SOUTHERN PITCHERPLANT 



Sarracenia purpurea venosa (Rafinesque) Wherry 



Specimens of southern pitcherplant must have been sent to Eng- 

 land in early Colonial times, for it was figured by Plukenet in 1705 

 under the name "Bucanephyllon americanum." The first colored plate 

 of it was published by Catesby in 173 1. Linnaeus failed to separate 

 it from its more northern relative, and in his Species Plantarum of 

 1753 he grouped them together under Sarracenia purpurea. In 1840 

 Rafinesque recognized its distinctness, and named it "Sarazina venosa." 

 It intergrades too much with the northern pitcherplant to be main- 

 tained as a distinct species, however, and in 153 3 Dr. Wherry classified 

 it as a subspecies, under the name heading this page. It differs from 

 its northern relative in having a broader pitcher with more ample 

 hood, often pubescent on the outside, and paler petals, ranging in 

 color from light red to rose-pink. 



Roots of the southern pitcherplant were sent to the Department 

 of Agriculture greenhouses from North Carolina in 193 1, and the 

 painting here reproduced was made from one of these when it came 

 into bloom a few weeks later. 



PLATE 10 



