''Sarracenia purpurea'', the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a

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 family

Sarraceniaceae Sarraceniaceae are a family of pitcher plants, belonging to order Ericales (previously Nepenthales). The family comprises three extant genera: ''Sarracenia'' (North American pitcher plants), '' Darlingtonia'' (the cobra lily or California pitc ...

Description

Like other species of ''

Sarracenia ''Sarracenia'' ( or ) is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants, commonly called trumpet pitchers. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera '' Darlingtonia'' an ...

'', ''S. purpurea'' obtains most of its nutrients through prey capture. However, prey acquisition is said to be inefficient, with less than 1% of the visiting prey captured within the pitcher. Even so, anecdotal evidence by growers often shows that pitchers quickly fill up with prey during the warm summer months. Prey fall into the pitcher and drown in the rainwater that collects in the base of each leaf. Prey items, such as

flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s, and even

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s or

hornets Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...

, are then digested by an invertebrate community, made up mostly by the mosquito ''

Wyeomyia smithii ''Wyeomyia smithii'', the pitcher plant mosquito, is an inquiline mosquito that completes its pre-adult life cycle in the phytotelma of—that is, the water contained by—the purple pitcher plant, ''Sarracenia purpurea''. In this microcommunity ...

'' and the midge ''

Metriocnemus knabi ''Metriocnemus knabi'', the pitcher plant midge, is an inquiline invertebrate found only in the phytotelma of the purple pitcher plant, ''Sarracenia purpurea''. In this microcommunity of bacteria, rotifers, protozoa, and other dipteran larva l ...

''. The relationship between ''W. smithii'' and ''S. purpurea'' is an example of

commensalism Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit fro ...

Sarracenia purpurea seeds, by Omar Hoftun

''S. purpurea'' also traps juvenile spotted salamanders with enough regularity that nearly 20% of surveyed plants were found to contain one or more salamanders in a 2019 study. The salamanders were observed to die within three to nineteen days, and may be killed as the small pools of water in the plant are heated by the sun. A single salamander could provide hundreds to thousands of times the nutrients of invertebrate prey, but it is not known how efficiently ''S. purpurea'' is able to digest them.

Protist A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...

rotifer The rotifers (, from the Latin , "wheel", and , "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John H ...

s (including ''

Habrotrocha rosa ''Habrotrocha rosa'' is a bdelloid rotifer that has been found in leaf litter, soil, and moss in Europe and New Zealand and also in North America within the pitchers of ''Sarracenia purpurea'', the purple pitcher plant. It is one of many speci ...

''), and bacteria form the base of

inquiline In zoology, an inquiline (from Latin ''inquilinus'', "lodger" or "tenant") is an animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species. For example, some organisms such as insects may live in the h ...

food web A food web is the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community. Another name for food web is consumer-resource system. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one ...

that shreds and mineralizes available prey, making nutrients available to the plant. New pitcher leaves do produce

digestive enzyme Digestive enzymes are a group of enzymes that break down polymeric macromolecules into their smaller building blocks, in order to facilitate their absorption into the cells of the body. Digestive enzymes are found in the digestive tracts of anim ...

s such as

hydrolase Hydrolase is a class of enzyme that commonly perform as biochemical catalysts that use water to break a chemical bond, which typically results in dividing a larger molecule into smaller molecules. Some common examples of hydrolase enzymes are este ...

s and

protease A protease (also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) is an enzyme that catalyzes (increases reaction rate or "speeds up") proteolysis, breaking down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids, and spurring the ...

s, but as the individual leaves get older into their second year, digestion of prey material is aided by the community of bacteria that live within the pitchers.Rice, Barry. (2007)
About ''Sarracenia purpurea'', the purple pitcher plant
The Carnivorous Plant FAQ. Accessed online: 21 June 2008.

Distribution

Species of Sarracenia grow in nutrient-poor, acid bogs. Its range includes the Eastern seaboard, the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

, all of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(except Nunavut and Yukon), Washington state, and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. That makes it the most common and broadly distributed

pitcher plant Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...

