Sarracenia flava var. flava - heavy vein

Data at a glance...

Latin name                     Sarracenia flava var. flava
Clone name                    Heavy vein
Acquired                         Multiple - this specimen, February 2009.
Pitcher flush pattern      3: 0: P (Sp: Su: Au)
Growth strength             Strong
Division types                Meristem division at flowering; 1+ node growths/year.

Pitcher description
Lid with filament under-developed, golden yellow with red venation on both surfaces. Throat with no rugellii-type markings, vertical red stripe present and radiating into numerous red veins extending into lid and upper pitcher tube. Pitcher tube golden-yellow, interior red venation visible through pitcher wall. Flower yellow, flava scented.

Notes
This plant is often sold as a S. flava var. ornata, but I don't consider it to be one because the venation is limited in its extent. It is a nice plant, but if disturbed by repotting it will create at least one deformed pitcher before settling back into growth. The deformation is unusual - the pitcher looks crinkled or has impressions like the tube has been pushed in by someones' thumb.

Sarracenia flava var. maxima - Honeysuckle Road, Harleyville, NC

Data at a glance...

Latin name                     Sarracenia flava var. maxima
Clone name                    TBA - Harleyville clones for now
Acquired                         Summer, 2009.
Pitcher flush pattern      2: 1: P (Sp: Su: Au)
Growth strength             Strong
Division types                Unknown.

Pitcher description
Lid with filament under-developed, pinched, both surfaces green with no markings. Entire pitcher green, pale red markings present on sides of tube as pitcher develops and enlarges, fading once pitcher opens. Flower unknown.

Notes
Unfortunately, true S. flava var. maxima are quite scarce in Australia, and antho. free S. flava are nonexistant. This is somewhat ironic, as the first plants to make it to the nurseries here in any numbers were S. flava var. maxima, but they seem to have been lost to cultivation. One clone that was doing the rounds up in Sydney proved to have alata in it, and got red markings in full sun anyway. There is another nice clone held by members of the VCPS; my plant of that suffered a pot falling onto new pitchers, so it is not very photogenic this year. The plant shown here was grown from seed by VCPS member Ron Abernethy. I googled Hurleyville, NC, and was referred to Hurleyville NY in all cases. There is also no Honeysuckle Road in NC, at least if you believe Google Earth. I guess whoever put the data onto this plant wanted to protect their locality.

***DEC 2012 UPDATE***
A very kind gentleman wrote in a while ago and let me know that "Hurleyville" is actually a misspelling of Harleyville, NC.. Honeysuckle road looks like it runs through remnant stands of Longleaf Pine, but the habitat now looks quite fragmented on Google Earth.

Sarracenia flava var. cuprea - Gotcha! heavy vein

Data at a glance...

Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. cuprea
Clone name                          Gotcha! heavy vein
Acquired                               Summer, 2009. 
Pitcher flush pattern            2: 1: P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                   Strong
Division types                      Unknown.

Pitcher description
Lid with filament under-developed, upper surface cupreous with strong, darker venation, undersurface strongly veined. Throat with rugellii-type purple-red markings, radiating into red venation spreading into lid and upper tube. Pitcher tube golden green, upper third with strong red venation becoming progressively diffuse. Flower unknown.

Notes
See this blog entry for the story of this plant to date.

Sarracenia flava var. rubricorpora - Sydney clone

Data at a glance...

Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. rubricorpora
Clone name                          Sydney clone
Acquired                               Late winter, 2009. 
Pitcher flush pattern            1+: 0: P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                   Slow but strong grower
Division types                      Meristem division induced by flowering, rhizome node growth not noted yet.

Pitcher description
Lid with filament under-developed, green-yellow with maroon venation and speckling in middle, lid pinched so that lid apex is raised. Throat without rugellii-type purple-red markings but thin vertical stripe present. Pitcher tube maroon, fading and becoming mottled if divided or repotted. Rear of throat maroon with green speckles. Flower yellow; sole flower deformed by abrupt change of conditions when moving plant from Sydney to Canberra.

Notes
This is a rather robust clone of S. flava var. rubricorpora that colours up nicely. I am unsure where it originated from, but was brought at a backyard nursery in Sydney. It is quite different to all other S. flava var. rubricorpora clones I am growing, and I suspect it is a purple-tube form. The slow but strong growth tends to support this - it produces 1 to 2 pitchers per year, maximum. It was, unfortunately, sold to me in a very small pot with the growing point crammed up against the edge of the pot. The meristem nonetheless divided, but the plant suffered until I could repot it. It is in a 120 mm (5") pot to stabilise for a few years, and will then go into a 200 (8") pot. I have seen better coloured examples of this clone at the nursery I brought it, and I am looking forward to seeing how it goes once it settles down.

