Green Pitcher-plant

Sarracenia oreophila

Description

The green pitcher-plant is a perennial herb that lives, to some extent, on decaying insects and leaves that have fallen into the pitcherlike leaves. Its rhizomes are 0.4-0.6 in (1.0-1.5 cm) in thickness. The leaves are 7.9-29.5 in (20-75 cm) long and 2.4-3.9 in (6-10 cm) in circumference at the orifice. These leaves usually appear with the flowers or before, gradually narrowing from the orifice to the base, rarely conspicuously winged, externally glabrous, green to yellow green. The plant's hood is 0.8-3.1 in (2-8 cm) long, reniform to obovate, strongly revolute at the base, internally glandular-pubescent, purple reticulate, purple spotted at the base, or yellowish green. Its phyllodia are 1.9-7.1 in (5-18 cm) long, and 0.2-1.4 in (0.5-3.5 cm) wide, persistent, and more numerous than the leaves. Its scape is 17.7-27.6 in (45-70 cm) long. The petals are 1.6-2.2 in (4-5.5 cm) long and yellow. The style-disk is 1.9-3.3 in (5-8.5 cm) wide and yellow. Flowering reaches its peak from mid-April to early June. Ants, pollen-eating beetles, bumblebees, honey bees, Sarracenia flies, and assorted species of wild bees are the most frequent visitors to pitcher-plant flowers. Vegetative reproduction from rootstocks may also occur.

Habitat

The habitats of extant populations of the green pitcher-plant vary somewhat, including mixed oak or pine flatwoods, seepage bogs, and stream banks (Little River). Fire appears to play a major role in the maintenance of extant populations in seepage bogs and mixed oak flatwoods.

Distribution

This plant is presently restricted to areas of the Cumberland Plateau and the Ridge and Valley Province in northeast Alabama, and to the Blue Ridge of Georgia and North Carolina. There are a total of 34 naturally occurring populations including 31 in Alabama, one in Georgia, and two in North Carolina. Populations in Alabama occur in the Coosa Valley area (Cherokee and Etowah Counties), and on Sand Mountain (De Kalb, Etowah, Marshall, and Jackson Counties). In Georgia (Towns County) and North Carolina (Clay County), sites are in the Lake Chatuge area. Historical populations are documented for Elmore County, Alabama; Fentress County, Tennessee; and Troup, Taylor, and Chat-tooga Counties, Georgia. Most of the sites are small in terms of area occupied by plants and number of individuals. Population sizes range from one to several hundred individuals, with most having less than 50 plants.

Threats

Like many other carnivorous plants, the green pitcher-plant is often collected for commercial sale. Because of its limited range, collecting has a heavy impact on these plants and in some areas has caused the complete disappearance of the species. Since Alabama has no state laws protecting rare, endangered, or threatened species, regulatory mechanisms to prevent removal by collectors are essentially nonexistent. Increased residential, agricultural, and silvicultural development, as well as fire suppression, further threatens populations.

Conservation and Recovery

Sites where the green pitcher-plant grows must be carefully managed to prevent degradation and to ensure that natural processes, such as fire, continue to occur. Nursery inspections might be carried out to monitor commercial stocks, and quarantine officials could be helpful in controlling interstate and international shipments.

Contacts

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Regional Office, Division of Endangered Species
1875 Century Blvd., Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30345
http://southeast.fws.gov/

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wildlife and Habitat Management Office
6578 Dogwood View Parkway, Suite A
Jackson, Mississippi 39213-7856
Telephone: (601) 965-4903
Fax: (601) 965-4010

References

Bell, C. R. 1949. "A Cytotaxonomic Study of the Sarraceniaceae of North America." Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society.

Bell, C. R. 1952. "Natural Hybrids of the Genus Sarracenia: History, Distribution and Taxonomy." Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 68: 55-80.

Bell, C. R. 1956. "Natural Hybrids in the Genus Sarracenia: Current Notes on Distribution." Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, 72:142-152.

Dennis, W. Michael. 1979. "Sarracenia oreophila (Kearney) Wherry in the Blue Ridge Province of Northeastern Georgia." Castanea.

Freeman, J. D., A. S. Causey, and J. W. Short. 1979."Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Plants of Alabama." Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, 50:1-26.

Harper, R. M. 1918. "The American Pitcher Plants."Journal of the Mitchell Society, 34:110-125.

McDaniel, S. T. 1971. "The genus Sarracenia." Tall Timbers Research Station, 9:36.

Prance, G., and T. Elisa. 1976. Extinction Is Forever. New York Botanical Garden, New York.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1985. "Revised Green Pitcher Plant Recovery Plan." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta.

Wherry, E. T. 1933. "The Appalachian Relative ofSarracenia flava." Bartonia, 15:7-8.

Wood, C. E. 1960. "The Genera of Sarraceniaceae and Droseraceae in the Southeastern U.S." Journal Arnold Arboretum, 41:152-156.