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pitcher plant, common name for any insect- catching plant with pitcher-shaped leaves. OldWorld pitcher plants are members of the family Nepenthaceae (order Nepenthales); New World pitcher plants belong to the family Sarraceniaceae (order Sarraceniales). The fly-catcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis) of southwestern Australia is the only species of the family Cephalotaceae (order Saxifragales). Another pitcher plant is Dischidia rafflesiana, of the family Asclepiadaceae (q.v.). Pitcher plants are found in a wide range of habitats, from pine barrens to sandy coastal swamps.
The name pitcher plant most commonly refers to members of the family Sarraceniaceae, especially the eight or nine species comprising the genus Sarracenia, native to eastern North America. The other two genera in the family are the cobra plant (Darlingtonia), native to northwestern North America, and Heliamphora, native to northern South America.
A pitcher plant of the genus Sarracenia has a low jug-shaped or tall trumpet-shaped leaf, Nectar exuded on the outside of the leaf attracts insects, which fall into the pitcher and are digested by an enzyme secreted within the leaf.
A rosette of stalkless leaves rises from a long underground rootstalk.
The purple, or common, pitcher plant (S. purpurea) has heavily veined, green to reddish, flaring, juglike leaves that bear downward-pointing bristles. Its flowers are purple red. The parrot’s head pitcher plant (S. psittacina) has small, fat, red-veined leaves that are topped by beaklike lids. It bears dark-red flowers. Sweet pitcher plant (S. rubra) produces dull-red, violet-scented flowers. Crimson pitcher plant (S. leucophylla; S. drummondii of some authorities) has white, trumpet-shaped pitchers with ruffled, upright hoods and scarlet flowers. Yellow pitcher plant (S. flava), also known as trumpets, has bright-yellow flowers and a long, green, trumpet-shaped leaf the lid of which is held upright. Species of pitcher plants cross-fertilize easily, so that the number of species varies according to the authority consulted.
