Carnivorous Plant Clone Wiki
Awaiting Mike's review. This entry was AI-extracted from forum posts. Treat specifics as a working draft until reviewed.

sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea marl bog Dorcus Bay, Bruce Co, ON

Bruce Co, ON, Canada

First described
2012
Type
individual clone marl bog locality

Origin

Dorcus Bay marl-bog population in Bruce Co, Ontario, Canada. Marl bogs are a calcareous (high-pH) wetland type, distinct from the acidic peat bogs that are the typical Sarracenia habitat.

History

  • 2012-05-11 — single Mike-post with one photo
  • 2013-08-08 — cbennett4041 resurfaces the thread; Mike confirms he grows the plant in standard acidic Sarracenia substrate, has no practical recipe for a basic-pH non-toxic media
  • 2013-08-09 — Mike explains the chemistry: under acidic conditions, nitrogen and other salts are "locked up"; raising pH frees them, which can become toxic; raising pH high enough may re-lock them, but the exact target pH is unknown to Mike
  • 2014-01 — jcal reports their Dorcus Bay clone is the darkest of their purps
  • 2014-01 — admin notes phenotypic similarity to Nova Scotia purpurea seedlings

Standout traits

  • Very dark red coloration potential
  • One of the few cultivated marl-bog Sarracenia accessions documented

Cultivation notes

Standard acidic Sarracenia substrate. No special pH treatment. Mike's position: matching the wild basic-pH substrate is risky in cultivation because of the salt-toxicity tradeoff.

Photos

One Mike-source photo (2012-05-11). See photos[].

Standout traits

  • Dark red coloration — Mike (post #1): 'they certainly can get very dark red'
  • jcal (post #8): 'the darkest of my purps'
  • Mike's hypothesis: marl substrate may apply selective pressure for adaptation, but doesn't unify the population genetically

Cultivation

Outdoor Northern California, in standard Sarracenia substrate (peat- based, acidic). Mike notes (post #4) it grows in the same substrate as all his other S. purpureas with no special treatment, despite the contradiction with its wild basic-pH habitat. Mike on creating a basic-pH cultivation media (post #4): "I'm not exactly sure how to create a basic media that isn't toxic to Sarracenia while at the same time maintaining a nutrient poor substrate."

Photos (1)

Marl bog Dorcus Bay, 2012-05-11— Mike Wang

Naming

Locality name. 'Marl bog' is a substrate descriptor: marl fens have basic pH (>7) due to calcium carbonate deposition, in contrast to the typical acidic peat bog. Whether marl-bog purpureas constitute a genetic form is open per the thread; Mike argues phenotype variation within marl-bog purpureas is sufficient that they aren't a single variety.