- First described
- 2025
- Type
- single clone locality rare genetic pathway
Origin and the genetic-pathway argument
A flava var. ornata selection from a large private property in Brooks Co, GA. The standout feature here isn't a visual trait — it's a hypothesis about how this ornata came to exist.
Standard ornata origin story (broadly accepted): atropurpurea, cuprea, or rubricorpora variants backcross with flava var. rugelii to produce the ornata phenotype.
Mike's Brooks Co exception: the site contains only flava and S. minor, no documented atropurpurea/cuprea/rubricorpora populations. The most plausible origin for this ornata is therefore that a wild S. × harperii (flava × minor) backcrossed with flava, and the minor genetic background contributed enough to produce the ornata expression. If correct, minor genes can produce ornatas — a pathway not previously emphasized in the breeding literature.
This connects to Mike's broader thread on hybrid-origin of color forms (thread 4294) — the same logic that gives multiple pathways to albas should also give multiple pathways to ornatas.
Standout traits
- Genetically interesting ornata: most likely arose from a wild S. × harperii (flava × minor) backcrossed with flava — minor genes contributing to ornata expression.
- Site context supports the hypothesis: only flavas and minors documented at this Brooks Co location.
- Mike's framing: there are multiple 'pathways' to get an ornata, not just the typical atropurpurea/cuprea/rubricorpora-back-crossed-to-rugelii route.
Cultivation
No cultivation specifics in the source thread — Mike documents the clone primarily for its genetic-pathway implications. Standard ornata care expected.
Photos (3)
Naming
Locality designation only — no cultivar name. Specific value of the entry is the genetic-pathway argument, not a cultivar identity.