Straight from the reels of Jumanji…

Straight from the reels of Jumanji (but shrunk considerably, thank heavens) this carnivorous Sun Dew makes up for the fact that it can’t get nutrients from the acid rich peat bog by trapping and eating insects! Peat bogs locally called “Muskeg” make up some 10% of Southeast Alaska and form in a process called “paludification” when sphagnum moss colonize the dense forests. Sphagnum acidifies the soil and attracts more water which leaches out the minerals till they sink below and form a hard pan that traps more water, collects more acid, which grows more sphagnum until a bog with its hardy bog plants replace the forests. Bizarrely this often happens even on slopes. Only the churning of soil by trees falling seems to be able to stop it!

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