Gender Confusion

A few weeks ago I was on my way out the door to take an exam. I paused to mist Penelope and stopped suddenly when I noticed something different--a flower spike! I got so excited I had to go wake Chrissy up and tell her we were finally going to find out if our pitcher plant was male or female. Turns out pitcher plants are either male or female and you can't tell for sure what they are until they bloom. From what I've read online, it looks like she's a he. Male buds tend to be more rounded and female buds tend to be more oblong. 

I have been spending my study breaks on Nepenthes forums online trying to find someone who will allow us to send them our pollen to pollinate their female plant. We would split the seeds 50-50 and I would get to grow baby hybrid pitcher plants! This is a common arrangement for Nepenthes growers, but Pat is sort of plain-looking and hasn't sparked much interest. On the plus side, Pat is a very easy-to-grow variety that could perhaps tame some of the more showy species whose cultivation is more demanding. I hope we can convince someone to swap! Here are some pictures of Pat in all his glory.