Woodfield Bog - pics resized
This is easiest site to access, only 3 miles from Junction 6 of the M7 Dublin to Galway motorway just off the Clara Road. The google earth imagery has recently been upgraded and is of excellent quality. The population is centred on position 53 degrees 22.509 minutes North, 7 degrees 37.45 minutes West. If you look carefully there appears to be crescent shaped area of vegetation of different type however it is really obvious on the OSI ortho photos centred on X 625258, Y 736195, where it appears as red on the 2005/2000 photos and lighter on the 1995 black and white photos. If you remember that google earth is satellite imagery I wonder is this the first time a CP population can be identified from space! I had visited Woodfield before in 2008 and on this occasion it was noticeably dryer particularly when I ventured out onto what one would consider to be the middle and thus hopefully the wetter part of the bog. In 2008 this area had a lot of sphagnous pools with lots of Drosera anglica half submerged. Now, however, these were all dried out and there was no sign of D. anglica. As you walk across the bog to the main site the flower spikes of the Sarracenia give their locations away however its best to ignore these until you get to main area as they are very scattered. Once you get to the main area the density of plants is quite extraordinary, some patches forming mounds several metres across, comprising hundreds of individual plants. The variety of forms present covered the same spectrum as Termonbarry, from ‘veinless’ to all red. The area in which the Sarracenia are located was again dryer than in 2008 but still very wet and from my limited exploration this would appear to be the wettest part of the bog and is possibly spring fed. I was still in danger of overtopping my wellies but it was certainly dryer than 2008 when I was up to my knees. Comparison of the ortho photos would suggest that the turf cutting drains on the northern edge of the bog have been extended and this, allied to the very dry spring, is probably responsible. I visited Woodfield twice, the 30th of May and 22nd of June. On the first visit there the flowers were just about to flower however the were a fair number of shrivelled flower spikes which might have been due to the last frost in the area which got to minus 3 the previous week. I failed to find Darlingtonia on my first visit as I had concentrated on the drier part of the population towards the southern edge of the bog however a more thorough exploration relocated it on the 22nd. There were a few hundred plants evident and a good number appeared to have grown from naturally set seed. There were however very few flowers in evidence, again possibly due to the harsh winter and spring.
All in all very enjoyable visits despite being hot and humid with horse flies trying to bite lumps out of me. In weather like this you certainly need the sunscreen as well!

A good size clump of the red variety on the drier southern edge of the site
A ‘veinless’ and red form growing intertwined
The ‘veinless’ really stand out even at a distance
A full spectrum of forms
The common red form
‘Semi veinless’? The red ones are getting enough light so it’s definitely not the shade!
Thick large clumps looking towards the north
It was noticeably dryer and scrubbier at the southern edges
Quite a few plants had shrivelled flower spikes. Temperatures had dropped to minus 3oC the previous week
Success! Darlingtonia relocated. There were only a few with flowers though
One of the bigger pitchers, about 30cms tall
The vivid green fresh pitchers were very striking, last years old pitchers and a flower spike are also visible
There were probably a few hundred plants in all, they were particularly noticeable when backlit by the sun
One of the last Sarracenia purpurea flowers
The new young pitchers on the ‘veinless’ were really coming on and looked just like the form heterophylla
The natives I– Drosera anglica in an overgrown drain
The natives II – Drosera rotundifolia on the cut eastern edge
Hope you enjioyed the slideshow
Ian

ouch, very, very large photos
seem to crash my compo every time

Likewise. Please re-size them!!!!

Likewise. Please re-size them!!!!

Wow, someone's been naughty planting them!

Its nice to see that Darlingtonia survived this winter, I guess we now know just how hardy it is in this part of the world.

Oops sorry all, I'm a bit new to posting photos. They were all taken with my SLR and once I converted from raw to jpeg they were still over 1MB. THen I reduced the jpeg quality to get them under 1MB. I'm surprised Loakseys 20MB broadband takes so long, my steam driven copper wire 3MB manages it in about a minute! Back to the drawing board and Photoshop I guess. I'll edit the post once I've resized them.
Cheers, Ian

if you resize to make the width 1024 pixels or less that is more than big enough.

Manage to view them 3rd attempt. Is this what I would perhaps refer to as the "Clara Bog" site?

