meizwang Posted October 18, 2013 Report Share Posted October 18, 2013 During the fall, Darlingtonia californica (the cobra lily) can change colors from bright yellow to dark red, and mixtures in between. Sometimes, if stressed, the windows can change colors as well. In the wild, we found a few individuals that under normal conditions consistently produces red windows! We searched the site carefully and only found maybe 2-3 plants that displayed this unique characteristic. I visited this same site in 2010 (?) and at that time, we thought the red windows might just be an environmental thing. However, upon seeing the plants again in 2013, the same individuals had red windows, which suggest this is a genetic characteristic. Fortunately, this population is doing well in the wild, and these unique red windowed plants will likely persist in situ beyond our lifetime because they're very hard to find :) Photos taken 10/12/13: Look at how incredible these clones are! Interestingly, The red doesn't color up all the windows Notice plants in the background, under the exact same environmental conditions, do not produce red windows: Nature is absolutely fantastic! A different individual clone: If these plants didn't already look so alien, the red windows helps make them look even more bizzare: Side view: This one has a "moustache" like tongue: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Long Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Very nice! Is this (as far as you know) unique to that location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredG Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Very interesting information you're giving out Mike. I find it surprising that these variations in pitcher colouration are not already widespread in cultivation. Perhaps this will be rectified in the not too distant future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meizwang Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Hi Mlong, This red windowed variant has only been found at one site so far, and the discovery was quite recent (2010). I have a suspicion that it might be in other populations, but haven't heard any reports as of yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Rivadavia Posted November 11, 2013 Report Share Posted November 11, 2013 Beautiful!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel O. Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Really nice plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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