Gemmae Vacuum

Pygmy sundews have a rather unique ability to clone themselves.  The tiny plants produce greatly modified leaves called gemmae at the start of their growing season, or sometimes when they feel like it.  The gemmae are plate-like or scale-like compared to the normal carivorous leaves; each one with a tiny, embryonic plant attached.  When the growing season is about to start, they grow in clusters, right in the center of the plant.

The gemmae can be use to produce more plants.  Developing quickly, each one has the potential to become a flowering size plant within a year.  But collecting the delicate structures can be troublesome.  Gemmae are small and easy to drop, they end up stuck on the leaves or lost--that is without the right tool:  The Gemmae Vacuum

The vacuum consists of a teabag, a spice shaker and some stiff tubing:

Make sure the end collecting the gemmae feeds into the teabag.  The stiff tubing is rigid enough to knock the gemmae off without much trouble.  As they come loose, pull on the other tube with your breath and the gemmae will get sucked right into the bag.  When finished collecting a variety, just pop the vacuum open to retrieve the bag.

Here's a plant after being vacuumed.  In the center are new carnivorous leaves just starting to grow.