Species › Plants › Purple Pitcher Plant

Purple Pitcher Plant

Sarracenia purpurea

UncommonPlant
Illustration of Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea)

Purple Pitcher Plant is a carnivorous plant of sphagnum bogs and fens that traps insects in water-filled, downward-facing hairs inside its pitchers. It is the provincial plant of Newfoundland. The pitchers also support a unique community of organisms including specialized mosquito larvae and protists that live nowhere else. Its solitary dark red flower is pollinated by bumblebees.

Habitat
Sphagnum bogs and fens across boreal and northern North America
Diet
Carnivorous; traps insects in pitchers for nitrogen; flower pollinated by bumblebees
How common
Uncommon

Best time to see a Purple Pitcher Plant

The best time to see a Purple Pitcher Plant is April–July, when about 63% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 24,668 research-grade iNaturalist observations.

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