Carnivores of the Carolina Coast
Sept 9, 2018 12:05:01 GMT -5
meizzwang, stevebooth, and 10 more like this
Post by acalvin on Sept 9, 2018 12:05:01 GMT -5
Seeing Dionaea in the wild is the mecca for carnivorous plant enthusiasts. I had the opportunity to visit in November 2014 when a friend who lived in the area gave me a tour. At the first sunlight, we headed to a spot known for its abundant S. flava. All around were millions of flavas, but almost all were dormant! Luckily, there were a few photogenic pitchers glowing in the low autumn sun. Any doubt why they're called yellow trumpets?
Fall is my favorite time to see Sarracenia in the wild. While not thier active growing season, the remaining pitchers you see are guaranteed tp be amazingly colorful. That morning was also below freezing, and some x catesbii had some ice in the pitchers!
The purpurea at this site were everywhere and were deep red.
After the flava site, we went to a few areas with Dionaea. The red jaws peaking between the dead grasses were my first glimpse of them in the wild. Can you fing the D. capillaris in the photo? I've come to think of that species as the Waldo of the carnivorous plant world.
The purpureas at this site had very contrasting veins.
My favorite Dionaea population lived in a clump of pink Sphagnum moss.
This is the only spot rubras were common. Their pitchers held up nicely, as did a x chelsonii
There were some unphotogenic flavas here and there, but also more x catesbii
The density of carnivorous plants in this small area was amazing. Even though it wasn't the growing season, there was so much to see.
P. pumila
P. caerulea
There was something off about the forest though. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on until I looked through the pictures a few times. There were no palmettos! I was used to seeing bogs in South GA and the Florida Panhandle filled with palmetto shrubs. Here, the forest was completely open. The eerie quiet on this unusually cold day only added to the effect.
We visited another ``mutant'' site that had some mean looking fused tooths with a nasty underbite.
The final site had a giant clump with some massive traps.
I'm still amazed at the deep blue of the bog gentians.
Fall is my favorite time to see Sarracenia in the wild. While not thier active growing season, the remaining pitchers you see are guaranteed tp be amazingly colorful. That morning was also below freezing, and some x catesbii had some ice in the pitchers!
The purpurea at this site were everywhere and were deep red.
After the flava site, we went to a few areas with Dionaea. The red jaws peaking between the dead grasses were my first glimpse of them in the wild. Can you fing the D. capillaris in the photo? I've come to think of that species as the Waldo of the carnivorous plant world.
The purpureas at this site had very contrasting veins.
My favorite Dionaea population lived in a clump of pink Sphagnum moss.
This is the only spot rubras were common. Their pitchers held up nicely, as did a x chelsonii
There were some unphotogenic flavas here and there, but also more x catesbii
The density of carnivorous plants in this small area was amazing. Even though it wasn't the growing season, there was so much to see.
P. pumila
P. caerulea
There was something off about the forest though. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on until I looked through the pictures a few times. There were no palmettos! I was used to seeing bogs in South GA and the Florida Panhandle filled with palmetto shrubs. Here, the forest was completely open. The eerie quiet on this unusually cold day only added to the effect.
We visited another ``mutant'' site that had some mean looking fused tooths with a nasty underbite.
The final site had a giant clump with some massive traps.
I'm still amazed at the deep blue of the bog gentians.