When breeding the really rare _Sarracenia_ (_S.oreophila, alabamensis,
rubra jonesii_), I always make sure I cross-breed genetically different
clones because the offspring of _Sarr_ crosses are more vigourous (IMHO)
than selfings.
I used to kid myself by thinking my greenhouse represented a kind of
ark. Regardless of what happened out in the Alabama mountains, I still
had _S.oreophila_ in the greenhouse. But you know, once you lose that
dynamic population in the wild---changing and evolving as populations
do---the plant is really gone. You can have a few clones of the plant
in cultivation, but that isn't the same thing. It's more like a musty
museum exhibit of Quaggas---better than nothing, but a far cry from the
original.
Apparently some time in the distant past, Cheetahs nearly went extinct.
The modern population is genetically very homogeneous, with a terrible
birthrate. I think about this whenever I hear some restoration efforts
for inbred animals (i.e. black rhinos, Florida cougar, Russian royalty)
with minute populations. Some battles are lost by the time the troops
have been massed.
Barzai