The Sarracenia rubra-complex
Scheme #1: Case & Case
S. rubra Walt. subsp. rubra1 S. jonesii Wherry S. alabamensis Case & Case S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi Case & Case
Scheme #2: Schnell
S. rubra Walt. subsp. rubra2 S. rubra subsp. gulfensis Schnell S. rubra subsp. jonesii (Wherry) Wherry S. rubra subsp. alabamensis (Case & Case) Schnell S. rubra subsp. wherryi (Case & Case) Schnell
Scheme #3: common current usage
S. rubra Walt. subsp. rubra S. rubra subsp. gulfensis Schnell S. jonesii Wherry S. alabamensis Case & Case S. rubra subsp. wherryi (Case & Case) Schnell
Scheme #4: progressive view
S. rubra Walt. subsp. rubra S. rubra subsp. gulfensis Schnell S. jonesii Wherry S. alabamensis Case & Case S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi Case & Case
1This sensu lato definition includes the Gulf Coast plants. 2This sensu stricto definition excludes the Gulf Coast plants.

Q: About Sarracenia rubra, Sweet's sweet pitcher plant

A: This is the last species for us to discuss, but perhaps it is the most controversial. Even this plant's common name is a source of discussion. Some think the name "sweet pitcher plant" indicates the nice smell that the red flowers have. Others think the plant was named after a botanist; proponents of such a view use a capital S when writing "Sweet's pitcher plant." I do not care either way. The Latin word rubra means red.

Like S. purpurea and S. rosea, S. rubra has a highly controversial taxonomy. The best way to proceed is to delve right into the argument and see where that takes us. I will start by describing how different people divide the species, and I will unabashedly tell you my thoughts on the different schemes.

Scheme #1 follows the perspectives of Case & Case, who argue very clearly and nicely for their interpretations (see the table to the right). Notice that this scheme includes only four entities, and the Florida Gulf Coast plants are considered simply part of the natural variation of S. rubra subsp. rubra. While I like many of the things in this system, I object that I see the Florida Gulf Coast plants as significantly different from the Atlantic Coast plants, and they do not seem properly acknowledged using this system.

Scheme #2 is the perspective proposed by Don Schnell. He does not believe that S. alabamensis or S. jonesii should be considered separate species, and reduces them to subspecies status. In doing so, he retains the "wherryi" plants at the subspecies level, but now under S. rubra. Also, notice that he has pulled the Florida Gulf Coast plants out of the more broadly defined S. rubra concept that the Cases used, and called them subsp. gulfensis. This is a very workable system too.

Until September 2008, I used the plant names given in Scheme #3, above. This system draws on some of the strengths of both Case & Case and Schnell. This is a very current common usage, and is the system I used in my 2006 book. However, I now use the system given in Scheme #4. This scheme acknowledges that the "wherryi" plants look a lot like S. alabamensis, and reflects the fact that they are in the same large drainages, i.e. "wherryi" is downriver of S. alabamensis.

All these proposed schemes aside, I must emphasize that I am not an expert in this complex---I certainly do not have anywhere near the field experience needed to make a definitive statement. As I have said elsewhere, my interest is in the conservation of these plants, whatever you wish to call them.

Subspecies
Some comments on the subspecies are given below. For more on S. jonesii and S. alabamensis (including what you might call S. rubra subsp. wherryi) refer to their separate FAQ treatments.

• S. r. subsp. rubra

Sarracenia rubra subsp. rubra (sweet pitcher plant):
Using the restricted definition of the subspecies, as per schemes 2 and 3 above, this subspecies is restricted to southeastern North Carolina, the eastern half of South Carolina, and the northeastern portion of Georgia (nine counties) where it is state-listed as endangered.

This is a small plant, and the pitchers are 26-45 cm tall. The ala in front of the pitcher is pronounced, and the lid is long and narrow. I really like this plant because the veining is very pretty and pinstriped. The pitchers, tall, slender, and erect, evoke the image of little meerkats or prairie dogs standing upright, looking around. The flowers of this plant, like all those of the Sarracenia rubra-complex, are small, bright red, and sweet-raspberry smelling. The underside of the petals are usually green or tan with a central reddish stripe, although the undersides of some flowers are all-red.

I have read unsubstantiated rumours that an anthocyanin-free form of this plant has been found.

• S. r. subsp. gulfensis
• S. r. subsp. gulfensis

Sarracenia rubra subsp. gulfensis (Schnell's pitcher plant):
This plant was given subspecies status by Don Schnell to denote the S. rubra subsp. rubra plants found immediately along the Florida Gulf Coast. I cannot pretend to speak with any authority on this subspecies because I sheepishly admit that I have never seen specimens in the wild yet, but I look forward to that happy day.

The pitchers are much larger on average--43-61 cm tall. Some are mostly green with red pinstripes, some are blush-red throughout. The pitcher often has the bulge in the upper-third of the pitcher that is supposedly so iconic of Sarracenia jonesii. Anthocyanin-free variants have been found a number of times, for example in Santa Rosa County (Florida).

• from Taylor Co. GA
• from Taylor Co. GA
• from Taylor Co. GA

In the Flint River drainage of about six counties, including Taylor County, Georgia, and far from other Sarracenia rubra plants, there occurs what seems to be a strange variant Sarracenia rubra. I am not quite sure what to make of these things, but Don Schnell tentatively calls them Sarracenia rubra subsp. gulfensis. Because these occur upstream of the Gulf Coast Sarracenia rubra subsp. gulfensis, horticulturists and amateur naturalists call them names like Sarracenia rubra "ancestral form." Sometimes this is spelled "ancestral forme," the purpose of the added "e" at the end being entirely inexplicable and valueless, other than raising a desire in me to poke someone in the eye for such tedious affectation.

All these Sarracenia rubra subspecies face many of the same conservation pressures. Habitat destruction, fragmentation, and degradation from the usual sources (development, altered hydrology and fire regimes, pollution, invasive species, poaching) are contributing to their rapid decline. Many sites in Florida that only twenty years ago were considered fabulous are now just strips of homes and strip malls. Does anyone remember the Yellow River sites?

Page citations: Case, F.W. & Case, R.B. 1974, 1976; McPherson, S. 2006; McDaniel, S. 1971; Rice, B.A. 2006a; Schnell, D.E. 1977, 1978a, 1978b, 1979, 2002a; Sheridan, P. & Scholl, B. 1993; USDA NRCS. 2007; personal observations.