- Breeder
- Mike Wang (selected from var. alba seedling batch)
- First described
- 2024
- Type
- single clone mutant from alba seedbatch
- Cultivar
- 'purple red mutant'
Origin
Single mutant seedling from a leucophylla var. alba grow-out that Mike performed at scale — thousands of seedlings, only one expressed this trait. Even at the seedling stage it was already noticeably darker and unusual. The parent was an alba (white-trapped clone), which makes the offspring's purple-red phenotype striking — and opposite — to its parentage.
Mike acknowledges the possibility of cross-contamination with a red leuco clone, but his case for spontaneous mutation is:
- Solid purple-red coloration from emergence onward — not the typical "ages-darker" pattern.
- Slow-to-moderate growth, not the hybrid vigor he'd expect from accidental crossing.
- Flowers look largely normal-leucophylla, possibly slightly darker.
Standout traits
- All-season, all-tissue purple red — the only known leuco clone with this specific expression in Mike's lifetime of growing.
- Speculation: a "genetic goldmine" for future leuco breeding — enabling dark albas, deeper red selections, even near-black "pure" leucophyllas.
- Not yet flowered into circulation as of 2024-09; flowers documented 2025-05.
Cultivation notes
Mike has held it back to protect a genetically singular individual. Plans to extensively hybridize once flowering yields usable pollen.
Standout traits
- Purple red from head to toe, all season long — not just aging traps, but developing traps emerge already purple red.
- Mike's view: probably the most genetically unique individual in his collection.
- Originated from a leucophylla var. alba parent — but expresses opposite color phenotype.
- Slow-to-moderate growth (consistent with mutation rather than hybrid origin).
- Flowers look approximately normal for leucophylla, possibly slightly darker.
Cultivation
Not yet in circulation. Mike notes potential for breeding work — could enhance albas with dark purple bodies, push pure leucophyllas toward dark purple/near-black, or amplify red clones with solid purple-red bodies. Hybrid behavior unknown until first crosses are made.
Photos (8)
Naming
Descriptive: "purple red mutant" — only seedling in a large alba grow-out with solid purple-red tissue across all parts and seasons.