Sarracenia flava var. ornata - Living Traps 'ornata'

Data at a glance...

Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. ornata
Clone name                          Living Traps 'ornata' 
Acquired                               Summer 2010, ex Living Traps via Canberra retail nursery
Pitcher flush pattern            2+: few: P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                   ?; immature
Division types                      No division noted as yet.

Pitcher description
Lid with filament under-developed, green-yellow with maroon venation, margin not undulating. Throat without rugellii-type purple-red markings, thin vertical stripe present and radiating onto lid and upper pitcher tube. Pitcher tube green-yellow, variably marked with maroon veins. Flower unknown.

Notes
This clone was, like its stable-mate, found at a local garden center. It too went into shock with Canberra's low humidity last season, but is doing well so far this season. I have not grown it enough to determine its growth habits, but it looks to have potential. Some of the veining had faded by the time the above photos were taken. Still, early days...

Sarracenia flava var. ornata - Living Traps heavy vein (+ var. maxima?)

Data at a glance...

Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. ornata
Clone name                          Living Traps ornata heavy vein
Acquired                               Summer 2010, ex Living Traps via Canberra retail nursery
Pitcher flush pattern            3+: few: P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                   ?; immature
Division types                      No division noted as yet.

Pitcher description
Lid with filament under-developed, green-yellow with maroon venation, margin not undulating. Throat without rugellii-type purple-red markings, thin vertical stripe present and radiating onto lid and upper pitcher tube. Pitcher tube green-yellow, marked with stong, vertical maroon veins. Flower unknown.

Notes
This clone was, surprisingly, found at a garden center. It struggled with Canberra's low humidity all last season, but has come up beautifully this year. I am not sure whether the green pitchers represent a growth point that was not happy with being repotted, or a TC mutation where veins have been lost. I am rather hoping for the latter - S. flava var. maxima are scarce in Australia for some reason. However, I am not holding my breath because new pitchers have tended to show weak venation that disappears quickly. Sarracenia flava var. ornata are also uncommon here - many people have a heavy veined plant that looks like S. flava, but which seems to have S. oreophila in it as well. Another, weakly veined plant grown here is sold as S. flava var. ornata, but I consider it S. flava var. flava at best. The two clones that Living Traps have released so far are a very welcome addition.

Sarracenia flava var. atropurpurea - Reytter clone 1

Data at a glance...

Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. atropurpurea
Clone name                          Reytter's clone
Acquired                               Summer 2009, at the AUSCPS Mt Tomah sale day
Pitcher flush pattern            1-2: 1+(s): P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                   Slow to grow and divide.
Division types                      Meristem division at flowering. No evidence of rhizome node division yet.

Pitcher description
Lid with filament under-developed, maroon red with veins weakly marked, margin not undulating. Throat with thin red thoat patch and venation extending into the upper pitcher and lid. Pitcher tube interior tan, tube externally maroon red. Pigment reduced to absent entirely if repotted. Flower yellow, petals narrow, margins undulating, flava type scent.

Notes
This clone originates from the collection of Phil Reytter, but its earlier history is unknown. It recently became obvious that a second of Phil's S. flava is a var. atropurpurea (ie. his var. cuprea), so this is clone 1 because it is the plant he has historically sold as var. atropurpurea. This and Reytter clone 2 are probably the most pure strains of S. flava var. atropurpurea present in Australia as mature plants. Like with other clones of this variety, clone 1 is not a particularly robust plant (clone 2 is stronger and gets a lot larger). It produces 1-2 pitchers in spring, followed by a few weak, floppy pitchers mid season. My plant has not divided via rhizome nodes as yet, only by meritstem division induced by flowering. I am eager to see how it goes in future, as I this year moved it into a 20 cm (9") pot that should provide a few years of stable growing conditions. This plant does not take kindly to root interference. I am quite partial to S. flava var. atropurpurea, so this plant has pride of place in the collection.

Sarracenia flava var. atropupurea - FRT 1-5

Data at a glance...

Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. atropurpurea
Clone name                          FRT 1-5
Acquired                              Summer 2010, ex Fly Free Zone
Pitcher flush pattern           many: few: P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                  Strong, good divider.
Division                                New growth point produced at each flowering

Notes
FRT 1-5 originated as seed distributed by Fred Howells as S. flava in the 1970s. It was germinated by David Martin who runs Fly Free Zone in Queensland. FRT 1-5 is his clone name, with FRT meaning flava red tube. This is a good clone, as growth is clumping and division rate is good to strong. Pitchers are also produced liberally until after midsummer. This is exceptional for a plant that is technically a S. flava var. atropurpurea - most clones of this variety are slow to divide and grow, and may throw 1-2 pitchers a year. Not so FRT 1-5. However, it does sulk if repotted - mine showed its full glory only at the start of the season because it was repotted this year. As the photos show, it is sulking and has lost most of its colour. Compare the bottom photo in the sequence on this page with those above to see what I mean.

