''Sarracenia minor'', also known as the hooded pitcherplant, is a perennial, terrestrial, rhizomatous,

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...

in the genus '' Sarracenia''. Like all the ''Sarracenia'', it is native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Etymology

In 1788, the first description of ''S. minor'' was written by Thomas Walter. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''minor'' means "small" and refers to the typical size of the pitchers. The common name refers to the characteristic lid of this species.

Description

The typical form is a relatively small plant with pitchers about in height. An especially large form, with pitchers up to high, grows in the

Okefenokee The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee ...

marshes,D’Amato, Peter. 1998. '' The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants''. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley. at the border between Georgia and Florida. The tubes are mostly green throughout, but can also be reddish in the upper part. Flowering occurs from late March to mid-May. Flowers are yellow in colour and odorless. Over a hundred seeds are produced by a capsule. ''Sarracenia minor'' and '' S. psittacina'' are the only species in the genus to employ domed pitchers with translucent white patches that allow light to enter. It has been suggested that the light shining through these patches attracts flying insects further into the pitcher and away from the pitcher's mouth in a similar manner to ''

Darlingtonia californica ''Darlingtonia californica'' , also called the California pitcher plant, cobra lily, or cobra plant, is a species of carnivorous plant. It is the sole member of the genus ''Darlingtonia'' in the family Sarraceniaceae. This pitcher plant is nativ ...

'' and two ''

Nepenthes ''Nepenthes'' () is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mos ...

'' species, '' N. aristolochioides'' and '' N. klossii''. The pitcher is filled with water and enzymes produced by the plant and helpful in the digestion of prey. In the wild, ''Sarracenia minor'' seems very attractive to ants, although it also attracts and eats a wide range of flying insects.

Distribution

This plant can be found in areas of northern and central Florida and in Georgia up to the southern part of North Carolina. The species exhibits the southernmost range of any member of the genus ''Sarracenia'' extending to fragmented populations surrounding Lake Okeechobee in south-central Florida.

Habitat

It grows in swampy environments poor in nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus.

Infraspecific taxa

*''Sarracenia minor'' var. ''minor'' *''Sarracenia minor'' var. ''okefenokeensis'' Schnell (2002)

Synonyms

*''Sarracenia adunca'' Sm. (1804) * ?''Sarracenia galeata'' Bartr. (1791) '' nom.nud.'' * ''Sarracenia lacunosa'' Bartr. (1794)
S. leucophylla/S. minor''">Sarracenia_leucophylla.html" ;"title="'' S. leucophylla/S. minor''* ''Sarracenia minor'' ''auct. non'' Walt.: Sweet (1832) [=''Sarracenia rubra">S. rubra''">Sarracenia leucophylla">S. leucophylla/S. minor''* ''Sarracenia minor'' ''auct. non'' Walt.: Sweet (1832) [=''Sarracenia rubra">S. rubra''* ''Sarracenia variolaris'' Michx. (1803)

Gallery

File: Sarraceniaceae - Sarracenia minor-2.jpg, ''Sarracenia minor'' var. ''okefenokeensis'' at Okefenokee Swamp Park, Waycross, Georgia File:Sarraceniaceae - Sarracenia minor.jpg, Plants of ''Sarracenia minor'' var. ''okefenokeensis'' in Okefenokee Swamp Park in Waycross, Georgia File:Sarraceniaceae - Sarracenia minor-1.jpg, ''Sarracenia minor'' var. ''okefenokeensis'' File:Sarraceniaceae - Sarracenia minor-001.JPG, ''Sarracenia minor'' pitcher at the botanical garden of Villa Durazzo-Pallavicini, Genova Pegli File:Sarraceniaceae - Sarracenia minor-002.JPG, Close-up on ''Sarracenia minor'' pitcher

References

External links

CITES

Gelinaud

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1532298

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

Carnivorous plants of North America Endemic flora of the United States Flora of Florida Flora of Georgia (U.S. state) Flora of North Carolina Least concern flora of the United States Plants described in 1788 Flora of South Carolina