I read this bit of dribble myself some time ago. I don't recall where,
maybe Schwartz? Anyway, to the best of my knowledge, there is no reason
to suspect the Wilmington N.C. area is a relic meteoric impact site.
Jeff sounds like he knows the area well, so maybe he has some data
I don't.
I got two very interesting bits of CP snail-mail yesterday. The first
is from a chap named Steve Baker. He said that he is "taking over
publication of CPN starting with the september issue". I'm not sure
what this means, but perhaps Leo has finally capitulated and is letting
someone lend him a hand. I'll call Steve this weekend to get details.
Also I got a copy of _Science in New Guinea_, vol 17, #1. I sent for
this directly from New Guinea around the ides of March. The issue has a long
monograph detailing the _Nepenthes_ of New Guinea. There is a description
of each species, information on the ecology of the genus, and a focus
on _N. ampullaria_. Matthew Jebb, the author, makes an interesting
claim. He notes that little attention has been drawn to the fact that
_Nepenthes_ produce two types of pitchers, an upper and lower type. While
this fact is well known to horticulturists or people who have read Slack's
books, perhaps this is not as well known in the scientific literature.
Anyway, he looks at pitcher dimorphism in an interesting way. He notes that
production of upper pitchers, and the longer internode distance associated
with them, is initiated when the plant is ready to flower. So he refers
to upper pitchers as `fertile pitchers'. Presumably he would give
lower pitchers the designation `sterile pitchers'.
This may seem strange usage, since the pitchers themselves are not
involved in sexual reproduction, but this syntax is not new. For
example, TAYLOR distinguishes between sterile and fertile bracts
on inflorescences---fertile bracts being ones that produce
flowers in their axils.
According to his predictions, my _N.ampullaria_ is readying itself for
flowering. Nepenthophiles out there---have you noticed a correlation
between `fertile' pitcher production and flowering?
Anyway, this magazine is worth the purchase. I bought two (one for
a cohort in crime) and risked sending the $25 US in cash through the
mail. If you are interested in a copy, the address is
Matthew Jebb
Christensen Research Institute
P.O. Box 305
Madang, Papua
New Guinea
Copies are $12 USA each.