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Sarracenia purpurea var. montana Schnell & Determann
Mountain Purple Pitcherplant
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: Endangered
Global Rank: G5T1T2
State Rank: S1
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
2025 SGCN Priority Tier: Highest Conservation Concern
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 9
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Mountain bogs
Perennial herb with leaves modified into 4 or 5 inflated pitchers that often rest on the ground or are held semi-erect. The pitchers are 2 - 18 inches (5 - 45 cm) long and widest at the middle, less than 3 times as long as wide; green with purple veins, bristly-hairy on the outside and lined with downward pointing hairs on the inside; the hood is erect, expanded, and wavy-edged, with side lobes that incurve and often nearly touch each other; the pitchers persist through the winter. The flower stalk is 8.6 - 31 inches (22 - 79 cm) tall, leafless, bearing one flower. The flower has 5 drooping, red to maroon petals, 1.2 - 2.4 inches (3 - 6 cm) long; 5 sepals that are maroon on the outside, greenish on the inside; and a yellow-green, umbrella-shaped style disk in the center of the flower. Sepals and style disk persist on the plant long after petals fall. The fruit is a round, warty capsule, 0.4 – 0.8 inch (1 - 2 cm) in diameter.
Similar pitcherplants with pale pink petals and a white style disk occurring in southwest Georgia are Rose Pitcherplant (Sarracenia rosea). For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.a2hosted.com/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=34058
Similar pitcherplants occurring in southeast Georgia are Southern Purple Pitcherplant (Sarracenia purpurea var. venosa); the lobes of their pitcher hoods do not incurve or touch. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.a2hosted.com/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=21623
Eleven types of pitcherplant occur in Georgia, including 8 species, 4 varieties, and 2 subspecies. All are considered rare, vulnerable, threatened or endangered.
Sarracenia flava (Yellow Flytrap), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=18445
Sarracenia leucophylla (Whitetop Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=18829
Sarracenia minor var. minor (Hooded Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=33691
Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis (Okefenokee Giant Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=33687
Sarracenia oreophila (Green Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=16880
Sarracenia psittacina (Parrot Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=15362
Sarracenia purpurea var. montana (Mountain Purple Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=34032
Sarracenia purpurea var. venosa (Southern Purple Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=21623
Sarracenia rosea (Rose Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=34058
Sarracenia rubra ssp. gulfensis (Gulf Sweet Pitcherplant) or Sarracenia rubra ssp. viatorum (Georgia Sweet Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=18435
Sarracenia rubra ssp. rubra (Sweet Pitcherplant), https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=19129
Mountain seepage bogs with sphagnum moss, mountain laurel, and rhododendron.
Pitcherplants capture and digest insects and other small animals in their pitchers. Nectar is produced by glands around the top of the pitcher, luring animals to the opening with its sweet smell. Stiff, down-pointing hairs line the pitcher, encouraging the animals to slide in and impeding their escape. Enzymes dissolved in water in the base of the pitcher digest the animals, making nutrients, particularly nitrogen, available for absorption by the plant. (Soils of bogs and other permanently saturated wetlands are typically low in nitrogen.) Recent research indicates that the more species-diverse the insect diet, the greater the pitcherplant reproductive success.
Pitcherplants reproduce sexually and also vegetatively by spread of underground stems (rhizomes). The unusual shape of the flowers, with their drooping petals and umbrella-like style disk, promotes cross-pollination by insects. When an insect, usually a bee, pushes its way past the petals to reach nectar on the interior of the flower, it brushes against one of the stigmas, which are at the pointed tips of the “umbrella,” and deposits pollen gathered from a previously visited flower. Once inside the petals, it picks up pollen from the anthers and from the inner surface of the umbrella and then carries it to the next visited flower, usually avoiding the stigmas as it leaves the flower.
Since it would be a disadvantage to the plant to “eat” its pollinators, many pitcherplants produce flowers before their pitchers are well developed. Others, like the Purple Pitcherplants, hold their flowers well above the pitchers on long stalks. Pitcherplants are usually 4 - 5 years old before they flower and may live to be 20 - 30 years old.
Mountain Purple Pitcherplant blooms April–May; its pitchers are distinctive throughout the growing season and even persist through the winter.
Southern Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Ditching, draining, and filling of habitat; conversion of habitat to agricultural fields, pastures, and development. Fire suppression leading to woody plant encroachment and closure of the canopy. Use of herbicides in powerline rights-of-way. Poaching. Off-road vehicle use. Digging by feral hogs. Invasion by exotic pest plants such as Chinese Silk-grass (Miscanthus sinensis) and Japanese Stilt-grass (Microstegium vimineum).
| Threat 1 | Threat 2 | Threat 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Threat | Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Natural system modifications | Natural system modifications |
| Specific Threat | None | None | None |
Sarracenia purpurea var. montana is ranked S1 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that the species is critically imperiled in the state. It is listed as Endangered by the State of Georgia. Mountain bogs were once found in many bottomlands in the mountains, but most were drained and converted to fields and pastures; only one population of Sarracenia purpurea var. montana in Georgia survived. Eight mountain bogs have since been restored and planted with local ecotypes of Sarracenia purpurea var. montana. Mountain bog restoration has been a top priority of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance for decades: https://georgiawildlife.com/conservation/bogrestoration
Prevent draining and conversion of mountain wetlands. Apply prescribed fire every 2 - 3 years or use hand-clearing to discourage woody encroachment. Avoid herbicide use in rights-of-way with pitcherplant populations. Limit access to prevent poaching and off-road vehicle access. Protect plants from feral hogs; eradicate feral hogs. Prosecute plant poachers. Monitor sites for exotic plant species and eradicate when needed.
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Chafin, L.G. 2007. Field guide to the rare plants of Georgia. State Botanical Garden of Georgia and University of Georgia Press, Athens.
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GADNR. 2020. Element occurrence records for Sarracenia purpurea var. montana. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
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Godfrey, R.K. and J.W. Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States, Vol. 2, dicotyledons. University of Georgia Press, Athens.
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Hale, R.E., E. Powell, L. Beikmohamadi, and M.L. Alexander. 2020. Effects of arthropod inquilines on growth and reproductive effort among metacommunities of the purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea var. montana). PLoS ONE 15(5): e0232835. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232835
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Karberg, J.M. and M.R. Gale. 2010. Exploration of meaningful subspecies definitions of the carnivorous Northern Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea), throughout its geographic distribution. Conservation Genetics 11, 2369-2378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-010-0123-7
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Linda G. Chafin
L. Chafin, 18 May 2020: original account
