Post by meizzwang on May 29, 2018 16:39:28 GMT -5
Historically, several populations of Sarracenia oreophila existed in Georgia but today, only one population remains by the side of a man-made lake. Sadly, story has it, when S. oreophila was declared an endangered species in the early 70's, farmers quietly plowed their populations in fears that the enforcers would come in and restrict their land use. As an aside, there's also another infamous story of a nurseryman in New York digging up an entire population of S. oreophilas, effectively wiping it out from that site several decades ago. This was before horticulturalists understood how to grow this species, so needless to say, there's no reports of any of those plants surviving in cultivation.
Long story short, S. oreophila has had a rough history with mankind, but the biggest force that has likely caused this species to become as endangered as it is today was due to man changing the landscape. We didn't let fires burn, so open fields turned into forests. Some valleys were turned into lakes, so those bogs were quickly destroyed. We changed the water tables, introduced invasive species, and drastically changed the ecology of the landscape. In one remaining preserve in the "Sand Mountain" region (ie. the place where incredible oreophila var. ornatas were discovered), the entire property is surrounded by corn fields, which is uphill so every time it rains, an incredible amount of fertilizer runoff drains into the protected site. This means incredibly vigorous shrubs and grasses can easily choke out the remaining population if it's not managed properly. The way things are today, if you're an S. oreophila population, without the help of mankind managing your environment (ie. frequent controlled burns), your habitat will turn into a forest in a matter of a few years! Everything in the Southeast grows very fast due to subtropical temperatures and ample rain.
A few sites of S. oreophila in the wild remain because:
1) they're growing in bogs or seeps by the side of rivers, lakes or streams, which naturally keep the landscape open and allows the populations to persist. In addition, some of these sites are managed with burns.
2) humans are basically "gardening" in the wild (ie. constantly removing shrubs/trees, burning the site, professionals are growing seeds ex-situ and then re-introducing them, etc).
So why is S. oreophila so much more endangered than say S. flava? While both species are in deep doo-doo, S. oreophila (generally speaking, with some exceptions) grows in a mountainous terrain with lots of forest surrounding the area. It seems the mountain terrain offers less habitable terrain to colonize compared to large scale savannas. It also seems like the mountain terrain turns into a thick forest much quicker than say a gigantic field that constantly burns, but that might be more man related than anything. It's also notable that S. flava occurs in horticultural zone 8, whereas S. oreophilas grow in zone 7 (basically, it gets colder in oreophila Country).
Back to the Georgia population: That single population, which is relatively close to the North Carolina population, represents genetics that are very different from the Alabama populations. One key feature is that the phyllodia, instead of being curved, are relatively straight! Another interesting feature is that the pitchers from the Towns Co, GA and Clay Co, NC can become incredibly colorful during late summer/early fall! This color change can also be found in the Alabama populations, but the reddest plants I've ever seen come from the Towns Co, GA.
And now, here are some photos of S. oreophila from Towns Co, GA! Photos taken 5/29/18:
Throat is starting to turn red on this clone:
Beautiful venation:
Some of these can really color up as the traps age. Right now, they're not as colorful, it seems you have to wait until late summer or early fall to get the best colors:
Overview of the population. Based on their slow growth rate, I surmise these plants might be a bit inbred, but I'm seeing some diversity in phenotypes, so hopefully seeds can be produced. If it turns out these genetics are too bottle-necked, I may end up crossing some with the Clay Co, NC just to maintain the genetics long term. Long term, thesis no other source of genetically diverse material left in the world to sustain a new population. For the long run, I intend on cloning these and getting them into other collections within California. The hope is, if you have several people housing this population, if one of us gets aced out, at least someone else has it and can carry on this burden, LOL
Long story short, S. oreophila has had a rough history with mankind, but the biggest force that has likely caused this species to become as endangered as it is today was due to man changing the landscape. We didn't let fires burn, so open fields turned into forests. Some valleys were turned into lakes, so those bogs were quickly destroyed. We changed the water tables, introduced invasive species, and drastically changed the ecology of the landscape. In one remaining preserve in the "Sand Mountain" region (ie. the place where incredible oreophila var. ornatas were discovered), the entire property is surrounded by corn fields, which is uphill so every time it rains, an incredible amount of fertilizer runoff drains into the protected site. This means incredibly vigorous shrubs and grasses can easily choke out the remaining population if it's not managed properly. The way things are today, if you're an S. oreophila population, without the help of mankind managing your environment (ie. frequent controlled burns), your habitat will turn into a forest in a matter of a few years! Everything in the Southeast grows very fast due to subtropical temperatures and ample rain.
A few sites of S. oreophila in the wild remain because:
1) they're growing in bogs or seeps by the side of rivers, lakes or streams, which naturally keep the landscape open and allows the populations to persist. In addition, some of these sites are managed with burns.
2) humans are basically "gardening" in the wild (ie. constantly removing shrubs/trees, burning the site, professionals are growing seeds ex-situ and then re-introducing them, etc).
So why is S. oreophila so much more endangered than say S. flava? While both species are in deep doo-doo, S. oreophila (generally speaking, with some exceptions) grows in a mountainous terrain with lots of forest surrounding the area. It seems the mountain terrain offers less habitable terrain to colonize compared to large scale savannas. It also seems like the mountain terrain turns into a thick forest much quicker than say a gigantic field that constantly burns, but that might be more man related than anything. It's also notable that S. flava occurs in horticultural zone 8, whereas S. oreophilas grow in zone 7 (basically, it gets colder in oreophila Country).
Back to the Georgia population: That single population, which is relatively close to the North Carolina population, represents genetics that are very different from the Alabama populations. One key feature is that the phyllodia, instead of being curved, are relatively straight! Another interesting feature is that the pitchers from the Towns Co, GA and Clay Co, NC can become incredibly colorful during late summer/early fall! This color change can also be found in the Alabama populations, but the reddest plants I've ever seen come from the Towns Co, GA.
And now, here are some photos of S. oreophila from Towns Co, GA! Photos taken 5/29/18:
Throat is starting to turn red on this clone:
Beautiful venation:
Some of these can really color up as the traps age. Right now, they're not as colorful, it seems you have to wait until late summer or early fall to get the best colors:
Overview of the population. Based on their slow growth rate, I surmise these plants might be a bit inbred, but I'm seeing some diversity in phenotypes, so hopefully seeds can be produced. If it turns out these genetics are too bottle-necked, I may end up crossing some with the Clay Co, NC just to maintain the genetics long term. Long term, thesis no other source of genetically diverse material left in the world to sustain a new population. For the long run, I intend on cloning these and getting them into other collections within California. The hope is, if you have several people housing this population, if one of us gets aced out, at least someone else has it and can carry on this burden, LOL