S. leucophylla in the wild, Covington Co, AL
Sept 18, 2013 0:38:39 GMT -5
rmeyer, alexintx, and 1 more like this
Post by meizzwang on Sept 18, 2013 0:38:39 GMT -5
The population of S. leucophylla from Covington Co, AL is rather amazing! There are deep red plants, bright white ones, and all sorts of different shapes and sizes. My favorite is the reddish plant with the blinding white tops...hard to beat that!
This population seems to have been a lot bigger many years back, but again, I think it was hit by the prolonged drought we had two years ago, which really wiped out many plants. This site is very similar to Bob Hanrahan's property in the sense that it is a large open field that's on a gentle slope. At the top of the "hill" water seeps from below and keeps the area moist but not very water-logged. There's a "creek" that runs near the middle of the bog, and in this creek is a row of S. leucophyllas and many other native plants. It's really thick with vegetation in this very moist creek bed, so I didn't venture into it (snakes commonly hang out in thick brush). Speaking of snakes, we did find a dead one at this site, and it was pretty big! The site looks like it was burned at least a year ago, but it was starting to get pretty thick, and when you can't see your feet, it's a bit nerve wrecking, especially after knowing poisonous snakes are around there.
Unfortunately, all around this site, there are farms and slash pine plantations. In fact, the adjacent parcel is a thick pine plantation. This location seems to be protected and managed by the forest service, so it will likely last in the long run. It's also seems large enough where to the point that the watershed can't be messed with. I did see seedlings here and there, which indicates the population is healthy and expanding. AS long as this site continues to be burned, it will stay healthy.
Overview of the habitat shot. I was standing near the "top" of the hill in this photo, which is a forest of native pines. All photos taken 9/9/13:
Some baby, native long leaf pines growing in the field:
Here's Axel Bostrom with a fairly large, bright white S. leucophylla:
A close up of the same plant:
A slightly red clone:
Some more stunning red plants:
Another shot of the same clump:
The highly coveted S. leucophylla hybrid that has some S. flava var. rugelii in it's genes. I just love these types of hybrids!
Closer shot of the same plant:
Sometimes I start wondering if Hurricane creek white is all that, but upon close comparisons, HCW is much brighter white:
Notice there are veins on the outside of this S. leucophylla var. alba. The best HCW clones under optimal conditions do not have this venation. However, I wonder if the plant below doesn't have veins on the outside under different environmental conditions?
Look at the shape on this one!!!
Some more S. leucophylla var. albas growing in the shrubs:
Wish I could have seen this one open:
A nice healthy clump. This seems to be all one clone:
There were so many S. leucophylla var. albas here:
More photos to come!
This population seems to have been a lot bigger many years back, but again, I think it was hit by the prolonged drought we had two years ago, which really wiped out many plants. This site is very similar to Bob Hanrahan's property in the sense that it is a large open field that's on a gentle slope. At the top of the "hill" water seeps from below and keeps the area moist but not very water-logged. There's a "creek" that runs near the middle of the bog, and in this creek is a row of S. leucophyllas and many other native plants. It's really thick with vegetation in this very moist creek bed, so I didn't venture into it (snakes commonly hang out in thick brush). Speaking of snakes, we did find a dead one at this site, and it was pretty big! The site looks like it was burned at least a year ago, but it was starting to get pretty thick, and when you can't see your feet, it's a bit nerve wrecking, especially after knowing poisonous snakes are around there.
Unfortunately, all around this site, there are farms and slash pine plantations. In fact, the adjacent parcel is a thick pine plantation. This location seems to be protected and managed by the forest service, so it will likely last in the long run. It's also seems large enough where to the point that the watershed can't be messed with. I did see seedlings here and there, which indicates the population is healthy and expanding. AS long as this site continues to be burned, it will stay healthy.
Overview of the habitat shot. I was standing near the "top" of the hill in this photo, which is a forest of native pines. All photos taken 9/9/13:
Some baby, native long leaf pines growing in the field:
Here's Axel Bostrom with a fairly large, bright white S. leucophylla:
A close up of the same plant:
A slightly red clone:
Some more stunning red plants:
Another shot of the same clump:
The highly coveted S. leucophylla hybrid that has some S. flava var. rugelii in it's genes. I just love these types of hybrids!
Closer shot of the same plant:
Sometimes I start wondering if Hurricane creek white is all that, but upon close comparisons, HCW is much brighter white:
Notice there are veins on the outside of this S. leucophylla var. alba. The best HCW clones under optimal conditions do not have this venation. However, I wonder if the plant below doesn't have veins on the outside under different environmental conditions?
Look at the shape on this one!!!
Some more S. leucophylla var. albas growing in the shrubs:
Wish I could have seen this one open:
A nice healthy clump. This seems to be all one clone:
There were so many S. leucophylla var. albas here:
More photos to come!