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Other phosphorus intolerant plants
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Posted by trish_g SE Qld Aust (My Page) on Mon, Jan 23, 06 at 22:08
Once a subject pops up, people seem to be talking about it all over the place.....
Apparently sedges (Cyperaceae)are also phosphorus intolerant, so Proteiod roots are far from being the full story. It is a particular problem, I've discovered, with Caustis blakei. This sedge is very popular for the cut-flower trade, but apparently difficult to grow. At present I understand that it is still being harvested from the bush, but with the upcoming Qld Govt ban on bush harvesting it is a matter of some urgency to learn how to grow it.
(I am also quite startled to discover that the trade has decided that this product, which looks nothing whatsoever like a fern, is more attractive to the market for having had the common name "Koala Fern" bestowed upon it! Isn't life full of remarkable things?)
I suppose the thing to learn from its phosphorus intolerance is that its natural environment is low in phosphorus, so we can therefore expect other plants from that environment to have similar needs? Locally it grows on rather poor sandstone soil.
I'm very interested to hear whether other members have any links between natural environment and phosphorus intolerance to report?
Cheers, Trish |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Other phosphorus intolerant plants
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Beware of generalisations. They are invariably wrong!
Tony |
RE: Other phosphorus intolerant plants
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| Since most Australian soils have been low in nutrients especially phosphorous, for thousands of years, most native plants have developed adaptions to flourish in those situations. So there is bound to be a great many plant families that share that intolerance. The term Proteoid is clearly specific to Proteaceae. |
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