Sarracenia flava

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Yellow pitcher plant
Sarracenia Flava JPG01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Sarraceniaceae
Genus: Sarracenia
Species:
S. flava
Binomial name
Sarracenia flava
L.
Sarracenia flava range.png
Sarracenia flava range

Sarracenia flava, the yellow pitcherplant, [2] is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. Like all the Sarraceniaceae, it is native to the New World. Its range extends from southern Alabama, through Florida and Georgia, to the coastal plains of southern Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Populations also exist in the Piedmont, Mendocino County, California [3] and mountains of North Carolina.

Like other members of the genus Sarracenia , the yellow pitcher plant traps insects using a rolled leaf, which in this species is a vibrant yellow in color, and up to over a meter (3 ft) in height [4] (although 50 cm, 20" is more typical). The uppermost part of the leaf is flared into a lid (the operculum), which prevents excess rain from entering the pitcher and diluting the digestive secretions within. The upper regions of the pitcher are covered in short, stiff, downwards-pointing hairs, which serve to guide insects alighting on the upper portions of the leaf towards the opening of the pitcher tube. The upper regions are also brightly patterned with flower-like anthocyanin markings, particularly in the varieties S. flava var. rugelii and S. flava var. ornata: these markings also serve to attract insect prey. The opening of the pitcher tube is retroflexed into a 'nectar roll' or peristome, whose surface is studded with nectar-secreting glands. The nectar contains not only sugars, but also the alkaloid coniine (a toxin also found in hemlock), which probably intoxicates the prey. Prey entering the tube find that their footing is made extremely uncertain by the smooth, waxy secretions found on the surfaces of the upper portion of the tube. Insects losing their footing on this surface plummet to the bottom of the tube, where a combination of digestive fluid, wetting agents and inward-pointing hairs prevent their escape. Some large insects (such as wasps) have been reported to escape from the pitchers on occasion, by chewing their way out through the wall of the tube.

Red Sarracenia flava Red Sarracenia flava.jpg
Red Sarracenia flava

In spring, the plant produces large flowers with 5-fold symmetry. The yellow petals are long and strap-like, and dangle over the umbrella-like style of the flower, which is held upside down at the end of a 50 cm, 20" long scape. The stigma of the flower are found at the tips of the 'spokes' of this umbrella. Pollinating insects generally enter the flower from above, forcing their way into the cavity between the petals and umbrella, and depositing any pollen they are carrying on the stigmata as they enter. The pollinators generally exit the flower, having been dusted with the plant's own pollen, by lifting a petal. This one-way system helps to ensure cross pollination.

In late summer and autumn, the plant stops producing carnivorous leaves, and instead produces flat, non-carnivorous phyllodia. This is probably an adaptation to low light levels and insect scarcity during the winter months, and shows clearly the cost of carnivory.

The yellow pitcher plant is easy to cultivate, and is one of the most popular carnivorous plants in horticulture. The yellow pitcher plant readily hybridises with other members of the genus Sarracenia: the hybrids S. x catesbaei (S. flava × S. purpurea) and S. moorei (S. flava × S. leucophylla) are found in the wild, and are also popular amongst collectors.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitcher plant</span> Carnivorous plant

Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants that 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 plants are formed by specialized leaves. The plants attract and drown their prey with nectar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarraceniaceae</span> Family of carnivorous plants

Sarraceniaceae are a family of pitcher plants, belonging to order Ericales.

<i>Sarracenia</i> Genus of carnivorous plants

Sarracenia 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 and Heliamphora.

<i>Heliamphora</i> Genus of carnivorous plants

The genus Heliamphora contains 23 species of pitcher plants endemic to South America. The species are collectively known as sun pitchers, based on the mistaken notion that the heli of Heliamphora is from the Greek helios, meaning "sun". In fact, the name derives from helos, meaning marsh, so a more accurate translation of their scientific name would be marsh pitcher plants. Species in the genus Heliamphora are carnivorous plants that consist of a modified leaf form that is fused into a tubular shape. They have evolved mechanisms to attract, trap, and kill insects; and control the amount of water in the pitcher. At least one species produces its own proteolytic enzymes that allows it to digest its prey without the help of symbiotic bacteria.

