SPECIAL ISSUE - Aipc

• Sarracenia alata f. viridescens S. McPherson & D. E. Schnell, f. nov.
by Stewart McPherson
The forma epithet is derived from the Latin
viridescens (becoming green), and indicates
that this plant is incapable of producing
red anthocyanins. As a result, all parts of its
leaves and flowers appear yellowish green. In
all other respects, this form is identical to
Sarracenia alata var. alata.
Sarracenia alata f. viridescens is readily
distinguished from all other varieties of
S. alata by the colouration of its foliage
and inflorescence. In particular, the bases
of the petioles and the rhizome scales are
consistently yellowish green, whereas in all
other varieties of S. alata these parts always
produce red colouration to varying extents,
even in plants growing in heavy shade.
Sarracenia alata f. viridescens is extremely
rare in the wild, and only a few of populations
consisting of single or isolated clumps
of plants have ever been discovered. The
first specimen ever observed was found in
Washington County, Alabama, in 2001,
where this form was represented by just one
clump among many examples of the typical
form. Since then, at least one other small
population of S. alata f. viridescens has been
discovered, but it is not known whether
either population is extant. Further populations
of this variety may exist in the wild,
but none have been reported to date. The
taxon is conserved ex situ in horticultural
collections across North America and in the
United Kingdom.
Description:
McPherson, S., D. E. Schnell (2011). In
Appendix of S. McPherson, D. E. Schnell
(2011), Sarraceniaceae of North America:
745.
34 - AIPC Special Issue n. 4