Gulf Sweet Pitcherplant (Sarracenia rubra ssp. gulfensis)

Sarracenia rubra sp. gulfensis populations were visited at Blackwater River State Forest by the Atlanta Botanical Garden in May, June, and November 2024. Sites were seepage slopes or streamside bogs, pictured here. Plants at the streamside bog had long flowering stalks, with multiple stalks arising from a single point. Seeds were collected in November and varied in color from tan to peach to lavender, though they dried to brown. Photo Credit: Kelly Coles & Willow Mar

Global Rank: T2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Sarraceniaceae
State: FL
Nature Serve ID: 143049
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Categories of Interest: Carnivorous Plants
Date Inducted in National Collection: 11/20/2024

Description:

Where is Gulf Sweet Pitcherplant (Sarracenia rubra ssp. gulfensis) located in the wild?

States & Provinces:

Gulf Sweet Pitcherplant can be found in Florida

Which CPC Partners conserve Gulf Sweet Pitcherplant (Sarracenia rubra ssp. gulfensis)?

Atlanta Botanical Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 11/20/24

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Kelly Coles

11/18/2024

In May and June 2024 Atlanta Botanical Garden’s conservation field team visited multiple populations of Sarracenia rubra sp. gulfensis at Blackwater River State Forest. Large populations of hundreds of plants were observed during these visits; however, a low percentage of individuals were reproductive. Two of the three populations visited occurred in fire-suppressed habitats. 10% of reproductive plants from 3 populations were tagged and bagged for future seed collections. On November 13, 2024 seeds from 29 maternal lines were collected in one population. Seeds from two maternal lines were collected at a second, and seeds from five maternal lines were collected at a third. Most flowers produced seeds in large quantities (>100) although three flowers were found to produce less than 20 seeds. Seeds ranged in color from lavender to espresso foam to cardboard to peach in the field but dried to brown.

During assessments, some observations were noted. Flowering stems are longer in shaded areas compared to other sites with full sun. Signs of herbivory were observed on both flowers and pitchers. Occasional plants seem to have more than 7 flowering stems, although distinguishing genetic individuals is difficult in the field. Plants mostly occurred in bogs and wet seepage slopes, with occasional individuals growing at the base of trees growing in streams or at stream edges.