plants across state lines in the USA, and trading internationally. S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi is less threatened due to its wider distribution but is still listed on Appendix II of CITES. Taxonomy and botanical history Two subspecies are recognized: S. alabamensis subsp. alabamanensis Case & R.B.Case (Cane-brake pitcher plant) S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi (D.E.Schnell) Case & R.B.Case (Wherry's pitcher plant) Variants of the latter include a regularly pigmented plant with yellow flower, and giant plants from Chatom, Alabama, known unofficially as "Chatom giant". Sarracenia alabamensis was first collected in Elmore County, Alabama by Frederick W. Case & Roberta Burckhardt Case in June 1971. They published the new species in 1975, but neglected to indicate a holotype and included specimens in the type collection that were gathered on different days. This makes the publication of the species invalid (nom. inval.) according to the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature. Frederick and Roberta Case then published the new subspecies S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi in 1976, but this too was invalid since S. alabamensis remained invalidly published. In 1977 Donald E. Schnell disagreed with species rank given to S. alabamensis and reduced it to a subspecies of S. rubra, moving subsp. wherryi to subspecific status under S. rubra in 1978. These publications were also invalid because the basionyms the new combinations were based on were still invalidly published. To complicate matters further, Schnell published S. rubra subsp. wherryi in 1978 as a new subspecies (subsp. nov.) instead of a new combination involving the previous publication of S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi published two years earlier, though reference was made to it. Frederick and Roberta Case finally cleaned up the mess by validly publishing S. alabamensis and S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi in 2005. Sarracenia alabamensis subsp. alabamensis remains a valid autonym since the 2005 publication. References alabamensis Carnivorous plants of North America Endemic flora of the United States Flora of Alabama Flora of Florida Flora of Mississippi Plants described in 2005