Sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea Strafford Co, NH

Origin

A small wild-source population of S. purpurea ssp. purpurea from Strafford Co, NH. Mike has had it for several years; ~1/3 of the original plants survive as of 2026-02-28. Mike noticed in winter 2026 that one of the surviving plants produced near-black old traps — "Holy Filoli historic house and Gardens!"

The crash-population problem

Mike's purpurea collection splits into two categories:

30-year survivors — populations he's held for ~3 decades.
5-year crashers — populations that thrive briefly and then rot out en masse.

The Strafford NH batch reads as a 5-year-crash type.

Conservation strategy

Mike's contingency for crash-prone populations:

Try to take divisions from surviving mother plants. Strafford NH: unsuccessful so far.
If divisions can't be taken before the population fully crashes, cross-pollinate with other dark ssp. purpurea to preserve the genetics in hybrid form.

Mike's track record on this strategy: see the AF venosa story (cluster C0748) — he saved AF venosa alleles by outcrossing before all his original AF venosas died.

Standout traits

Near-black old traps — Mike's 2026-02 'Holy Filoli' moment when he noticed the color level.

Likely a 'crash population' under Mike's care — purpureas in his collection split into 30-year-survivors and 5-year-crashers; this batch reads as 5-year-crash type.

Critical preservation status: only ~1/3 of original plants survive; Mike has not yet been able to take divisions from any mother plant.

Mike's distribution plan B: cross with other dark ssp. purpurea before they all die, preserving the Strafford genetics in hybrid form.

Cultivation

Mike's purpurea-survivor pattern observation:

Some populations: 30+ years in his collection, no problems.
Other populations: thrive 5 years, then crash and rot out.
Strafford NH appears to be a 5-year-crash type.

The bottleneck: Mike has not yet been able to get divisions from any of the surviving Strafford NH mother plants. Until divisions are achievable, distribution is impossible. Mike's contingency: cross-pollinate with other dark ssp. purpurea clones to get the genetics into hybrid offspring before the original plants are lost.

This is a recurring pattern in Mike's collection — see also the AF venosa story (cluster C0748): Mike outcrossed his AF venosa to vigorous venosa stock before all his original AF venosas died, preserving the AF alleles in heterozygous form, then later recovered AF homozygotes.