, as well as the only member of the genus that inhabits cold temperate

climates Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

. How the Sarracenia traveled so far is still a mystery. From what is known so far the Sarracenia has a median seed dispersal distance of 5cm, which is not far enough to explain the plant’s widespread occurrence throughout North America. It is endangered or vulnerable over much of the southern part of its range. The species is the floral emblem of the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Most varieties along the

Gulf Coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

that were once identified as ''Sarracenia purpurea'' have since been reclassified as ''

Sarracenia rosea ''Sarracenia rosea'' is a species of pitcher plant in the genus ''Sarracenia'' and is sometimes known as Burk's southern pitcher plant. It was previously classified as a variety of '' S. purpurea'' subsp. ''venosa'' (var. ''burkii''). The propos ...

''. It is an introduced and

naturalized species Naturalisation (or naturalization) is the ecological phenomenon through which a species, taxon, or population of exotic (as opposed to native) origin integrates into a given ecosystem, becoming capable of reproducing and growing in it, and procee ...

in Europe and the northwestern US. It is found in habitats of the native carnivorous species '' Darlingtonia californica'', in the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

and northern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. The plant has also been recorded in

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. In Britain and Ireland purple pitcher plant have invaded heather-rich peatbogs in Britain and Ireland and with the mild climate can grow in large numbers at the expense of local flora. Peatbogs are also under threat as the ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

'' mosses do not grow near the pitcher plant.

Taxonomy

The species is further divided into two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, ''S. purpurea'' subsp. ''purpurea'' and ''S. purpurea'' subsp. ''venosa''. The former is found from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

north, while the latter is found from

south and tolerates warmer temperatures. In 1999, ''Sarracenia purpurea'' subsp. ''venosa'' var. ''burkii'' was described as a species of its own: ''

''. This re-ranking has been debated among

enthusiasts since then, but further morphological evidence has supported the split. The following species and infraspecific

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

are usually recognized: *''Sarracenia purpurea'' subsp. ''purpurea'' **''Sarracenia purpurea'' subsp. ''purpurea'' f. ''heterophylla'' **''Sarracenia purpurea'' subsp. ''purpurea'' f. ''ruplicola'' (invalid) *''Sarracenia purpurea'' subsp. ''venosa'' **''Sarracenia purpurea'' subsp. ''venosa'' var. ''burkii'' ''S. rosea''***''Sarracenia purpurea'' subsp. ''venosa'' var. ''burkii'' f. ''luteola'' **''Sarracenia purpurea'' subsp. ''venosa'' var. ''montana''

Uses

Ornamental

''Sarracenia purpurea'' is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It is fairly hardy, but requires a reliably damp soil in a sheltered position, with full or partial sunlight. The

''S. purpurea'' ssp. ''purpurea'' has received the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Medicinal

It was used as a

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against her ...

by Native American and

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

tribes in its northeastern and Great Lakes distribution ranges, including the

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

, Mi'kmaq (Micmac) peoples, primarily for use in treating

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

by means of a root infusion. A 2012 study suggests ''Sarracenia purpurea'' is effective as a treatment for viruses in the

Orthopoxvirus ''Orthopoxvirus'' is a genus of viruses in the family ''Poxviridae'' and subfamily ''Chordopoxvirinae''. Vertebrates, including mammals and humans, and arthropods serve as natural hosts. There are 12 species in this genus. Diseases associated wi ...

family, including the smallpox virus, through inhibition of early virus transcription.

Biocontrol

''Sarracenia purpurea'' pitchers have been investigated as a biocontrol for the Asian Hornet ''

Vespa velutina The Asian hornet (''Vespa velutina''), also known as the yellow-legged hornet or Asian predatory wasp, is a species of hornet indigenous to Southeast Asia. It is of concern as an invasive species in some other countries. Appearance ''Vespa vel ...

'' in Europe, as they act as natural bottle traps in which hornets have been observed to be trapped in. The hybrids used in the study, ''S. juthatipsoper'' and ''S. evendine'', were deemed too unselective, but the researchers proposed trying other pitcher plant species which may be more effective.

References

External links

''Sarracenia purpurea''
at Barry Rice's carnivorous plant FAQ.
Botanical Society of America, ''Sarracenia'' - the Pitcher PlantsUC Photos gallery — ''Sarracenia purpurea''
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1927560 purpurea Carnivorous plants of North America Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Plants described in 1753 Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Provincial symbols of Newfoundland and Labrador