|
The genus Sarracenia contains the eight (or ten) species of North American pitcher plants. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contains the closely allied genera Darlingtonia and Heliamphora. The eight (or ten) species are:
- (Sarracenia alabamensis the Alabama pitcher plant)
- Sarracenia alata the pale pitcher plant
- Sarracenia flava the yellow pitcher plant
- (Sarracenia jonesii the mountain sweet pitcher plant)
- Sarracenia leucophylla the white-topped pitcher plant
- Sarracenia minor the hooded pitcher plant
- Sarracenia oreophila the green pitcher plant
- Sarracenia psittacina the parrot pitcher plant
- Sarracenia purpurea the purple pitcher plant
- Sarracenia rubra the sweet pitcher plant
Sarracenia rubra is arguably a complex of several species and subspecies (including S. rubra ssp. rubra, S. rubra ssp. gulfensis, S. rubra ssp. wherryi, S. jonesii, and S. alabamensis), and S. purpurea is divided into two important subspecies, S. p. purpurea and S. p. venosa.
These species are all popularly cultivated by carnivorous plant enthusiasts, and there are consequently a huge number of hybrids and cultivars: S. X catesbaei being the very common cross between S. flava and S. purpurea. Many of these hybrids occur naturally in the wild.
|
