S. flava var. rugelii Defuniak Springs, FL (extirpated)
Mar 27, 2017 15:00:00 GMT -5
calen, rudeko, and 8 more like this
Post by meizzwang on Mar 27, 2017 15:00:00 GMT -5
Another sad story from the past: There used to be a relatively nice sized population of S. flava var. rugelii that grew off the highway in Defuniak Springs FL. The late Bob Hanrahan got wind that it was being developed and got permission to acquire "a truckload" of plants, perhaps over 100 different clones, before the site was completely bulldozed away. I'm guessing this happened in either the late 90's or early 2000's.
Today, if you drive by the site, there's nothing left: the structure destroyed the water table, and the surrounding land has all been either bull dozed or developed. You can thank your Colonel for this site's demise: it's now a Kentucky Fried Chicken! When I saw the site in 2011 or so, the surrounding lots still seemed a bit undeveloped, but all surrounding vacant lots were altered and not a single plant could be found. Today, I imagine it's densely populated as development happens at lightning speed down in Florida!
Fortunately, there's populations of these extirpated rugelii's in cultivation that are strong and thriving! With regards to re-introductions, I hope everyone takes this very seriously: it just takes one plant to spread invasive weeds and insects which can destroy entire ecosystems! Plants that are introduced back into the wild should come from material that were either in vitro propagated or grown under strict sanitation practices and are certified disease, weed, and pest free. They should also be true to location and not mixed with other genetics unless this is necessary to keep the population alive in the long run (ie. inbreeding depression is too high).
I was told that the population in the wild was rather uniform, but after growing out many clones from this site, it appears there's a good amount of diversity to it! These plants also might be great candidates for breeding as they tend to hold green leaves throughout the winter and emerge earlier than other populations grown in identical soil, water, temperatures, etc. The only other population of S. flava var. rugelii that I'm growing that has traps emerge as early are from Georgia.
Anyways, here's S. flava var. rugelii Defuniak Springs, Walton Co, FL, photos taken 3/26/17:
More pics to come, these just opened! Note to naturenuts: the plant you got...sorry man, it looks like a maxima!!!! It's still a beast though, might even be a giant....
Today, if you drive by the site, there's nothing left: the structure destroyed the water table, and the surrounding land has all been either bull dozed or developed. You can thank your Colonel for this site's demise: it's now a Kentucky Fried Chicken! When I saw the site in 2011 or so, the surrounding lots still seemed a bit undeveloped, but all surrounding vacant lots were altered and not a single plant could be found. Today, I imagine it's densely populated as development happens at lightning speed down in Florida!
Fortunately, there's populations of these extirpated rugelii's in cultivation that are strong and thriving! With regards to re-introductions, I hope everyone takes this very seriously: it just takes one plant to spread invasive weeds and insects which can destroy entire ecosystems! Plants that are introduced back into the wild should come from material that were either in vitro propagated or grown under strict sanitation practices and are certified disease, weed, and pest free. They should also be true to location and not mixed with other genetics unless this is necessary to keep the population alive in the long run (ie. inbreeding depression is too high).
I was told that the population in the wild was rather uniform, but after growing out many clones from this site, it appears there's a good amount of diversity to it! These plants also might be great candidates for breeding as they tend to hold green leaves throughout the winter and emerge earlier than other populations grown in identical soil, water, temperatures, etc. The only other population of S. flava var. rugelii that I'm growing that has traps emerge as early are from Georgia.
Anyways, here's S. flava var. rugelii Defuniak Springs, Walton Co, FL, photos taken 3/26/17:
More pics to come, these just opened! Note to naturenuts: the plant you got...sorry man, it looks like a maxima!!!! It's still a beast though, might even be a giant....