From aceska@cue.bc.caFri Jan 13 11:51:33 1995 Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 00:44:17 -0800 From: Adolf Ceska To: ben@cue.bc.ca Subject: BEN # 88 BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS No. 88 January 13, 1995 aceska@freenet.victoria.bc.ca Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- SENIOR WATERSHED ECOLOGIST FOR THE CITY OF SEATTLE, WA From: Jim Erckmann [abbrev.] Supervise and lead biology professionals to plan and implement programs in forest and watershed ecology for City of Seattle Water Department. Develop cooperative research programs and environmental plans with universities, Indian tribes, and agencies. Work with multidisciplinary staff to design timber sales and create long-term programs to protect, rehabilitate, and restore aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Requires a B.S. in natural sciences plus 5 years of experience in a related field involving developing, conducting, and super- vising field monitoring, research, and habitat management in wildlife biology, fisheries, or ecology. Related M.S. or Ph.D. involving research is preferred and may substitute for 3 years of experience. Salary $3,787/month. Send your resume by January 24, 1995, to S. Bergstrand, Seattle Personnel Dept., 1292 Dexter Horton Building, Seattle, WA, U.S.A., 98104-1793. AA/EOE. THE VENUS FLYTRAP TRADE IN NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA From: TRAFFIC Bulletin 13(2): 68-72. (Article by Jane C. MacKnight & Vonda Frantz - abbrev.) The Venus Flytrap is a sole representative of the genus Dionaea (its Latin name is D. muscipula Ellis), a member of the Droseraceae family which contains Sundew (Drosera - about 80 spp.), Waterwheel (Aldrovanda - 1 sp.), and Portuguese Sundew (Drosophyllum - 1 sp.). Dionaea muscipula is endemic to a 320-km strip of coastal plain in southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina where the sandy-peaty, acidic, low-nutrient soils remain wet. Populations decline rapidly when overgrown by shrubs and taller plants. Periodic fires are characteristic of Venus Flytrap habitat. Unless other management techniques are employed, drainage or suppression of fires will cause extirpation of the habitat and Venus Flytrap populations. The Venus Flytrap is traded as a novelty plant in North America, Europe and Asia. In Germany, the plants are also used in a medicine, Carnivora, which is sold as a claimed remedy for cancer and AIDS (Ref.: Walker, M. 1991. The Carnivora cure for cancer, AIDS, and other pathologies. - Townsend Newsletter for Doctors. Stamford, CT, June). The Venus Flytrap is propagated in both the USA and Europe. Methods of propagation - by division, tissue culture, leaf-base culture, from leaf blades or by seeds - are relatively easy and require between one and three years for the plants to reach a marketable size. No commercial propagation or trade in Venus Flytrap was iden- tified in South Carolina. Nine nurseries in North Carolina found to trade in Venus Flytrap were visited or interviewed by telephone. Only one nursery was found to conduct true artificial propagation, while others either propagate by division and continually replenish stock with wild plants or rely entirely on wild-collected plants. Both South and North Carolina have taken measures to protect the species. The laws prohibit collection of Venus Flytrap from public lands, or from private lands without the permission of the landowner. The listing of the Venus Flytrap in CITES Appen- dix II became effective on 11 June 1992 and requires documenta- tion for all international exports and re-exports. All wild- collected plants destined for export require export permits and artificially-propagated plants require a certificate of artifi- cial propagation. Small-scale collecting may occur in South Carolina, but it is not believed to be a serious problem. Illegal collection of wild plants in North Carolina is frequent, widespread and large- scale. The volume of Venus Flytraps collected annually in North Carolina may be as high as several hundred thousand plants. When the habitat of Venus Flytrap was abundant, the impact of collec- tion was probably negligible. But the effects of development - bulldozing and paving of habitat, drainage of large tracks for timber extraction, and fire suppression - have diminished the amount of habitat, and the impact of collection is magnified. The decrease in collecting sites causes each remaining site to be more heavily collected. Recommendations. The long-term preservation of the Venus Flytrap will require a series of measures: 1) Reduce and control collection of wild plants. 2) Enforce state regulations and CITES. 3) Establish more protected areas. THE NEXT ISSUE OF BEN will bring an article on Plenterung, one form of selective logging, written exclusively for BEN by Prof.Dr. Rudolf W. Becking.