Field Trip: Apalachicola National Forest

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii (a.k.a. Sarracenia rosea) flowering

One of the best places to see carnivorous plants in the wild, particularly Sarracenia, is the Apalachicola National Forest. Many of the photos I took of plants in the wild native to the panhandle come from Apalachicola. Unless I come across another set of photos, I believe that I've now published all the photos I have from that old film camera from the Apalachicola National Forest area.

I do have one thing that I do want to mention about visiting - take only photographs. I know that it's a theme featured again and again on conservation posts, but I'd hate for Apalachicola to become like Francis Marion National Forest, which, I'm told, has largely been poached out. Apalachicola is one of the few sites left with a large enough population of carnivores that, with good management, can be maintained long-term.

If you do go, you can stop almost anywhere and readily find carnivores of some sort or another. Within Apalachicola are most of the species of Sarracenia, along with dozens - if not hundreds - of hybrids, some so complex that they rival even the finest of human creations. Drosera overwhelm the senses, at points. Utricularia are ever present. And, somewhere, hidden away, are a few thousand Dionaea.