One AF (anthocyanin-free, or all green) line of breeding I’ve been having fun exploring is that of big AF green wing things. Or “ala” (a wing like part). I was inspired by the shape of Sarracenia rosea “Big Mama”. Below are a few shots of S. rosea “Big Mama” wings. The first photo on the left is from Oct 2012 (enjoying the warmth of the greenhouse) and the other two photos from Apr 2021 – outdoor grown. The beat up looking pitchers are from last season and survived the PNW winter. The ala shape is still there.

In 2012, I crossed S. rosea “Big Mama” with a S. purpurea ssp. venosa AF. (Or S. purpurea ssp. venosa var. venosa f. pallidiflora) Below are a couple shots of the father plant. The one on the left is from 1 Jun 2013, the one on the right is a smaller division – pitchers are from last season.

So I crossed both S. rosea “Big Mama” and S. purpurea venosa AF plants in 2012. Below are how the seedlings looked a year later in 2013. Even with this group, there’s some seedlings exhibiting some ala.

Fast forward a bit, and here are the pitchers in April of 2021. Pitchers in photo below are from last season.

These plants are pretty sweet. A few from the seed batch have that big wing (2013 photo). And some don’t. What’s neat is that these plants have that recessive/hidden all-green (anthocyanin free) gene. In 2018, I had the opportunity to cross some of the siblings. Seed was germinated outdoors in 2019 and I let them grow outdoors for a bit. A percentage of the seedlings that came up contained the red anthocyanin pigment. A few also were anthocyanin free. Last year, when the temps started to get a little colder (around mid-autumn I think), I brought the seedlings in and gave them a little push under lights for this last winter. It looks like we got wings on some of ’em. I hope this trait remains stable. A large winged AF purp thing was my target in this multi layer project.

Below are a couple of seedlings pulled out from under lights and grown outdoors since around mid March of this year. The latest pitchers are the more prominent ones in the shot which have developed outdoors. It’s still early – but I’m pretty excited to see how these will grow this upcoming season. I wonder if they’ll end up looking like big neon heads of lettuce.