Purple Pitcher Plant

Notes:

Pitcher plants are described as carnivorous plants because they trap and kill insects (e.g., flies, wasps, ants) and similar prey (e.g., mites, spiders) by luring them into trumpet-shaped pitchers (modified leaves) where the insects become trapped and die. Nutrients from the decayed pest bodies are absorbed by the plant as nourishment through special cells located at the base of each pitcher. Sarracenia purpurea is native to eastern North America. Sarracenia purpurea subsp. purpurea (northern version) is found from Minnesota through the Great Lakes to Newfoundland and south along the Atlantic Coast to the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa (southern version) is found primarily on the coastal plain from the New Jersey Pine Barrens south to Georgia and west from the Florida panhandle to Louisiana. The southern version is a stemless herbaceous perennial that grows in the peaty soils of savannas and upland swamp margins usually in full sun. The northern version is more apt to be found in bogs and fens. Modified leaves form reclining to almost horizontal pitchers (4-12” long) with upward faced open ends. Pitchers (usually less than 8 per plant) are decumbent in this species and relax in a basal rosette-like fashion. Pitcher color is quite variable, but usually green with purple-burgundy near the flared lip. Insects are lured to the pitchers by the attractive leaf colors and nectar. Downward pointing hairs on the inside near the lip prevent trapped insects from escaping. Insects eventually slide down a smooth walled area into a water pool (mostly rain water with some added plant enzymes) at the pitcher bottom where they will drown. Insects decompose and nutrients are absorbed. Unusable parts of insect carasses accumulate in the bottom stalk over time. In spring, a single flower rises on a leafless stalk well above the leaves to 8-15” tall. Flower stalks are crooked at the top, and the globular, 5-petaled, purplish-red to red flower (to 2” diameter) hangs down. Flowers may be mildly aromatic. Each flower is followed by a 5-parted seed capsule. New pitcher leaves appear in spring and summer replacing old leaves that die and fall off. Genus name honors Dr. Michael Sarrasin de l’Etang of Quebec who reportedly sent the first pitcher plants to Europe around 1700. Plants in the genus Sarracenia have a large number of common names, including purple pitcher plant, flytrap, side-saddle plant, huntsman’s cup, frog’s britches and whippoorwill-boots. This species of pitcher plant is distinguished from most other species by that fact that it is a compact plant with decumbent pitchers that are open to the sky (they have vertical hoods), thus each pitcher collects rainwater in which trapped insects are killed by drowning in the rainwater/enzyme mixture located at the base of each pitcher.