White Top Pitcher - Sarracenia leucophylla - Carnivorous Plant Seeds

Sarracenia leucophylla Its beauty is definitely captivating, and is one of the most popular carnivorous plants grow. It grows on acid white sand areas that occur as openings among pine groves, along eastern Gulf Coast areas from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle. It occurs as plants with several leaves, not dense clusters of lines.The deep crimson flowers of Sarracenia leucophylla have large petals that hang downwards. The pitcher leaves of Sarracenia leucophylla are very narrow, gradually flaring upwards. In many leaves, the lid has a diagonal or even upright position rather than overarching the pitcher throat. Notice in the center of the flower, there is a slightly lighter-colored umbrella-like structure surrounded by the petals.The throat of a Sarracenia leucophylla pitcher has a reddish shiny rim that evidently attracts insects, particularly in view of the whitish area of the pitcher leaf that contrast with it. The red-purple network pattern overlies the major veins in the leaf. At left is a purple and green wing-like structure that represents the fused margins of the leaf.The white patterns probably are attractive to insects by their brightness. Green areas are also present. White and purple patterns decrease toward the bottom of the leaf, most of the tubular portion of which is green. Uniquely among insects, the Exyra moths that live in Sarracenia pitchers are not affected by the downwardly-pointing hairs on the inside of the pitchers. The Exyra moths spend their lives within the pitcher, feeding on the leaf tissues as caterpillars.