USE OF THIS BOOKLET 



This publication is designed to help visitors and other interested indi- 

 viduals obtain more information about the carnivorous plants that occur in 

 Conecuh National Forest. It has been prepared mainly to help identify car- 

 nivorous plants that might be seen in the habitats in this region of the Gulf 

 Coastal Plain. 



The booklet is designed for use by the public and should not be consid- 

 ered to be a scientific document. Terminology and names of the plants are 

 used to help identify the plants. More detailed information on the plants 

 may be found in the sources listed at the end of the booklet. 



Carnivorous plants, like all native species, are declining in numbers. 

 Although none of the species covered in this booklet are currently protected 

 by Federal law, most have been listed as declining species in documents 

 generated by the states of Alabama and Florida, and all deserve our careful 

 custodianship. A number only occur at a few locations in the forest. 



If you come across plants that you cannot identify with this guide, note 

 their location. Make notes on their characteristics and take pictures if pos- 

 sible. DO NOT PICK FLOWERS, DIG UP PLANTS OR REMOVE PARTS 

 OF THE PLANTS. Leave them for other visitors to enjoy. For help in iden- 

 tification, check with forest employees, or write, including all of the 

 information you can, to: 



Forest Botanist 

 National Forests in Alabama 

 2946 Chestnut Street 

 Montgomery, AL 36107 



ABOUT CARNIVOROUS PLANTS 



Throughout the world, there are nearly 500 species of flowering plants 

 that are carnivorous. These plants have the ability to capture animal prey, 

 digest them, and absorb some of the materials for their own use. In general, 

 carnivorous plants grow in moist habitats that are low in nutrients. They use 

 their unique ability to capture animal prey to obtain nutrients not available 

 in sufficient amounts in the soil. In Conecuh National Forest carnivorous 

 plants grow in a variety of habitats, including bogs, ponds, wet savannas, 

 and other sites where the soil is soggy or moist and usually acid. Many other 

 plants also live in these sites and have solved the problem of low nutrients 

 in other ways. Although not discussed further in this booklet, a number of 

 fungi that live in soil and water are also carnivorous, trapping and digesting 

 small roundworms. In addition, carnivorous traits may occur in some im- 

 mature plants. The sticky seeds of shepherd's purse, a common weed of the 

 mustard family, seem to entrap small insects whose decaying bodies may 

 eventually furnish nutrients to the tiny, germinating plant. 



Carnivorous plants are more conspicuous and diverse in pitcher plant 

 bogs of the Southeast than anywhere else in the world. More than 20 species 



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