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After communing with the otter,
I lugged my gear back to the car. It was three hours until sunset, and I
was only one hour away from a place that I expected would be a trip
highlight...
Before I started my Florida trip, I had secured excellent directions
for perhaps the finest site to see Utricularia simulans. This
plant only occurs in southern Florida (at least, in the USA), and at
only a few
scattered locations. I knew it was extremely unlikely I would be able to
see it in flower (it was the wrong time of the year), but since it was
"the best place to see it", I had to give it a shot. It was
likely that at least I would see Pinguicula pumila
(which I had not seen before in the wild), and
a few other common species like Utricularia cornuta,
U. subulata,
and maybe Drosera capillaris. (I was excited to see what this last
species would look like, since I had heard rumours of very large plants
in southern Florida.)
So via the Tamiami Trail, I headed for an area near the coast--outside
of Everglades National
Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, but still in a location
surrounded by large expanses of natural areas. My
instructions were great, and I arrived at my destination without
incident. I got out of my car, and saw...
