Technical Refereed Contribution Sarracenia minor Walt. var. okefenokeensis Schnell: A New Variety. Donald Schnell • 3753 Morehead Lane • Pulaski, VA 24301 • USA Keywords: new taxa: Sarracenia minor, Georgia (USA). Received: 24 August 2001 Description Sarracenia minor Walt. var. okefenokeensis Schnell, var. nov. A var minore ascidio tenero, longitudine 70-90 cm, habitu peruvido gaudenti, anthesi in vere plerumque aliquot hebdomadum seriore, circumscriptione proximo in regione paludis Okefenokee dictae rei publicae Georgiae differt. Differs from var. minor in that the pitchers average 70-90 cm in length, prefers very wet habitat, flowers on average two weeks later in the spring, and is confined to the immediate region of the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, USA. TYPE LOCALITY: United States. Georgia. Ware County, ca. 15.5 km southeast of Waycross, Georgia. Herbarium material collected from tvpe location June, 2001, D. E. Schnell s.n. (HOLOTYPE: US). ETYMOLOGY: Epithet okefenokeensis refers to range in immediate region of and within the Okefenokee Swamp. RANGE: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR) and immediate envi¬ rons to an extent of roughly 1-5 km beyond the borders, particularly north and east. HABITAT: Floating prairies in Refuge, or immediately on the edge of or in shal¬ low water, or on low hummocks in shallow water in hemic or sapric soils. CONSERVATION COMMENT: The rather large number of plants located with¬ in the Refuge on several prairies are legally secure. The plants are also ecologically secure due to the size and physiography of the Okefenokee Swamp. However, out¬ side the ONWR boundaries (including the type location!), smaller populations are under the usual attack by drainage and timber operations. Discussion Sarracenia minor Walt. var. okefenokeensis Schnell is relatively well-known by students and aficionados of Sarracenia. Horticulturists have even established a cul- tivar name for the plant, i.e. Sarracenia minor ‘Okee Giant’ (D’Amato, 1998). However, there have been doubts concerning the genetic constancy of the variety. I have reasons to believe that the plants in the wet locations of the Okefenokee area are truly genetic entities rather than merely ecophenes, and accordingly am describing the variety here. The cultivar name Sarracenia ‘Okee Giant’ is coexten¬ sive with the taxon Sarracenia minor Walt. var. okefenokeensis Harper (1918) was one of the earliest authors to note the variety. His paper included two photos: one of the plants with his hat for sizing on an Okefenokee prairie, and the other with him standing among them. He remarked on their size but had no further comment. Bell (1949) approached the plants in the Okefenokee by boat. He noted that under his growing conditions the larger Okefenokee plants maintained their size 36 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter Figure 1: Range map of Sarracenia minorvar. minor. The location for Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis is indicated by the filled dot. over var. minor obtained from drier habitat. Still, he concluded that they were ecophenes. McDaniel (1966) noted the two size variations of S. minor but after field and herbarium observations felt that there was gradation in the pitcher size making demarcation impossible. McDaniel did not, however, consider the use of pitcher head versus height proportions. In addition to my own observations and growing experiments, I have discussed the matter with David Kutt and George Newman (in litt.) who have also grown the plants, including from seed, and they essentially agree with my conclusions. Sarracenia minor var. minor has a stockier pitcher compared with var. oke¬ fenokeensis (see below), reaching an average height of 25-35 cm, although individu¬ als to 45 cm are noted in wetter habitats. The variety seems to grow most vigorously in wetter natural and horticultural habitats, but in nature is found most often in dryish areas of savannas where there is presumably less competition with other pitcher plant species. The predominant prey is ants—I have opened many pitchers in the field and found this to be so. Plants of var. minor growing in the same lati¬ tude as var. okefenokeensis flower on the average two weeks earlier, and this remains consistent even in greenhouse grown plants here in Virginia. When mature, Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis has a more slender, clear¬ ly taller pitcher than var. minor, being on the average 70-90 cm tall in prime habi¬ tat, but individuals to 130 cm are commonly noted (see Front Cover). The taller, mature pitchers of var. okefenokeensis have hoods and mouths about the same size as mature