- First described
- 2012
- Type
- multi clone locality
Origin
This is the cultivation-distributed material from a Chilton County, Alabama population of S. alabamensis — a population that no longer exists in the wild. By 2013, "Jay" (jdallas's reference, post #2) had already reported the site as extirpated; Mike (post #9, 2021) confirms "before it was destroyed a long time ago".
The Chilton population is morphologically distinct: wide-mouthed traps with skinny bodies and proportionally large heads — Mike's "trumpety" descriptor (post #2). The look is so atypical for alabamensis that jdallas (post #4, 2013) recognized this population as the one Adrian Slack used to illustrate alabamensis in his 1979 Carnivorous Plants.
History
- ~1995 [VERIFY]: Mike acquires his longtime clone. Inferred from post #7 (2015): "almost 20 years" of cultivation.
- 2012-08-08 (post #1): first thread documentation.
- 2013-08-09 (post #2): the population is now confirmed extirpated.
- 2015-07-02 (post #5): accidentally trampled some traps.
- 2015-08-14 (post #7): first "huge" trap in nearly two decades.
- 2021-07-13 (post #9): Mike acquires a second "original Chilton clone" said to have been collected before extinction. Field-reported 2.5' tall, lemon-yellow.
- 2023-09-15 (post #12): Mike: "I'm second guessing myself, but there might be 2 clones here" — opens the question of whether the 2021-acquired clone is genuinely distinct from the longtime clone.
Standout traits
- Wide-mouth pitcher form — initial-glance ID can confuse with alata or rubra ssp. wherryi (Mike, post #1).
- Skinny body, fat head — characteristic of this population.
- Floppy pitcher posture — h2o (2013).
- Surprise giant traps — Mike's longtime clone produced ordinary-size pitchers for ~20 years before throwing a huge one in 2015. Patient cultivation pays off.
- 2021-clone lemon-yellow + 2.5' wild height — the secondary clone has different size potential.
Conservation status
ESA-listed endangered: S. alabamensis ssp. alabamensis is federally protected. Cultivation lineage is critical because the wild Chilton site is gone.
Distribution constraint: California-only distribution for any sales / divisions, per federal Endangered Species Act compliance. Interstate movement requires USFWS permits.
Cultivation notes
- Patience: this clone can produce ordinary pitchers for many seasons before an exceptional flush.
- Robust to mishandling — Mike trampled traps in 2015 with no long-term harm.
- Standard Sarracenia care otherwise; not noted as fussy.
Photos
28 Mike-Wang photos spanning 2012-08 → 2023-09. Photos from post #46723 (2021) onward are of the secondary, 2021-acquired clone; earlier photos are of Mike's longtime clone.
Standout traits
- Wide-mouthed pitcher form — looks alata-like or wherryi-like at first glance, atypical for alabamensis
- Skinny 'body' / fat 'head' — Mike: 'looks very trumpety' (post #2, 2013)
- Slack's reference plant — jdallas (post #4, 2013): 'looks like the one that Adrian Slack has in his first book Carnivorous Plants'
- Mike's secondary 2021-acquired clone has been observed at 2.5' tall in the wild — 'absolutely gigantic' (post #9, 2021)
- 2021 clone turns lemon yellow
- Floppier pitchers than other rubra (h2o, post #3, 2013)
Cultivation
Mike's near-20-year record on this clone (post #7, 2015) shows that it can sit producing modest pitchers for many seasons before unexpectedly throwing a giant trap. Patience pays off.
ESA-restricted species: do NOT distribute interstate without appropriate USFWS permits. Mike's standing practice is California- only distribution for federal-endangered Sarracenia.
In 2015 (post #5) Mike accidentally stepped on some traps — "indeed, that's no way to treat an endangered species, but hey, it'll live." A reminder that even for an extirpated species, the cultivated plants are robust enough to survive minor mistreatment.
Photos (28)
Naming
Locality designation only — Chilton Co, AL, an alabamensis-specific population characterized by wide-mouthed traps that read more alata-like or wherryi-like at first glance than typical alabamensis.