RHH's photos with the keyword: little bog of horrors

This is the third of the introduced pitcher plants we found in the "little bog of horrors." This plant, though not as showy as the other two was found growing in huge clumps and had recently been in flower. In a previous posting of a picture of these plants, I wrote: "Yesterday I accompanied a group from the Washington Native Plant Society on an excursion to a lake in Western Washington where someone (who and when is a mystery) has introduced a number of carnivorous plants from other parts of the country, primarily the southeastern USA. These plants have established themselves and are thriving and reseeding in their new location. There are three species of pitcher plants (Sarracenia), Venus Fly-traps (Dionaea), a Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia), all introductions, as well as Sundews (Drosera) and a Butterwort (Pinguicula) which are native, but may be introduced in this location. These all grow along the edges of a quaking bog. We got very wet and muddy searching for these plants, but saw an abundance of the plants, this species still in bloom and the others finished. The gentleman who led the expedition refers to the place as the little bog of horrors, but it is really a little bog of wonders. For those who are not acquainted with carnivorous plants, these are plants that "eat" insects. In this case the insects crawl into the water in the tubular leaf which is shown, are unable to get out, drown, and are digested by the plant. "

This picture was published in the Mexican conservation journal, Especies, Mar-Apr, 2010 in an article on carnivorous plants. I talked so much about the "little bog of horrors" that my seventeen year old son decided he had to see it too. Yesterday, after he finished school for the day, I took him there and we spent several hours photographing the several different species of carnivorous plants. I had my DSLR but he had only an inexpensive point and shoot, since the camera he usually uses wasn't available. While there he came up with the brilliant idea of sticking the lens of the camera into the tubular openings of the pitcher plants and in doing so discovered this dragonfly which had been captured by a pitcher plant, had drowned, and was now floating on top of the liquid in the plant. He was very proud of the picture and to tell the truth, I was a bit envious. In any case, here it is. You are looking down into the sunlit tube of a Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) at the remains of a dragonfly and his watery grave. The pictures below show the water in one of the "pitchers" and a small clump of pitchers growing in a mound of sphagnum moss.

This picture was published in the Mexican conservation journal, Especies, Mar-Apr, 2010 in an article on carnivorous plants. Here is a carnivorous plant that captures insects with the hairs and sticky drops the hairs excrete. The drops are not water but a sticky liquid that attracts and holds tiny insects which are then digested by the plant. The plant is very small; each of pads with its sticky hairs is only about 5mm in diameter.

In Explore, December 23, 2009, #496. This photo was taken in the "Little Bog of Horrors" described in a previous post. This particular species of pitcher plant was seen in only a few locations but had two forms, this white form and a very heavily veined and maroon form.

In Explore October 6, 2010, #346. These are Yellow Pitcher Plants, Sarracenia flava, growing in a floating bog about an hour south of where we live. I've posted pictures from this bog before, but we visited again a week or so ago and saw these amazing plants again. No one knows who planted them there or when, but they are not native though they are well-established. Further pictures and a description of our excursion can be found here: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/10/little-bog-... .

When we visited the floating bog on Summer Lake in Skagit County a few weeks ago ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/10/little-bog-... , we had no intention of returning again this year. However, our good friend, Marti Anderson, expressed an interest in seeing the bog, and so we decided to go once more to show her this wonderful place, and as it turned out, picked a beautiful, sunny, autumn day. We spent nearly four hours there enjoying the sunshine, taking photos, and examining these remarkable plants. This is the bog where someone has introduced a number of species of carnivorous plants, especially Pitcher Plants and Flytraps and where they have become established and flourished. The place is amazing and it was a lot of fun to show the place to Marti, who I think enjoyed the excursion but for the wet feet she got at the end with my wife's help. Marti's photostream is here: www.flickr.com/photos/meanderingwa/ and you can link to her blog from mine. There are three species of Pitcher Plants growing in the bog. This is the White Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia leucophylla. It seems to be the least well established of thee three, since we counted only about a dozen pitchers, many of which were quite small. The other two, the Purple Pitcher Plant and the Yellow Pitcher Plant are very well established. More pictures of the lake, of its floating island and of these plants can be found on my blog: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2010/10/one-more-vi... .