Re: Sarracenia rubra/leucophylla??

Oliver T Massey CFS (massey@hal.fmhi.usf.edu)
Thu, 4 Apr 1996 11:06:05 -0500 (EST)

> One for all the sarracenia experts.
> I've just bought through the post 2 plants, one ech of "s. rubra" and
> "s. jonesii" (s.rubra jonesii I assume). ....
> my
> two "rubras" look to be somewhere inbetween rubra and leucophylla.
> So I've 2 questions - 1- can they be rubra x leuco hybrids? 2- how do I
> tell for sure whether they are rubra or leuco or hybrids? (short of
> DNA fingerprinting...)
> Puzzled,
> Andy in NZ
>

Andy:

No expert here but,

yes, they could be hybrids of lueco by rubra, or even a back cross
between the F1 hybrid and rubra. There are a few characteristics that
will give you a pretty good idea if there is a leuco. in the pantry:
First, the presence of fenestrations is a clear (ha) give away of lueco.
(some rubra do show very faint fenestration, but IMHO you would not
generally notice it). Second, the presence of downward pointing hairs
on the underside of the lid. Third, the shape and position of the lid
including wavy margins, broader rather than longer, and the degree to
which it lays over and covers the opening (more upright may suggest
lueco.). Fourth, lueco. produces a strong, stout pitcher with a fairly
large mouth, while some rubra produce a thinner pitcher with more
parallel walls and a less expanded mouth. Fifth, in flowering plants
the flower color will not help, but the general petal shape - more ovoid
to ovate rather than longer strap shape suggests lueco. Sixth, the
mature plant size is likely to be larger in a h

Hope this helps.

Tom in Fl
The opinions are mine, the spelling errors belong to somebody else.