Family: Pitcher-Plant (Sarraceniaceae)

Unmistakable. The pitcherlike, heavily veined red or green leaves ar usually half filled with water; the flaring lips are lined with downward-pointing bristles that help trap insects. The nodding, globular dull red flower is on a seperate stalk. Note the very large flattened pistil.

NOTE:
In the boggy, acid soil where most insect-eating plants grow, decay takes place quite slowly, and little nitrogen is therefore available to the roots of the plants. Pitcher plants make up for this deficiency by holding small pools of water in their modified leafstalks, or pitchers. Insects are attracted to the pitchers, often by the odor of decay within, and are forced into the water by a lining of stiff, downward-pointing hairs. There a narcotic kills them, bacteria begin to decompose them, and enzymes convert their potein into usable nitrogen. Some insects, however, have a different relationship with these plants. The larvae of several flesh flies and mosquitoes swim unharmed in the water, feeding on the insects trapped there, and some moth caterpillars feed on the inside of the pitcher. When the adult moths emerge, they pollinate the flowers.

Height: 8-24 inches

Found: Sphagnum bogs

Blooms: May-July