PARROT PITCHERPLANT 



Sarracenia pstttacina Michaux 



The diminutive parrot pitcherplant is reported to have been ob- 

 served as early as 1766, but was not described until 1803. Michaux 

 stated that it occurred southward from Augusta, Georgia, but in 

 recent years it has not been found within fifty miles of that city. 



The peculiar features of this species may well have originated 

 from the continued operation of the evolutionary trends which led 

 to the development of Sarracenia minor from a primitive ancestor. 

 The down-arching of the hood over the pitcher continued to the 

 point of union with the walls, leaving only a small lateral orifice. 

 The pitchers shifted to a decumbent position, enabling water to enter 

 them during flooding of the meadows in which the plant grows. 

 The flower parts became suffused with red pigment, although the 

 petals still exhibit an underlying yellow hue like that of the presum- 

 able ancestor, the hooded pitcherplant. 



The specimen sketched was grown in the greenhouses of the 

 Department of Agriculture in Washington. 



PLATE 9 



