May 2011 Osceola Pictures

[buckcity]

Too late to locate and photograph any orchids in Osceola-next chance late summer. Here are further examples of the typical-but infrequent S.minors.




















Sad two minors growing in the road:

Still searching for any other populations of 'Okee Giant' minors in the Osceola forest.

[buckcity]

Finally found an area with a lot of minors. The Osceola forest is a disgrace though. It is amazing to travel through a national forest and see row upon row of slash pines. I actually saw S.minors growing in old plowed rows of twenty foot tall pines. No wonder the Sierra Club won their suit against the forestry service for suppressing fires. The rangers had turned the forest into a monocrop. One may only wonder if the Ivory Billed Woodpecker was the only species caused to go extinct here.

[buckcity]

[Brian Barnes]

Nice photos!

Indeed, those areas are desperately in need prescribed fire. It appears that the S. minor, as I'm sure many other CP and their companions are being choked out by the pine straw and overgrowth. Do you know of any burns that have taken place there? You spoke of fire suppression?

Happy Growing,

Brian

[buckcity]

Not much burn evidence. I have first hand experience of fire suppression but it was in the eighties. While in high school my parents signed me up for the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC.) We (the students) were stationed in the Osceola National Forest and did menial tasks such as putting up fence and painting buildings, etc..It was a 9-5 type job for kids. One day we encountered a ranger who insisted that we help put out a fire. The method was with shovels and one sprayer of some sort of chemical. We helped for a bit but it was late in the day and our parents picked us up at an appointed time. The ranger however attempted to talk us into staying late. He argued that the pines needed to be saved. Mind you, these pines were obviously a crop as they were planted in rows. It really made a negative impression on me. I was rather enlightened to the role of fire in the environment yet the ranger seemed clueless.

A search of the web showed the official policy regarding prescribed fires but the caveat is that several factors have to align before a fire is planned. Mention is made of the necessity to clear underbrush so that surrounding communities are not affected by uncontrolled fires as with the Bugaboo swamp fires from a few years back that clouded a huge region with soot and ash.

What is evident is vast acres of clear cut land and a mono culture of slash pines. The small colony of 'Okee Giant' type minors is almost covered in thick brush. I'm actually considering clipping the brush back a little-but this week I'm taking a break and am going snorkling in the Suwannee to look for fossils.

[Brian Barnes]

Hey Buck,

By "Okee Giant" type S. minors, are you referring to the large sized ones with over-extended hoods covering the rim?

Interestingly, I've encountered that form down here as well as the typical "ball cap" lidded forms.

Brian

[buckcity]

Yes Brian, the rim of the pitcher mouth is tilted downward but they also
have the other two characteristics:

-over fifteen inches tall (note the 12 inch coke bottle next to the plants for scale) and
-the flowers are shorter than the pitchers.

I noticed your question while I was gathering a little bit of information for the wildlife biologist for the Osceola National Forest. Called him last week asking if it were possible to suggest an area for prescribed burns and told him about what I think is unique population in the forest.