The Carnivorous Plant FAQ Field Trip Report -

Drosera filiformis in Florida, 2010

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Hybrid, fer shure!
But this was our reward for our labors. There is no question about this being a hybrid; the plant was suffused with red pigmentation, as per Drosera filiformis, but not quite as richly. Meanwhile, it was as big as the much-larger Drosera tracyi. Very exciting!

Furthermore, Brian Barnes had created this very hybrid in cultivation using Drosera tracyi and Floridian Drosera filiformis, and he said the results were identical.

We took photographs, video, and herbarium specimens with glee. But just minutes into our work I heard Jim say "We have no business being here." The serious tone to his voice made me look up in a hurry; Jim was studying the very dark, very low, very angry clouds bearing down on us. Jim has years of boating experience, and he is used to watching the weather.

The rumble of approaching thunder confirmed that we needed to find cover, fast! Unfortunately, other than a small cluster of nearby trees, there was nothing to break the topography in any direction. We were sitting ducks for lightning strikes. Hiding under the trees would be unwise, as they were as likely to draw lightning as we were.

Meanwhile, the cars were more than a km away, on the other side of two lake passages. We could never reach them in time, and wading through a lake during a lightning storm would have been the height of stupidity.

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Revised: June 2010
©Barry Rice, 2005