Sarracenia psittacina var. okefenokeensis Liberty Co, FL ('Wang's Best')

Origin

Wild source: Liberty County, Florida (specifically Sumatra, FL, per romainvalais's 2022 European-import label). Lineage:

1998: Art Junier acquires the clone (Mike, post #11, 2020).
Early 2000s: Mike Wang acquires from Junier.
2022: distributed at Jerry Addington's nursery as "Wang's Best" (neotropical, post #21).

A clone with arguably the largest head documented for any psittacina in cultivation — Mike's 2020 traps possibly exceed Barry Rice's documented largest wild psittacina (~2.2" head; adaetz100, post #18, 2020).

History

1998: Art Junier acquires.
Early 2000s: Mike acquires.
2012-09-20 (post #1): first forum documentation.
2012: defalotus / woodhdpurp / others discuss watering.
2020 spring → fall: peak documentation year, including Mike's "biggest head" claim and supporting photos including a sacrificed-trap close-up.
2020-11-19 (adaetz100, post #18): cross-references Barry Rice's wild-psittacina record at sarracenia.com.
2022: clone hits broader distribution as "Wang's Best" (Addington / neotropical) and PSI01 (romainvalais EU label).
2024-04-17: continued robust performance.

Standout traits

Massive head size — possibly larger than any documented wild psittacina.
Bright carmine red color — atypical for psittacina (most lean maroon).
Rot resistance — survives years of neglect that killed other psittacinas in Mike's collection.
Late-season size + color flush — peaks August onwards in CA climate.

Cultivation notes

The thread is one of the wiki's better psittacina cultivation references. Key takeaways:

Don't submerge in cultivation — wild submersion works because of oxygenated rain + aquatic prey; cultivation submersion is stagnant + low-oxygen and causes rot.
Shallow water tray is sufficient for humidity.
Don't over-feed — the clone is large enough that excessive prey load risks rot.
Late-summer + fall is when this clone hits its peak; photograph then.
Don't trim aggressively — leave older traps until spring traps take over.

Distribution

Currently in Mike's collection (Northern California), Jerry Addington's nursery (greenhouse-grown, sold as 'Wang's Best'), European cultivation (romainvalais, PSI01 label), and various forum-member private collections via 2020 sales.

Photos

21 photos: Mike's gallery 2012-09 → 2024-04 plus contributions from shuddles (2020-10).

Standout traits

Exceptionally large head — Mike (post #16, 2020): 'morbidly obese', possibly biggest psittacina head documented anywhere

Mike (post #19, 2020) confirms his biggest 2020 trap likely exceeds 2.2" — bigger than Barry Rice's documented largest wild psittacina

Bright carmine red color (acalvin, post #14, 2020) — most psittacinas lean maroon, this clone is brighter red

Heavy fall coloring + sizing — Mike's 2022 update: 'sizing up... and coloring up like crazy' in August

Resilient — Mike (post #11, 2020): 'more rot resistant than many other clones, has tolerated years of neglect'

Time-tested clone — surviving Mike's collection 20+ years without rot crash

Cultivation

Watering: Mike (post #3, 2012) explains the wild-vs-cultivation trade-off. In the wild, this clone gets giant in heavily water-logged conditions (traps submerged, feeding on aquatic prey, frequent rain oxygenating the water). In cultivation, Mike does NOT submerge — water in cultivation is stagnant and oxygen- poor, so submersion causes rot. He keeps the plant in a shallow pool of water for humidity but does not flood it.

Old-trap management (Mike, post #11, 2020): leave older traps on until spring traps fully kick in; trim only when the trap turns brown.

Feeding caution (Mike, post #16, 2020): "I feel like this clone could rot at anytime if I feed it anymore!" — there is an upper limit on prey load before the resulting nitrogen overload triggers rot.

Greenhouse: neotropical (post #21, 2022) describes a Jerry Addington greenhouse-grown specimen acquired in 2022 — greenhouse acceleration is dramatic but the clone may not maintain that size outdoors.

Patience: Mike (post #22, 2022) notes the clone doesn't size up until ~August in his California climate.

Photos (21)