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Sunday - October 16, 2005

From: Birmingham, AL
Region: Southeast
Topic: Herbs/Forbs
Title: Habitats of pitcher plants
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Where do pitcher plants live?

ANSWER:

The pitcher plants that are native to North America are in the Family Sarraceniaceae (Pitcherplant Family). The habitat for all of these are wet, boggy land, usually with full sun.

The following are ones native to North America:
1. Cobra plant (Dalingtonia californica) which grow in California, Oregon, and Washington.
2. Yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia alata) occurs in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
3. Trumpets (S. flava) grow in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, and Virginia.
4. Crimson pitcher-plant (S. leucophylla) occurs in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina.
5. Hooded pitcher-plant (S. minor) can be found in Florida, George and North and South Carolina.
6. Parrot pitcher-plant (S. psittacina) grows in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippie.
7. Northern pitcher-plant (S. purpurea) has the greatest range from Saskatchewan to Labrador, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia; south through New England to Florida; west to Texas; north to Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota.

Pitcher plants from Asia, Madagascar, the Pacific region, and Australia are in a different family, Family Nepenthaceae.

 

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