Francis Marion National Forest, South Carolina

[jfowler]

On 2008-05-04, I visited the Francis Marion National Forest, Berkeley County, South Carolina. I had seen hybrids of S. minor and S. rubra (S. Xrehderi) in bloom during early May a couple of years ago. Since both parent species are at peak bloom during the same time, there are several swarms of this hybrid. S. minor is quite plentiful in the Francis Marion and is often found growing among large stands of S. flava. But since S. flava blooms about two weeks ahead of S. minor, none of their hybrids have been found at this location.

Here is a link to the gallery of photos for this visit:

www.pbase.com/jimfowler/20080505fmnfsarracenia

To whet your interest, I'll include an image of a typical S. minor in the Forest:

Sarracenia minor

[Randy Zerr]

Great shots! What kind of camera?

[wmgorum]

I concur! Great shots!!! I love seeing the variation in all the hybrids! I think that's the first time I've seen pics of minor x rubra...

[jfowler]

RandyZerr,

I use an Olympus Evolt-510 Digital SLR with an Olympus f2.8/3.5 14-54mm zoom lens.

BTW, I really enjoyed your video of the damage caused by the invasive Homo sapiens subs. redneckus. It seems that rare plant sites always seem to attract distruction -- just like trailer parks always seem to attract tornadoes. Go figure...

[jfowler]

wmgorum,

Thanks. It's a great site for this particular hybrid. They have been growing there for so long, that it's difficult to find what might be called an F1 hybrid. Most are back-crossed and multi-generational hybrids, which show a huge variety of coloration and morphology in the flowers.

Interestingly enough, there are no Sarracenia purpurea species (as far as I can ascertain) in the Francis Marion although they are quite plentiful just up the road in the Green Swamp. Conversely, there are few S. minor in the Green Swamp while they are ubiquitous in the Francis Marion.

[BarryRice]

Spectacular work as always, Jim. Very nice!

B

[Alexis]

Great photos. This is a nice one, probably rehderi x minor: www.pbase.com/jimfowler/image/96646447