S. leucophylla Relic Hurricane creek white Baldwin Co, AL
Oct 1, 2018 16:17:55 GMT -5
rudeko, plantman, and 5 more like this
Post by meizzwang on Oct 1, 2018 16:17:55 GMT -5
For those who don't know, to recap the story of hurricane creek white, there used to be a ginormous field of S. leucophyllas with other Sarracenia species in it as well. The majority of the leucophylla plants in this bog were the regular form, but there was also a smaller population of extremely white individuals. John Hummer collected plants and distributed seeds to Barry Rice before the site was destroyed. The seeds and plants are genetically different and were at one point the only source of authentic hurricane creek white plants.
This bog occurred on private property, and the owners decided to destroy the site and plant pines on the land. We're reforesting America right? Yeah, we are, but at the expense of irreversibly destroying native habitats and wiping unique genotypes off the face of this earth in place of non-native monoculture.
Me? Bent out of shape about it? Yes. Today, there maybe 500 to 1000 sq. ft. of an easement were some relic plants still exist. Most of them are regular leucophyllas, but a few leuco var. albas that resemble hurricane creek white still exist there to this very day.
Why are these hurricane creek white plants so signficant? From a horticultural perspective, they represent some of the best leucophylla var. albas on this planet! From a conservationist point of view, these plants can grab the attention of even the laymen with their stand out beauty and hopefully help convince the general public that we need to save these plants.
While we wait perhaps decades for that to happen (Sarracenia sites are still being destroyed as of 2018), very little genetics have been salvaged from the hurricane creek white site before it was destroyed. Once bottle-necked into the relic site, the only hope is to consistently manage the site back to health, sorta like cultivating the plants so to speak but in the wild. this includes controlled burns, population monitoring, and manually cutting out competing shrubs and trees to increase light to the site.
Unfortunately, the site today is in such decline due to non-native encroachment, habitat modification, and lack of burn. Large numbers of rhizomes still exist at the site to this very day, but they are mostly etiolated and growing in very thick brush. A few plants are pitchering up and receiving some sunlight, and there are even a few seedlings here and there, so there is still hope that this site can be revitalized.
I'd love to get together with some professionals who are into conservation and get this site back in shape! We probably need politicians to convince the landowners the value of this site. In cultivation, we don't have enough genetics to revitalize the population, but there are probably still enough plants left in the wild to salvage long term. Of course, easier said than done: horticulturalists continue to have a bad reputation with conservationists. Again, it may be decades before this dream can come to fruition.
While the time passes, we can admire what little has been brought to cultivation. Here's another signifcant genotype from the original hurricane creek white site, a relic gem that is genetically different from Hummer's original collections. Photos taken 9/23/18:
This bog occurred on private property, and the owners decided to destroy the site and plant pines on the land. We're reforesting America right? Yeah, we are, but at the expense of irreversibly destroying native habitats and wiping unique genotypes off the face of this earth in place of non-native monoculture.
Me? Bent out of shape about it? Yes. Today, there maybe 500 to 1000 sq. ft. of an easement were some relic plants still exist. Most of them are regular leucophyllas, but a few leuco var. albas that resemble hurricane creek white still exist there to this very day.
Why are these hurricane creek white plants so signficant? From a horticultural perspective, they represent some of the best leucophylla var. albas on this planet! From a conservationist point of view, these plants can grab the attention of even the laymen with their stand out beauty and hopefully help convince the general public that we need to save these plants.
While we wait perhaps decades for that to happen (Sarracenia sites are still being destroyed as of 2018), very little genetics have been salvaged from the hurricane creek white site before it was destroyed. Once bottle-necked into the relic site, the only hope is to consistently manage the site back to health, sorta like cultivating the plants so to speak but in the wild. this includes controlled burns, population monitoring, and manually cutting out competing shrubs and trees to increase light to the site.
Unfortunately, the site today is in such decline due to non-native encroachment, habitat modification, and lack of burn. Large numbers of rhizomes still exist at the site to this very day, but they are mostly etiolated and growing in very thick brush. A few plants are pitchering up and receiving some sunlight, and there are even a few seedlings here and there, so there is still hope that this site can be revitalized.
I'd love to get together with some professionals who are into conservation and get this site back in shape! We probably need politicians to convince the landowners the value of this site. In cultivation, we don't have enough genetics to revitalize the population, but there are probably still enough plants left in the wild to salvage long term. Of course, easier said than done: horticulturalists continue to have a bad reputation with conservationists. Again, it may be decades before this dream can come to fruition.
While the time passes, we can admire what little has been brought to cultivation. Here's another signifcant genotype from the original hurricane creek white site, a relic gem that is genetically different from Hummer's original collections. Photos taken 9/23/18: