ST. LAWRENCE EASTERN LAKE ONTARIO PARTNERSHIP FOR REGIONAL INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT
Green Pitcher Plant is a carnivorous wetland plant in the genus Sarracenia. It has unique modified leaves that grow in the form of a pitcher. Insects are attracted to the sweet-smelling nectar inside these pitchers and become trapped in the water held within and slowly decompose. There are a number of flies, wasps, and mites that live within the pitchers and feed on the decomposing ‘insect soup’ inside. With only 35 known natural populations, the green pitcher plant is the most endangered species within the Sarracenia genus, and it is currently on the New York State Exploitably Vulnerable Native Plants list.
Habitat/Distribution:
Green pitcher plants are found in acidic soils in moist upland areas and along boggy sandy streams. They are native to North America, and their distribution is limited to only a handful of sites in northeastern Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.
Leaves: are green to yellow to red in color and are long and tubular forming a pitcher that reaches to heights between 20-75 cm (1-6 feet) in height, with a circumference of 6-10 cm. Leaves appear in the spring. There is a wider flap that hangs over the pitcher opening to keep too much water from entering the pitcher and diluting the digestive secretions within. Pitcher leaves wither by late summer and are replaced by flattened leaves which persist until next season.
Flowers: are a deep burgundy color that attracts flies by looking like raw meat. The petals of the flowers fall of easily leaving leathery sepals that last through the snows of a northern winter! The pistil, or female part of the flower, has a style that expands into a large, star shaped umbrella that droops downward creating a landing platform for pollen.
Fruit/Seed: is a small capsule that is between 1.5-1.8 cm wide and covered with small rounded warts (tuberculate).
Photo Credits:
Title photo: Noah Flbardt, (Wikimedia commons). Habitat/Distribution photo: USDA Plant Database. Leaves photo: Eaden Horticulture, The Garden of Eaden (http://eaden1.rssing.com/). Flower photo: J. Holden, (musicianonskis.ca/blog). Fruit/Seed photo: Robert Co, (http://thepitcherplantproject.com/).
Resources:
“Carracenia Oreophila.” Centerforplantconservation.org. Center for Plant Conservation, n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2015. <http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/collection/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=3821>.
“Sarracenia – the Pitcher Plants.” Sarracenia, Carnivorous Plants Online. Botanical Society of America, n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2015. <http://botany.org/Carnivorous_Plants/Sarracenia.php>.
“Species Profile for Green Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia Oreophila).” Species Profile for Green Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia Oreophila). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Environmental Online Conservation System, n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2015. <http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=Q21B>.
“Sarracenia Oreophila.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarracenia_oreophila>.
PREVENTION
Prevent the introduction of invasive species into the SLELO PRISM.
EARLY DETECTION & RAPID RESPONSE
Rapidly detect new and recent invaders and eliminate all individuals within a specific area.
COOPERATION
Share resources, including funding personnel, equipment, information, and expertise.
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
Collect, utilize, and share information regarding surveys, infestations, control methods, monitoring, and research.
CONTROL
Control invasive species infestations by using best management practices, methods and techniques to include: ERADICATION (which is to eliminate all individuals and the seed bank from an area), CONTAINMENT (which is reducing the spread of established infestations from entering an uninfested area) and SUPPRESSION which is to reduce the density but not necessarily the total infested area.
RESTORATION
Develop and implement effective restoration methods for areas that have been degraded by invasive species and where suppression or control has taken place.
EDUCATION & OUTREACH
Increase public awareness and understanding of invasive species.
INNOVATION
Develop and implement innovative technologies that help us to better understand, visualize, alleviate or manage invasive species and their impacts or that serve to strengthen ecosystem function and/or processes.
Rob Williams
PRISM Coordinator
Megan Pistolese
Outreach and Education
Brittney Rogers
Aquatic Invasive Species
Robert Smith
Terrestrial Invasive Species