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First Time with Sarrs in situ... AWESOME.

CorneliusSchrute

A leuco by any other name would still be as glutto
I have spent the last few days around Charleston, SC, and thought before my arrival that carnivorous plants would be hard to find. After some Internet digging and calls to the exceedingly helpful folks at the Francis Marion National Forest ranger's station, I located three distinct populations of S. minor and flava north of Charleston a few miles off Highway 17 North.

I was extremely happy with the outings I made. Ear to ear smiles the whole time and LOADS of pictures. This is my first time seeing carnivorous plants in the wild, and as I told my wife earlier, it will be hard for me to plan a vacation in the future that takes us no where near a CP viewing site. I can justify this, because I did learn several things about the natural growing habits of these organisms and look forward applying some of that to the culture of my own specimens. Plus it was just a helluva lot of fun.

And of course, the disclaimer: I took none of these plants home! The thought of someone poaching these plants made me sick when I was viewing them. Let's hope they'll be there when I return some time in the future to survey their growth and expansion...

So I know you want pictures, and I have a ton. Enjoy!

This was the first big clump of flava I ran across. There were big patches like this for at least one hundred square meters. Most was inaccessible, though, as it was in knee deep water. I waded in a bit for a few shots like the second one, but then I remembered snakes and gators lived there and got to dry land quickly.

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The second patch of flava had many, MANY minors mixed in. The smaller minors were hard to see from the road. I bet I drove by a bunch of them without even noticing. Both species exhibited great amounts of diversity.

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And in the next few my foot is in frame so you can see the substrate they were growing in. With the exception of two or three plants, ALL of these were submerged in water. I was surprised to see the growing crowns completely under. I don't know if this is typical for this area or if it is a result of the greater than usual rain they have experienced here around Charleston. Either way, the Sarrs loved it!

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And the size of these, you ask? The tallest of the minor were over a foot or so, while the largest flava were almost waist high or more (I am six foot, one inch tall). I was impressed!

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Finally, this shot shows the general area where the plants seemed to grow best. The woods grew more dense with underbrush both up and down the road from this location, and the pitchers ceased to grow there. It was obvious that the more deciduous trees growing in an area, the less likely Sarrs would be there.

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Hit me up with questions or comments. I have tons more photos if interested....
 
You need to come to North Carolina sometime soon with Mason and I. Seriously awesome stuff.
There's nothing quite like seeing these plants in-situ for the first time. What's even better? Finding new records.
 
You need to come to North Carolina sometime soon with Mason and I. Seriously awesome stuff.
There's nothing quite like seeing these plants in-situ for the first time. What's even better? Finding new records.

I agree you should come to NC. I've found a new record of S. xharperi (flava x minor) in NC this summer. The first ever, at least according to Sarraceniaceae of North America. I can take you to sites that have literally thousands of S. flava
 
Nice in situ pics! I am so jealous, but pics are the nex best thing to being there and thank you for sharing. You made me laugh about realizing there were gators and snakes after you waded in to snap a few shots, sounds like something I would do, haha.
 
After my experiences over the last few days, I can tell you folks that North Carolina WILL happen sometime, though it might be a while... :S

How exciting to find new recordings as you mention... I had the "what-if-I-find-something-new" thought going through my head the whole time: what a prospect! That would be almost as exciting as stepping on an alligator.
 
...I kept thinking about the S. x harperi hybrid there, and I remembered reading that at this location in the Francis Marion Forest minor flowers before the flava, and this was obvious by the difference in seed development between the two: flowers on the minor were dried and crispy, while the flava were still producing. I wonder, then, how the hybrid occurs in North Carolina or other locations? I guess the slightly colder temps cause the minor to flower a bit later, while the flava stay on track with flowering here in SC.

Other places in the same forest--but too far from where I am to be feasible in a day trip--have populations of rubra that synchronously bloom with the minor resulting in lots of S. x rehderi. I would like to see that!
 
Simply gorgeous!
 
My understanding is that even in north carolina the S. minor flowers well before the S. flava which is what makes the hybrid so rare. My guess is that there happened to be one late flowering S. minor one spring and it just happened to pollinate an S. flava. That or an S. flava bloomed early with the S. minor.
 
S. minor flowers much later than everything else. The only Sarracenia with a later bloom season is psittacina. S. flava is always the first one to bloom.
 
  • #10
Nice in situ pics! I am so jealous, but pics are the nex best thing to being there and thank you for sharing. You made me laugh about realizing there were gators and snakes after you waded in to snap a few shots, sounds like something I would do, haha.

What photos don't convey is the misery of field work. Lots of flies, mosquitoes, and ticks, sweltering heat, very deep water, possible leeches, and so on. It's worth it, though.
 
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