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Description The pitchers range from 4 in (10 cm) long in the parrot pitcherplant to more than 3 ft (1 m) tall in the yellow pitcherplant. Insects that enter the pitcher are impeded from exiting by downward pointing hairs on the inside of the hood and a slippery wax on the inside of the pitcher above the liquid. Deeper in the pitcher, digestive glands secrete enzymes that slowly digest any prey that are hapless enough to fall in. Interestingly, there are some protozoans, algae, bacteria, insect larvae and other tiny creatures that have adaptations to resist being digested and actually live and reproduce in the liquid within the pitcher. The flowers of the eight pitcherplant species are all pretty similar. They appear in early spring as the new pitchers are developing. The fleshy five-petaled flowers nod on stalks that stand among, sometimes above, the pitchers.
The eight species of pitcherplants in the genus Sarracenia are native to eastern North America. The California pitcherplant (Darlingtonia californica) and three species of sun pitchers (Heliamphora spp.) from South America, are the only other species in the family Sarraceniaceae. There are some 70 species of tropical pitcherplants (Nepenthes spp.) in the family Nepenthaceae, which occur in tropical Asia, Australia, Madagascar and the Seychelles. At last, but not least, the Australian pitcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis) is the only species in its family.
A seep is an area where water constantly seeps to the surface because its downward percolation through the soil has been interrupted by an impermeable layer of clay or rock lying at or near the ground surface. Seeps are usually saturated, but rarely inundated. A savanna is a grassland with scattered trees. Savannas in eastern North America are characterized by widely spaced longleaf pines (Pinus palustris) and a ground cover consisting of a great many species of herbaceous grasses, sedges and forbes. Savannas can be xeric (dry), mesic, or hydric, depending on the depth to ground water. Pitcherplants are found only in the hydric savannas.
Trumpet pitcherplant, Sarracenia alata, occurs on the Gulf Coastal Plain from E TX to the W FL Panhandle. Yellow pitcherplant, S. flava, occurs on the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from the FL Panhandle to SE VA. White-top pitcherplant, S. leucophylla, occurs in the FL Panhandle and adjacent S AL, SW GA and SE MS. Hooded pitcherplant, S. minor, occurs from central FL, N on the Atlantic Coastal Plain to NC. Green pitcherplant, S. oreophila, is restricted to a couple small areas in NE AL. Parrot pitcherplant, S. psittacina, occurs from S AL across N FL and S GA. Purple pitcherplant, S. purpurea, has the largest range of the eastern North American pitcher plants, including appropriate habitats in much of Canada from Alberta to Newfoundland, then S to N IA, IL and PA, then along the Atlantic Coastal Plain to GA, with a disjunct population in the FL Panhandle, S AL and S MS. Red pitcherplant, S. rubra, occurs in four disjunct regions: the Coastal Plain of SC and adjacent NC and GA; extreme S Al and the adjacent FL Panhandle; a small area in central AL; and a small area near Asheville, NC.
Culture
Pitcherplants are best appreciated in their natural habitat. Some people do cultivate them, however, and they do so in a cool greenhouse in pots with 3 parts sphagnum and 1 part each of leaf mold and coarse sand in full light. During the growing season the pots are placed in trays of acidic water. It is essential to allow the plants a winter dormant period with cooler temperatures and less water. Outdoors, pitcherplants may be grown in wet acidic soil in full sun. Features Steve Christman 4/26/01; updated 5/12/01, 3/19/03, 12/26/03, 2/2/08
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