Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 12:50:17 PST From: "Stefan Ploszak" <imduff@hotmail.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg4170$foo@default> Subject: Re:CA bog adventure, capensis vs. rotund., etc.
To Derek,Craig,et.al.,
I think I know of the N.CA bog that you are writing about; I visited
the Albion,CA area in July. For those of you that are familiar to Gulf
Coast bogs, this site is different in many respects. First of all, the
site is not an open, easy to traverse, savannah. The area is thickly
covered with trees and bushes, interrupted by very small clearings with
bogs. I must really love these plants to visit this site because I had
to constantly push through bushes and dodge water and mud before finding
anything. I left the area with scratched arms and ruined shoes, but I
did enjoy the experience. I was able to find the following plants:
Darlingtonia(even one clone with reduced/missing fangs-strange), various
Sarrs, VFTs, D.capensis, D.rotund, and D.binata.
The water source for these bogs is spring water, so I guess these are
actually fens. The air has a hint of the cool Pacific and is less humid.
Also, the nights are relatively cold(in the 60s). Needless to say, the
Darlingtonia are thriving. In fact, of all the CP the Darlingtonia, D.
capensis, and D.rotund are doing the best. The VFTs I found were growing
well, but I didn't see any seedlings. Of the VFT sites I've seen in NC
and naturalized in FL, VFT seedlings usually have a strong presence. The
Sarrs at the N.CA site are growing and dividing, but they aren't
thriving. Except for the purps, the growth was long and spindly. Perhaps
the cool air keeps the plants on the verge of dormancy or maybe the
plants aren't getting full sunlight through the surrounding bushes. Or
maybe July isn't the best time to see the plants in this area? An
interesting observation is the fact that the Sarr flowers don't get
fertilized; all of the seed pods were tiny and absent of seed. As for
the issue of D.capensis taking over the area from D.rotund, only
counting the relative number of plants over time will tell. I personally
feel that both can coexist, since a clearing usually contains strong
numbers of either species. Allso, there are many clearing where
D.capensis is totally absent. Another inteesting observation is the
prostate growth habit of the D.capensis leaves. All the D.capensis
leaves from plants in cultivation seem to have a decumbant habit.
Finally, for the purists that feel the site should contain only
naturally occurring plants, only D.rotund occurs there naturally. It is
my understanding that even the Darlingtonia have been naturalized there.
It would be a terrible waste to remove the Darlingtonia from a site that
can support them, but requires man to introduce them. So I too will echo
the ehtical question, "Should we introduce certain CP to certain sites
whtich will support them?" As for the N.CA site, it's not upto us to
decide, since the land is owned by the Nature Conservatory. I even saw a
park ranger watching me from behind a bush like the elusive Bigfoot. It
gives me a spooky feeling to think that someone was watching me while I
was there. Anyway, I thought I'd add my N.CA bog adventure to the
discussion.
Stefan
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 02 2001 - 17:31:13 PST