Georgia Pitcher Plants

Yellow Pitcher Plant

• In the wet pinelands and bogs across the coastal plain of Georgia grows the yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava), sometimes merely called trumpets. The modified leaves form an upright, light yellow pitcher funnel. The cap on the pitcher also is yellow, but a burgundy-purple basal band occurs where the cap attaches to the pitcher top. Yellow pitcher plant blooms in late April or early May with a nodding light yellow flower that smells musty.

Crimson Pitcher Plant

• A rare Georgia native wildflower, the crimson pitcher plant (Sarracenia leucophylla) occurs in the sandy bogs only in southwestern counties. The slender and tall pitchers are green but blush light red at their top. The cap is wavy edged and light red veins streak across the white tissues. Crimson pitcher plant blooms in March and early April, donning drooping flowers with dark red petals. The blossoms smell like sweet violets.

Hooded Pitcher Plant

• A curving cap and a tolerance for wet and dry soils and both shady and sunny habitats set the hooded pitcher plant (Sarracenia minor) apart from other native Georgia species. The short, green pitchers are capped by a rather tightly curved lip, making a pitcher look almost like a living Pez dispenser. The yellow flowers occur in late March to April. Find hooded pitcher plant in moist to wet pine woods or along roadsides, especially in southeastern Georgia.

Green Pitcher Plant

• The green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila) is a federally endangered plant. It grows naturally only in the northwestern, high-elevation counties in Georgia. It is found in wet glens in oak woods, along sandy riverbanks and in bogs. Green pitcher plants are quickly disappearing because of habitat destruction through land development. The pitchers are thoroughly bright light green and are accompanied by many leaves and, in May, yellow flowers that slightly smell foul.

Parrot Pitcher Plant

• Usually the latest blooming of the Georgian pitcher plants is the parrot pitcher plant (Sarracenia psittacina), flowering from May into June. Rarely are there leaves in the dense clumps of parrot pitchers; only short funnel-shaped pitchers occur. The top interior of the pitcher is densely lined in hairs, a feature that sets it apart from other species in Georgia. The plant is light green with blushes of pink, rose to red. The pendent flowers are dark red to maroon, but the petals can be a bright salmon-red to scarlet-red. Parrot pitcher plant is most abundant in very wet bogs or ditches in the coastal plains from eastern to southwestern Georgia.

Purple Pitcher Plant

• The sidesaddle flower, frog's britches or purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea) is the most widely occurring species across all of the eastern United States. In Georgia, it blooms in May, bearing a nodding flower with pale red-violet petals. The leaves and pitchers are green but overcast with bronze and reddish hues, with white speckles on the curvy pitcher cap. Unlike other pitcher plants, the pitchers usually collect and hold rainwater. Subspecies purpurea grows in northern Georgia, while subspecies venosa inhabits the coastal plain in the eastern half of the state.