FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello

Some time ago I have started to think about setting up a small Dionaea collection...but I have absolutely no interest in cultivars and similar stuff... I was wondering - is it possible to buy a real Dionaea muscipula plant with a specified location? I know that it's possible to buy Sarracenias with location, but what about the Venus flytraps? Any suggestion? Where can I buy such plants?

With location? Dionaea really only grow in a very small place in the wild....so you just want a typical? Either that or a unique seed grown...

Hope this aint a request for a "wild " plant

Venus flytraps come from a small area on the NC/SC coast, there are no distinct populations like those of Sarracenia. Any seed grown typical would be a "real" Dionaea.

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq7350.html

I don't want to buy a wild, poached plant...I was just wondering if it's possible to buy some legally obtained seeds with a known location.

I think because of the status of the plants in the wild and the fact that VFT's are widely tissue cultured and propagated in private/commercial collections there really aren't any plants from wild collected seed because there isn't a need for it.

I doubt you'll find anything with location data but if you're looking for something that's as close to a wild Dionaea as possible a typical is what you want. Mass produced typicals were still bred at some point to get traits that make them hardy and vigorous but that's as close to a wild plant as you'll get in looks and growth habit.

Also keep in mind that there is going to be a genetic diversity even among wild plants so there really isn't such a thing as a "real Dionaea". Obviously you probably won't see any of the extreme looking cultivars in the wild but I bet if you spent enough time you'd see a lot of dente, red traps, and large traps. After all, all the cultivars you see now are the descendants of wild plants.

There is only one location, so by default every flytrap is from a known locale. There are no (natural) disjunct populations or regional variants like you find in Sarracenia.

Tony C wrote:There is only one location, so by default every flytrap is from a known locale. There are no (natural) disjunct populations or regional variants like you find in Sarracenia.

LoL, good point.