Sarracenia pitcher plant named ‘Redbug’

Details Sarracenia pitcher plant named ‘Redbug’ Sarracenia pitcher plant named ‘Redbug’

2001-01-05

2002-12-24

Campell, Bruce R. (Department: 1661)

Plants

Herbaceous ornamnental flowering plant

Plant Patent

active

PP013412

ABSTRACT:

LATIN NAME OF THE GENUS AND SPECIES
The Latin name of the novel hybrid plant variety disclosed herein is
Sarracenia rubra
ssp.
wherryi×Sarracenia rubra
ssp.
rubra.
VARIETY DENOMINATION
The inventive cultivar of Sarracenia disclosed herein has been given the variety denomination ‘Redbug’.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Sarracenia species are long-lived, herbaceous, perennial, insectivorous plants found growing in open, sunny, moist meadows or long-leaf pine savannas predominantly found throughout the southeastern United States. The plants produce pitchers which are hollow, modified leaves. Each pitcher has a hood, which typically covers the mouth of the pitcher to keep rainwater out and insect prey trapped inside. Insects are attracted by the color of the pitchers, the nectar produced around the mouth of the pitcher, and the smell of decaying insects within the pitcher. The ability to absorb nutrients from digested insect prey has been shown to supply necessary nourishment to the roots, stems, and leaves of Sarracenia spp.; and may account for the ability of these plants to thrive predominantly in nutrient-poor acidic soils characteristic of the southeastern United States.
Sarracenia pitcher plants have been of horticultural interest for well over one-hundred years. One problem in the production of commerically-available Sarracenia pitcher plants is the lack of identified horticulturally superior plants. To meet the current demand, wild species are being harvested, resulting in a depletion of native populations. There are approximately eight species found in the wild, and these species can cross-pollinate to produce fertile hybrids that grow well in cultivation. Therefore, it would be desirable to produce new, more robust cultivars of pitcher plants with enhanced characteristics such as compact growth, colorful leaves, and winter foliage to meet the current horticultural demand.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present Sarracenia ‘Redbug’ hybrid plant (
Sarracenia rubra
ssp.
wherryi×Sarracenia rubra
ssp.
rubra
) is a dwarf cultivar with pitcher leaves that are distinctly widened gradually above the middle, then narrowed somewhat at the mouth of the pitcher. The plant has dark Chrysanthemum Crimson (Horticultural Color Chart (H.C.C.). #824) tubular leaves, suffused with veins of a deeper cast of Chrysanthemum Crimson (H.C.C. #824). The pitcher leaves are thick, have very fine but distinct fuzz covering the entire surface, have a width-length ratio of 0.1, and prolonged retention of foliage with attractive leaf color during the dormant season. The hood of Sarracenia ‘Redbug’ completely covers and extends beyond the leaf orifice and often has a slightly scalloped or wavy margin, and a prominent horizontal filament at its tip up to 2 mm long. Furthermore, this plant is a vigorous, compact grower (short in stature with many pitchers), forming a clump from a single crown in one growing season with flushes of new pitchers being produced all summer.
Lineage: The ‘Redbug’ cultivar originated as a single hybrid seedling at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in the late 1980s. ‘Redbug’ is a hybrid derived from a cross of
Sarracenia rubra
subspecies
rubra
(a native dwarf pitcher plant from coastal North Carolina) and
Sarracenia rubra
subspecies
wherryi
, a native species from southeastern Alabama. In 1990, the single individual plant now known as ‘Redbug’ was selected because of its multitude of exceptional features, and has been propagated asexually since that time. While each parental species had only a subset of horticulturally desirable features, ‘Redbug’ attained the full composite of features including vibrant color, compact growth, and winter foliage retention. It showed exceptional hybrid vigor and grew well under a variety of conditions.
Asexual reproduction: Sarracenia ‘Redbug’ was first asexually reproduced at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill, N.C. by division of the rhizome, i.e., clump divison, in 1990. The combination of characteristics disclosed herein for Sarracenia ‘Redbug’ is stable through successive generations of asexual reproduction.


REFERENCES:
Mellichamp and Gardner (Jun. 1987) New cultivars of Sarracenia.Carnivorous Plant Newsletter,16:39-42.
D'Amato, P. The American Pitcher Plants. In: The Savage Garden. Ten Speed Press, California. 1998. p. 70-102.
D'Amato, P. The Sun Pitchers. In: The Savage Garden. Ten Speed Press, California. 1998. p. 110-118.
D'Amato, P. The West Australian Pitcher Plant. In: The Savage Garden. Ten Speed Press, California. 1998. p. 168-173.
D'Amato, P. The Tropical Pitcher Plants. In: The Savage Garden. Ten Speed Press, California. 1998. p. 236-281.
NCBG Plant Records: SarraceniaבRedbug.’New Accessions Form and Tables. Dec. 13, 2000.

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