape of the stamen threads, and "wrap" is translated from Latin as "small bag" - well, this, in all likelihood, became a description of the shape of the jugs-leaves of the plant.
The cephalot has an underground rhizome, which keeps the plant on the surface of the substrate, but not only does it provide nutrients to this "green predator". Under natural conditions, cephalotus successfully feeds on insects that fall into the trap of their leaf jugs. But not all leaves of this plant are the same, they are divided into two types. The first ones are flat and their development occurs in the autumn period, the second ones are in the form of jugs, which begin their growth in the spring time and by the summer they fully reach their mature appearance. It is from the first leaves that flat leaf rosettes are collected, covering the banks of rivers and streams, and the jugs are located on top. This is provided by nature so that in the summer months, when there are a large number of insects nearby, cephalotus can receive more nutrients from their "victims", which are tempted by the aroma of nectar.
Trap leaves in their appearance resemble an egg-shaped container, which can reach 0.5-3 cm in height. The color of the jug can be either green or crimson - it directly depends on the degree of illumination (in the shade, the leaves are dark green). When the trap is still very young, it is covered from above with a protrusion, like a "lid", and on the edge there is a colorful rim with an interesting relief. It is these leaves of the cephalot that attract insects. They are located at an angle of 90 degrees to the stem and have a structure reminiscent of many carnivorous plants. Along the entire length of the jug, there are three plump ridges, the surface of which is covered with multiple long bristles.
If it was possible to cut such a trap leaf, then one could see in its upper part a whitish-green collar resembling a cornice that hangs over the belly. Throughout the inside of the leaf jug, sharp thorny growths grow, which become an obstacle in the path of an insect that has fallen into a trap, and do not allow it to get out.
The mouth in a jug has a slippery surface, which is provided by both the structure of the cells and the digestive secretion secreted with the help of the glands. The lid in the trap leaf also plays an important role, since it has peculiar cells that do not have any pigment at all. And when the insect fell into the pitcher trap, the lid seems transparent from the inside, through it you can even see the sky. The insect rushes up and begins to beat against this obstacle, eventually loses its strength and falls to the bottom of the leaf. Even then, enzymes and bacteria living in the jug leaf enter the course, which take an active part in the process of digesting the prey. Under their influence, only the chitinous shell of the shell remains from the insect.
When cephalotus blooms, a long flowering stem is formed, which is crowned with small and inconspicuous flowers with whitish petals of both sexes. From the buds, inflorescences are collected, in which there are from three to eight flowers. After pollination occurs, the fruit ripens on the cephalote, which is a multileaf. Such a fruit looks like a polysperm, in which the pericarp has a dry and leathery surface. Usually the fruit consists of ordinary leaflets, connected in the central part, and when fully ripe, they are opened along the abdominal suture. In the same place, along the ventral suture, there are multiple seeds.
Recommendations for home cultivation of cephalotus
- Lighting and location. The plant can be grown in a variety of lighting conditions. The conditions of detention directly affect the appearance of the cephalott. So in the shade, jug leaves have a rich herbaceous or green color and their sizes become larger, and in the bright sun they take on a purple or burgundy color.
- Content temperature. For cephalotus, room temperatures are suitable, that is, a range of 20-25 degrees. At the same time, it is important to maintain the indicators in such a way that they drop slightly at night. In the winter months, the plant has a short dormant period, and at this time it is better to lower the thermometer column to 3–6 units.
- Air humidity when growing cyphaloth, it is maintained high - at least 60–70%. You can put household steam generators and humidifiers next to the pot, or install a flowerpot in a deep tray, on the bottom of which expanded clay or pebbles are placed and a little water is poured. In this case, you need to ensure that the bottom of the container does not reach the liquid, otherwise rotting of the root system is possible. It is best to grow the plant in a florarium or aquarium, where constant high humidity can be created.
- Watering. Since the plant in nature settles on the damp banks of rivers, streams and swamps, the soil in the pot should always be moderately moist. It is impossible to bring the substrate to acidification, but drought is also harmful to the cephalott. Since in the winter period a kind of dormancy occurs in cephalotus, watering is reduced, and the soil is kept only slightly moist, it must be protected from drying out. For this plant, not only a verified irrigation regime is important, but water quality. It should not be hard and cold, otherwise the "green predator" will start to rot inside the pot. Distilled or bottled water is used. At the same time, it is important in the process of moisturizing that drops do not fall on the leaves, therefore it is better to use "bottom watering". In this case, the pot with the plant is placed in a basin of water, after 10-15 minutes it is pulled out and the water is allowed to drain.
- Fertilizers for cephalotus, it is not recommended to introduce, since this representative of the flora may die from fertilizing.
- Transfer and selection of soil. Since the cephalott has an extensive root system, it will have to be transplanted annually in the spring. The use of large pots is recommended. The plant should be carefully removed from the container, since its roots are fragile and move without destroying the earthen coma into a new pot. At the bottom of such a flowerpot, it is necessary to lay a layer of drainage material of 3-4 cm. The soil for the cephalott should have looseness and acidity parameters around pH 6. You can use a mixture of peat with chopped sphagnum moss, to which a small amount of crushed charcoal and sterile sand is added. The plant will feel most comfortable on poor substrates.
- General recommendations for care. It is extremely difficult to achieve flowering with indoor care of this "green predator" and competent care will be a guarantee. After the flowers wither, it is recommended to cut the flowering stem to the base.
Breeding rules for cephalotus at home
To get a new carnivorous plant at home, you need to sow seeds, root cuttings, or divide overgrown sockets.
