Carnivorous Plants Website

Carnivorous Plants in the Wilderness

by Makoto Honda

Carnivorous Plants Story
Picture book for a young audience / Kindle Edition

by
Makoto Honda

Copyright (c) 2013-2017 by Makoto Honda. All Rights Reserved.

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Pitcher Plants (2)

GENUS Sarracenia

A pitcher of Sarracenia flava, with a trapped moth floating on the water surface. Note the unusually high water level for this species after a rain. In May, in Florida. If a tall pitcher like this one becomes top-heavy after a heavy rain, the slender pitcher may topple, bending the pitcher for good.

A long-legged spider drowning in the pitcher fluid. Sarracenia flava, in Florida, in May.

In early spring, the coastal savanna in the Southeast is covered with thousands of colorful flowers of the pitcher plants. An odd-looking, dangling flower opens at the tip of a tall flower stem rising from the center of the plant. The basic flower structure is the same for all species of pitcher plants although the color, size, and fragrance of the flowers are distinct for each species.

A pitcher plant flower, with two petals removed to show the interior. An inverted umbrella-shaped style is cut in half to reveal numerous stamens.

A dangling flower of the pitcher plant has a large ovary at the base, surrounded by many stamens. Five petals encase the ovary and stamens, forming a corolla chamber. The petals then bend outward and roll out from the cut-away arc of the inverted-umbrella-shaped style.

Attractive bright red flowers of Sarracenia leucophylla in a coastal savanna along the Gulf Coast, in May. This type of open savannas is becoming increasingly rare, as the land development increases.

Pale-yellow, greenish flowers of the hooded pitcher plant (Sarracenia minor), in Georgia, in May. This is one of only two species of pitcher plants that produce functional pitcher leaves before (or at the same time as) the spring flowers. There appears to be no consideration for pollinator safety.

Blooming parrot pitcher plants (Sarracenia psittacina) with new, spring leaves. Note the spring leaves tend to be more erect.

Deep yellow blossoms of the trumpet pitcher plants (Sarracenia flava) in North Carolina, in May. Golden flowers are one of the largest in the pitcher plant family, measuring 10 cm across.

Pitcher plant flowers, clockwise from top-left: Sarracenia psittacina, Sarracenia leucophylla, Sarracenai flava, and a hybrid.

A blooming colony of Sarracenia flava in North Carolina, in May. Note that the same Sarracenia flava species starts to bloom in mid-March in the south along the Gulf Coast.

A fully matured seed capsule of Sarracenia alata.

Characteristic seeds of pitcher plants (Sarracenia alata). The scale on the background is 2 mm apart.

Germination of pitcher plant, Sarracenia alata.

Sarracenia flava, in Florida, in May.

Sarracenia psittacina, in Florida, in May.

Sarracenia leucophylla in flower, in Florida, in May. This type of an open coastal savanna along the Gulf Coast is increasingly rare, as the land development continues throughout the southeastern United States. Note that the savanna grassland is shared by many different species of pitcher plants.

Sarracenia leucophylla, in Florida, in May. The spring flowers are almost done, and new pitcher leaves are getting ready for the summer feat.

INTRODUCTION PITFALL TRAPS FLYPAPER TRAPS SNAP-TRAPS SUCTION TRAPS VENUS FLYTRAP SUNDEWS PITCHER PLANTS COBRA PLANT BUTTERWORTS BLADDERWORTS

For a young audience, click here for
"Eaten Alive by Carnivorous Plants" by Kathleen J. Honda & Makoto Honda

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