Tag Archives: Sarracenia purpurea

Species

Back to basics, shall we?

Sarracenia species.  Below you’ll find the cornerstones of what the hybrids are built upon.  I’ve recently been even more appreciative of the species; probably due to the hybrid madness that’s going on with me right now. I love the complexities, the various breeding combinations, and the whole roll-of-the-dice that you get when breeding plants.  You never know what you’ll get! Patience required, but hybridizing is very awesome indeed.

That said, I’ve been only breeding/hybridizing for the past 2-3 years.  I’m just starting and am only just starting to see some of my work come to fruition.  All of this crossing, combining, creative madness has gotten me to really appreciate the species so much, and to realize the importance of preserving them.

Below are a few photos of the species and a listing of their subspecies/variations.  Keep in mind, that even within species, there is much diversity in color, shape, and size.  The photos below are for illustrative purposes to give you a very general feel/sense of what each of these species is all about.  Taxonomy for the plants are debated in some cases (depending on who you talk or argue with) — but for now, I’ll try to keep it simple… 🙂


[Sarracenia alata: Pale Pitcher Plant]

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[Sarracenia flava : Yellow pitcher plant]

– Sarracenia flava var. atropurpurea

– Sarracenia flava var. cuprea

-Sarracenia flava var. maxima

– Sarracenia flava var. ornata

-Sarracenia flava var. rubricorpora

-Sarracenia flava var. rugelii

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[Sarracenia leucophylla: White pitcher plant]

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[Sarracenia minor : Hooded pitcher plant
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-Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis

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[Sarracenia oreophila : Green pitcher plant]

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[Sarracenia psittacina : Parrot pitcher plant]

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[Sarracenia purpurea : Purple pitcher plant]

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. purpurea

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. purpurea f. heterophylla

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa : Southern pitcher plant

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola

-Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. montana

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[Sarracenia rubra : Sweet pitcher plant]

-Sarracenia rubra subsp. alabamensis : Alabama pitcher plant

-Sarracenia rubra subsp. gulfensis : Gulf coast pitcher plant

-Sarracenia rubra subsp. jonesii

-Sarracenia rubra subsp. wherryi : Red pitcher plant

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Hairy Situation

One aspect of carnivores that really fascinates me are all the mechanisms used for luring and trapping a meal.  Just as an example – these downward pointing hairs on the hood of this Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa v. burkii f. luteola make for a slippery foothold and make for an even harder time for the meal to escape. Food falls into the pit and a hairy situation serves as a obstacle for said meal. Just one of the things that make these plants so redonculously flippin’ awesome.

hair[Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola – leaf detail]

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola. Yeah. Type that 10 times fast without getting carpal tunnel syndrome!  (S. purpurea ssp venosa var. burkii = S. rosea.  Ah yes, the name game. A comprehensive run down of this is can be found in the FAQ’s of  Barry Rice’s site.)

It’s an awesome plant  and for more information, read about the history of this plant  on the International Carnivorous Plant Society page about this friggin’ awesome plant. (Thanks Mr. Miller and Mr. Hanrahan!)

About a year or so ago, I received a few seeds from fellow grower friend, Chris Gussman.  The seedlings are now showing some luteola-ness!  Chris (Chris, correct me if I am wrong), crossed 2 of his S. rosea f. luteola plants and now the seeds are coming up over here pretty nice.   I have hopes to propagate and distribute these plants (among others)  in the future to ensure this plants survival.  Thanks again Chris!

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa v. burkii f. luteola[Sarracenia purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii f. luteola, 9.18.10]