What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

S. purpurea in california?

  • #41
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Treaqum @ May 31 2005,11:18)]Hey everyone you should all go out and get some Kudzu and plant it in your yard for summer.  Then in fall we can have this discussion again.  I beleve many people will agree that non-natives are sometimes extremely bad.  Oh BTW I would recommend you be prepared fro a tree or two falling or dieing from lack of light.
Oh, can I get some of that, Tre?  I'll trade you for a snakehead fish from the Delaware river!
smile_n_32.gif


OK, Tre--very, very good point!
 
  • #42
For every Kudzu, however, there are hundreds of less invasive and harmful non-native species. Just looking out my window I see scores of trees and plants that are decidedly non-native. I'd venture that virtually every suburb is largely populated by non-native plants. And with international shipping and travel, the introduction of non-native species of animals and plants in inevitable.

So, it is my opinion that we need to seperate the issues of harmful and not-so-harmful introductions of non-native species to the ecosystem. From what I can tell out west here, the introduction of kentucky bluegrass has not caused any sort of environmental ruin (except for the obscenely large watering requirements) while many areas are overrun with invasive, highly flamable, and messy eucolyptus forests.

Closer to the actual topic, can it be said that the introduction of S. purpurea poses an actual threat to any other species? Does it grow in sufficient density to crowd out D. californica? Would D. capensis really crowd out native D. rotundifolia? I suspect, but cannot back up in any way, that S. purpurea could safely grow alongside native species in California bogs.

Capslock
 
  • #43
Any plant that we introduce has the potential to be harmful. In it's native range Kudzu does not wipe everything out. In it's native range S. purpurea is common in approprate areas. Unfortuantly S. purpurea was introduced to English bogs. We could even go so far as to call it the Kudzu of English bogs. This would obviously have a lasting noticable effect upon those bogs. U. inflata is the Kudzu of Wahington State lakes. So will S. purpurea become the Kudzu of California? It has not up till now. but does that really mean anything yet? Will more time be needed? I think so. I beleve it was S. rubra ssp. gulfensis (forrect me if I am wrong) that was introduced into the NJ pine Barrens. After suffecient time had passed it had hybridized with teh Native S. purpurea as well as staying "pure". It just so happened that in these localized areas (so far, no one knows how far it has spread yet) the "pure" plants and the hyrbids out compeated S. purpurea. These non-natives used time and their supeior spreading ability to take over the area from the dominance of S. purpurea. Will this happen in California? What happens if the Darlingtonia bogs have some other CP introduced? I don't know and I don't want to find out.
 
  • #44
Capslock I doubt D. capensis would because of certain factors but perhaps D. filiformis which is more suited to that area could
 
  • #45
Is that really true that S. purpurea has taken over many UK bogs? I just don't really think of CPs as being capable of that sort of domination. Hmm. Ya learn something every day. Do they actually displace native species?

Speaking of which, this season I've really gotten an appreciation for the reproductive ability of pygmy drosera. I'm finding little specimens in pots that are a LONG way away from any pygmy pots. Something must have shot some gemmae some long distances.

Incidentally, why wouldn't D. capensis take over? I grow them very successfully outdoors here in California, and one flower stalk could pretty much cause my whole collection to be overridden.

Capslock
 
  • #46
Wow, didn't know this thread existed. I am quite shocked. I will offer this written by Dr Seuss and then I will say no more in this thread-

Final Warning of the Lorax
"I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues." When the land of the Lorax was so stripped of resources and broken that he and all it's inhabitants had to leave, "all that the Lorax left here in this mess was a small pile of rock with the one word...Unless....Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not".
 
  • #47
Well perhaps it would. I obviouly don't live in your great state, yet. I know here the D. capensis outside dies off to its roots before it gets a chance to flower.
 
Back
Top