PITCHER- PLANTS- WHAT ARE THEY? 



BY DR. R. W. SHUFELDT, C. M. Z. S. 



(PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR DIRECT FROM SPECIMENS) 



IT would seem that throughout the world every group 

 of plants, and every group of animals, contains with- 

 in it at least one peculiar form that, from its 1 very 

 oddity, attains a prominence, and comes to enjoy a noto- 

 riety not possessed by any of its congeners. Take mam- 

 mals, for example. Very few people there are who ever 

 heard of a shrew, or who would much less recognize one 

 were they to see it ; but upon the other hand, through the 

 great number of illustrated accounts that have appeared 

 about it, a host among us have at least heard of the 

 curious duckbill of Australia a mammal that has a bill 

 like a duck ; wears a poisonous spur upon either hind leg, 

 and lays an egg like a bird, from which its young come 

 forth. So, too, with birds. Most people know something 

 of the natural history of an ostrich and would at once 



has arrayed in it but one genus (Sarracenia), which was 

 created to contain the only two known species of pitcher- 

 plants in our United States flora, east of the Mississippi. 

 Most people, in any way familiar with these plants, call 

 the first of these the pitcher-plant, and, occasionally, 

 "huntsman's cup," as well as "side-saddle flower." Bot- 

 anists have named it Sarracenia purpurea on account of 

 its deep purple flowers, while the generic name I believe 

 Linnaeus is responsible for, it having been given in honor 

 of Dr. Michel Sarrasin, who first sent the pitcher-plant 

 of our Northern States to Europe. Sarrasin, early in 

 the eighteenth century, was physician at the court of 

 Quebec. 



Now, our second species of pitcher-plant is known in 

 the South simply as "Trumpets" (S. flava), it blooming 



A FORM JUST A BIT OUT OF THE ORDINARY 

 Fig. 2 One having wide spread and short flower stem. 



recognize the bird yet hardly any one ever heard of 

 a fin-foot. Similar examples could easily be cited with 

 respect to reptiles, fish, and all the lower forms of life. 

 Among plants the same holds true. Thousands of people 

 will, without hesitation, describe such flowers as the 

 common white daisy, or red clover, or cat-tails ; yet never 

 in all their lives have they heard of such a plant as the 

 pitcher-plant and its near allies, with its curious flowers 

 and still more curious leaves. 



Upon referring to the technical works of those who 

 have given us authoritative treatises on American botany, 

 we find that such a group as the Pitcher-Plant Family 

 (Sarraceniaceae) has been described, and that this family 



in April in the boggy swamps of Virginia and south- 

 ward. As its scientific name indicates, its flowers are 

 yellow instead of purple, like its Northern relative. 



Out West they have a pitcher-plant of their own, and 

 it occurs only in certain parts of California. This 

 species belongs in the genus Darlingtonia, and is rarely, 

 if ever, seen in Eastern America. Down in South Amer- 

 ica we know of still another species ; it occurs in Guiana. 

 Others may have been described, but I have never heard 

 of them. They are all bog plants, and to collect the best 

 specimens of them anywhere, one generally has to resort 

 to some wading; though, in certain instances, they may 

 flourish in swamps where the bottom is firmer. 



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