Insectivorous Plants in the Wilderness

　
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Sarracenia alata                                                                                                                                           © 2005 Makoto Honda. All Rights Reserved




  

This species grows extensively in southern Alabama, neighboring Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.  The plants flower profusely in March through early April.  In one late April, I was lucky to find this colony, somewhat protected from the wind by the surrounding forest: The pale-yellow petals were still intact here while in the open fields, almost all petals had been blown away completely. Heavy deposits of pollen can be seen on the bottom of the inverted, umbrella-shaped style of the dangling flower. There were no functional pitchers at the time of flowering - for the comfort of visiting pollinators.
 

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