Sarracenia purpurea Play pronunciation

The purple pitcher plant is a carnivorous herbaceous perennial in the pitcher plant family (Sarraceniaceae) native to marshes and bogs, pinelands and wet forest floors in the eastern United States, including North Carolina. The plant is also known as the northern pitcher plant, as it has a vast native range, from Georgia in the south, throughout the eastern US and Canada and even into Alaska. The species epithet is Latin for “purple.”

Purple pitcher plants prefer full sun during the growing season and require moist to wet, acidic soils of sand or sand and peat. Rainwater or distilled water must be used in place of tap water, as the plants are sensitive to minerals and chemicals in household water. The plants should not be fertilized, nor should it be “fed” insects or food. Allow the plant to trap its own food. This species can be grown in a container, but it must never be allowed to dry out.

The purple pitcher plant has procumbent leaves that recline on the surface of the ground with the trap opening upward. In this species, the mouth is open to the sky, and the inside of the pitcher is lined with downward pointing hairs. The purple pitcher plant grows in rosettes in moist, swampy soil that is usually high in sphagnum moss and acid and low in nutrients such as nitrogen. It can survive seasonal flooding. The root system consists of a short crown with shallow fibrous roots and slender rhizomes. Offsets from the rhizomes create small colonies of plants. The flowers are solitary, nodding and deep red. The fruit is a capsule with many small seeds. Seeds will germinate after a period of cold stratification. Like all pitcher plants, this species is protected in the wild. Never collect plants from the wild. They should be purchased from a reputable carnivorous plant nursery.

Purple pitcher plants are excellent additions to a carnivorous plant garden, rain or bog garden, or a pollinator garden. Like all carnivorous plants, they are great additions to a children’s garden.

Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: Pitcher plants are generally not bothered by pests, but monitor for aphids, scale, mealybugs, moth larvae, leaf spots, and root rot.

VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.

More information on Sarracenia.