Meadowview Biological Research Station
Encyclopedia
Meadowview Biological Research Station is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving and restoring rare wetland plants, habitats and associated ecosystems on the coastal plain of Maryland
and Virginia
. It was created in 1995 with the specific goal or restoring the rare yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava
) the purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea
), and associate species to pitcher plant bogs or seepage wetlands in their historic ranges.
Most pitcher plant habitats have been destroyed in this critical mid-Atlantic region to the point where less than 100 yellow pitchers plants were left in just two natural sites in southern Virginia by 2007. Meadowview worked to deal with, and reverse, the process of extirpation of local and regional pitcher plants habitats, flora, and fauna.
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. It was created in 1995 with the specific goal or restoring the rare yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava
Sarracenia flava
Sarracenia flava, the Yellow pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. Like all the Sarraceniaceae, it is native to the New World. Its range extends from southern Alabama, through Florida and Georgia, to the coastal plains of southern Virginia, North Carolina and South...
) the purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea
Sarracenia purpurea
Sarracenia purpurea, commonly known as the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae...
), and associate species to pitcher plant bogs or seepage wetlands in their historic ranges.
Most pitcher plant habitats have been destroyed in this critical mid-Atlantic region to the point where less than 100 yellow pitchers plants were left in just two natural sites in southern Virginia by 2007. Meadowview worked to deal with, and reverse, the process of extirpation of local and regional pitcher plants habitats, flora, and fauna.
Accomplishments
Meadowview has had a number of notable accomplishments in conservation efforts of pitcher plants and associate species.- Meadowview has successfully purchased a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) preserve in southern Virginia called the Joseph Pines Preserve, which is dedicated to preserving the native Virginia longleaf pine/pitcher plant ecosystem. A total of 18 indigenous, rare plant species are being reintroduced on the property as part of an integrated ecosystem restoration. To date Meadowview has protected a total of six native Virginia yellow pitcher plant populations on its preserve (4 having been extirpated in the past ten years). The group also aims to capture the entire native Virginia longleaf pine germplasm on this property.
- Meadowview has also reintroduced two populations of the federally endangered mountain sweet pitcher plant (Sarracenia rubra subsp. jonesiiSarracenia rubraSarracenia rubra, also known as the Sweet pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to the New World...
) to its historic range in North Carolina to include the Biltmore Estate, under a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant, and Falling Creek Camp for Boys.