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S. 'Ellie Wang' is one of the most unbelievable plants I've ever seen, photos taken 5/5/17:

Leucophylla dominant moorei hybrids seem to be a very intriguing group of plants, and this clone is no exception! S. x moorei 'Bouquet' looks totally like a pure leucophylla, except it has some outstanding red coloration mixed into it! The underside of the lid is dark red, as is the lip. There's even dark red veins that weave into the white pigments, giving it a very eye-catching contrast of bright and dark colors. This plant produces a profusion of pitchers that when clumped all together, looks like a bouquet....hence the name. Easily one of my favorite mooreis out there so far because of how eye catching it is. Note to all you out there trying to impress your significant other with plants: I would never in a 1000 years dream of making a bouquet out of this plant and giving it to my wife as a gift....she'll just say "didn't you just cut that off from the front yard?!" Sigh, no love or appreciation for how difficult it is to grow this stuff, imagine how much the plant is set back from such a harvest....maybe not the same response you'll get, but just sharing my experience :) Photos taken 9/8/16: Kinky lip: n

Here's a very peculiar yet outstanding moorei that stuck out of the crowd for it's slight golden color, oddly shaped "back" (hence the unglamorous name) and leucophylla dominant phenotype. The parent plant was a vigorous S. flava var. rugelii Covington Co, AL (this was used as the pod parent) and the pollen donor was a wide, somewhat circular-mouthed, bright white S. leucophylla Covington Co, AL. Despite being man-made, this hybrid is still true to location. It was surprising that the leucophylla genes were so strong in this cross. Had I not divulged the details of the cross, one may have assumed this was a leucophylla back-cross, but it's an F1 hybrid! I'm still pretty surprised by these results. Typically, it's very difficult to make such a cross using flava as the pod parent because flavas usually bloom out before leucophyllas open up, but some years, with the weather not being consistent, we get lucky? When you grow out a genetically diverse population, you also sometimes get some early blooming leucos. I also suspect that the father leucophylla has moorei genes in it generations ago because of the wide mouth, which may explain why it bloomed earlier than the rest of its kin from the same population. Did it matter which plant I used as the pod donor and pollen donor? No idea, but it seemed less likely that others have used flava as the pod parent, and whatever the reason, it yielded at least one gem, possibly 2. The rest of the siblings were very uneventful:imagine a hybridy looking flava that's kinda greenish yellow, maybe some light veins and a flava looking lid...nothing to really talk about. I did get one other leucophylla dominant hybrid that looks really nice, and photos are shown below. Here's some pics of S. x moorei 'Haunchback', photos mostly taken 8/21/16, this plant is in a 4" pot but the traps are close to 2' tall, it's YUUUUUUUUGE considering it's still a youngish seedling: Why the heck did Mike Wang give it this ugly, ridiculous name? Pictures speak a 1000 words, this plant never used its legs to lift heavy objects: This photo was taken when the trap had just opened, it was less colorful back then: not the best picture of this plant, but here's The mother (pod parent) to this plant, who would have guessed? And finally, here's another sibling from the same cross with great potential:

First off, for those of you not familiar with this variant, S. flava 'extreme red throat' is an unofficial, fictitious name to describe a plant that has more red in the throat than the average S. flava var. rugelii. Some would call this plant a rugelii, while others may call it an ornata. I think neither best describes these plants because some of the pitchers don't have veins, some are a bit reddish, and others are rather green. For those of you who want to see "the plant that started this whole thing" here's "the type specimen": http://sarracenia.proboards.com/thread/229/flava-killer-new-pics-added We suspect all of these extreme red throat variants are the result of hybridization and mixing with different species, and then back-crossing. what are the exact ingredients? Maybe a dash of S. flava var. rubricorpora, and a glug of rugelii, or maybe a selfed rubricorpora x rugelii that has a rubricorpora phenotype. Alternately, there may be a moorei here and there that has an extreme red thoat, and then it back-crosses with rugelii to create a "pure" looking plant with an extreme red throat. In the case of the Bay Co, FL plants, it's likely that these extreme red throated plants resulted from mixing with "regular" rugelii's. We did see some rubricorporas at this site that had very solid red throats, but the tricky thing is tracing nature backwards and trying to find out what crossed with what. Only in cultivation or with DNA tests can we find out exactly what's going on. There are a lot of interesting observations about this site that I will explain in detail in another post. For now, this post will focus on the extreme red throat variants. All photos were taken 8/23/14: If this isn't an extreme red throat, I don't know what is: The body on this one is almost pure red, and I wonder if it can turn solid red depending on environmental conditions. For this reason, I don't call this variant ornata: On the other hand, this one is definitely an ornata: Beautiful greenish body to contrast with the deep red: Love this one, even with the "battle wounds": This trap didn't want to cooperate: Some of them turned out "normal" in terms of the amount of red in the throat: Wanna-be extreme red throat: I think this new late summer trap came from a plant that had rubricorpora-colored pitchers on it. The waters are so muddy on nomenclature, but we can debate that in another post :) Deformed pitcher: Another "regular" rugelii, but not quite regular: Slightly out of focus, but this gives you an idea of what the whole plant looks like: And to end the post, a really cute little baby deer that didn't move even when we came really close to it. Believe me, after being shot at, I know exactly how that deer feels.