<i>Darlingtonia californica</i> Species of carnivorous plant

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 native to Northern California and Oregon, US, growing in bogs and seeps with cold running water usually on serpentine soils. This plant is designated as uncommon due to its rarity in the field.

<i>Sarracenia purpurea</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Sarracenia purpurea, the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae.

<i>Sarracenia rubra</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Sarracenia rubra, also known as the sweet pitcherplant, or purple pitcherplant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all Sarracenia, it is native to the New World. Its range extends from southern Mississippi, through southern Alabama, the Florida panhandle and Georgia, to the coastal plains of North Carolina and South Carolina.

<i>Heliamphora minor</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Heliamphora minor is a species of marsh pitcher plant endemic to Auyán-tepui in Venezuela. As the name suggests, it is one of the smallest species in the genus. It is closely related to H. ciliata and H. pulchella.

<i>Sarracenia oreophila</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Sarracenia oreophila, also known as the green pitcherplant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. It has highly modified leaves in the form of pitchers that act as pitfall traps for prey. The narrow pitcher leaves are tapered tubes that rise up to 75 centimetres (30 in) from the ground, with a mouth 6 to 10 centimetres in circumference Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to North America. Sarracenia oreophila is the most endangered of all Sarracenia species, its range limited to a handful of sites in northern Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, and—historically—Tennessee.

<i>Sarracenia leucophylla</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Sarracenia leucophylla, also known as the crimson pitcherplant, purple trumpet-leaf or white pitcherplant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia.

<i>Sarracenia minor</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Sarracenia minor, also known as the hooded pitcherplant, is a perennial, terrestrial, rhizomatous, herbaceous, carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to North America.

<i>Sarracenia psittacina</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Sarracenia psittacina, also known as the parrot pitcherplant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to North America, in the Southeastern United States.

<i>Sarracenia rosea</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Sarracenia rosea is a species of pitcher plant in the genus Sarracenia and is sometimes known as Burk's southern pitcher plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnivorous plant</span> Plants that consume animals

Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. Carnivorous plants still generate some of their energy from photosynthesis. Carnivorous plants have adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875, Charles Darwin published Insectivorous Plants, the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research.

Meadowview Biological Research Station is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving and restoring rare wetland plants, habitats and associated ecosystems on the coastal plain of Maryland and Virginia. It was created in 1995 with the specific goal or restoring the rare yellow pitcher plant, the purple pitcher plant, and associate species to pitcher plant bogs or seepage wetlands in their historic ranges.

<i>Sarracenia alabamensis</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Sarracenia alabamensis, also known as the cane-brake pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to the New World. S. alabamensis subsp. alabamensis is found only in central Alabama, while subsp. wherryi is found in southwestern Alabama, eastern Mississippi and Florida. It is sometimes treated as two subspecies of S. rubra.

<i>Pinguicula lutea</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Pinguicula lutea, commonly known as the yellow butterwort, is a species of warm-temperate carnivorous plant in the family Lentibulariaceae. It grows in savannas and sandy bog areas of the Southeastern United States.

<i>Sarracenia jonesii</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Sarracenia jonesii is a species of pitcher plant endemic to seepage bogs in the appalachian mountains of North Carolina and South Carolina. It is currently only found in ten locations: 4 in North Carolina and 6 in South Carolina. S. jonesii is listed as endangered by the US federal government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarracenin</span> Chemical compound

Sarracenin is an iridoid found in several plant species in the carnivorous family Sarraceniaceae. It also occurs in other non-carnivorous plants such as Strychnos spinosa (Loganiaceae) and Patrinia heterophylla (Caprifoliaceae).

References

  1. ↑ Schnell, D.; Catling, P.; Folkerts, G.; Frost, C.; Gardner, R.; et al. (2000). "Sarracenia flava". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2000: e.T39715A10259287. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T39715A10259287.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Sarracenia flava". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  3. ↑ iNaturalist.org "Sarracenia flava".
  4. ↑ Graham, D.L. 1997. "Reflections and suggestions from 1996" (PDF). Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 26(4): 118–120.
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