Re: Sarracenia

Oliver T Massey CFS (massey@hal.fmhi.usf.edu)
Fri, 9 Jun 1995 16:00:58 -0400

> It seems to me that being under water in the winter might be a very
> useful survival technique. A nice layer of water would act as a
> buffer between the plant and any sub-zero temperatures and from the
> damaging cold, dry winds. I know that my zone 6 plants often
> sustain frost damage when the air temperature is well above freezing
> but with moderate humidity, but seem to have no problems handling
> temperatures down to freezing if it is raining. If the plant is
> dormant, the lack of catchable food would not be a factor in it's
> survival. I know there are number of emergent/aquatic plants in
> the local rivers and ponds that use this technique for winter
> survival - they loose their surface and above surface leaves and
> only retain those that are below the water's surface.
> John

S. psittacina is very common in the Florida panhandle. The largest plants I
recall having seen were associated with wetter areas, although as a general
rule I can't say that psittacinas grow in flooded areas. They seem to me more
common than some of the others, if you find flava, rubra, or lueco. you can
usually find them in the same area. Along the roads of the Florida panhandle
you find many open soggy fields full of grasses and a few scattered pines.
After a rain many areas are likely to have perhaps two or three inches of
standing water. The soil is mostly sand with fine, well decayed organic
matter. During dry spells in the spring the soil is often dry to the touch but
still wet just under the surface. On a typical summer day you will have at
least one midafternoon shower, so the fields stay pretty wet. Because of the
warm gulf waters and colder temps from the north, most of the gulf coast of
Florida enjoys good rainfall between the start of the rains in summer until
very late Dec or Jan. As for
-Anyway, hope this isn't a waste of bandwidth, though it might provide some
background.

Tom in Fl