The Trip:
In
April 2005, business took me to far western North Carolina. I spent several bonus days
touring pitcher plant sites in the Appalachian mountains. My itinerary included two sites for
Sarracenia oreophila, four sites for
Sarracenia jonesii, and four sites for
Sarracenia purpurea var. montana.
The sites included a blend of publicly accessible locations and privately owned bogs; I had visited a few of the sites
before (described in this previous field trip report) but the bulk would be new locations.
I was very excited! I was in particular looking forward to seeing the Sarracenia purpurea,
since I had only seen
that taxon in the wild once before, in Georgia.
As it was springtime in the mountains, I was confronted with a fabulous ensemble of wildflowers. Most were new to
me since I am mostly unfamiliar with the Appalachians. So expect to see a number of those in my field trip report, too,
even though they are not carnivorous!
Mountain pitcher plants are extremely threatened because of their small ranges and degrading hydrology in their bogs.
Since poaching is now a significant pressure on
these populations, I am sorry but I cannot reveal any detailed information about the locations visited. Don't ask. If you
think you can recognize the sites from my descriptions, you can send me your guesses, but my responses to you will be
quite cagey!
Start the photo-essay!