pitchers of the shorter var. minor, which contributes to the slender, “wil¬ lowy” appearance. After studying the plants, one can rather quickly identify them in aspect without comparisons or measurements; as George Newman says, “They just look different.” These differences are discernable even in one or two year old seedlings. A younger or dry-stressed, shorter pitcher of var. okefenokeensis when compared to a mature pitcher of var. minor of the same height has a smaller hood and mouth, still contributing to the slender appearance. Interestingly, I have also examined the contents of var. okefenokeensis pitchers in the field, and the predom¬ inant prey still consists of ants, in spite of the wet habitat! The plants occur on the margins of wet ditches or marshes, or even in shallow water, and of course on hum¬ mocks in open water and the floating “islands” (prairies) of the ONWR. Those plants Volume 31 June 2002 37 left higher and drier due to habitat modification have shorter pitchers, but with the same propor¬ tions as described above. Flowering is about two weeks later than in var. minor growing in the same latitude. Plants of S. minor var. minor and var. okefeno- keensis have been growing side by side in my greenhouse for 10-20 years. They are both potted in Sphagnum, the pots set in trays of water 5-8 cm deep, and grown in full sunlight. Over this time, both varieties have maintained their characteris¬ tics, including the difference in flowering period. Seeds have been treated with the usual stratifica¬ tion prior to germination, and by the second year, seedlings are easily discerned one variety from the other. A numerical index based upon the ratio of two leaf dimensions was devised—this index can be used to distinguish the two varieties of Sarracenia minor. I made measurements of some fifty pitchers of as many plants in each variety (plants of var. minor were originally from southeastern North Carolina, eastern Georgia and northern Florida) \ and concluded that the following two measure¬ ments (see Figure 2) and a simply calculated index is the easiest and most reliable to use for identifi¬ cation: Measurement 1—Measure the total height of the pitcher from the base of its attachment to the rhi¬ zome up to the tallest part of the arching hood. Measurement 2—“Head depth”. Measure from the point where the mouth lip meets the upper portion of the ala along a line with the lip margin back to the most convex part of the arching hood (the hood may be flattened to facilitate this measurement). Divide measurement 1 by measurement 2. If the resulting index is less than 10, the plant is var. Figure 2: Sarracenia minor minor-, if greater than 10, var. okefenokeensis. (For pitcher with the two dimensions S. minor var. minor the index ranged from 5.8 to from the text indicated. Drawing 9.8 with a mean of 8.3, while for S. minor var. oke- by Elizabeth Salvia. fenokeensis the index ranged from 10.3 to 20.2 with a mean of 14.8.11 The index seems suitable for seedlings at least 3 years old. I have chosen the infraspecific level of variety since the ranges of the two var¬ ieties abut without presently overlapping. If they were widely geographically sepa¬ rated, subspecies might have been indicated. To date, I have not spotted potential hybrids in the field. 1Results of the index calculations had a similar mean and mode for each taxon, indicating that distribution curves were not skewed and that specimen range and numbers were adequate. Frequency distribution indicated a small overlap so that accuracy is 97%. This is adequate for identification. However, multiple sample mea¬ surements of plants in the field are recommended if possible for greatest assurance. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 38 Summary I have concluded that certain plants of Sarracenia minor of the Okefenokee region in Georgia are sufficiently discontinuous in characters as well as ecologic and horticultural behavior to indicate genetic differences with var. minor and to warrant varietal status as var. okefenokeensis. Literature Cited Bell, C. R. 1949. A Cytotaxonomic Study of the Sarraceniaceae of North America, J. Elisha Mitch. Sci. Soc., 65: 137-166 plus 14 plates. D’Amato, P. 1998, The Savage Garden, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California, 314 p. Harper, R. M. 1918. The American Pitcher Plants, J. Elisha Mitch. Sci. Soc., 34: 110- 125. McDaniel, S. T. 1966. A Taxonomic Revision of Sarracenia (Sarraceniaceae), Florida State University, PhD, Botany. University Microfilms 67-345, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Propagators & Dealers of the highest quality carnivorous plants. 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