Pitchers:
One unfortunate bit of history about the site is that somehow, for some reason, at some
time within the last decade, someone put a Sarracenia leucophylla plant among the S. alata.
As a result of this introduction, hybrids started popping up, and the natural characteristics that make this
seep so nice were at risk. Mike was helping identify and remove these hybrids before the damage was irreversible.
The easiest time to find these hybrids is during flowering season because their red flowers stand out like beacons among
the cream-yellow S. alata flowers. The red-flowered plants had all been flagged, and today
Mike and I were to dig the hybrids out of the ground. (This was all done with permission!)
We carefully stepped off the boardwalk and entered the pitcher plant stand. We
teased the the flagged plants out of the ground, disturbing the soil matrix
as little as possible. We noticed several hybrids that had been missed (because they
hadn't flowered) and removed them, too. No doubt we missed some bits of rhizome and some additional hybrids.
This will be a multiple-year eradication project.
