S. flava 'Killer'

[meizwang]

Here's a very unique variant of S. flava from Okaloosa Co, FL. It's pretty amazing how many of these plants with "mixed" genetics turn out. Perhaps this was a flava rubricorpora or ornata crossed with a flava rugelii, adn then back-crossed with a flava rugelii:

[mbfmark]

That is a beautiful form for sure. Here in SC where S. flava grows closer to the coast, there are all kinds of color variants, e.g. 'cuprea,' 'ornata,' and 'atrorubens', and others that are don't quite fit any of the established names commonly used, growing right next to more typical forms, so I presume that if you sowed the seed of any of these you would get many different variations.

This photo isn't the best illustration of what I have observed, but it shows some variation - these are growing in a power line cut right next to a busy major highway full of summer holiday traffic - note the camping trailer whizzing by in the upper right! Let's hope they don't switch to using herbicides like they have in so many areas.

[meizwang]

Thanks so much for sharing MBFMark! Indeed, there seems to be all the diversity in the world in just that one little spot-very neat!

[sdjames]

I'm really curious about this plant's genetics. A couple years ago I crossed it (assuming it's the same as the similar-looking clone I have that's also flava "Killer") with leuco 'Titan.' Seed set was awful, but the one plant resulting from the cross is maturing into a dark red moorei. Where'd the red come from? I'm guessing from this flava, and that would lend some weight to your thought that it might be part rubricorpa.

An aside: to cross two green tubes and come up with a red one was a huge surprise. I saw some post a while back saying red tubes were likely dominant traits if the parent plant carried a pair of genes for red tubes. I'd extrapolated that if neither parent is red you wouldn't likely get a red tube, but it's looking like that was a bad bid of logic on my part... Interesting, tho...

[Alexis]

The red splotch is probably also controlled by another set of genes, and it looks like red veins and red tube coloration is also controlled by different sets: www.insektenfang.com/ipforum/topic/4236-sarracenia-flava-varieties-1/

[amphirion]

wow. WICKED looking. love the contrast....kinda reminds me of heliamphora glabra somehow.

[tonycasler]

Very nice! I have a similar plant from Jerry Addington that he named 'Cutthroat'.