Sarracenia flava 'RED' Liberty Co, FL — Carnivorous Plant Clone Wiki

A solid-red S. flava clone — by-genetics rubricorpora, by-phenotype atropurpurea — Mike Wang's selection from his own Liberty Co, FL × Liberty Co, FL rubricorpora cross. Documented from 2012 to 2025 with ongoing photography in a single thread.

Origin

Mike crossed two different S. flava var. rubricorpora plants from Liberty County, FL. Most offspring were rubricorporas as expected. A few — including this clone — phenotypically expressed as atropurpurea, with the entire pitcher tube going solid red rather than the typical rubricorpora yellow-lid-with-red-tube pattern.

Mike's framing (post 1, 2012-06-23): "Even though genetically we know they came from rubricorporas, conventional naming would label these atropurpureas." This makes the clone a useful case study in the genetic-vs-morphological boundaries of those infraspecific names.

History

Pre-2012: Mike makes the rubricorpora × rubricorpora cross (Liberty Co, FL × Liberty Co, FL parents). Specific year [MISSING].
2012-06-23 (post 1): First forum documentation. Mike highlights the unusual trait of opening solid red, not yellow-then-red.
2014-05/06 (post 4, 8): Update — the plant has darkened further. Mike struggles to photograph it well in bright light.
2014-08 ([deleted user] thread context): Calen mentions receiving a divvy from Mike, growing it well in Oregon.
2016-04 (posts 10, 14, 21): A spring blooming season — ongoing color development photography. Mike: "Brilliant red, if that's even a valid description."
2016-04 (post 17): Calen's plant in Oregon performs well — "compact... loves the Oregon sun."
2016-04 (post 20): Mike notes he has just sold the last spare division — popular clone.
2021-06-11 (post 24): Multi-year update with four new photos.
2025-04-17 (post 25): Mike calls it "this dwarf clone"; unusually a trap opens before the flower this year.
2025-05-07 (post 26): "Turned very deep red a little while after opening" — Mike notes it's a bit darker than normal but this clone is not classified as a particularly dark cultivar.

Standout traits

Opens solid red. Most rubricorpora-lineage plants open with yellow lids and turn red over time. This one skips the yellow stage.
Atropurpurea phenotype from rubricorpora parents. Useful for thinking about what those infraspecific names actually capture.
Dwarf / compact form. Stocky proportions, strong presence in the collection.
Reliably brilliant red. Color description: deep, uniform red in good light; can read brown under unusual greenhouse conditions on a related plant ([VERIFY] — likely environmental rather than genetic).

Cultivation notes

Standard S. flava care. Performs well across multiple climates (California, Oregon, Kentucky based on grower reports in this thread). No rot or special-handling notes appear in the thread.

Photos

See gallery below — 28 Mike-photos spanning 2012 through 2025.

Standout traits

Solid red the moment the trap opens — most rubricorpora-lineage clones start with yellow lids that turn red as the trap ages. This one skips the yellow stage entirely.

Phenotype reads as atropurpurea (entirely red pitcher) even though both parents were rubricorpora

Compact / dwarf form — Mike (2025): 'this dwarf clone'; Calen (2016): 'quite short and stocky and it has a strong presence in the collection'

Brilliant deep red color in good light

Stocky, not thin-necked — the trap has a stout overall appearance (Mike's 2014 clarification on lid/neck proportions)

Performs well in Oregon (Calen) and California (Mike) climates

Cultivation

Compact, vigorous, performs well across climates from California to Kentucky to Oregon. No special-care notes from Mike beyond standard S. flava culture. Calen reports the clone "loves the Oregon sun." 2025 update: a trap opened before the flower opened on Mike's plant — Mike attributes this to the plant being particularly hungry rather than a cultural concern.

Photos (28)

RED Liberty Co FL — first forum documentation, 2012-06-23— Mike Wang

RED, 2014-05-15 — plant has since become darker; bright-light glare made photography difficult— Mike Wang

RED — backlit glow, 2014-05-15— Mike Wang

RED — June 2014 (resurfaced photos)— Mike Wang

RED, 2016-04-12 — traps just opened, lids not yet fully colored up— Mike Wang

RED, 2016-04-12 — Mike: 'still not solid red, but nevertheless impressive'— Mike Wang

RED, 2016-04-24 — Mike: 'Brilliant red, if that's even a valid description. This is the true color in person.'— Mike Wang

RED, 2021-06-11 — Mike: 'vary niiice, vary niiice'— Mike Wang

RED, 2025-04-17 — Mike: 'this dwarf clone'; trap just opened, not fully colored— Mike Wang

RED, 2025-04-17 — trap opened before the flower (Mike: 'I guess this guy is just really hungry?')— Mike Wang

RED, 2025-05-07 — turned very deep red after opening; 'a bit darker red than normal' for this clone— Mike Wang

Naming

Mike's informal label 'RED' — short for the brilliant solid-red pitchers, used in lieu of a formal cultivar designation. The taxonomic placement is unusual: the cross was rubricorpora × rubricorpora (both parents from Liberty Co, FL), but a few offspring including this clone phenotypically express as *S. flava* var. *atropurpurea* (entirely red pitcher tubes), not rubricorpora. As Mike put it: "Even though genetically we know they came from rubricorporas, conventional naming would label these atropurpureas." The clone is variously labelled by growers — Mike usually says 'RED' Liberty Co, FL; Calen at one point called his own piece "rubricorpora Liberty Co RED."