June 2014 NECPS Meeting at UCONN and Bog Walk in CT

[Cthulhu138]

This past Saturday we had one of our most interesting meetings to date. Mat Opel was kind enough to host our June meeting at the UCONN greenhouses which he oversees and maintains. Here are some pitiful pics of a small part of their collection.

Greeting you right at the door of the Life Sciences building was this enormous articulated walrus skeleton...............




........and adult and juvenile taxidermied bald eagles. Couldn't avoid the glare , sorry.




This is the first thing you see when entering the greenhouse area of the building.....The Epiphyte Room....







They had a terrific collection of ant plants which Mat generously shared with the club.








Some of their succulents.








More Welwitchia than I've ever seen in one place.....




One was even in flower.


A blooming Tacca



The smallest blooming Amorphophallus I've ever seen.



The carnivores.......










A huge pot of big flowering Drosera regia.



2 beautiful Roridula dentata.

 

[Cthulhu138]

After the greenhouses we took a trip down the street to a local bog with a beautiful (and dense) population of Sarracenia purpurea purpurea with a smattering of Drosera rotundifolia.

 

[Whimgrinder]

Awesome Ant Plants!

 

[Tanukimo]

Nice assortment of pictures! I'm surprised that they put the pot of regia in the pond like that. Wouldn't it get waterlogged sitting there all the time?

 

[Cthulhu138]

The regia isn't sitting in water. It's propped up in between 2 containers.

 

[Cthulhu138]

Awesome Ant Plants!

The best part was that many of us left with an instant collection of Hydnophytum and Myrmecodia. Matt donated some amazing and gigantic specimens.

 

[kamiljablo]

I really love those greenhouses!! I spend so much time there over the semester period! I am really curious to see those bogs!

 

[Cthulhu138]

I really love those greenhouses!! I spend so much time there over the semester period! I am really curious to see those bogs!

I'm sure that Matt or his girlfriend (I forget her name....)will be more than happy to show you the bogs. There are several in the immediate area however, the one we visited is supposedly the best one. It's super easy to access as well, right on the side of a main road.

 

[Axelrod12]

Here's some of the pics I took, I'm trying to sort through to avoid duplicates but it's likely a few will slip in










Mangrove:





Tacca again, cuz it's cool:









Mimosa:















Matt holding a plant named after himself:

 

[Cthulhu138]

Nice shots Greg. I like the one with Matt holding his namesake. I'm bummed that I didn't get a good pic of Tylecodon opelii.

 

[Axelrod12]

This is the best shot I got of the plant itself. It is winter growing so not too much to look at right now.

 

[Cthulhu138]

It was still cool to see the flower stalks and whatever growth remained. Not to mention that it's pretty awesome that one of our members discovered a new plant species and had it named after him.

 

[East_to_west]

Awesome flicks man! I'm really hoping I can time a trip back east with one of these meetings some day..

 

[Cthulhu138]

You should come home the first weekend in October for our show.