Parrot Beaks Sarracenia psittacina

The Parrot Pitcher Plant is a herbaceous perennial and carnivorous plant that can be found in boggy low-lying areas of pine forests.  They are clump-forming and grow in rosettes in water or in moist, swampy soil that is usually high in sphagnum moss and acid and low in nutrients such as nitrogen.  A typical site can be where a wildfire has destroyed surrounding vegetation and thereby providing full sun.  The plant will obtain its needed nutrients by consuming insects, spiders and maybe even a tadpole or two. Parrot Pitcher Plant is often hidden by grasses and other vegetation. It is most noticeable when in flower. Bees pollinate the flowers. A seed pod forms at the top of the flower and matures in the fall. A dry capsule will split open and reveal 20 to 300 pear-shaped seeds. The seeds are scattered and will germinate after a period of cold stratification. 

The leaves resemble narrow tubes having a wing on the side facing the center of the plant.  Mature plants have leaves with a balloon-like reddish-purple hood with a beak-like opening resembling a parrot head, hence the common name.  The tubular pitchers are horizontal to the ground and form a rosette.  These downward facing hoods on mature leaves act like a "lobster trap" to eat insects.  Attracted by the plants' nectar, insects enter the hooded area where they are trapped in the digestive fluid of the plant. Escape is prohibited by downward-facing hairs that allow entry but prohibit exiting.  Parrot Pitcher Plant grows in wetter habitats than most other Pitcher Plant species. The plant can survive underwater so the plant consumes aquatic insects, tadpoles, and small fish. The genus's name, Sarracenia, honors Dr. Michael Sarrazan of Quebec. In the 1700s, he sent the first pitcher plant to Europe. The species name mean "parrot like".

The Parrot Pitcher Plant is native to the southeastern United States. However, an estimated 97.5% of their habitats have been destroyed in the southeastern United States. Some pitcher plants are on the endangered species list while others are on the threatened list.  These plants are threatened by habitat loss, development, and over-collection. Never harvest these plants from the wild. They are best purchased from a reputable carnivorous plant nursery. Pitcher plants prefer full sun during the growing season and require moist to wet, acidic soils of sand and peat, but mostly sand. This plant does not like fertilizers and is sensitive to dissolved salts in chlorinated water. Rainwater or distilled water may be used in place of tap water for container plants. The plants should not be manually fed or given food scraps. The plant cannot digest fats, and fertilizers can burn the plant.

Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: 

The Parrot Pitcher plant goes dormant in the fall and dormancy continues until spring making it unsuitable for a house plant. The leaves will turn brown, but it is best to wait and remove the foliage in the spring just before the flowers emerge.

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.