Sarracenia | North American Pitcher Plant

Sarracenia relies on its beauty and sweet aroma to attract insects. The North American Pitcher Plant is considered a pitfall trap because insects simply fall into it. But it’s not that simple.

Sarracenia has lots of tricks to lure insects. It produces a sweet intoxicating nectar down the sides of the pitcher. By the time crawling insects reach the lip of the pitcher, they drunkenly fall in. The cover over the pitcher is typically transparent. Flying insects think they can fly through it, but they are bounced back into the tube. Once inside the pitcher, flying insects create a vortex when trying to escape. Smooth waxy surfaces on the inside of the pitcher keep all prey from escaping. Most Sarracenia secrete enzymes that digest insects, but the purple variety has a larger opening that collects rainwater which drowns prey. The water holds bacteria that aid in digesting nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.