Pitcher plant

Seeds: 10  / Botanical name: Sarracenia flava / S. purpurea - Mix

The frost-resistant insect catcher!

All pitcher plants operate on the same simple yet ingenious principle. The prey is lured with sweet nectar and attractive coloration, slides down the smooth side of the pitcher into the interior, and is prevented from escaping by downward-pointing hairs inside. In terms of development, the purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea) is considered the most primitive. It traps insects, which serve as fertilizer, in its rainwater-filled pitchers, as it lacks a lid over the pitcher opening, unlike the yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava). Besides the digestive secretions it produces itself (to a lesser extent) after capturing its prey, it uses bacteria from the rainwater to break down its prey. Due to the long cold period in its natural habitat, the first flower stalks do not appear until July. The yellow pitcher plant, reaching a height of 40 to 70 centimeters, is considered the largest pitcher plant. Its pitchers stand upright and are funnel-shaped at the top, protected from rainwater by a circular lid attached to an upright column, as it produces its own digestive juices. After the appearance of its flowers, which can grow up to 12 centimeters across, starting in mid-March, it continues to produce new pitchers throughout the summer.

Natural habitat: The main distribution of the red pitcher plant extends from southern New Jersey to northeastern Florida. The yellow pitcher plant is found in the marshy coastal plains of the southeastern United States, from the far southeast of Virginia to southeastern Alabama.