The musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) is an Arctic mammal of the family Bovidae, noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted during the seasonal rut by males, from which its name derives. This musky odor is used to attract females during mating season. Its Inuktitut name “umingmak” translates to “the bearded one”. Muskoxen primarily live in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland, with small introduced populations in Sweden, Siberia, Norway, and Alaska.
OKAY WAIT I WANNA TALK ABOUT THESE AMAZING BABS FOR A HOT SECOND
okay so like. for a long time, this species was like, IMPOSSIBLE to grow in captivity. this is a REALLY important step in the protection of exotic plants like villosa, because as soon as the plant can be grown and bred in captivity, its value goes down on the black market, meaning that poachers are less likely to damage the natural populations. with nepenthes (asian carnivorous pitcher plants) like the babs here, this is even more important because 1. these plants have male and female individuals, so if too many of one sex is taken a population can become inbred very easily and 2. these plants are HIGHLY spectated to the point where one species might be native to like, ONE ridge on ONE mountain and NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. which brings us to these especially toothy babs.
heres the challenge: Villosa is a highland pitcher plant, meaning that it grows in mountains, in the cold. and this species grows in unusually cold temperatures. so like, it’ll only grow in conditions that are between 75-80 degrees F during the day and between 40-50 degrees F at night– this is because Villosa is native only to two mountains in Borneo at and elevation of 3,200 meters.oh, and they also have very specific feeding, light, and humidity requirements, so add that to the list. it also just so happens to be one of the most valued and sought after pitcher plans in the world for its beauty (general market prices today range around $100-$150 based on the plant’s size and the seller).
so like, yeah. rare plant. hard to grow. habitat is at high risk for damage by poaching because of demand.
and then in 2003, the International Carnivorous Plant Society publishes a paper in it’s newsletter. It’s written by a horticulturalist named Jeff Shafer. He figured out how to grow Villosa in cultivation.
he put it in a chest freezer.
behold, the amazing and exotic high tech technique that has been used widely since 2003 for growing villosa and it’s relatives by professionals, nurseries, and hobbyists alike: buying and repurposing a straight up chest freezer by rigging it with fans, lights, control panels, and misting systems. nowadays, some people even go farther. the species is still listed as vulnerable under the IUCN, but it’s been doing well in cultivation ever since!
(you can read Shafer’s paper on it here. he describes all the exact conditions that the plant lives at and how he pulled it off lol)
Plume de Lynx 