Sarracenia leucophylla var. alba 'MK L042' Mobile Co, AL

Origin

This clone came to Mike Wang's collection from Mike King's catalog under the accession number L042 (also distributed as L42, L14, and as ipL36 in Aidan Selwyn's European numbering — all are confirmed synonymous by Mike King himself; calen, post #51, 2021). For the first six years on the forum (2012–2018) Mike listed the wild origin as Washington Co, AL; in post #23 (21 September 2018) he corrected the record to Mobile Co, AL. Older labels in private collections may still carry the wrong locality.

Mike's first forum post on this clone (#1, 24 July 2012) opens with "I just love this clone originally from Mike King's collection," and his 2018 retrospective ("almost 9 years" in cultivation) places acquisition in roughly 2009–2010 [VERIFY].

History

2012-07 — first forum documentation. Mike calls out the unusually extensive white coverage and the suspected S. alata genetic introgression (yellow flower, pitcher shape).
2012-10 — Mike: "just as nice as hurricane creek white, but to belabor the point, it's VERY slow growing in comparison."
2014 — kimbruun confirms his ipL36 from Aidan Selwyn is the same clone (post #12); Mike adds (post #14) that other clones from the same locality may exist in circulation.
2016-04 — Mike spills the cross plan: "this was crossed with a different yellow flowered alba from Washington Co, AL!" (post #16). This is the founding cross of the Rod's favorite breeding line — the first documented alba × alba outcross between two distinct localities.
2016-09 — Mike admits (post #20) that even with correct watering he has battled rhizome rot on this clone.
2018-09 — locality corrected to Mobile Co, AL (post #23).
2018-09 — calen (post #22) confirms the L42=L14 synonymy after receiving a plant directly from Mike King labelled L14.
2019-10 — most extreme white-stretch Mike has ever seen on this clone, possibly attributable to borderline under-watering during summer (post #31).
2019-10 — extended naming-philosophy thread (post #33) where Mike defends the var. alba designation despite occasional non-alba phenotypes, citing the original chameleon clone Baldwin Co AL as another example: an alba whose spring traps look like ordinary leucophylla but whose mature traps are cotton-white.
2020 — Calen documents that the celebrated pink-throat phenotype can appear under outdoor culture, not just in greenhouses (posts #44–#45), contradicting a popular assumption.

Standout traits

Heavy, far-extending white: at peak, the white panel covers most of the upper pitcher, comparable to HCW.
Pink-throat phenotype (intermittent, environment-dependent): a rose pigment in the mouth and throat appears under cool-night + bright-day conditions and is enhanced under polycarbonate / poly film greenhouses; daniella3d's Quebec greenhouse reliably produces it, while Mike's California outdoor culture has never shown it in 9+ years (post #29). Calen later showed it can develop outdoors as the trap ages, just less reliably (post #45).
alata introgression: yellow flower, broader/rounder petals, narrower-pointed sepals, and a narrower-than-typical pitcher shape all suggest the S. alata hybrid lineage. Confirmed by Calen's detailed 2020 flower analysis (post #38) and Mike's original 2012 observation. zugul (post #39, 2020): "I always thought it was a x areolata backcross."
Slow growth: the principal complaint. Calen's solution (post #22) was aggressive rooting/fertilization treatment — "maxroids to the dome" — which moved his plant from "ZERO to HERO" within a year.
Rhizome-rot susceptibility even with correct watering — a known liability of this clone.

Cultivation notes

Drier-than-average leucophylla regimen is the baseline; that alone is not enough to prevent occasional rot. Mike has not lost the clone but has had repeated near-misses (post #20). For the pink-throat phenotype, growers report best results in greenhouse conditions with diffuse light (polycarbonate or poly film), cool autumn nights, and older/well-cured traps. Outdoor expression is rarer but possible (calen, 2020).

For breeders: this clone's yellow flower and inferred S. alata genetics make it the historically significant pollen donor for the Rod's favorite line — the first known alba × alba outcross between distinct wild localities.

Naming + identity

The plant is sometimes referred to as just "L42" or "L14" or "ipL36" in collections; all three are documented as the same individual (post #14, post #22, post #51). Mike's 2019 explanation of why he keeps the var. alba designation despite veined throats and non-alba-looking spring traps is in post #33 — a useful read for anyone confused about the loose horticultural application of "alba" in this group.

Photos

See gallery — 30 Mike-Wang photos from 2012-07 through 2019-10. Note that several 2013 follow-up posts used Photobucket outbound links which are no longer mirrored (see photos_not_mirrored).

Standout traits

Heavy white extends much further down the pitcher than on a typical leucophylla — at peak, full upper-half white

Mouth can flush a true rose-pink under specific conditions (cool nights + bright sun, often greenhouse-enhanced); never pinks for Mike outdoors in CA

Pitcher shape and yellow flower both betray S. alata introgression — petals rounder + wider, sepals pointier than baseline leucophylla

About 2' tall in spring but narrow — not a wide-pitchered clone

Slower-growing than HCW; Mike: 'slower than a snail'

Prone to rhizome rot even under correct watering

Cultivation

Slow-growing var. alba — needs years to bulk up and is sensitive to rhizome rot even when watered correctly (Mike, post #20, 2016). Drier-than-average leucophylla conditions are required, but that alone is not sufficient prevention.

The pink-throat phenotype is environment-dependent. Calen (post #45, 2020) and daniella3d (greenhouse, 2019-2021) both produced strong pink mouths; Mike never observed pink in 9+ years of California outdoor culture (post #29, 2018). Mike's 2020 hypothesis (post #47): cool nights + bright sunny days together may be the trigger; light diffusion from polycarbonate / poly film also plays a role (calen, post #24).

Calen's 2018 advice (post #22): aggressive rooting hormone / fertilization ("maxroids to the dome") accelerates this clone noticeably — confirmed by his 2020 transition from "ZERO to HERO" including first bloom.

This clone is one of two parents of Mike's 2016 Rod's favorite breeding line — pollen-out-crossed to a yellow-flowered alba from Washington Co, AL (post #16, 2016).

Photos (30)