The last method is considered to be the simplest. It is performed when a plant is transplanted. The cephalott is carefully removed from the pot and using a sharp garden tool (you can take a kitchen knife, but disinfected and well sharpened), the root system is divided into parts. At the same time, they try to ensure that the cuttings are not too small and have a sufficient number of roots, growth points on the stems and leaves. Then each part of the cephalotus is planted in pre-prepared pots, at the bottom of which a drainage layer is laid and suitable soil is poured. At first, the plants do not moisturize too much and are placed in a shaded place in a mini-greenhouse until they take root and undergo adaptation. Such a greenhouse can be a plastic bag that covers sheet sockets. The rooting temperature of young cephalotuses is maintained at room temperature.
The second method that growers manage without problems is grafting. It is recommended to choose cuttings of medium maturity in spring, as too young or old will not work. The stalk must be cut with a part of the stem and all interfering leaf plates must be removed at the bottom of it. The handle can contain both flat leaves and formed pitchers-traps. It has been noticed that cuttings with jug-leaves take root best of all. Excess leaves that are near the cut are recommended to be removed with tweezers.
The planting of the cuttings is carried out in a peat-sandy substrate, taken in a ratio of 50:50. The workpiece is not immersed too much in the ground. This is necessary so that in the root zone the formation of young leafy rosettes and sprouts occurs directly from the ground, and not wait for the sleeping buds on the stem to wake up. Leaf and stem cuttings taken from Saintpaulias take root in the same way. In this case, the maximum smoothness of the cut plays an important role, which should be done with a very sharp instrument.
After the cutting is planted in the ground, it is recommended to support it so that it does not move. To do this, you can plant the workpieces next to the wall of the pot, on which they will rest, or use toothpicks, to which the cuttings are attached. When caring for rooting cuttings, it is necessary to create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse by covering the pot with them with a plastic bag or placing it under a glass cover. At the same time, the humidity indicators should be high, and the temperature should be about 25 degrees. The lighting in which the container with young cephalots is located should be bright, but diffused. It is important to periodically ventilate and if the substrate begins to dry out, then it is sprayed from a spray bottle. It is also important here not to bring the soil to the bay.
After a month, young shoots usually begin to appear on the cuttings, and after a period of 9 months, jug leaves are formed, which are located on young leaf rosettes composed of flat leaves.
For seed propagation, it is required to have freshly harvested material, since it quickly loses its germination properties and this method is almost never used in indoor floriculture.
Possible difficulties in caring for cephalotus
Often, all problems in growing a cephalott are associated with a violation of the conditions of detention. The biggest nuisance arises from the fact that the owner, trying to reproduce the natural conditions, begins to moisten the soil too much, but in the natural substrate, excess moisture easily seeps through the loose and porous layer. In the pot, moisture can stagnate and lead to the onset of putrefactive processes that affect the root system of the plant - they call it root rot. Such a disease brings the cephalottus to death quickly. The worst thing is that the symptoms of root rot do not appear immediately, development is gradual and when the owner already notices the problem, this indicates the last stage, when the death of cephalotus is inevitable.
Therefore, the most important thing is to select a suitable substrate and have a good drainage layer in the pot. You should also carefully adjust the irrigation regime and during this process, try to prevent moisture drops from falling on the leaves of the “green predator”. If the substrate becomes waterlogged, especially when kept cool in the winter months, then the root system also begins to rot.
It is clear that this representative of the flora should not be afraid of harmful insects at all, since they can turn from “attackers” into “victims”. But occasionally you can see the appearance of aphids. To combat it, spraying with insecticidal preparations is used.
Facts for the curious about cephalotus, photos
For the first time, a complete description of the cephalotus was presented in 1801, and was carried out by a botanist with Scottish roots - Robest Brown (1773-1858). All this became possible because this scientist was recommended as an onboard naturalist and physician for the voyage in 1798 on the Investigator by Joseph Banks, who was then President of the British Royal Society of Science. This ship was sent to explore new territories of the Australian continent. It was this expedition that enabled Brown to bring up to 4,000 specimens of the flora of those places. Among them was the cephalott, which was first discovered in the humid coastal zone, which is located east of the city of Albany and lies between the cities of Donnelly River and Cheney Beach.
However, not only this scientist can be given primacy in the study of cephalotus. It is believed that this representative of the flora became a separate genus thanks to another botanist, Jacques Julien Gutton de Labillardier (1755-1824), who also described the plant. But under natural conditions, the famous scientist could not observe this "green predator" and used specimens for research brought by the 3rd expedition to the Australian continent. These plants were provided to Labillardier by the botanist-traveler - Jean Baptiste Louis Theodore Leschenko de la Tour (1773-1826). Considering the foliage of Cephalotus, Labillardier at first confused it with rose hips and ranked the cephalot in the Rosales family.
It was only in the 1820s that this erroneous opinion was abolished, since Robert Brown was able to obtain and better research the new imported samples of the carnivorous plant, which were provided to him by the researcher William Baxter. It was then that Brown decided that this sample of the form has the right to be separated into a separate genus, where it remains one and only.
Curiously, according to some studies, Cephalotus is one of the oldest plants on the planet. And not for all representatives of flora and fauna, he is a predator - some types of small algae feel great, settling in jugs-leaflets of cephalotus, and there are also species of insects for which leaf-traps become "home" and they do not need to be afraid of the digestive juice of this plants. For example, Badisis larvae develop well inside such jugs and are not found anywhere else in the world.
