De Soto National Forest (S. alata, S. psittacina) DUW

[Natalie]

Hola everyone! Haven't been able to post much lately because my internet access is extremely limited (just my phone unless I drive to find wi-fi), but this past weekend I went to De Soto National forest to check out the CPs and look for herps. I checked two new species off my list, Sarracenia psittacina and Drosera filiformis, which were awesome to see in the wild. Besides that, I went and checked out the apparently famous Buttercup Flats within the forest, which is supposed to be the largest stand of Sarracenia in the world at 100 acres or something like that. The meadow was filled with those two sarrs, and the ubiquitous Drosera rotundifolia as well (that one grows everywhere, even in dry areas).

I'm still on the lookout for S. flava, S. leucophylla, and S. minor to photograph, so I'll have to keep searching! Do they prefer a different type of habitat than S. alata and S. psittacina? Anyway, I'm sure you all just to see the photos, so here you go:


Pale Pitcher Plant and Thread-leaved Sundew by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Parrot Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Parrot Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Parrot Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Parrot Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Pale Pitcher Plant by Natalie McNear, on Flickr

Also, just for fun, here are some of the herps I've found in Mississippi so far:


Eastern Hognose Snake by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Yellow-bellied Watersnake by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Central Newt eating Eastern Spadefoot tadpole by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Midland Watersnake by Natalie McNear, on Flickr


Southern Copperhead by Natalie McNear, on Flickr

 

[thez_yo]

Wow! Those are some great shots. I really like that alata with the black veins - so droolworthy

 

[Tony C]

Very nice, I second the drool on the black-veined alata. Nice copperhead too, I've always wanted one.

 

[DJ57]

Wow, very nice shots. I especially like the yellow pitchers with red inside and the second to last "two-tone pitcher" pic with red pitchers with lighter color on the lids. Thank you for sharing those.

 

[Cthulhu138]

Amazing photos. So many awesome alatas !

 

[Peatmoss]

Those snakes are incredible!

 

[hcarlton]

Some really nice Sarrs there, I've got some hopefully very dark alatas coming up from seed right now. Of course, I'm a huge snake lover, so no more explanation needed.

 

[amphirion]

wow. such amazing shots and such amazing focus! you have an amazing skill for capturing things in-situ. those alata are beautiful, definitely deepened my appreciation for them, which was initially at zero.

 

[Natalie]

Thanks guys! The plants down there were incredible. Although it's almost certainly illegal to take cuttings of the pitcher plants there (haven't even looked into it), if someone did introduce some of those plants to the hobby, S. alata would definitely lose its reputation as the "boring" species. The one with the red tube and filly yellow lid is my favorite of the bunch. One interesting thing I noticed about the plants at this location was that they were shorter than the ones at the first population I found... These ones were mainly in the 12-24" range, while the other population tended to be 24-30" or more. Not sure if that has to do with genetics, the habitat, or something else. Also, I didn't see a single hybrid between the two species there. I've always read that where more than one Sarracenia species occur, some hybrids can be expected. But I searched through thousands of plants and didn't see a single intermediate plant.

 

[jlechtm]

Beautiful photos, Natalie.

I haven't found hybrids in the area you described, but I have found pink-flowered alatas there, at a time when late alata blooming overlapped with early psittacina blooming. My hypothesis is that the pink expression in the petals may be the last remnant of psittacina parentage in these few "alatas".

All of these photos were taken on the same day (April 22, 2004) in DeSoto NF:

Pink-flowered alata

Another pink-flowered clone

"Wild-Type" alata flower

S. psittacina flower

Just to the east in SW Alabama, I have found a similar phenomenon with S. rubra wherryi and S. alata. There are "wherryi" clones that have yellow and orange and pink flowers, while the pitchers themselves are virtually indistinguishable from their wherryi neighbors (they may be slightly taller on average). S. alata can be found well back in the brushline behind this roadside site, and I'm assuming that hybridization is at work here as well.

Perhaps the reason your frilly yellow w/red tube alata is shorter than the rest is due to this as well?

 

[Natalie]

Awesome photos! Unfortunately all the flowers I saw had long since dropped their petals, so I didn't get to see any pink-flowered forms. The Alatas in De Soto NF were on average shorter than the ones I found down south, put the one with the frilly yellow lid was actually one of the taller ones for that population (about 24" tall).

 

[Wire Man]

Amazing variety of alatas! They all look so good, and big. I really like the darker ones. Love the herp photos, too. Very nice snakes.