Post by acalvin on May 29, 2022 10:10:09 GMT -5
I’ve really been getting more interested in sundews lately. They’re so easy to grow and propagate with leaf cuttings. Some are especially nice to see in the wild. This particular site stands out. The deep red leaves of D. filiformis var. floridana contrasts nicely against the white sand of this seep. The floridanas are only known to grow in the immediate area: near the karst Sandhill Lakes of Bay and Washington Counties, roughly 40 mi W of the Apalachicola River.
I visited in March just after they put up new growth. A couple of the plants snagged some large moths. Some photoediting here to isolate the subject against a black backdrop. The moth is hard to see against the pale sand!
Again, this is a disjunct population from the typical Atlantic Coast populations. They tend to be smaller and redder. The map below shows the overall species range (red) & D. tracyi (green). The scattered range suggests the species is perhaps spread by migrating waterfowl. At least in the Florida populations, it pretty much only grows around lakes that are seasonally flooded; making these sites a pain to visit. I tried visiting one other site only to find it covered with several feet of water. I hear it’s like that. They somehow sprout back up from seed or hibernacula as soon as conditions dry up. Why they grow here, but not other Sarracenia containing seepage bogs in the area? I don’t know.
This particular site is unusual in that it is further up in elevation. It is also the one hybrid site I know of. I found several D × californica plants that have an impressive orange cast. No wonder the popular cultivar is name “California Sunset.” The one “pure” D. tracyi I saw had reddish tentacles.
In fact, some D. tracyi from the nearby S. leucophylla site in Bay County also has slightly reddish tentacles. I’m told this isn’t too uncommon especially for younger leaves. But it is interesting that my Georgia plants never had this much red. I wonder if some plants in the eastern panhandle to the Apalachicola region do have D. filiformis ancestry to some extent.
While many other sites in the region are protected, this particular one is not. It is likely to see development in the coming decades. For now it looks relatively healthy despite several plants being crushed by ATVs. Even for a weekday, I saw a lot of people riding them in the area.
I visited in March just after they put up new growth. A couple of the plants snagged some large moths. Some photoediting here to isolate the subject against a black backdrop. The moth is hard to see against the pale sand!
Again, this is a disjunct population from the typical Atlantic Coast populations. They tend to be smaller and redder. The map below shows the overall species range (red) & D. tracyi (green). The scattered range suggests the species is perhaps spread by migrating waterfowl. At least in the Florida populations, it pretty much only grows around lakes that are seasonally flooded; making these sites a pain to visit. I tried visiting one other site only to find it covered with several feet of water. I hear it’s like that. They somehow sprout back up from seed or hibernacula as soon as conditions dry up. Why they grow here, but not other Sarracenia containing seepage bogs in the area? I don’t know.
This particular site is unusual in that it is further up in elevation. It is also the one hybrid site I know of. I found several D × californica plants that have an impressive orange cast. No wonder the popular cultivar is name “California Sunset.” The one “pure” D. tracyi I saw had reddish tentacles.
In fact, some D. tracyi from the nearby S. leucophylla site in Bay County also has slightly reddish tentacles. I’m told this isn’t too uncommon especially for younger leaves. But it is interesting that my Georgia plants never had this much red. I wonder if some plants in the eastern panhandle to the Apalachicola region do have D. filiformis ancestry to some extent.
While many other sites in the region are protected, this particular one is not. It is likely to see development in the coming decades. For now it looks relatively healthy despite several plants being crushed by ATVs. Even for a weekday, I saw a lot of people riding them in the area.