New England Carnivorous Plant Society

"The mission of the New England Carnivorous Plant Society shall be to share, to gain knowledge of, and to achieve expertise in all phases of growing, education, appreciation, and conservation of carnivorous plants in both culture and in native habitats."

Announcements

What's New

NECPS June Meeting

The next meeting of the NECPS will be held on June 15 at 12:30 PM at Seven Arrows Farm, Seekonk, MA (Directions). The Meeting Agenda is unknown at this time.

The meeting will also feature a silent auction

Carnivorous Plant Fossils

Though there is debate among archeobotanists, the oldest carnivorous plant fossil may well be Archaeamphora longicervia, found in 2005 near Jinzhou, China. It is from the Early Cretaceous beds of the Yixian Formation, and is dated at 124.6 million years ago. Nine specimens have been found. Dr. Hongqi Li of Frostburg University notes the presence of pitcher shaped leaves, a tubular base, a phyllodia-like wing, a hood and rows of glands inside the leaves.

Also consider, researchers from the University of Göttingen in Germany have found two leaves of an amber embedded fossil that is has a striking resemblence to Roridula. Like the modern plant, the fossils posseses multicellular stalked glands (tentacles). The Eocene baltic amber is 35-37 million years old, and comes from the amber mine near Kaliningrad, Russia. Carnivorous plants can still be found in this same region today.

View more fossil images here

Added a NEW Guide under "Growing Guides and Plant Care Sheets"

A Field Guide To Carnivorous Plants by Emily Hickey.

A carnivorous plant is a plant tha lures, captures,and igests insect prey. There are over 600 species of carnivorous plant worldwide, including about a dozen which grow natively in New England.

Got News?

Have an idea for a presentation or demonstration? If there is a meeting or other event that the NECPS will be participating in, or some other carnivorous plant related news item that you would like to share? Please forward the information to the Webmaster so that it can be included here.

Missing our newsletter? Has your email address changed? You can update your email address or other contact information by visiting the Contact page.

Membership Dues are payable at or before the January meeting.

NECPS 16th Annual Carnivorous Plant Show Sept. 7 - 8

The NECPS 16th Annual Carnivorous Plant Show Board is now active in the forum should anyone wish to begin planning. As always we will be looking for Presenters as well as Vendors. Anyone wishing to help out with the show should contact one of the NECPS Officers.

Why isn't it illegal when developers destroy Venus Flytraps?

Southeastern, N.C. - Archie Williams could spend the rest of his life in prison for poaching 216 Venus Flytrap plants out of Green Swamp Game Land in Bolivia.

If each of his 216 counts of felony taking of the vulnerable species is prosecuted, under the state's Class H felony sentencing guidelines, Williams could serve 72 years, to a maximum of 450 years. However, it's not likely Williams' maximum sentence gets carried out.

After news of the arrest, the first large-scale felony Venus Flytrap arrest in years, Port City Daily received multiple questions about the case. Readers wanted to know if something like this had happened before, and how the law worked. Readers also wanted to know: Why is it a felony for this person to take Venus Flytraps when developers frequently clear land with flytraps likely on it, without so much as a fine?

Turns out, the vulnerable species' protection is strongest on public lands. Taking just one Venus Flytrap from the public domain - a Class H felony - could result in four to 25 months in prison. Stealing the plant from someone else's private land, without written permission on hand, is also a felony.

However, under the state's plant conservation laws, specifically 02 NCAC 48F .0407 (3), property owners aren't required to obtain a Protected Plant Permit to collect or remove flytraps from their own property. But if they wanted to sell the plant, they would need the permit.

J.D. White, a Wildlife Resources Commission master officer, said his team has reason to believe Williams was in a pattern of stealing the tiny carnivorous plant. When White and his colleague approached Williams, White said they were lucky to catch him during his allegedly weekly routine.

The difference between what the officers caught Williams doing, and, say, what developers do, comes down to public versus private land use, according to White.

Read the Full Article Here

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