Can anyone identify this cultivar?

[Cordell]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking on this forum since some years, but today I need some help.

I recently purchased this Venus flytrap, which was sold to me under the name Akai Ryu. However, I'm not convinced that's correct, as the plant clearly shows features that don’t match the typical Akai Ryu form.

As you can see in the attached photo, the plant has:

• Deep red coloration throughout the traps and petioles and green on the lid.

• Very short, irregular, saw-like teeth (reminiscent of the Sawtooth cultivar)

• A compact, clumping growth pattern

To me, it looks more like a Red Sawtooth or a similar red hybrid rather than a true Akai Ryu.
I’d really appreciate any thoughts or confirmation from those more experienced with these cultivars.

Thanks in advance!

Edited July 4, 2025 by Cordell

[.Pico.]

It's definitely not 'Akai ryu' but you will never be able to know how it was labelled before (if it was), except if the previous owner acknowledges a mistake and is able to figure out what you received. There is nothing special about all those named clones (registered as "cultivar" or not), they are just individual plants to which someone attached a random name, mostly to inflate prices and sell them to label-collectors. If you are looking for a dark plant with saw-like teeth cross two plants which have those characteristics and you'll likely end up with a lot of different plants that looks exactly as you wanted. They are not hybrids at all, they are just different individuals. Whatever you got at least looks nice!

[Cordell]

Thanks, Pico! So I guess I’m free to name it however I like for my collection, ‘Bloody green saw’  is winning for now!  

Btw, i'm still looking for 'Akai ryu' 😉

[Tropfrog]

Naming it for your own colection is obviously entierly up to you.

But I would advice not to sell divisions with that name in the future.   

[Cordell]

Thank Topfrog for your intels,

So I can label and sell it as Dionaea muscipula (red and green margin, unofficial), but not as 'Bloody Green Saw' because it's not an officially registered cultivar or described in the literature? Or is it simply because its phenotypic stability has not been confirmed?

From what I understand, a cultivar must exhibit a stable and distinct phenotype that can be consistently maintained through vegetative propagation.
However, if a unique phenotype arises from a single seedling, how can its stability be demonstrated or validated without several cycles of clonal propagation confirming the consistency of its traits over time?

Does this mean that if I acquire a Dionaea specimen without a label, I can never assign it to a particular cultivar, even if its characteristics appear to match those of an established one?

I'm not sure if my questions are entirely clear.

[.Pico.]

The point is that you don't even know what you received, it's likely that the plant is already circulating under another name. If it's yours and it is from seed do what you want. Then, to be honest, I do not see much of an issue anyway, but this is just my opinion and I'm definitely not a Dionaea collector.
Registered or not hardly makes any difference, you could just use "name" instead of 'name' and everything would be correct. Anyway, the whole "cultivars" situation is messed up beyond repair at this point, they are all just named individuals. The real meaning of cultivated variety would be very different, but as the rules allow the registration of basically anything, it all results to be correct and valid. If something has to be propagated vegetatively then it has clearly nothing to do with a "variety". Selecting a "real" cultivar would require an enormous amount of time, space and work.

Edited July 8, 2025 by .Pico.

[Cordell]

Thanks, I've contacted the vendor in case he had more information. He told me that he’s going to remove the label while the matter is being investigated.

I hope to learn more, but I’ll keep it labeled as an unnamed Dionaea.

If I’m not confident about its identity, I prefer not to mislead other collectors in case of future sales or exchanges.