Sarracenia flava var. cuprea - rosy red clone

Data at a glance...

Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. cuprea
Clone name                          Rosy red
Acquired                               Spring 2009
Pitcher flush pattern            many: few: P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                   Strong, good divider.
Division types                      Meristem division at each flowering and 1+ rhizome node growths annually

Pitcher description
Lid with filament under-developed, cupreous with venation entirely absent, margin not undulating. Throat with narrow vertical purple-red stripe, no rugellii type patch, few veins extending into the upper pitcher. Pithcer upper tube flushed light cuperous, remainder of pitcher green. Flower yellow, petals narrow, margins not undulating.

Notes
I am not sure where this clone originated, but I obtained it from noted Pinguicula grower Helmut Kibellis in Sydney. It is a very strong grower, producing flushes of pitchers in spring and early summer. Last year, it ended pitcher production with the summer equinox. This is probably the most prolific coppertop clone grown in Australia.

Sarracenia flava var. cuprea - Victorian clone

Data at a glance...

Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. cuprea
Clone name                          Victorian clone
Acquired                               Spring 2010
Pitcher flush pattern            2+: 1+: P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                   ? in my collection; appears strong.
Division types                      Unknown; evidence of meristem division at each flowering; ?rhizome rate

Pitcher description
Lid with filament well developed, cupreous with red venation on both surfaces, margin not undulating; throat with vertical purple-red stripe, no rugellii type patch, pigment radiating into lid and upper pitcher venation; upper tube flushed cuperous, fading with remainder of pitcher to yellow-green. Flower unknown.

Notes
A new plant to the colletion this year, I don't yet know its growth characteristics. However, the plants I saw in VCPS members' collections suggest growth is strong and vigorous. This clone was shown in the book Gardening with Carnivores and is widely grown in Victoria and South Australia. It is almost certainly a parent of the excellent cross S. flava var. cuprea x S. flava var. rugellii.

Sarracenia flava var. cuprea - clone 1 ex Gotcha! Plants

Data at a glance...
Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. cuprea
Clone name                          Gotcha! coppertop clone 1
Acquired                               Spring 2009, ex Gotcha! Plants
Pitcher flush pattern            3: 1+: P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                   Being determined
Division types                      Unknown; probably flower + rhizome node

Pitcher description
Lid with filament well developed, cupreous with red venation on both surfaces, margin undulating; throat pigmented purple-red; upper tube intially flushed cuperous, fading to green as pitcher matures. Flower unknown. Pitchers spring through early summer.

Notes
As this is the first year I have grown this plant, I don't completely know its growth characteristics. However, pitcher production entered summer this year, although I expect the flush to finish around the summer equinox. This clone is nice in that the copper colour seems to stay in the lid, with the pitcher only blushing copper as it opens. Whether this will change as the plant settles in remains to be seen. It also has nice markings on the underneath of the lid and a well developed lid filament.

Sarracenia flava var. cuprea x flava var. rugelli - ex Ron Abernethy

Sarracenia flava var. cuprea x S. flava var. rugelli

Data at a glance...
Latin name                           Sarracenia flava var. cuprea x S. flava var. rugelli
Clone name                          Ron's coppertop
Acquired                               Multiple, this specimen 2010 ex Triffid Park open day
Pitcher flush pattern            3: 1+: P (Sp: Su: Au) 
Growth strength                   Good to strong
Division types                      New growth point at flowering and 1+ rhizome node yearly.

Pitcher description
Lid with filament well developed, dark cupreous with darker venation on upper surface, under surface green with red venation, lid margin undulating. Throat pigmented purple-red with veins extending onto lid and pitcher tube; tube interior tan with veins, exterior cupreous with venation. Flower yellow, strong flava scent, petals broad in middle, margin undulating.

Notes

This is one of the best S. flava var. cuprea in Australian cultivation. It was bred from seed produced by Ron Abernethy, who tells me this cross was the result of his pollen brush slipping! A very lucky slip, if I may say so. I have two plants of this cross, one of which is still immature, but shows signs of being different to the clone shown here. Triffid Park had another clone of this cross at their nursery this year, but unfortunately no divisions were for sale. This latter plant is quite different, and photos of it are shown below.