Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
Volume 44, Number 2, June 2015, pages 93 - 94

New Cultivars

Dionaea muscipula ‘Spotted Hyena’

Submitted: 21 March 2015

Dionaea ‘Spotted Hyena’ was found in a garden center in Germany in June 2013. The traps of are red and have darker and lighter spots on the inside and outside of the traps (Figs. 1 & 2). The main features of Dionaea ‘Spotted Hyena’ are, beside the eye-catching spots, the irregular teeth and uneven edges of the traps.
There are differences that separate Dionaea ‘Spotted Hyena’ from Dionaea ‘Spotty’.

•  ‘Spotted Hyena’ is a flat-growing plant, whereas ‘Spotty’ is an upright-growing plant.
•  The petiole of ‘Spotted Hyena’ is wider than the slim petiole of ‘Spotty’. Furthermore, the edges of ‘Spotted Hyena’ petiole are often brighter than its middle part.
•  The edges of the traps of ‘Spotted Hyena’ are uneven with indentations and hillocks. The traps of ‘Spotty’ are proportional and smooth.
•  The teeth of ‘Spotted Hyena’ are irregular in shape, length, and size and there are sub-teeth on some traps. The teeth of ‘Spotty’ are usual and average.

Vegetative propagation is required to maintain the characteristics of this cultivar.
The name, Spotted Hyena, is inspired by the African carnivore which is a strange and unusual beauty like this Venus flytrap.

—Tobias Sicking • 48712 Gescher • Germany

Figure 1: Dionaea ‘Spotted Hyena’ has darker and lighter red spots on the inside and outside of the traps, irregular teeth, and uneven edges.

Figure 2: The inside traps of Dionaea ‘Spotted Hyena’ have dark red spots (left) and the trap edges are uneven with irregular teeth (right).