Carnivorous Plant Clone Wiki
Awaiting Mike's review. This entry was AI-extracted from forum posts. Treat specifics as a working draft until reviewed.

sarracenia alata

Sarracenia alata 'dark, bulbous, vigorous' Stone Co, MS

Stone Co, MS

First described
2018

A heavily-pigmented Stone Co, MS alata that, when fully expressed, has a purplish-black trap interior, bulbous shape, and strong vigor — but whose color and bulbousness are notoriously chameleon, varying dramatically year to year. The exterior of the trap is harder to color than the interior. Mike considers it one of his favorite alatas for breeding (2021-07). 20 Mike photos spanning 2018-2023, including post-deep-freeze survival shots.

Standout traits

  • Solid dark purple to almost black trap interior when expression is full (post 38490, 2018-09-16: 'blacker than black')
  • Bulbous trap shape (most visible mid- to late-season)
  • Vigorous
  • Phenotypically chameleon — color and bulbousness vary dramatically year to year and season to season
  • Anthocyanin formation on the EXTERIOR of the trap is subtle and harder to coax than the interior darkness
  • One of Mike's favorite alatas for breeding (2021-07)

Cultivation

  • Expect chameleon-like variability. Don't judge the clone on a single year's expression — Mike documents wide year-over-year swing in interior darkness, exterior pigment, and bulbousness.
  • Interior color comes more easily than exterior. Mike notes (2018-09) that the inside of the trap turns dark purple-black readily; getting the OUTSIDE of the trap to color up is much harder.
  • Cool nights and changing fall light may help bring out true colors (Mike, 2018-07).
  • The mother plant has been a small, single offshoot since 2023 (post 49338) — Mike notes no rot issues with it.
  • Survived deep-freeze events in late 2022 / early 2023.

Photos (20)

dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2018-07-12 — color/bulbousness less pronounced than original juvenile expression— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2018-07-12 — subtle exterior anthocyanins— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2018-07-12— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2018-07-12 — smaller trap with slightly more exterior pigment— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2018-07-12— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2018-09-16 — interior finally getting very dark— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2018-09-16 — purplish black interior— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2018-09-16 — bulbousness now visible— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2018-09-16 — 'blacker than black'— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2019-06-10 — light/skinny year, demonstrating the chameleon effect— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2019-06-10— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2019-12-04 — bulbous but didn't fully color up— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2019-12-04— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2021-07-13 — favorite breeding parent— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2021-07-13— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2021-07-13— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2021-07-13— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2023-01-02 — small offshoot mother plant after deep freezes— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2023-01-02— Mike Wang
dark, bulbous, vigorous, 2023-01-02 — a few alatas with intact traps despite deep freezes; leucophyllas (background) are JACT up but their rhizomes survived— Mike Wang

Naming

Mike's working label — captures the three traits that stood out in the small / juvenile state: dark coloration, bulbous trap shape, vigor. As the plant matured, expression became more environment-dependent (the 'chameleon effect') and the name became a partial misnomer. Mike's later semi-joking rename suggestions: "not that dark, but still bulbous, and dormant" (2020-01) and "light, kinda skinny, and hungry" (2019-06) — reflecting the year-to-year color/size variance.