Sarracenia flava

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Trumpet Pitcher Plant, Yellow Pitcher Plant

Sarraceniaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:Flower
Size:2-3 ft
Life Span:Long-lived perennial
Flower Color:Yellow
Fruit Color:Yellow or red
Phenology:Blooms in spring, fruits visible and showy into fall-winter. Winter dormant.
Noted for:Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:Bog gardens.
Propagation:Seed
Availability:-
Light: Full Sun
Moisture Tolerance:
always floodedextremely dry
 (Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Usually moist, occasional inundation)
Moisture Tolerance: Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Usually moist, occasional inundation
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance:Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
Soil or other substrate:Organic material (muck), Sand
Soil pH:Acidic

Ecology

Wildlife:
Insects:
 

Insectivorous.

Larval host for epaulleted pitcher plant moth.

A number of insect groups visit the flowers but their role in pollination is unknown.  Most likely as pollinators are small bees.

Native Habitats:Savannas, bogs, seep slopes. Benefits from fire.

Distribution and Planting Zones

Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones

Suitable to grow in:
8A 8B 9A 

USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures

Comments

General Comments:

Found from Alabama (probably also in Mississippi), east into Florida and up the coastal plain to Virginia with occasional outlying populations.

Trapping insects in the trumpet-shaped leaves is an adaptation to  nutrient-poor soil conditions of wet or frequently flooded areas in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Insects are lured into the slippery waxy portion of the upper pitcher tube by attractant odors and then slide down a coating of ultra-fine, downward point hairs, hitting the digestive enzymes.