All of the sites I've seen in Covington Co, AL are seepage slope bogs: water from uphill slowly percolates into an open field, and the area that stays consistently saturated is filled with Sarracenia. After visiting countless sites, one major observation was made: S. flava var. rugelii seems to be more tolerant of water-logged habitat in comparison to S. leucophylla. Perhaps the yellow trumpet pitcher plant has a different root system by which it can tolerate slightly lower levels of oxygen, but who knows. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule: anytime you have moving water, even if it's really mucky and boggy, S. lecuophylla can grow there. With all that in mind,the first photo below is an overview of a population of mainly S. flava var. rugelii. In the foreground, there's a dried up creek filled with tulip trees...it's too bad we didn't get to see them in bloom because those flowers are amazing! In the background, you can see a dense population of yellow trumpet pitcher plants. There's 2-3 main seeps that feed this bog: And as you can see, this site is dominated by S. flava var. rugelii: Homies in situ. I suppose on the other side of the pond, one would call them "mates" in situ: And here you can see how the plants grow from the water source. What you can't really tell from the photo is that almost every plant here is gigantic: Some huge lids: Same trap with my hand to sort-of show scale. My hand isn't as fat as it used to be, haha: This spot is really beautiful, although it was hard to find because it occurs in the middle of a forest that doesn't seem like it would be conducive of this habitat: A few beauties, although they were past their prime: S. leucophylla was also at this site, although they hadn't yet produced fall pitchers: And a S. x moorei just popped open: This one had an alien eye: WE found the very rare S. flava var. maxima here, and I'll post pics shortly once they're uploaded.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that one of the best S. flava var. rubricorpora populations in the world still exists today in Bay County, FL. Apparently, it does take a genius to explain to the State of Florida that destroying this remaining habitat and not having regulations to protect the remaining sites is beyond ridiculous, seeing how they've already demolished literally everything they possibly could. Bay County encompasses 1,033 sq miles (2,675 km²), and out of all of that land, maybe 10-20 acres of pristine habitat is left. Most of the remaining sites are relic patches of once vast fields of dreams. One can only imagine how many endless acres of fields filled with red flavas once existed. Everything that is left in the wild in Bay County is surrounded by altered terrain or is altered terrain. I visited a site in 2011 that was reported to have huge fields of Sarracenias and natural ponds containing giant floating S. psittacinas! Can you guess what this site looks like today? It looks like what 90% of Bay County looks like: endless rows of non-native pines grown for pulp production! No ponds, no savannas, no rare native plants, no sunshine, just thick, dark forests of planted trees as far as the eye can see. Unlike us CP enthusiasts, the majority of the general public sees nothing wrong with this: after all, they've "reforested America"! To add insult to injury, one of the last remaining sites is literally on it's last legs: the parcel right next to the red flava site, which is slightly uphill and is the water source for the delicate savanna, was recently harvested and cleared but fortunately, much of the soil was left undisturbed. Will they come in with tractors and till the soil to plant more trees? Will they dig ditches and destroy the water table? Keep in mind, many of these springs are extremely shallow. Even without laying a finger on the savanna, this site can be destroyed by altering the neighboring land. Well, the rest of the story has yet to be written, but there is hope that fields like these will keep going past our time. After all, this site still does exist as of 2014, and it's THRIVING! I'm grateful we live in a time when there's still pitcher plants in the wild, and it's a pleasure to share this with you all. Try to imagine the most amazing, giant, diverse red tubed plants you've ever seen, and that's what's here, in relatively large numbers. Also try to imagine 99F (37C) weather that felt like 110F (43C) and mosquitoes and other insects constantly biting you while you're drenched in sweat. Oh, and when you step on a little spot of dry land in the bog, it's infested with ants that bite with a painful sting (yes, I got bit!): When we visited, the field was very mucky and wet, so walking around was quite difficult. The insects trying to eat you alive wasn't any help either. Let me also mention that most other sites we visited in Florida this time of the year were bone dry and had a lot less biting insects! Every step, your foot goes down 2-3 ft (almost a meter deep). I ended up walking barefoot: I couldn't figure out if this site is being burned, but it didn't seem so. While the grasses were pretty thick in some areas, the field was so boggy and wet that not much else was colonizing the field. Anywhere else, this would be a thick forest within 2-3 years, things grow very fast in Florida: Each individual plant produced one or two pitchers, and not too many plants seemed to form clumps despite being well spaced and in full sun: Most of the plants here were red tubes, but some were extreme red throats. I didn't see any plants that resembled "pure" S. flava var. rugelii: Some more habitat shots: And now for some closer shots. Look at the character on these traps! Some of the lids stay yellow-green even after they age: Like this one too, and check out how big the lid is: Bright red body: Standard looking giant trap, hard to tell from the photo just how big these are: Some outstanding individuals: It's hard to capture the real color of these traps, but this picture is spot on. The light just happened to be perfect: One last look at the field as we exited. Wish I snapped more photos, but we were tired, hungry, bitten, dehydrated, and overheated, so it was time to go: After a long day of bogging, to relieve our bug bites and relax our bones, we went for a dip in the pool with some odd rules(item#7): Well, that's it for the story of the red tube site, hope you enjoyed it!

