... probably not!
For my first report of the year, I'll tell you about a plant I have been searching for 3 years.
Drosera rotundifolia var. corsica was described by Maire from populations of Drosera rotundifolia from Corsica, the largest island of metropolitan France. Its main difference with the type variety is the presence of glandular bracts on flower scapes. They look like some little leaves just below flowers. Sometimes, the plants also have one leave in the medium of the flower scape (that is nude in the type variety). It is also reported that they bloom earlier. Until now, this plant is considered endemic to Corsica.
However, a quick search on internet gives as result a Drosera rotundifolia var. corsica growing in a bog in the Ardenne mounts (Champagne region, France). The presence of this variety 1000 km far from Corsica on the French-Belgian border is doubtful and is now considered by many people as an introduction. In a book about the protected and threatened plant species of France published 3 years ago, it is said that this plant can also be found in the Auvergne region and the Isère department in France. But no photos and no more infos about this, so it seemed doubtful too.
So, I decided to search for this plant in Isère in French Alps where I'm living, walking up and down mountains and crawling in the so many bogs where Drosera rotundifolia grows. And one week ago, I discovered this:
You can see a small leave on the flower scape, that is to say Drosera rotundifolia var. corsica ! This population lives in a small bog in the forest, not easy to find, not one of the well known peat bogs and in a part of the mountain not greatly frequented by hikers. So no doubt this population is natural and wasn't introduced there. In this bog also live other CPs:
Drosera anglica :
Drosera x obovata :
Pinguicula vulgaris f. vulgaris :
And also Drosera rotundifolia var. rotundifolia. Unfortunately, this bog is no more preserved by farmer's hands and is closing very fast. Actions are to be done, else this little paradise with rare species will be lost (sorry for the bad quality of those pictures, I had to go quick as I put my hand in an red ant nest and was soon covered by them and bitten in all my arms, so I had to get out from the bog).
So Drosera rotundifolia var corsica is NOT endemic to Corsica and has to be searched in continental bogs. However, the taxonomic status of this plant is still discussed, the presence of those glandular bracts could only be a transiant state or a malformation in very early flowering plants and then disappear later. I will return to this bog a little later to check that.
More to come soon
Aymeric
