Arkham Pond: Profile of a South Carolina Wetland
(Bulletin of the A.C.P.S., 1993, 12:4, 4.)
The southeastern coastal plain of the U.S.A. is a botanical paradise.
Regional floristic works bulge with accounts of
rare and fascinating species, while carnivorous plant
enthusiasts think of it as home to many Pinguicula,
Drosera, Utricularia,
nearly all the species of Sarracenia ,
and of course Dionaea .
But most people are ignorant of how rare North American
carnivorous plants have become in the wild. In my naiveté I
once assumed that Sarracenia must colonize every Florida field
and lurk in every Mississippi moist spot. But the realm of reality does
not overlap with this fantasy.
Over decades of intensive and continuing development,
more than 95% of the U.S. wetlands
have been drained for logging operations, agriculture, or housing.
All that remains are isolated relic
plots, and to find them you need detailed directions and good maps.
To be reliable,
location information must be relatively recent--more than a few years
old, and you may find that your directions take you to a new tobacco
field. Happily, the damage is not complete. There are still large
pieces of land owned by the government that contain lovely
populations of plants. But the number of plants, and the genetic diversity
they contain, continues to dwindle.
The Gulf Coast contains the greatest diversity of carnivorous plants in
the states. If you travel away from it towards the north, by the time you
reach South Carolina you have wandered out of the ranges of many
carnivorous plants. This is doubly true if you
move inland. But a surprise hides 160 kilometers from the ocean,
in Lexington County. If you happened
to be driving along one of the quiet forested roads in the area,
you might notice it momentarily
dipping into a small hollow. Before the wending road takes you back into
the hills you may glimpse Arkham Pond1--but
blink and you'll miss it. Although small,
Arkham Pond is popular with both wildlife and
anglers. Locals may tell outsiders that they own it, but actually the pond
is overseen by
The Nature Conservancy (TNC). TNC is a
privately owned nonprofit agency which protects ecologically valuable
land by direct action--it purchases it or, preferably, enters
legal contracts with the landowners who
relinquish the right to develop the land in perpetuity in exchange for
decreased property taxes. (This contract is binding, even if the
land changes ownership.)
If you look carefully, you may see tiny
TNC logos hammered to a few trees--that is if the locals
haven't taken them down again. It may seem strange that the locals harbor
occasional resentment to TNC, especially since it works to preserve the
beauty of the area. But many communities distrust and
resent the presence of any outsiders,
and it is a testament to TNC's community relations
that it has been able to educate and overcome
as much of this attitude as it has.
Arkham Pond is fed by a single stream on its south end, and is in turn
drained by another leaving northbound. Other small streamlets percolating
through the woods enter it on the east side and contribute a little more
water. Although a few animal
trails wind around the pond's perimeter, these are difficult to follow and often
lead to deep mud, thorny brambles, or impassable tangles of poison ivy.
These natural obstacles deter
casual pilgrims--but determined crusaders that
navigate through the vegetation and grow
indifferent to the mud and occasional scratches are well rewarded by
Arkham Pond's treasures.
The pond is located in a coniferous forest built upon sandy soil. This
situation produces the low-nutrient, acidic conditions essential for most
carnivorous plant habitats. (Measurements I have taken at several locations
indicate a pH of 5.1-5.3.) Deep spreading beds of Sphagnum coat
the ground. The moss
reproduces endlessly and even colonizes the surface of deep water,
generating thick shuddering mats that
mimic solid ground. Treading upon it, the unwary will be quickly pitched
into the water. With this in mind, it is relieving to know that
Arkham Pond is at the extreme edge of the American Alligator's range.
While they may have lived in the pond in the past, it has
probably been a long time since one has paddled its waters. Probably.
The greatest beauty of Arkham Pond lies in its enormous population of
Sarracenia flava . This species is very
successful--it will be found nearly anywhere that supports
Sarracenia (except in the northern habitats of
S. purpurea subsp. purpurea ). The type of S. flava at
Arkham Pond is called var. rugelii2.
This variety is all green,
with no red venation. The only red colouration on the plant
(excluding the blush on developing pitchers) is an irregular
bloodstain patch on the pitcher column immediately under the lid.
