PITCHER PLANT FAMILY. Sarraceniacese. 



PITCHER PLANT FAMILY. Sarraceniacece. 



Swamp plants with pitcherlike leaves, and nodding 

 flowers with 4-5 sepals, five petals, numerous stamens, 

 and one pistil ; represented by only one species in the 

 northern United States. 



Pitcher Plant ^ curious and interesting plant found 

 Sarracenia in peat-bogs throughout the north. The 

 purpurea strange hollow leaves, keeled on the inner 



side toward the flower-stem, are usually 

 partly filled with water and the fragments 

 of insects ; the latter are apparently drowned, and no 

 doubt contribute to the physical sustenance of the plant; 

 but the raw-meat coloring, the red veining, and the gen- 

 eral form of the flower are conducive to the attraction 

 of carrion flies, which are especially fitted for the cross- 

 fertilization of the flower. The style within the blossom 

 is strangely like an umbrella with five ribs, the stigmatic 

 surface on the inside. The folding petals and the flow- 

 er's drooping position certainly protect the ripening pol- 

 len from any disturbance by the elements, but the 

 inquisitive insect finds easy access to it. The general 

 coloring of the whole plant is green with red-purple 

 veining ; the sepals are madder purple, and greenish on 

 the inside, the petals are dull pink, and the umbrellalike 

 style green. The outer surface of the pitchers is smooth, 

 but the inner surface is covered with fine bristles point- 

 ing downward, which manifestly interfere with the es- 

 cape of trapped insects. The pitchers are circled about 

 the root in radiating lines, and they measure 4-10 inches 

 in length ; the flower-stem is frequently a foot high. 

 The plant is commonly found in the black peat-bogs of 

 wooded hills or in mountain tarns where there is scant 

 sunshine. When the plant is more exposed to the sun 

 its green coloring predominates. It is common north 

 and south, and extends as far west as Minn. 



176 



