North American Hooded Pitcher Plant Information

Range and Habitat

• The native range of the hooded pitcher plant is from the Coastal Plains region of southeastern North Carolina to central Florida and west to the Florida Panhandle. The plant is a tender perennial that is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10. It grows best in acidic soil and is found growing in open bogs, wet grasslands, pine flatwoods, swamps and sphagnum seeps. Hooded pitcher plant sometimes also is found in drier areas, but it grows largest in wet environments, such as Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia. About 97 percent of Sarracenia's original habitat on Florida's Gulf Coastal Plain has been lost to urban development or the conversion of wetlands into pine plantations and ponds, according to information on the University of Florida IFAS Extension's website.

Description

• Hooded pitcher plant has upright, cylindrical leaves that form a narrow vessel or “pitcher” about 5 to 15 inches tall. The plant's leaves end in a dome-shaped flap or hood that covers the opening of the pitcher, possibly to prevent water from entering. The lower part of the pitcher is yellowish-green, and the upper pitcher and hood are pinkish-red to bronze with translucent, white spots. Hooded pitcher plant bears pale-yellow, drooping flowers in April and May. The single flowers are carried on leafless stalks about 5 to 22 inches tall. Dry, bumpy capsules containing numerous small seeds are produced in midsummer. Pitcher plants grow in clumps, arising from underground rhizomes, and remain throughout the year.

Insect-Trapping Mechanism

• Similar to other carnivorous plants, hooded pitcher plant grows in sandy, nutrient-poor soil and relies on insects such as ants, flies and bees to provide nitrogen and phosphorous. Insects are attracted to the sweet nectar secreted by the plant's brightly colored hood, which resembles a flower. The opening of the pitcher is smooth and waxy, but its interior is lined with downward-directed hairs that prevent insects from crawling out. Inside the plant, the translucent spots on the hood create windows of light that lure flying insects away from the actual exit. After an insect tires or drowns in the bottom of the pitcher, it is broken down into a slurry by digestive enzymes and absorbed by the plant.

Obtainment

• Due to an ever-diminishing habitat and poaching of wild specimens, the hooded pitcher plant is becoming rare. Picking or removing a wild pitcher plant is prohibited by most state and federal laws, and in Florida, hooded pitcher plant is classified as “threatened.” Hooded pitcher plant can be grown in terrariums, greenhouses and outdoors in pots, but specimens should be obtained only through reputable nurseries that propagate plants from cultivated stock.