Expert: Christopher Littrell - 10/31/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hi,


Can you help me ID this Sarracenia?  It looks like some kind of S. leucophylla but I've been unable to find any pictures of one that looks similar to it.


Thanks.

ANSWER: Hello Akira,

What you have is not a S. leucophylla, but a hybrid of that species with one or more other Sarracenia species. It may be difficult to identify it if it has gone through several generations of mixture as many different species will try to exhibit their qualities through this plant. I have not seen a Sarracenia like that either, but the hoods do resemble S. leucophylla while the wing at the front lower section of the pitcher is very pronounced. The plant also has little coloration, which indicates that it is either a species that is predominately green, or needs more sunlight. The plant is also flowering in this photo, which may be a bad thing if your region of the world is about to experience winter in a couple of months. Sarracenias should flower in the beginning of spring.

Christopher

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for the informative reply, I figured it had to be some kind of hybrid but I've never seen one like it, I was hoping someone would know.

I should have mentioned it but the photo in my question actually isn't recent.  I took it in early Spring of this year (2011) when it was looking its best.  I live in zone 9, keep it outside year round, have it planted in 1:1 peat/perlite, water with distilled water, and it currently receives about 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight a day.  It's now dormant I believe, has never bloomed, and many of its leaves are brown or dead-looking.  I've had the plant for about a year and it seems to "come back to life" in the Spring.

I've never seen it change color, even in the Spring or Summer where it would get 12 to 16 hours of direct sunlight a day.  It's always green and catches a lot of bugs.

Again, thanks for you reply to my original question :)

Answer
Hello Akira,

That is the problem with hybrids. They are sometimes hard to place if there is a generational difference or a mixture beyond just one generation of parentage, a complex hybrid. It sounds like the plant is getting what it needs. It will pretty much live for decades that way, and reproduce from runners below the grounds surface that will produce clones of the plant that can be divided in spring every other year or so. Just clip off the dead leaves and wait for new ones in spring. Each year, it will be bigger and/or grow outward as new plants grow in around the parent. Sarracenias are some of the best "bug" catchers there are. So far as coloration. S. oreophila tends to maintain green coloration consistently, so it may have some of that parentage in it as well.

Chris