What are 'La Brea' tarflowers?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
April (Fool's Day) 1, 2003
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The tarflower (Bejaria racemosa Ventenat) is native to the pine flatwoods and scrub habitats of the southeastern U.S. These odd shrubs are members of the Ericaceae, the family of azaleas and blueberries. There are fifteen known species scattered from Florida to Cuba, Mexico, and northern South America.
The tarflower is white or pale pink and may have six or seven petals and twelve or fourteen stamens. The common name refers to the tacky resin found on the outer surface of the petals. Citing a study by Eisner and Aneshansley (1984), a New York Botanical Garden article states, "One of the more interesting uses of Bejaria is as flypaper. Apparently flies are attracted to flowers of B. racemosa...where they become stuck upon the viscous parts.
The resin on B. racemosa flowers has the same adhesive strength as commercially available glues for trapping insects."
As a natural alternative to commercial insect traps, the tarflower is currently under testing at various large production greenhouses in Florida. It is hoped that the flowers will also trap pest insects like fungus gnats and whiteflies along with houseflies, known disease-carriers.
Large scale use of Bejaria racemosa as a flypaper has a number of flaws which must be overcome. The flowers are only in bloom for a short period of time in the spring and it is uncertain if the plants will be useful for more than common houseflies.
Already, horticulturalists with the Experimental Plant Science Station in Old Keester Key, Florida have doubled the chromosome complement with the use of colchicine. The tetraploid variety, tentatively named the 'La Brea' tarflower, has larger flowers and a stronger resin. Bloom time was also extended by almost two weeks.
The Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida has numerous photographs of Bejaria racemosa. To view the photographs, click on the link:
http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/images.asp?plantID=2335
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images. Note that some of the flowers have six petals and some have seven.
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