Hi Folks:
Very busy summer for us. The interns are in full immersion with the intern program and are doing some very solid, original, field work in southern Virginia. We have access to almost 3000 acres of hunt club land in Surry County, VA with specific permission to search for, and obtain specimens of, rare plants. No botanist has ever been on this property and we have already turned up at least five state rare plant species. The golden sphagnum is quite interesting and we should be posting some pictures soon.
Keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck finding a pitcher plant population. A small population of S. purpurea was reported on this watershed in the 1980's but has apparently been extirpated. We're hoping we can find one remaining population somewhere on this system. It's tough work with high heat, lots of ticks, and the swelling yellow jacket hives we'll soon run into.
Sincerely,
Phil Sheridan, Ph.D.
Director
Meadowview Biological
Research Station