- Breeder
- Mike Wang
- First described
- 2026
- Type
- single clone from controlled cross breeding line iteration
- Cultivar
- 'improved 2.0'
Origin
Mike's second-iteration breeding-line improvement on his original S. flava var. ornata 'improved' clone (thread 4112). Goal of the 2.0 iteration: taller plants with cleaner red veins than the original. Both targets achieved per Mike's evaluation.
The original 'improved' took ~20 years to develop — most of that time was observation, not active crossing. The 2.0 builds on that observation base.
Standout traits
- Taller plant than 'improved' (the 2.0 target).
- Cleaner red veining (the 2.0 target).
- Excellent trap shape — Mike: "hard to imagine a red veined ornata variant looking better than this."
Mike's reflection on breeding-program longevity
Mike notes that when his original 'improved' crosses were made, the breeding community lacked AI tools and the dense online discussion network that exists today. Improvement was "a shot in the dark and an enormous numbers game." Most crosses failed and don't get publicly remembered.
Mike's view today: the odds of breeding something good in less time are higher with modern tools, but breeding is "part science and part art" — experience doesn't guarantee better outcomes.
Standout traits
- Taller plant than the original 'improved' clone.
- Cleaner red veining — Mike's iteration target.
- Great trap shape — Mike: 'hard to imagine a red veined ornata variant looking better than this.'
- Mike's caveat: not perfect, room for further improvement.
- Mike's projection: with proper space (not crammed in 10×20 trays), traps can probably get pretty enormous — pending evaluation.
Cultivation
Mike's framing on breeding timelines: it took ~20 years to develop the original 'improved' ornatas — but most of that 20 years was observation of large seedling batches over long periods, not active breeding. The 2.0 iteration benefited from that observation base.
Mike's breeding-history reflection: when the original 'improved' crosses were made, "there was no AI or a huge community of the brightest minds sharing their thoughts on breeding at the time." It was "a shot in the dark and an enormous numbers game" — most crosses failed and don't get publicly remembered. Mike's framing: today the odds are better, but breeding remains "part science and part art" and experience doesn't determine outcomes.
Mike's grow-out caveat for the photographed plants: traps in the source-thread photos were grown crammed in a 10×20 tray. Mike's expectation: with proper root space, traps will be much larger.
Photos (6)
Naming
"improved 2.0" — sequel-naming convention for a breeding-line iteration. The original 'improved' is documented in thread 4112; "2.0" is Mike's second-generation refinement target (taller, cleaner veins).