page_title: Sarracenia
section_title: Taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Sarracenia / Taxonomy
caption_attribution_description: purple pitcher-plant
context_page_description: Sarracenia is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants, commonly called trumpet pitchers. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera Darlingtonia and Heliamphora.
  Sarracenia is a genus of carnivorous plants indigenous to the eastern seaboard of the United States, Texas, the Great Lakes area and southeastern Canada, with most species occurring only in the south-east United States. The plant's leaves have evolved into a funnel or pitcher shape in order to trap insects.
  The plant attracts its insect prey with secretions from extrafloral nectaries on the lip of the pitcher leaves, as well as a combination of the leaves' color and scent. Slippery footing at the pitcher's rim, causes insects to fall inside, where they die and are digested by the plant with proteases and other enzymes.
context_section_description: The genus Sarracenia belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera Darlingtonia and Heliamphora. Under the Cronquist system, this family was put in the order Nepenthales along with Nepenthaceae and Droseraceae. The APG II system, however, assigns Sarraceniaceae to the order Ericales and the other two families to the order Caryophyllales.
  Typically anywhere from 8 to 11 species of Sarracenia are generally recognized, depending on individual opinions on the biological species concept and which among many subspecies and varieties should be elevated to species status, a common lumping and splitting problem in demarcation. Some authorities split the described subspecific taxa of S. rubra into 3 to 5 species. Similarly, S. rosea is not always recognized as a species distinct from S. purpurea. The most commonly recognized species include:
  Sarracenia alabamensis Case & R.B.Case
  Sarracenia alata (Alph.Wood) Alph.Wood : Pale pitcher plant
  Sarracenia flava L. : Yellow pitcher plant
  Sarracenia jonesii Wherry
  Sarracenia leucophylla Raf. : White pitcher plant
  Sarracenia minor Walt. : Hooded pitcher plant
  Sarracenia oreophila (Kearney) Wherry : Green pitcher plant
  Sarracenia psittacina Michx. : Parrot pitcher plant
  Sarracenia purpurea L. : Purple pitcher plant
  Sarracenia rosea Naczi, Case & R.B.Case
  Sarracenia rubra Walt. : Sweet pitcher plant
  Currently, S. rubra can be described as having six subspecies, though it is sometimes argued that the subspecies should be elevated to species rank in recognition of the species complex that they are a part of. This division would yield S. alabamensis, S. gulfensis, S. jonesii, S. rubra sensu stricto, S. viatorum, and S. wherryi. Others have argued that only some of these demand recognition at the species rank.
caption: A flowering specimen of the highly variable Sarracenia purpurea
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