Saturday, December 4, 2010

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.