clovers-carnivores

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“Pitcher Plant”

I dislike the term “pitcher plant”. It reeks of outdated ignorance and describes a vast number of species from around the world, many of which are not closely related to each other.

As a botanist, and an evil one at that, I prefer to be precise with my language. You too can become an educated scientist and terrific snob by using the correct terms for each variety of “pitcher plant”. If you require education on the matter, allow me to inform you.

There are three families of “pitcher plant”: Sarraceniaceae, Nepenthaceae, and Cephalotaceae. Sarraceniaceae has 3 genera — namely Sarracenia, Heliamphora, and Darlingtonia. Nepenthaceae has a single genus (Nepenthes), and Cephalotaceae has a single species. An entire family with only one species. Ugh.

Now, they look quite distinct from each other, so here are some photos and facts.

This species belongs to Sarracenia, the North American or trumpet pitcher plants. Note the height and slender shape.

This is also a Sarracenia. Note the lack of height and squat shape. Most Sarracenia species look like one of these two — they are quite easy to identify. They are found in boggy, temperate areas around North America and reach a height of up to 4 feet tall.

This is a stunning example of a Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plants) species. These are what you likely think of when someone mentions “pitcher plants”. Beautiful, found in warm, humid regions of the world. They are climbing vines and pitchers can reach over a foot tall (this is species-dependent).

This is an example of Heliamphora, the sun pitchers. They can be found in South America. While still belonging to the family Sarraceniaceae, they are not as tall as Sarracenia, but still quite graceful. If you have a mind for Greek, you may wonder if the “heli” in Heliamphora is for sun (from “helios”). It is not. The name Heliamphora instead comes from “helos”, meaning marsh. The name “sun pitcher” is misleading and comes from a misunderstanding — these plants would be more accurately called “marsh pitchers”.

I have a passionate love-hate relationship with Cephalotus follicularis. Cephalotus is a monotypic genus (a genus with only one species) and of course it is Australian. They look similar to Nepenthes but are unrelated and much smaller — the plants reach just shy of 8 inches tall.

There are also the cobra lilies, Darlingtonia, which belong to Sarraceniaceae. Those are arguably similar enough to Sarracenia that they do not need to be discussed here. Darlingtonia is another monotypic genus within Sarraceniaceae.

Now you have absolutely no excuse. You have been informed on the major genera of “pitcher plants” and should weaponize this knowledge as you see fit.

The brilliant and brave may also wish to weaponize the plants themselves. Kindly send me updates if you do. I am ever so curious…

[clovers-carnivores]

can we appreciate the glowup this venus flytrap has had from the day i bought it to now, they were keeping it in like a shaded greenhouse in the shop, and i wasn't even sure if it really was a red cultivar because it wasn't getting any sun. The man in the shop gave me a huge discount because it looked like it was dying, and now here we are.

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I found another Venus! And this one is just gorgeous!!!

I am gonna have to re-pot it quickly because the roots are coming out the bottom and the Venus dormancy will start very soon but I don't know if I should do it or not.

I don't want to kill this one.

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Another one of my OCs, Venus. This sketch was inspired by this photo and is partly a humanization.

I have a headcanon for him thet he has a dog (spitz) named Beelzebub.

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you guys should follow my carnivorous plant insta, it's spicey.bitey.plants

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I should start naming my ever-multiplying Venus flytraps after elves. That way, there’s no risk of me running out of names anytime soon.

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can porn blogs please stop following me im not talking about bots i know you're real people. I've got no problem with ya'll but Im literally ace and a minor and i really dont wanna see straight up pornography it makes me uncomfortable, the nsfw dni in my pinned intro post is there for a reason

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ITS A FEMALE!!!!!!!

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this one is also flowering at the same time!!!

sad that my nepenthes alataxmaxima isnt flowering anymore bc its cooler than this one i couldve made better hybrids.

the female is n.bosciana x fusca and the male is tobaica x ventricosa

ITS A FEMALE!!!!!!!

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ITS A FEMALE!!!!!!!

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My children!

They're the first plants I ever grew from seeds.

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The AUDACITY of venus fly traps to expect pollinators to help them reproduce after spending all their time eating bugs

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when I was in college in botany classes we talked about ‘cheap’ vs ‘expensive’ leaves and how some leaves are grown to be shed at the end of the fall and some leaves have a lot more resources invested and are meant to last years and then I think about the Doohicky of leaves, the Asian pitcher plant carnivorous leaves that have all the bells and whistles…..the shit has glands secreting digestive enzymes in the bottom and slippery teeth on the top and wax crystals lining the inside so insects can’t climb out….fangs on the top lid and hairs on the outside and mottled special colorization….some of them are woody or otherwise reinforced and take years to make… local guy in rural sumatra forced to make elaborate luxury saw traps by hand every single day of his life, it is the only way he can live,

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I went to the garden centre today and found a sad, wan Nepenthes in a tube, in a pot. They're always inventing ingenious new torments to inflict upon carnivorous plants! I think the tube must be some kind of straitjacket.

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PLANTS!!!!!!

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New friend added to my collection! I think I'm going to name him Ernie.

This is kind of an introduction into carnivorous plants for me so any advice is appreciated! I plan on repotting in sphagnum moss and watering with distilled only. I also have a bug catching kit and will be feeding him every few days