Northern Pitcher Plant

Description:

20 inch. Distinctive, vase-like leaves usually contain water. Flowers 3 inches, purplish-red, umbrella-shaped, nodding, long-stalked, with 5 petals, 4-5 petal-like sepals, expanded pistil. Leaves large, red-veined, curved to form a hollow tube with flared lips and downward-pointing bristles. Carnivorous; insects lured by leaf color become trapped inside by hairs and eventually drown in water; plant absorbs nutrients as insects decompose.

Habitat:

Bogs. Blooms: June- July

Notes:

One of my favorites! Spotted at the Bangor City Forest off Stillwater Ave. on the Orono Boardwalk in Bangor/ Orono, Maine SOURCE: Nat'l Audubon Society- Field Guide to New England (Peter Alden & Brian Cassie)