I took a trip to the Green Swamp this past weekend. (For those of
you that don't know, the Green Swamp is located in the extreme SE
portion of North Carolina about 15 miles from the coast.) I am
much indebted to our volunteer guide from the Nature Conservancy
(Susan Greene) for identifying the CPs we saw because I don't
know one from another. From her I know that Sarr. flava, S. minor
and S. purpurea (sp?) are all in bloom. (What is the proper name
for a hooded pitcher plant?). I also saw 2 varieties of drosera,
one was in bloom. Butterworts and bladderworts were also
flowering -- the only CPs that weren't were the Venus Flytraps,
and most of them were sending up flower stalks. It is an
excellent time to visit. I'm told the orchids should be blooming
in a few weeks; there are several varities already blooming.
The swamp is mainly areas of dense (impassible) undergrowth
separating "islands" of longleaf and loblolly pine savannah. The
CPs are concentrated on the islands. They compete mostly with
wiregrass and small shrubs for light. You can find CPs on almost
any island in the swamp but they're concentrated on Big Island.
Big Island begins not 10 feet from Route 211, the two lane road
that runs through the middle of the swamp. Big Island is a dense
CP community. In one square meter you can find drosera,
sarracenia, Venus Flytraps, and butterworts, it's a wonder there
are any bugs left there. Because it is so close to the road, Big
Island is also a popular spot for VFT poaching. I was told that a
single poached plant could fetch $3-4 (which I find hard to
believe -- I would guess half that much) but that fines have
recently been increased to a minimum of $1000 *per plant*. I hope
that part is true!
Phil Semanchuk
pjs20347@glaxo.com