7 replies to this topic

[Fernando Rivadavia]

Anybody know of any CP sites in the Yellowstone National Park area or surroundings?


Thanks,
Fernando

Edited by Fernando Rivadavia, 20 June 2012 - 07:01 AM.

[Fernando Rivadavia]

Well it turns out there *ARE* CPs in the Yellowstone area! :)

In the southern section of the park, a bit north from the border with Grand Teton National Park, this past weekend I found what I believe were D.anglica just coming out of dormancy, growing at a roadside seepage trampled by bison at ~2350m altitude.

I didn't see any Utrics at this site, although it looked very similar to sites I'd seen in California which were covered in Utrics. I thought it was probably just a little too early in the season to see Utrics. There was still even some snow mounds along this road in the shadier sections (although outside temperature was in the mid to high 20's C).

But later that day, looking at the pics in my hotel room, I noticed there apparently were Utrics at that site after all, let's see who can spot them in the pics below. :)

First, the habitat:





Although the seepage was large, I only saw D.anglica in two small spots. I'm not sure what made those spots so special, they didn't seem wetter or different in any way to my inexperienced eyes in regards to temperate-CP habitats.

The leaves had relatively short lamina, looking almost like D.intermedia. I'm not sure if this was because they were just coming out of dormancy, since I don't know what this species looks like at this stage. But I also found some old scapes and these were very short, only a few cm long. Could this have been the small D.anglica form that some people refer to as D.anglica var.pusilla or D.kihlmanii?

And here are the pics:



























Notice all the mosquitoes trapped on the leaves! There sure were a lot of them at this site.... Damned bloodsuckers!

There were a lot of other wet habitats inside Yellowstone, but most were run-offs from steam vents and geysers, which I assume are not good for most CPs. However D.linearis is know from a few sites further north in Montana - maybe they'd be comfortable in these assumedly alkaline seepages?

Either, way, I confess I didn't spend much time searching for CPs, when there was so much to see in Yellowstone... :)


Best wishes,
Fernando Rivadavia

[kisscool_38]

Nice spot! It looks like some high altitude european bogs. If it was on this side of the Atlantic, I would bet there were some Pinguicula vulgaris. This species is known from Montana and it is very likely in my opinion to extend south to the Yellowstone park. But it is probably still too early in the season to see it at this altitude.

Concerning the utric, it looks like our Utricularia minor/bremii, however this one is not known from the new world.

Regards

Aymeric

Edited by kisscool_38, 25 June 2012 - 19:42 PM.

[Daniel O.]

So you have been lucky to find some CP´s.
Have you also taken some more landscape pictures?

Thanks for sharing.

Best regards,
Dani

[Alexander Nijman]

It looks more to a Drosera intermedia habitat. But not sure. I have never been there. But for CP s there are better areas in the US. If I would go to Yellowstone it would not be for the odd CP.

Alexander

[Fernando Rivadavia]

Alex, I fully agree and it was not why I went there, D.anglica was only a small bonus. It's easy to get distracted at Yellowstone with all the animals, amazing views, waterfalls, canyons, lakes, mountains, and of course geysers and hot springs like the one below called Prismatic Spring (my favorite by far):




:)


Best Wishes,
Fernando Rivadavia

[Kevin Tonnerre]

I think if youd want to expect it to be the small D.anglica form,the substrate should be alkaline,and apart from being small they also bear single flowered stalks. But in the beginning of the growing season they just look small but their leaves kind of stretch throughout the season.

And Aymeric,of course there are U.minor in north America.

[Andreas Fleischmann]

Hi Fernando,

So you found D. anglica at Yellowstone, congrats!
(Alexander, if you look at the width of the petiole base, and the stipule size and shape, you can even clearly recognize even at this early stage of growth that this plant is definitely not D. intermedia).
The fen area the plants were growing in is certainly alkaline, the vegetation is very characteristic. However I rather doubt that this is the "small form" of D. anglica (AKA "D. kihlmannii", "D. anglica var. pusilla", or "D. anglica f. alpina"). At least at all alkaline sites here in Europe, that size of the lamina would tell me it is "typical" (i.e. large) D. anglica, which also thrives well in alkaline soil (probably a heritage it got from its parent D. linearis). At least the European D. anglica var. pusilla (that's the name I currently use for this taxon, until all studies regarding its taxonomic state are finished) have much smaller laminae on the first emergin leaves (not much longer than wide, i.e. more similar to D. intermedia). But correct ID is only possible from flowering size specimens, as Kevin already pointed out.

The Utricularia visible in some of the photos certainly is U. minor (firstly because of the size of the trap-bearing leaf-segments, but also because U. bremii seems to be a strict calcifuge ;))

BTW, nice fungi at the base of some of the old Juncaceae scapes! Landscape is also fine of course, however me, I'd go to that area 1. because of the unique flora, and 2. because of the views ... ;)

Andreas