FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey,
I was just kind of curious about the shape of heliamphoras, particularly H. minor. Ive always noticed in pictures (usually ones that show more mature plants) they generally have wide pitchers and a bit of a mix of more cone shape ones. And theres ones that have a really extravagant nectar spoon and a more defined 'hooded' shape to them. Then with the younger plants you generally see a lot of really thin pitcher that have a more vertical opening. From what ive gathered theres 3 main shapes but i have no idea what determines the shape and whether they transform into one another, etc. Does anyone whos had experience with heliamphora know? I take it theres a bit of variation with the genetics/environments conditions as well...

Maybe it goes through stages like us infints, childhood and adults.IDK i based my theroy on the three pictures you have

yea let your Heli. grow more so you can see these

Nice pictures
Heliamphora's are awesome!!!!!

Not every plant of a certain species will have exactly the same pitcher shape. There will always be variation between plants.
Like Sarracinea's, Heliamphora's have seedlig pitchers. the third photo is an example of these seedling pitchers with adult pitchers just starting to form.
Environmental fators also have a big impact on the way plants form. Heliamphoras in particular need very high levels of light to form proper necter spoons and vivid colouring. Lack of water can also cause the plants to be dwarfed. There are some pictures in Stewart Mcfersons book, Pitcher Plants of the Americas, of some tiny flowering H. minor plants, dwarfed by the lack of water.
I hope this helps answer your questions, Pat.

Thanks Pat