Sarracenia psittacina

Plant Characteristics

Habit		herbaceous
Height:	⇕	10 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10.
Width:	⇔	20 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 20.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
USDA Zones:		7 to 9
Flower features:	❀	red, pink

Scientific Names

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psittacina >

Michx. >

Sarracenia psittacina, also known as the Parrot pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to North America.

It employs the same trapping mechanism as Darlingtonia californica, using a small entrance in the pitcher mouth, which prey goes through in search of more nectar that was produced by the plant on the rim of the pitcher mouth. The prey is then confused by light shining through what appear to be false exits (or "windows") and crawls toward the brighter area down into the pitcher. Criss-crossed downward-facing hairs densely line the interior of the pitcher, forcing the prey further into the pitcher to an area where digestive enzymes such as proteases are prevalent in the liquid. This species is frequently submerged in its native habitat and will capture water arthropods and tadpoles, for example, while submerged.

Read about Sarracenia psittacina in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Sarracenia psittacina, Michx. (S. calceolata, Nutt. S. pulchella,Croom). Pitchers procumbent in radial rosettes, 2-6 in. long, enlarging from base to hooded apex, green with purple and white veins or areoles to claret-purple throughout; apex of tube psittacoid, forming with fused lid an incurved margin to pitcher-orifice; wing narrow to wide vertical in position: fls. 3/4- 1 1/4 in. wide, greenish purple to purple. Often abundant in pine-barren swamps of Ga., N. Fla., and westward to La.—This species flourishes well under cult. when treated as a semi-aquatic, that is with its roots largely submerged in water. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Varieties

• Sarracenia psittacina f. heterophylla J. & J.Ainsworth (1996) nom.nud.
• Sarracenia psittacina var. minor Hook. (1834)

Gallery

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  Sarracenia psittacina flower

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Sarracenia psittacina. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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