S. leucophylla in the wild, Baldwin Co, AL-DIVERSITY!

[meizzwang]

I remember being in college and having a conversation with a fellow CP expert. He saw how "addicted" I was to Sarracenias, and he said that eventually, I'll probably get bored of them, and then move on and focus on something else. As the years went by, I always reflected on that conversation and thought, how can you get bored of Sarracenias? Within one species, there's as much diversity out there as you can imagine (sadly, there used to be even more than that until most of it was destroyed in the wild).

The photos below really demonstrate why many of us will be hooked on pitcher plants till the day we die. There isn't just one S. leucophylla alba out there, but there are hundreds of thousands of individuals, and just like humans, each individual is special and unique. Even regular leucophyllas out there are bright white. Let's say that theoretically, one becomes bored because they've seen and grown 1000's of different clones of every species and variety. Well, then there's the path to hybridization,which probably takes at least 2-3 lifetimes to really explore the endless possibilities. In other words, a lifetime isn't enough time to really experience Sarracenias!

all photos below were taken 9/10/13 in northern Baldwin Co, AL:




S. leucophylla var. alba-check out how white the interior of the trap is:



Another S. leucophylla var. alba, this time with nice red "netting" on the outside:



A regular S. leucophylla with heavy "veining." S. leucophylla var. ornata? Shhhh, don't tell Stewart McPherson, hehe Just kidding:




Love how the petiole or trap is skiny on the bottom and fat/symmetical at the top:



Same clone, but view of the back. Look at how white this clone is!




S. leucophylla var. (maybe alba?):




A standard looking clump:





Mildly pink lip-this clone will probably turn darker pink in the next few months:




S. leucophylla var. alba-can you see how no one "var. alba" looks exactly the same?



A shapely reddish-pink clone. These red and pink pigments probably come from historic interbreeding with S. rosea and/or S. "alabamensis" ssp. wherryi:



Lots of white on this clone, with a beautiful contrasting red at the bottom. Nature is a work of art:



Same clone, slightly different angle:


S. leucophylla var. alba. Snow white in the interior...this is what I call perfection!



Some battle wounds:



Another pink clone:










An impressive dark pink clone:






This one was pretty big:



pink lips:






Another huge trap:






Look at the red on this one!



Same clone:



And another S. leucophylla var. alba. Every clone is slightly different:



The number of winners in this field were endless:



Same clone, side view:






Even the developing pitchers were amazing:



S. leucophylla var. alba. Check it out: a S. leucophylla 'Hurricane creek white imposter' in the background, to the left:



more photos to come!

[hcarlton]

My eyes are aching from the white! I can't believe how snowy some of those are! Great pics!

[calen]

Wonderful Mike!
And look! Your avatar says you are officially a God now - sheesh I didn't know there was a level past "master grower!" Personally I think it should go "master grower" then "boss" then "big boss" then "pitcher pimp status" and THEN "god" but thats just my 2 cents LOL. Thanks for each of your 1,000 posts to the forum - you do all of us a service, sir!

[meizzwang]

Thanks Guys!

Calen-Yeah, I just emailed Jonathan about that topic. Hopefully, it can be changed back...I checked other forums, and I like the idea of it saying "full member." I ain't no God, that's for sure! pitcher pimp status? LOL I suppose that would only make sense if I leased my plants, perhaps to florists or hotels, and gave the plants nothing in return for their services, haha

[meizzwang]

some more photos!


Axel Bostrom of California Carnivores in front of a huge pitcher:



Damon Collingsworth of California Carnivores in front of the giant S. lecophylla:



Here's me (Mike Wang) in situ with gallons of insect spray on my shirt (I think insects in the south prefer chinese food, haha):




A really bizzare S. leucophylla that seems to have S. flava var. rugelii in its distant background:



Another shot of the same clone:




Can't get enough of these var. albas!














love these little "floral-like" clusters:








Snow white S. leucophylla var. alba with a red body...don't come across that too often!



Same clone, different shot:











This one is really nice:




There were lots of babies at this site, indicating a good, healthy population. Even the babies were impessive!


Another baby plant:





Another favorite:




This one has been chowin' down on too many insects:









and another super-white clone:


I still have more pictures from this site

[Deleted]

Wow this one is just amazing. The burgundy on white looks incredible.

[meizzwang]

Eric-just imagine: I only photographed a small portion of what's out there!


Some more photos, with a focus on clusters of traps:

































Ever wonder what native Sarracenia soil looks like? It's mostly this fine, powdery white sand with a little bit of peat or well-decomposed hummus mixed in:

[Deleted]

A-MA-ZING!!!

[calen]

Lordy, Mike. Those last shots are my favorites I think. To see the sheer profusion of pitchers on a landscape scale is really fantastic - I am definitlely getting a KE-style case of snow blindness LOL. Gotta grab my welding mask over here...

[meizzwang]

just as a teaser, more photos from this site coming soon! Still have to upload them:



Here's a stunner:

[kiwiearl]

Holy f**kamole! I loved looking back through your original post Sarge and simply can't wait for more!!!

Best leuc site in existence you reckon? Bet being there was worth every insect bite you got.

[meizzwang]

Very hard to say what's the best site. There's definitely sites out there that I haven't ever seen that might be even more impressive..or fields that we have seen before that can potentially be more impressive under better weather. We've seen sites that were just jaw dropping on year: thick, dense bright white traps everywhere, similar to the photo above. A few years later, we visited the same exact site around the same time of year, and it was hard to tell that this was a dense population of S. leucophyllas.

[kiwiearl]

Well, certainly those are some of the prettiest leucophylla you'll see anywhere. Relentlessly pretty!

[meizzwang]

No doubt, this site is outstanding! Got some more photos to share:










Wow:


Another shot:


















More photos to come!

[kiwiearl]

Have mercy!! And more to come?!

Hey, any idea what, if any, organism cuts such a neat hole seen in the 3rd to last photo? I would normally say a wasp, but that hole looks well above the 'full up with insects' level a wasp would be standing on to eat it's way out.