Several populations of "red flavas" exist in northwestern Florida: Liberty Co, Bay Co, Walton Co, Okaloosa Co, and Santa Rosa Co, FL (they probably are found in other counties as well). Flavas with red bodies and green lids are considered S. flava var. rubricorpora, whereas flavas with solid red bodies are considered S. flava var. atropurpurea. In Liberty Co and Bay Co, there are large populations of S. flava var. rubricorpora, but arguably, some consider individuals in these populations S. flava var. atropurpurea because at the time they were seen, the plant was solid red. Trouble is, in cultivation, amongst many different growers, it has been shown that many plants labeled "atropurpurea" start off with a green lid, and as the pitcher ages, the entire trap turns solid red. Are these rubricorporas, or are these atropurpureas? Interestingly enough, in Okaloosa Co, FL and Santa Rosa Co, FL, there are both plants that resemble S. flava var. rubricorpora and S. flava var. atropurpurea. The S. flava var. atropurpureas from these sites start off solid red. However, plants from these sites strongly resemble the rare S. flava var. atropurpurea found in the Carolinas. Do these "atropurpureas" from Okaloosa Co and Santa Rosa Co, FL occur naturally, or did someone plant them at these sites? In Santa Rosa Co, FL, Damon, Axel and I visited 2 different sites that were roughly 20 miles away from each other (ie.not within a reasonable distance to hybridize with each other) and we found red plants at both of these sites! Here's site #1 in santa Rosa Co, FL. This is an old pitcher from the summer, and the lid is still green, while the body is solid red. Arguably, this can be considered S. flava var. rubricorpora (although, genetically, I think this is plant is very different from the bay co and liberty co plants): Another shot: Close up of the lid: Same site, baby "S. flava var. rubricorpora" plant: Now, let's go 20 miles away to site #2, and here we have what appears to be S. flava var. atorpurpurea. Was the lid on this plant green before it turned solid red? I don't know, but my gut says no: Same plant, back view: This one seems to be back-crossed with S. flava var. rugelii: And at this same site, we found S. x catesbaei: notice the strong resemblance in color. Hmmmmmm: A group of S. flava var. "atropurpureas" with S. flava var. rugeliis: Now, let's take a tour of the famous site in Okaloosa Co, FL, where there's a very large S. flava var. atropurpurea population. Notice I'm using the word "atropurpurea" here with confidence: These plants have been verified to produce solid red lids on brand new pitchers. Here's a distant view of the largest population of S. flava var. atropurpureas in this area: Breath-taking beauty!

It was our last day on the trip, and everyone was completely tired of being dragged out into the fields to look at Sarracenias in the blazing sun and 100% humidity. After all, how many days in a row can you sweat from head to toe and not feel it take a toll on your body? In retrospect, we chose one of the best and worst times to visit the South: Best because the leucos/alatas were in their prime, and worst because it was hurricane season (took a gamble on that one, I hear a pretty bad storm is suppose to hit in the next day or two) and the heat/humidity was beyond hostile. You can definitely die in that weather without proper precautions! Anyhow, it's late afternoon, and we just checked into the hotel. Who wants to go hunting for Sarracenias? I got two long faces with the expression, "are you Effin kidding me?" Politely, Damon and Axel said they're going for a swim and hanging out at the hotel, so I told them I was going to be back in an hour. I think they also thought there wasn't much of a chance that we'd find plants...not after driving in the forest for 3 hours or so and finding two dinky little plants barely worth mentioning. What are the chances we'd find one here "in the city?" Turns out, chances were very high! Within a 4 minute drive, I found S. alatas, and they were absolutely stunning! Not some boring, green only alatas that are a dime a dozen, but a bunch of color forms, and even a veinless one! Enough story telling, on with the show! Photos were taken 9/13/13 in Harrison Co, MS: The veinless plant. AFter speaking with a fellow CP expert, this may be a significant find, as I hear there has only been one other location where a veinless alata was found: Hats off to this clone: Another shot: One last shot of this beautiful plant: Slightly fuzzy picture, but check out that color! some interesting orange/coppery colored plants too: Some habitat shots: nice red plants: diversity was really high at this site:

Two of the best clones in the collection, from the same population (originally from Liberty Co, FL), were crossed together with the goal of creating fast growing, dark red plants that produce copious pitchers. As many of you may know, S. flava var. rubricorpora is notorious for being a slow grower and only producing one or two pitchers per plant. I took clone L (the darkest rubricorpora clone in the collection) and crossed it with my best clone, which is the fastest growing clone that maintains a solid red body under optimal conditions. The seedlings from this resulting cross are producing their first significant pitchers, and a few have opened. Many are so vigorous that they have tons of side shoots, even on small plants, which means each clump will be able to produce many pitchers instead of your typical one or two per plant. So far, they're turning out to be really nice! Photos taken 4/19/13 of several different clone L x best clone seedlings: