The absolute second we got to a spot that the ground started to get flooded and I was looking down so as not to sink into the flooded trail, we spotted a ton of Drosera capillaris. They had started putting up flower stalks, but no flowers yet.
With the low, flooded areas also came the start of the Sarracenia minor. Success!
The rest of the area looking around at this spot, green and brown Bromeliads and Cypress knees as far as the eye can see. Good thing there was a built up part of the trail, or this is where I would've been turning around. There are gators in Florida, nevermind whatever else lives down there. This was also mosquito central.
Then, I spotted something else... can you see it in the water in the next picture?
Utricularia! If anyone would be so kind as to identify these for me, I'd appreciate it! I am no Utricularia expert, nor will I attempt to hazard a guess.
They were everywhere in larger bodies of water with full sun.
More Sarracenia minor
Looking around again, a bit further in, it looked like some of this spot had been burned not that long ago.
Good for S. minor, as these in the sun had a lot more color, and were growing stronger than the ones in the shaded spots we came across earlier.
These below were my favorite of the whole day's discoveries. I'd like to think they are about to duel. They used to be bros, but now they are totally having a fight.
These spots were easier than I thought they'd be to find in the swamp and scrub because you couldn't miss those big yellow flowers. So now that I have some idea of where to hike, we're going back later in the season, (next time with 1000x more spray on Deet.) More pictures to come!
Those S. minor are so cute! It must be really fun to see them out in the wild.
ReplyDeleteIt was really fun. The surprise of watching out mostly for snakes and alligators, and finding a plant instead was too fun, (like a treasure hunt for adults!) I honestly had never gone hiking with the intention of hunting for something specific before.
DeleteAs one who has never had the chance to see Sarracenia in the wild, thanks for the walkthrough!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the photos. One day I'll go west for some flava and leuco too, but that would require more than a spontaneous day trip on my part!
DeleteThose Utrics are either U. inflata or U. radiata.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the find! I loved walking through the woods of northeast Florida to find S. minor. So many spots. You might take a trip over to UNF. They have a pond walk with some S. minor in a field as well. I know there are quire a few in St. Johns and Flagler Counties as well. Plus, of course, Okee. Wish I had some more diversity up here ... all I see are S. purps. But, they're still pretty neat.
Thanks Nach. According to the state identifying guides I would've had to get much closer to get an ID, that picture might not be good enough, but I've got a lot more to go through that might have better focus on the plant structure. Oh well, thanks for at least narrowing it down.
DeleteI hope there are still quite a few spots, the state info looks to be out of date. I know looking up information for the spot we went to, it was all out of date too, but luckily we ran into someone who works for the forestry department and he helped us out a bit. It's funny, I wish I would've made more of an effort to see S. purpurea when we lived in NY, but I was much busier and not as interested in all this back then. So, I'll trade you minor pictures for purp pictures, because purps were always my favorite. Also, I'm going to have to email you about St. Johns and Flagler County spots too. I haven't found any spots out there yet to check out.
Wow i love seeing these sarracenia in the wild. I have only got to see them once, and it was an intermediate between both the purpurea subsp. but it was so amazing. I love seeing your photos,
ReplyDelete