S. flava var. rugelii almost always occurs as it does at Arkham
Pond, that is in large pure populations.
(The most extensive stands of
S. flava I've seen anywhere are of var. rugelii.)
In wetlands where other forms of S. flava thrive,
such as var. ornata, var. atropurpurea, copper-lid,
all-green, and others,
S. flava var. rugelii rarely grows, even though the habitats are
identical. Considering the attention paid to S. rubra,
S. flava var. rugelii
is possibly a good candidate for subspecies status.
Wade into the water and you'd find it deepens quickly, so no S. flava
grow more than a few meters beyond the shoreline. Away from the pond
the terrain rises rapidly and the drier ground is
quickly dominated by a forest where the deep shade precludes
carnivorous plant life.
But in the transition zone between deep water and piney shade lies a
flat shoreline. With plenty of sunlight, this
is an ideal habitat for carnivorous plants.
The S. flava grow so densely you would have to take care to
avoid stepping on them. And indeed you move slowly, for not only are the
plants beautiful, but the seemingly endless colonies of silent organ-pipe
pitchers produce a scene of weirdly alien majesty
that demands your respect.
If you speak it is in hushed tones, but you and your companions
are hesitant to break the silence. Most of your trip is spent quietly,
simply looking at this wondrous display. It may take an hour to
pick your way 100 meters through the plants, for every log and every
streamlet delivers a new surprise. Over here a Sarracenia patriarch
has multiplied into a horde of tall hungry traps, while elsewhere
a throng of pitchers growing in water almost too
deep for survival are all stiffly leaning
to one side--apparently nearly toppled by some animal's blundering visit.
It will not be until the next year's crop of pitchers that the evidence
of the creature's passage will be forgotten. Moving along,
perhaps a hummock of Sphagnum quartering a legion of
enterprising seedlings catches your eye. They
are colonizing a few square meters of sunny ground made available when
a tree blew down in a storm. They are doomed, of course, as the pines will
eventually reclaim that scrap of land as their own. While the pond first
seemed static, becomes apparent it is constantly changing,
a place of great activity.
Although it is the most dramatic, S. flava is not the only
carnivorous plant at Arkham Pond. The areas with thick mats of
Sphagnum, especially those lightly shaded by shrubs, are dotted
with vigorous S. purpurea subsp. venosa. This species does very well
in full sun, so I don't know why it hides in the bushes at Arkham.
You can also find S. rubra. This species
has, depending upon in which botanical camp you pitch your tent,
up to five subspecies. Arkham Pond is in the confluence of the
ranges of S. rubra subsp. rubra and the very rare
S. rubra subsp. jonesii. Don Schnell has visited this site and told
me he feels these plants may be intermediate between the subspecies.
Unfortunately, not many are present and those few are having a
difficult time--they are not thriving like the other two species
growing with them. I have not found any Sarracenia hybrids at the
pond.
Growing on the logs, in the moss, and on the sandy flats you can find
many Drosera intermedia and D. capillaris. A very
occasional D. rotundifolia finishes the list of sundews at
Arkham. Everywhere are yellow flowers of Utricularia subulata--a
weed in the wild and in many greenhouses.
Finally, in the shallows intertwine
bladder-bedecked strands of U. gibba and U. striata,
the last entries on the list of carnivores at the pond.
Arkham Pond is rich with botanical wonders. With
at least nine carnivores, terrestrial orchids (such as
Pogonia ophioglossoides), and picturesque water-lilies such as
Nymphaea odorata, the pond never fails to please. Whatever happens to
land
elsewhere, TNC has this pond protected. (Actually one of the main reasons
TNC is interested in Arkham Pond is because it houses a rare Vaccinium.)
As long as the stream remains
unpolluted upriver, acid rains are kept at bay, and field collection
prevented, this is one carnivorous plant site that will stay with us.
Addenda:
1)The name Arkham Pond is a contrivance. The pond's
real name is not revealed to protect it from damage.
2)I wrote this article back when there was some confusion about the identities of
"var. maxima" and "var. rugelii". I have slightly
edited the presentation on this web page to make it consistent with current (post 2005) usage.