The Florida Carnivorous Plant Society

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(Above; Pinguicula primuliflora habitat, Florida Panhandle.)



After such a successful adventure in finding the wonderful Drosera Filiformis var. filiformis here in North Florida,and my CP appetite now appeased for the moment at best, it was time for the next phase in our quest... Barry and I decided it was time to leave the D. filiformis "red" site in search of the somewhat elusive Pinguicula primuliflora.
After reviewing a few GPS coordinates and Google Earth maps, we were off! Not to see The Wizard, but something much more magical. We headed west, noticing that the weather was clearing and looking very cooperative. The coolness in the breeze and the clearness of the sky was a welcome delight, considering how rainy it had been a few hours prior. So....off we went! After a 35-40 minute drive west and a series of twists and turns, we pulled over to a spot that at first sight, looked like a man-made drainage area beside the road...Barry pointed out a few wild Phlox Drummond and we made fun of the slight simularity to Byblis liniflora flowers. The path sloped downhill drastically, and leveled out to a gorgeous crystal-clear stream, which i believe was naturally spring-fed. And yes, our good friend Smilax was there, in all of it's thorny glory. Thankfully, the testiculosa variety wasn't present! We managed to steer our way around the tangled edges and step into the icy-cold water. The stream had a strong flow present and we began scanning the edges for whatever our hungry eyes could find...After about a 3 minute trek upstream, we spotted them, almost in unison. With long lettuce-green foliage waving effortlessly in the crystal currents, their leaves and flowers almost seemed to be waving and smiling at us.

Barry's jaw was dropped in amazement at the sight and we both began singing Pavarottis' "Nessun Dorma" out of sure glee!
Many were growing as floaters, roots gently swaying in the current as if they were doing some secretive underwater ballet. They were anchored to each other, many only by entwined leaves, showing their beginnings as leaf buds at the tips which gradually had worked their way from shore, to shallows.
The familiar sound of cameras charging in unison again filled the stillness. The Emerald Goddesses were just a few minutes away from being given immortality; life eternal, frozen on our memory sticks.
Shortly thereafter, i noticed what was the LARGEST Pinguicula primuliflora I'd ever seen! It was easily the size of my hand and growing almost completely submerged, in a slow mini cul-de-sac of the stream. Obviously, I had come across The Queen of The Emerald Throne...

This was Barry's first time seeing these magnificent plants in the wild and my second time seeing them. I had seen them about 15 years ago but that area was now resticted and only accessable with permission from the land owner. We were both encapsulated in silence, with only the sounds of camera shutters being quite noticable, accompanied by the gentle trickling sound of the stream on occasion. Barry was the first to notice two new- looking plastic nursery flats openly laying on a side of the stream. Obviously, someone else had been seeking the Emerald Goddesses' presence as well, but sadly for all the wrong reasons... Upon our unfortunate discovery of the above mentioned items, I can only hope that this population will survive the coming years, or months, or even weeks that lie ahead.
On a much brighter note....And then, there were the flowers. Some of the most perfect Pinguicula primuliflora flowers I've ever seen. They seemed to be facing each other as if they were enthralled within a lively conversation amongst themselves, totally unaware of the two, tall strangers that had invaded their land. The next two photos are my favorites and are entitled " A Conversation Amongst Friends"......