Sarracenia purpurea poached in PA

[elgecko]

It was nice on Saturday and I decided to visit the only spot I know of in Adams County, PA that has Sarracenia purpurea growing.
I found out about this site from a coworker that has a cabin in the area. He told me he found it in the 1970's while hiking. In 2006 I made my first visit to the site. When I visited I took 5-8 seeds and got 2 to germinate.
My last trip to the area was in 2008. The main clump was doing great and found 2 to 3 plants that where looking bad form light starvation. Now they are much worse and debating about moving them around 150 yards away to an area that gets sun.
When I got there Saturday, I was shocked because the clump was much smaller and had more dead pitchers around the plants then I have seen before. The dead pitchers might be because of the bad winter we had. Upon closer inspection of the Sarracenia purpurea, it certainly looks like a large hole in the ground where someone / something took the largest clump of plants. Sad.

Here are some pics from my trip.

These pictures where taken in May 2008.

The main clump of plants

Individual plant growing within 15' of the main clump of plants.


Pictures from May 2010.

Main clump of plants. To the right of my hand is where I could see a little bigger then softball size hole.

This is what the poor looking plants below are growing under.

 

[Timmy]

Sad, but a nice view

 

[cp-connection]

Thanks for the pics! You could find out whose land it is and ask them if you could cut back that rhododendron.

 

[elgecko]

Thanks for the pics! You could find out whose land it is and ask them if you could cut back that rhododendron.

It's a State Forest..... That has crossed my mind.

 

[kayaker78]

Personally, I would leave the plants where they are and let natural selection take its course. Nature will find a way, the strong plants will survive and the weak will die. Maybe the shaded plant will somehow survive and flower and product stronger plants... or maybe it is a weak plant in the wrong location and it wont live to reproduce.

 

[SDCPs]

"A weak plant in the wrong location..." What? Just because a bush grows over it doesn't mean it's weak.

So sad.

 

[kayaker78]

"A weak plant in the wrong location..." What? Just because a bush grows over it doesn't mean it's weak.

So sad.

What I meant is that a strong plant may survive being under the bush until a flood, fire, storm... etc removes the bush growing over it. A weak plant will die sooner... maybe before the bush is removed.

 

[flytraplady5]

Thanx for the pics and updates
There will always somebody who feels the need to acquire plants thta are growingin gthe wild
could always acquire,sew a few seeds and reintroduce them or is that illegal?
i saw rhododendrum,may apple and that obnoxious little berry-like viniing plant.any idea what it is?

 

[GrowinOld]

Sad to say...If things keep going the way they are,
there will be no "natural stands" of plants like these any more.
Once that happens, the only way a "stand of plants" will form is if one of us helps it to happen.
There won't be any seed left, just waiting underground for conditions to become right.

Natural selection alone isn't able to ensure that the strongest survive anymore.
"Civilization" and "man" has interfered with that process to the point where plants and animals don't have enough time to adapt to the environment we subject them to. More and more species are threatened by us and our "development". (Palm oil plantations are being established, and existing ones are expanding and threatening the Nepenthes and other plant environments in the tropics. Read the labels, as palm oil is used in practically everything we buy!)

Hoping "mother nature" can handle everything alone is no longer a viable position to hold. We are throwing too much at her! Even without our most recent "oops" in the gulf to keep her busy, nature needs our help! The real question is how to handle our stewardship in a responsible fashion.

Nice photo representation of a too often repeated story!
(I used to go see a large stand of Dews not far from Chicago city limits!)
It was in fact, somewhat man-made! The dews established in an old RR drainage ditch that the RR company put it. At least back then there were enough natural dews around to allow it to get started!
What will we do in the future when there are no nearby stands to make that happen?

Good luck everyone! We are gonna need it!

 

[drosera5150]

Hi There,

It's always sad when remarkable stands of Sarracenia have been poached and stolen away. It's an instance that I've seen way too many times. Another crippling factor is the lack of prescribed fire or natural fire that removes scrubby competing plants. thus controlling overgrowth. Do you know if the State Forest you speak of has such a program?

Happy Growing,

Brian Barnes,
ICPS Director of Conservation.

 

[mannyherrera]

The plant you grow in cultivation looks 100 times better than the ones in the wild.

 

[herenorthere]

Find someone who has authority and suggest the plants be moved to a better spot.

 

[Sig]

Find someone who has authority and suggest the plants be moved to a better spot.

Yes, move the wild plants in the nature conservatory because another plant is hindering it, while upsetting the natural balance and possibly killing them during the transplant. Great idea.