Re: Dalingtonia distribution
DAVIDDOG@aol.com
Fri, 9 Feb 1996 09:14:25 -0500
In his response to Sean's position, Jan wrote:
>> _Darlingtonia_ did rather certainly reach the Cascade Range from the
(?S-)E and not from the N.<<
I believe there are two errors in the statement: D. californica does not
occur in the Cascades at all.
All reputable biogeographies indicate that the Siskiyou/ Klamath Mountains
and related Trinity Alps are the center of D. californica's distribution -
these ancient mountains were for a time an island when the rest of the region
was ocean or suffered from vulcanism, and the Siskiyous has a rather unique
flora.The Sierras arose later and suffered heavy glaciation repeatedly. The
assumption that the Sarraceniaceae evolved in the S.E. United States is in
question - there is no fossil record, and are no obvious ancestors living.
The family may just as well have evolved in the west or South America and
radiated from there to the southeastern mountains and coastal plains.