NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



leaves out of which grows a stem with a 

 dense cluster of flowers shaped like a 

 cylinder. Indigenous people ate its roots and 

 young stems as a vegetable, and used the 

 pollen from its male flowers in bread 

 making, Ward says. The stem supports both 

 male and female flowers. When they first 

 emerge, the female flowers are a light tan, 

 but turn chestnut brown as they mature. A 

 smaller cluster of male flowers grows above 

 this brown cylinder, but falls off after the 

 pollen is shed, leaving behind a thin stalk. 



^n the Nature Conservancy's Green 

 Swamp Nature Preserve, a long leaf pine 

 savanna in Brunswick County: 



• Pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea. 

 Most pitcher plants flower before June, but 

 you might still see the purple pitcher plant 

 blooming in early summer. Its beautiful 

 reddish and burgundy flowers have five 

 petals and are on stalks that rise about a foot 

 from the ground. A carnivorous plant with 

 squatty tubular leaves, it has nectar glands 

 that entice unwitting insects. The pitcher 

 plants digest the insects' soft body parts to 

 get nitrogen, which is generally lacking in 

 the soils where it grows. The leaves range 

 from slighdy purple to a deeper hue. 



• Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula. 

 Found naturally only within 50 to 75 miles 

 of Wilmington, the Venus flytrap is an 

 oddity — a plant that bites back. Of all 

 carnivorous plants, it is the only one you 

 can easily see in action, as it traps insects by 

 snapping shut its leaves, gradually squeez- 

 ing their bodies and sealing them in a 

 digestive vat. Its leaves, which are some- 

 times red inside and laced with nectar, are 

 thought to be the lure. 



• Sundews Drosera spp. These 

 flowers vary from white to pink, depending 

 on the species. The leaves' surfaces are 

 covered with glistening sticky droplets that 

 capture small insects. 



• Yellow milkwort Polygala lutea. 

 With compact heads of attractive orange 

 flowers on stalks six to 10 inches tall, this 

 plant's name is a misnomer. Early Europe- 



ans thought them to be yellow, based on 

 the dried specimens they received. 



• Hatpins Eriocaulon spp. Named for 

 their resemblance to old-fashioned hatpins, 

 these white flowers form a tight cluster that 

 looks like a flat-topped button atop a very 

 slender stalk. □ 



Learn More About Wildflowers 

 and Other Coastal Plants 



Interested in wild/lower walks 

 throughout the year? Check with a nearby 

 local state or national park. The following 

 groups and organizations also occasion- 

 ally organize coastal field trips: 



The North Carolina Botanical 

 Garden in Chapel Hill, 919/962-0522; 



The Nature Conservancy of North 

 Carolina, owner of the Green Swamp 

 Nature Preserve, 919/403-8558; 



The North Carolina Wildflower 

 Preservation Society in Raleigh, 919/834- 

 4172; and 



The North Carolina Maritime 

 Museum in Beaufort, 252/728-7317. 



To learn more about a variety of 

 coastal plants, order a North Carolina Sea 

 Grant publication: 



• A Guide to Salt Marsh Plants 

 Common to North Carolina is a teaching 

 guide to the herbs, vines, grasses and 

 shrubs found in North Carolina marshes. 

 UNC-SG-81-04; 32 pages; illustrated; 

 $1.50. 



• A Guide to Ocean Dune Plants 

 Common to North Carolina describes and 

 illustr-ates the herbs, vines, grasses, shrubs 

 and tees found on and near the North 

 Carolina dunes. UNC-SG-87-01; 80 

 pages; $4.50. 



• Seacoast Plants of the Carolinas for 

 Conservation and Beautifkation is a 

 handbook on the use of plants for land- 

 scaping and stabilizing coastal soils. UNC- 

 SG-73-06; 206 pages; $4.50. 



Make your check payable to North 

 Carolina Sea Grant. Send your request to 

 North Carolina Sea Grant, NCSU, Box 

 8605, Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. For more 

 information, call 919/515-2454. 



Laurel Hill Press 



Hatpins, Eriocaulon 



Laurel Hill Press 



Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula 



COASTWATCH 31 



