6/29/11 PITCHER PLANTS, AND BIRDS OF A FEATHER

BARK BAY SLOUGH

PITCHER PLANT FLOWERS DOT THE BOG

THE INSECT TRAPPING PITCHER

BEAUTIFUL, NODDING FLOWERS

 ...COMPLICATED FLOWER STRUCTURE

Wednesday, 8:00 AM.  62 degrees, wind W, calm.  The sky is clear with some haze over the channel and the  islands.  The barometer is up.  It will be a fine day.
    Alerted by friends that pitcher plants were blooming at the Bark Bay Slough State Natural Area west of Cornucopia, we took a ride before dinner yesterday evening to see for ourselves the carnivorous bog plants.  Sarracenia purpurea occurs mainly in far northern sphagnum bogs, but a sub-species occurs along the east coast of the U.S. The sundew family, the Droceraceae, to which it belongs contains several other carnivorous plants native to the North American continent.  All have evolved mechanisms for trapping insects and other small creatures, and digesting them for their nutrients, which are scarce in the acid bog environments these plants inhabit.  The morphology and even the taxonomy of these plants is more than I can explore here, and I will simply furnish some photos, as detailed information is readily available on line.
    The Bark Bay Slough Natural Area, established in 1977, is 552 acres of wetland and bog habitat, and is home to a number of native orchids as well as the pitcer plant.  It is a favorite haunt of eagles and shore birds, and well worth visiting for its beauty alone.  Detailed information about it is also available on line.
    I had not seen pitcher plants in the wild since college field trips, and after that in the  New Jersey Pine Barrens, and stepping onto the springy, floating  sphagnum moss mat to take some photos brought back a lot of memories.  I will be sure to go back to look for orchids as well, but it is a fragile environment and neither I nor others should just go tramping around in it unawares.  While there we visited with a lone woman kyaker who was also photographing pitcher plants and orchids, and it turned out she was a DNR naturalist from Milwaukee who was a close associate of my good friend Paul, who is now retired from that organization.  Birds of a feather do flock together at the Bark Bay Slough.