For me, it’s a few things.
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A way to burn time that doesn’t feel like a digital sugar rush.
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Support, camaraderie, and kindness, primarily from /r/stopdrinking.
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Niche stuff, like ideas for local hiking and backpacking trips, propaganda posters, and kayaking info.
Niche stuff. I mostly came to reddit for discovering interesting/weird/rare plants and the best way to care for them. Googling has become absolute dogshit with obviously generated articles that are just parroting the same information (which for niche plants, can be false, speculation, and even harmful).
I’m in a couple of Discord communities (which have jumped up in activity in the last couple of days), but those communities are a bit harder to find that four year old post about “what does this type of growth mean”, or something similar.
I also used reddit for tracking technology issues in much the same way - very specific, hard to locate issues that only a few people might be experiencing and talking about in a searchable way. Everything from video games, to work related technologies.
I feel you regarding all this. But I also have to ask: What’s the weirdest plant you own? Any carnivorous ones? (I love pitcher plants – don’t own any, but I seek them out in nature regularly.)
Weirdest plant I own, Drosera Binata (which is carnivorous), I have two and a half Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plants, wife has one I take care of), some common “Spoon Sundew” Drosera Spatulata, a couple of Pinguiculas, and a Utricularia, those are my carnivorous ones. They are definitely the weirder ones, the rest are commonplace collector basics (begonia, orchid, calatheas, pothos, etc.).
I have a shot of my U. Reniformis and D. Binata, https://lemmy.world/post/79348 I don’t know if that will work - first week here.
That’s really cool. Forgive me for not knowing proper plant language, but its arms resemble a sundew.
Yup! Drosera is a sundew! It sounds pretentious AF, but a lot of plant nerds stick to Latin names because some plant common names get thrown around to plants that aren’t part of that genus or species, and that causes some problems researching care and needs of the plant. After a while you just stop thinking about it.
If I had a nickel for everything named a cactus that isn’t…
If you want to know more, just ask! I’ll talk about carnivorous stuff all damn day.
Haha! Makes total sense. I appreciate your precision.
My knowledge of plants is mostly limited to stuff in the New Jersey Pine Barrens because I hike and paddle there often and read about it just as much. So when I think of a sundew, I’m thinking of the one I know that lives there.
(The Pines also has a cactus – the prickly pear – but now I’m questioning whether it’s actually a cactus!)
Thanks so much. Next time I come across a cool plant that I can’t identify, I’ll post and tag you.
Absolutely! I need to know more about my own local stuff (I’m in New England. We have trees and poison ivy, so that’s all I usually identify).
The Pine Barrens have a bunch of cool stuff! at least two different Drosera - Intermedia and Rotundifolia. Also Sarracenia (North American Pitcher Plants) and Utricularia (Bladderworts) - one of Charles Darwin’s favorite carnivores - those little dudes live around most of the world except Antarctica. That seems like a super hiking spot, I’ll have to visit there with the wife and go on a carnivore expedition.
Edit - wife is super excited to go, and we’re going to try to get there this year! Thank you so much! This is the kind of stuff I found on reddit, and I’m glad to find it here on Lemmy ;)
New England is so cool! I’ve spent brief bursts of time there, mostly in urban areas, over the years, but didn’t start hiking up your way until last year. Fell in love with the White Mountains last September and heading back in a couple of weeks. Also spent a few days hiking Acadia this spring. You guys have such an amazing place up there!
Wow – I had no idea there were two sundews in the pines. I totally agree with you: This is exactly what I used to get from Reddit. So thank you. And I love a good bladderwort! I saw a bunch when I was canoeing with my wife and daughter last weekend.
So cool that you’re gonna make the trip here. If you want to know about any cool spots to visit, I’m happy to share!
Off the top of my head, there’s an easily accessible bog with a boardwalk called Webb’s Mill (Google Maps has it by name – it’s in Forked River). I’ve seen a ton of pitcher plants and sundews there. Sometimes the entrance is flooded out because of a beaver dam.
Wharton State Forest has the Mullica and Batsto rivers, along with a bunch of wetlands. If you wanna take kayaks or canoes down them, Pinelands Adventures runs trips through mid-October.
Going off the beaten path is easy in the Pines, too. I have some bushwhacking spots that I love and am happy to share privately. The only problem is, I typically go when no carnivorous plants are out because the ticks and chiggers are brutal off trail this time of year.
Ah sorry for the novel. I grew up in what once was pine barrens but escaped the political designation and thus got super overdeveloped. And the culture escaped us, too – almost no one I know has spent much time in the Pines, even though we’re 20 minutes away. So I get excited when I meet a fellow traveler!
+1 on a Google replacement/enhancement. I used the
site:reddit.comtrick all the time on Google and it made results so much better. I am hoping that Lemmy can be a high quality open repository of information as Reddit closes things off. Trying my best to help get things going.