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1 A vacationer’s guide to carnivorous plant locations Joseph Simone, MD, PhD • 8901 W. 74th Street, Suite 285 • ShawneeMission, Kansas 66204 • USA [email protected] • Keywords: travel: Drosera, Sarraceniapurpurea, Darlingtonia californica In 1961,NationalGeographicMagazinepublishedanarticlebyPaulZahl (1961) entitled“Plants that eat insects.”This was followed by arelated article (Zahl 1964) entitled “Malaysia’s giant flowers and insect-trapping plants.”Although I wasjust a young teenager at the time, these two articles introduced me to the fascinating and bizarre world ofcarnivorous plants, and created acuriosity in me thathas persistedto thisday. In the firstarticle, Zahl discussedthe worldofVenus fly traps, sundews andAmerican pitcherplants and created abogterrariumofcarnivorous plants that came from theonlycompany atthattime fromwhich onecouldeasily obtainthese, i.e., theCarolinaBiological Supply Company. In the second article he wrote about the more exotic pitcher plants from Borneo in theNepenthes family. It wasn’t long after that that I placed an order and createdmy own bog terrarium with these fascinating plants.Although theselived only a shortperiod atime, it setthe stage forfurtherpurchases over many years that peaked with the successful growth ofNepenthes plants in my basement under halogenlights.AlthoughIhave oftenthoughtoffieldtripsto seecarnivorousplantsgrowing intheir natural location, the demands ofcareerand family havekept me from doing this. In addition, it has appeared to be very difficult to find the exact locations of such plants because ofthen- endangered status. I have subscribed to Carnivorous Plant Newsletter for nearly two decades and have always Figure 1 : View of Bog Trail from boardwalk in Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, Canada. Volume 40 June 201 63 Figure 2: Drosera rotundifolia among sphagnum moss as seen along Bog Trail. noted how circumspect the authors are in describing the location oftheir finds, although I certainly understand and agree with theirconcerns. However, during the last three years, three distinct opportunities unexpectedly arose in which I was able to observe and photograph different species ofcarnivorous plants in theirnatural settings, without the need for any special permits, hiking through bogs or swamps or hours spent research- ing possible locations. By sheer coincidence, during vacations taken for other reasons, I found carnivorous plants growing in the wild! Not only are the sites themselves not secret, but in fact are wellpublicizedinliterature available attheparks.Theselocations are also easily accessible on well- maintained trails and present good photo opportunities. The first site is in the Pacific Rim National Park onVancouver Island in Canada. This is a mag- nificent temperate rainforest situated on the west side ofVancouver Island on Highway 4 between UclueletandTofino. Locatedalong themainroadconnecting thesetwocities andinside thenational park is a trail clearly labeled, “Bog Trail.”This trail consists ofan easy hike on a boardwalk over a swamp that is in fact handicapped accessible. Scattered through this bog, with many growing right My alongthe sideofthetrail, arethousandsofDroseraplants. wifeandIvisitedthisparkinAugust, 2007, and it wasn’t until we got there and Iread the park’s brochure on the trails that I knew about thepresence oftheseplants. Figure gives an overview ofthebog as taken fromthe boardwalkand 1 Figure 2 is aclose-up the sundews growing along the side ofthe trail. The second site also was not known about in advance, and was discovered when we visitedAl- gonquin Provincial Parkin Ontario, Canadain May, 2008. This park is located in northern Ontario along Highway 60 and is a nature lover’s delight with an abundance ofwildlife and trails. Near the east end ofthe park is a trail, clearly labeled “Spruce Bog Boardwalk.” Like the previously men- tioned trail, this is an easily hiked boardwalk that covers a large bog/swamp. The park’s brochure gives the location where Sarraceniapurpurea plants can be seen and photographed from the trail 64 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 1 Figure 3: Overview of bog as seen from Spruce Bog Boardwalk in Algonquin Provinicial Park, Ontario, Canada. Figure 4: Close-up of Sarracenia purpurea growing near trail. itself. Figure 3, gives a view ofthe bog as seen from the boardwalk, while Figure 4 is a close-up of plants growing near the edge ofthe trail. Note thatdueto the early time ofthe yearthere (May), the plants were onlyjustbeginning to come out oftheir winter dormancy. Volume 40 June 201 65 . wayside DARLINGTONIA This area has been set aside as a yhoeurea\re botanical preserve so that jrou may infitje«»rp—retivK\ parkins uobnsuesruvael pDlaarnltinwghtiocnihatcraalpisfoarnndicdia,geasnts insects. Also known os cobra-lily. ^restroom— Cobra-orchid, and Pitcher Plant, ‘'‘-observation decic iTs range varies from an elevation of SOOOfeeT to sea level. sDorllngton«d plants Figure 5: Darlingtonia Wayside Park north of Florence, Oregon on US Highway 101 Figure 6: Field of Darlingtonia californica growing near trail in park. The third and final location was easily the most spectacular ofall. This site is located approxi- mately five miles north ofFlorence, Oregon on US Highway 101 andis in a small state parknamed Darlingtonia Wayside. This park consists of a small circular loop boardwalk, and at the midpoint ofthe boardwalk are hundreds, ifnot thousands, ofmature specimens ofDarlingtonia californica. 66 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 1 , Many ofthese arenearly three feetinheight, and wehad thepleasure ofvisiting this siteinAugust, 2008.The sign attheparkentrance (seeFigure 5) clearly states the presence ofthe many plants vis- ible for viewing and picture taking (see Figure 6). These three sites demonstratethatthe casual vacationerwith aninterest can find many locations where carnivorous plants are available to view in accessible locations and without the need for any special permits. Also, as the sites are all advertized as having carnivorous plants by the parks themselves, theconcern ofmaintenance ofsecrecy forthelocation is avoided. My final hope is that sometime whileI am vacationingin the Southeastportion ofthe United States thatI am able to find similar viewing locations for theVenus fly trap! References Zahl, RA. 1961. Plants that eat insects. Nat. Geog. 119 (5): 643-659. Zahl, P.A. 1964. Malaysia’s giant flowers and insect-trapping plant. Nat. Geog. 125: 680-701. petflytrap THE ORIGINAL VENUS FLYTRAP • Mail order and Internet U.S. sales • Dionaea, Sarracenia, Nepenthes, Drosera Pinguicula books, supplies, and much more , We • stock multiple sizes of most plants • Terrarium kits with live plants (no seeds) • Rare nursery-grown, imported lowland/intermediate Nepenthes • Most plants shipped potted and ready to grow! m www.petflytrap co . [email protected] 281 -433-3286 Volume 40 June 201 67