The Crossing: AF Collab Project Continues

Awww yeah. The AF (Anthocyanin Free) collaboration project continues! Back in 2009 I crossed S. minor var. okefenokeensis with S. “Green Monster” – this was a collaboration was the brainchild of Jerry Addington which I was able to execute thanks to the homie, Mike Wang. (You can read about how that all came about here.)

Since then I’ve been able to cross the siblings, as well as self pollinate them. The main idea from 2009 was to create AF S. minor looking plants. I’m glad to report there are some AF seedlings that are coming out of the various crosses I’ve done using these plants. I can’t wait to see those pitchers as they develop!

Sarracenia pollinationPollination in progress: S. minor var. okefenokeensis x “Green Monster” is being pollinated with S. minor -AF pollen.

This year I was fortunate enough to have one of my AF S. minors bloom simultaneously with one of the S. minor var. okefenokeensis x “Green Monster” clones. I used the AF minor pollen and crossed that onto S. minor var. okefenokeensis x “Green Monster” – clone 2. In theory, this should yield a percentage of AF plants with heavy S. minor influence, since 3/4ths of the progeny will be S. minor. I’m hoping for some slight undulation in the hooded lid as well – which is derived from the S. leucophylla parentage in S. “Green Monster.” But then again, who knows what will come out of this cross!

Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis x "Green Monster" - Clone 2Pod Parent: S. minor var. okefenokeensis x “Green Monster”

Sarracenia minor - Anthocyanin FreePollen Parent: S. minor – Anthocyanin Free

Sarracenia minor - Anthocyanin Free
Pollen Parent – Another Angle:  S. minor – Anthocyanin Free

Sarracenia Rosea Blooms

Here’s a selection of blooms from earlier this season of the ever beautiful S. rosea. Depending who’s naming convention you’d like to roll with, you may know it as S. purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii. I just like to type S. rosea because typing that other thing out is bound to give me carpal tunnel… yeah.

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Sarracenia rosea "Big Mama"
S. rosea “Big Mama”

Sarracenia luteola-2Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola
S. rosea f. luteola – an anthocyanin free mutant

Sarracenia rosea veinless flower
S. rosea – veinless form – Bay Co. FL

Sarracenia flava – Anthocyanin Free

Here are some examples of AF (Anthocyanin Free, or all green) Sarracenia flava. Now, these are not to be confused with S. flava var. maxima, which still contains anthocyanin, and therefore S. flava var. maxima is not an AF plant. The red pigment in S. flava var. maxima can be visible in the grow points of the new pitchers that are forming, as well as on damaged portions of the plant (such as pitchers, phyllodia, and/or flower stalk.) The plants below are still young and unfortunately have not bloomed for me yet. Maybe next year? I have hopes to use them in future breeding projects and create new lines of AF flava. Fingers crossed!

Sarracenia flava AF - Telogia, Liberty Co. FL
Sarracenia flava AF – Telogia, Liberty Co. FL

Sarracenia flava AF - Telogia, Liberty Co. FL
Sarracenia flava AF – Telogia, Liberty Co. FL

Sarracenia flava AF - Colquitt Co. GA
Sarracenia flava AF – Colquitt Co. GA

Sarracenia flava AF - Colquitt Co. GA
Sarracenia flava AF – Colquitt Co. GA

Sarracenia flava - Shallotte, Brunswick Co., NC Sarracenia flava – Shallotte – Brunswick Co., NC

CHOMP!

Recently my family and I visited the SF Conservatory of Flowers and got a chance to see the Chomp! exhibit. If you ever find yourself in the area, I highly recommend stopping by and immersing yourself in the beauty that is the SF Conservatory of Flowers. Below is a slide show featuring a few shots from around the conservatory, as well as a few highlight shots from the exhibit. Chomp! runs from 11 Apr 2014 – 19 Oct 2014 so be sure and visit soon! (And in case you didn’t already know – plants in the exhibit are from none other than California Carnivores… sweet!)

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SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

SF Conservatory of Flowers

Rorschach Test

Sarracenia pitchers come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and put on a display of all sorts of markings. As I’m sure you’ve seen, the markings can range from delicate and subtle to extremely bold and complex with the veins, splotches, and windows going off all over the place. As I was doing some work in the greenhouse the other day, the markings of S. “Tina” caught my eye; that thing could double as a botanical Rorschach test. You know, those are the ink blot tests that are used for psychological analysis. Yeah. For some reason, with S. “Tina” this is what comes to mind when I see those markings. Does that make me somewhat unbalanced? Heh heh… 🙂

What do you see?

Sarracenia "Tina"Sarracenia “Tina”
(The parentage is uncertain, although many speculate it to be the same as S. ‘Sorrow’)

Sarracenia "Tina"
Sarracenia “Tina”

Sarracenia minor – Anthocyanin Free

Sarracenia minor = AF
Sarracenia minor – Anthocyanin Free
New growth rising

S. ‘Black Widow’

Sarracenia 'Black Widow'
A Sarracenia ‘Black Widow’ pitcher coloring up quite nicely. As the season moves on, the plant will get even darker. Cross by Phil Faulisi. More information on this fantastic plant can be found on the ICPS website.

Sarracenia 'Black Widow'Sarracenia ‘Black Widow’