Bog Stomping the Florida Panhandle

Bog stomping through the Florida Panhandle this week brought a ton of firsts. Huge thanks to @roadsidecarnivores for the help along the way.

Pitcher plants

A stunning show of Sarracenia flava — and seeing them in the wild makes it obvious why ours want full sun and wet feet.

Tall yellow Sarracenia flava pitchers in a wild bog — Sarracenia in the savanna.

Red-tubed Sarracenia pitchers standing in tall grass — Sarracenia in the savanna.

Down at ground level, S. psittacina — the parrot pitcher — lay in the wet spots, its lobster-pot traps pointed inward.

A rosette of red Sarracenia psittacina pitchers lying in shallow water — Sarracenia psittacina, sitting in standing water.

Flytraps and butterworts

A whole mess of Florida Venus flytraps, tucked into the pine straw. And our first wild Pinguicula — both P. ionantha and P. planifolia.

Wild Venus flytraps growing among grasses and pine needles — Wild flytraps and a native butterwort.

A pale green wild butterwort rosette in wet ground — Wild flytraps and a native butterwort.

A reddish wild butterwort rosette among pine needles — Another wild butterwort, blushing red in the open sun.

Wildflowers

We also saw snowy orchids (Platanthera nivea), pine lilies (Lilium catesbaei), and giant milkweed (Asclepias connivens) blooming in the wild for the first time.

A white spike of snowy orchid flowers in a wet savanna — Snowy orchid and pine lily.

An orange-red pine lily flower in tall grass — Snowy orchid and pine lily.

Pale green milkweed flowers in a grassy bog — Milkweed in bloom.

Many of these share habitat with the plants we grow — if you want some of that savanna feel at home, see our post on bog companion plants.