Controversially beautiful! It's pretty amazing to see how naturalized plants do so much better than plants in cultivation-those clumps of S. purpurea ssp. purpurea are thriving! Any idea how long ago those S. purpurea were planted?

Please re-size your pictures before posting, they're enormous.

Stephen, hopefully the Woodfield post is fixed at least now. I'll get Termonbarry sorted tomorrow. In response to your query it probably could be referred to as the Clara Bog site though it isn't actually Clara Bog. You can see Clara Bog proper on google earth as the uncut bog pretty much due south of Woodfield, Clara town being between the two. Just as well too, Clara Bog is pretty much the last uncut raised bog in the midlands, an SAC and very important fron a biodiversity viewpoint. I don't think Sarracenia purpurea would be well regarded if iit found it's way there!
Cheers, Ian

Thanks for the report Ian.

There have been a small number of wild Sarracenia populations established over the years here in New Zealand so it's very interesting to see these Irish plants, not to mention the Darlingtonia.

Given the size of the colonies it doesn't appear as though there is any effort made on the part of government biological protection agencies to eradicate them or prevent their spread as is mooted here in NZ. Is this the case?

Also, in contrast to their deposition way back when, are the plants uplifted by collectors?

I read somewhere that the first S. purpurea introduction to Ireland was in 1906. A couple of years ago there was an article in one of the national newspapers saying the Irish government were considering an eradication program, dont think it came to anything. Cant see that they're causing any problem.

Ah! That's vastly better. I can enjoy your photos now.

As has already been said, very naughty, but nevertheless very beautiful!!!

The Woodfield population was first introduced in 1930, there appear to have been multiple introductions since then from Coolatore and the original site, Termonbarry. There's a link to an interesting paper on the subject in the Termonbarry post. I'm trying to track down, or rather a mate is trying to track down the papers/notes on the introductions. My old college zoology department has the journal in question and it's only 50 m from his office so he's no excuse! As regards collectors, I'll 'fess up to picking up a few plants (4) when I started growing CPs a few years back but in reality I would think that every single cp grower in the UK taking one would struggle to make an impact, there is over 1ha, several thousands. In the case of Termonbarry there are 10 ha, every cp grower in Europe could have one! In any event I haven't seen any evidence of it. Moud's bog is the population that raises the most interesting question, it's the most easterly raised bog that's any way intact and designated as an SAC as a result, what should be done there? It is an invasive alien species after all. I have heard it suggested that they should be dug up and sold to raise funds for the Irish Peatlands Conservation coouncil for example.
Cheers, Ian

I know that my fellow growers may frown on me for saying this, in fact I might even be shown the door, but I think this is an excellent idea. I know that we all love these plants, but they don't belong there really.

Very nice photos, thanks for posting Ian, hope to see more of your pics in the future.


Alex.

Not at all - that would be a most sensible option.
If it was one of my sites, their days would certainly be numbered.

There are several European contries now that have naturalized Sarracenia populations, including Darlingtonia. I heard a rumor back in the '60's that there was a S. flava populatin in Ireland as well, and they were producing hybrids with the purps.

I didn't notice any D. anglica in these photos, only D. rotundifolia. - Rich

Well spotted that man, wrong pic in for Drosera anglica, just about to be rectified!
Ian

Very nice experience I might say !

I could not believe my eyes when in France i decided to take a straight cut through a swamp with my good friend Iggy.
That sight ,so many purpurea on one spot incredible.

Thanks for sharing
Greetz Tim

Very nice experience I might say !

I could not believe my eyes when in France i decided to take a straight cut through a swamp with my good friend Iggy.
That sight ,so many purpurea on one spot incredible.

Thanks for sharing
Greetz Tim

Well they would hang you for something that naughty downhere...

Alexander

Well as long as they do not harm the native stuff I would not boder about them but leave them there.

Alexander

Rich, unfortunately the rumour about S. flava was only that. It was introduced to Termonbarry in 1906 (see my other post) but appears to have died out around the 1930s, the great Lloyd Praeger only finding a single plant. My visit to Termonbarry was brief, I only had about an hour and I certainly didn't se it or any potential hybrids. With a longer search, you never know............
Cheers, Ian