In search of Drosera anglica
I visited Michigan's Upper Peninsula for the first time two weekends ago. Truth be told, I'd never been north of the Port Huron/Sarnia area in Michigan, so it was an adventure. The goal of said trip was to locate several species of Drosera, including the relatively rare D. linearis, the relatively abundant D. anglica, and the common D. rotundifolia.
Some success! The first day, I located a carpet of D. rotundifolia (left) and plenty of Sarracenia purpurea (right). Walking in this bog is slow-going. It's my first real experience with a "quaking bog," one that is just a thick layer of Sphagnum moss floating on several (or 20!) feet of water.
Calopogon tuberosus, a common bog orchid all throughout the eastern United States. A very attractive orchid.
I'm satisfied with my first brief visit. Light was fading fast, so I left with specimens of D. rotundifolia - I had permission from The Nature Conservancy, the land owner. Spent the night in Sault Ste. Marie near the Canadian border. I do wish I had time to be a tourist and check out the Soo Locks, but time was tight as it was.
Day two at the fen. This place is enormous and I'm specifically searching for D. anglica and D. linearis to do some analysis on their genomes. I was told by Nature Conservancy botanists that these species can be found at the southern end of the fen, but that's rather inaccessible. Instead of going through the forest from the road to the southern end (the distant tree line in the picture above), I went as far as I could on the quaking bog. I learned two very important lessons here: Sphagnum hummocks surrounding dead trees look deceptively solid and when the ground ripples in front of you as you take a step, stop and turn around.
More Sphagnum as far as I could see (left); and Monotropa uniflora (right), an achlorophyllous parasitic plant. This is my first sighting of this plant!
Ultimately, I couldn't locate any of the other targets and I'll definitely need to go back soon. On the way back, I took US 2 along the southern edge of the Upper Peninsula. All of the rest areas have little trails to the beaches. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and I had to stop and enjoy Lake Superior.
I'll make sure to update with another installment when I go back in search of D. anglica.
Some success! The first day, I located a carpet of D. rotundifolia (left) and plenty of Sarracenia purpurea (right). Walking in this bog is slow-going. It's my first real experience with a "quaking bog," one that is just a thick layer of Sphagnum moss floating on several (or 20!) feet of water.
Calopogon tuberosus, a common bog orchid all throughout the eastern United States. A very attractive orchid.
I'm satisfied with my first brief visit. Light was fading fast, so I left with specimens of D. rotundifolia - I had permission from The Nature Conservancy, the land owner. Spent the night in Sault Ste. Marie near the Canadian border. I do wish I had time to be a tourist and check out the Soo Locks, but time was tight as it was.
Day two at the fen. This place is enormous and I'm specifically searching for D. anglica and D. linearis to do some analysis on their genomes. I was told by Nature Conservancy botanists that these species can be found at the southern end of the fen, but that's rather inaccessible. Instead of going through the forest from the road to the southern end (the distant tree line in the picture above), I went as far as I could on the quaking bog. I learned two very important lessons here: Sphagnum hummocks surrounding dead trees look deceptively solid and when the ground ripples in front of you as you take a step, stop and turn around.
More Sphagnum as far as I could see (left); and Monotropa uniflora (right), an achlorophyllous parasitic plant. This is my first sighting of this plant!
Ultimately, I couldn't locate any of the other targets and I'll definitely need to go back soon. On the way back, I took US 2 along the southern edge of the Upper Peninsula. All of the rest areas have little trails to the beaches. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and I had to stop and enjoy Lake Superior.
I'll make sure to update with another installment when I go back in search of D. anglica.