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!

Pinguicula Vulgaris prefers alkaline, rocky cliff faces in the USA?

Pinguicula vulgaris
is a well-known calciphile (favoring alkaline or lime-rich habitats) and as with most insectivorous plants, prefers wet substrates. It is found in moist alkaline rock crevices and outcrops; rocky or gravelly shores, sandy, interdunal shoreline flats; marshy soils near bogs, wet alvars, and the marly, calcareous soils of coastal and northern fens. It also occurs in Lake Superior coastal areas where it inhabits volcanic bedrock lakeshore areas, favoring basalts and conglomerate bedrock types. Most Michigan locations are along Great Lakes shores, particularly on rocky, wet beaches and nearshore wetlands and interdunal areas.
http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/abstracts/botany/Pinguicula_vulgaris.pdf
Butterwort is New York's only insectivorous plant which is not found in a marsh, bog, or swamp.

[NEW YORK] State Ranking Justification
There are six known populations and approximately six additional historical populations of this plant. Most of these populations are on well-protected cliffs
http://www.acris.nynhp.org/guide.php?id=9171

pinvul_8734.jpg

In Maine



How does this affect how you would grow it domestically?
 
Last edited:
It doesn't really. The plant will grow just fine on a peat/sand mix. Summer heat and sun can be a problem for it though, it's best to grow it somewhat shaded during the hotter months.
 
I live a couple miles from one of the P. vulgaris sites in NY, I believe it is the southernmost one. The populations in NY state are leftovers from the last ice age. They are only able to hang on because they live in cold water seeps or in the spray zone of waterfalls which keeps them cool enough in the summer.

Farther north in northern Michigan/Wisconsin and in Canada, they grow in sphagnum bogs like most native carnivorous plants.
 
Bonjour

here in europe you can find the P.vulgaris subsp vulgaris in 2 substrats : calcareous , acid some time in gypsum

here in FRANCE most often in swampy land, bogs and very rarely on limestone cliffs

jeff
 
Here in Washington State (US) I have seen this species growing on steep, rocky faces with cool, running water. These have always been in elevation zones where the winters are long and cold and there is a lot of snowfall. Perhaps some of the European forms are more heat-tolerant?
 
Bonjour

here in FRANCE, we have less and less P. vulgaris subsp vulgaris of plains, but more in the mountains and to altitudes above 1200 m, it can then take the name of P. vulgaris subsp vulgaris var alpicola ,this variety was bigger the standard form

here also we have a problem with the global warming :blush:

jeff
 
Last edited:
Bonjour

here in FRANCE, we have less and less P. vulgaris subsp vulgaris of plains, but more in the mountains and to altitudes above 1200 m, it can then take the name of P. vulgaris subsp vulgaris var alpicola ,this variety was bigger the standard form

here also we have a problem with the global warming :blush:

jeff

Very interesting. 'Makes me wonder if there is a form of this species here in the US that also grows at lower elevations. The populations I know of are at higher than 1200 meters elevations.
 
have you some pictures to these vulgaris subsp vulgaris, specialy the corolla throat ?

jeff
 
Last edited:
After doing a little research I see that USDA Plants doesn't even show this species occurring in Washington State. However, "Plants of the Pacific NW Coast" by Pojar, Mackinnon et al and "Flora of Mt. Rainier National Park" by Biek do show it here. I am interested in the subspecies vulgaris but I haven't found anything solid about subspecies - which is another way of saying I have no idea, in that regard, about the plants I have seen in the wild. Unfortunately, I have never had my camera with me when I have found them. Do you have a source you could refer me to, Jeff?
 
Last edited:
  • #10
I live a couple blocks from a former P. vulgaris site (Beebe Lake Dam, Cornell University Campus), elevation is only a couple hundred meters. The is another population in Taughannock State park right outside of Ithaca, NY, at the same elevation. They typically grow on limestone cliffs next to waterfalls here.
 
  • #11
have you seen this vulgaris in flower ? may be have you a picture to the corolla .

are you sure if it is a vulgaris subsp vulgaris , it is may be a macroceras present in this area.

if it is really a vulgaris subsp vulgaris for me it is a scoop , also some picture would be very very interesting for me .

in USA I have just for this vulgaris subsp vulgaris some tickingoff in ALASKA and to west MAINE -NEW HAMPSHIRE-VERMON-NEWYORK MICHIGAN-WISCONSIN-MINNESOTA

in CANADA : ONTARIO-SASKATCHEWAN-MANITOBA-LABRADOR-QUEBEC and to east MACKENZIE .

jeff
 
Last edited:
Back
Top