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Sarracenia psittacina Michx.
Parrot Pitcherplant
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: Threatened
Global Rank: G4
State Rank: S2S3
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: High Conservation Concern
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 69
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Wet savannas, pitcherplant bogs
Perennial herb with leaves modified into tubular pitchers; the pitchers are clustered into a rosette with the outer whorl of pitchers typically resting on the ground and the inner pitchers held semi-erect. Pitchers are 3 - 12 inches (8 - 30 cm) long, with a large wing on the upper side and a deeply curved and inflated hood; the pitchers are green near the base and reddish near the top, with whitish, translucent patches on the upper pitcher and the hood. The flower stalk is 6 - 14 inches (15 - 35 cm) tall and leafless. The flower is solitary with 5 drooping, maroon petals 1 - 1½ inches (3 - 4 cm) long, 5 sepals that are maroon on the outside and green on the inside, and a yellowish-green, umbrella-shaped style disk in the center of the flower. The sepals and style disk persist long after the petals fall, and the fruit – a round, warty capsule about 0.6 inch (1.5 - 2 cm) wide – develops.
Hooded Pitcherplant has translucent, whitish patches on the upper hood, but all of its pitchers are stiffly erect. Purple Pitcherplant has pitchers that rest on the ground, but they are inflated and heavily veined with purple or red.
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), 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
Wet savannas and pine flatwoods, seepage slopes, and bogs.
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. The whitish, translucent patches on the upper pitcher and the hood further confuse the insects after they have entered the pitcher. Enzymes dissolved in water in the base of the pitcher digest the animals, making nutrients, especially nitrogen, available for absorption by the plant. (Soils of bogs and other permanently saturated wetlands are typically low in nitrogen.) The small opening leading into the inflated hood of the Parrot Pitcherplant has led some observers to consider this plant’s trap more of a “lobster pot” than the typical “pitfall trap” of other pitcherplants. These traps work underwater, catching aquatic insects, an adaptation to the occasionally flooded habitat of the Parrot Pitcherplant.
Pitcherplants reproduce sexually and also vegetatively by the spread of underground stems (rhizomes). They usually reach 4 - 5 years old before they flower and may live to be 20 - 30 years old. The unusual shape of their flowers, with 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 the nectar and pollen 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.
Parrot Pitcherplant blooms at the same time the pitchers appear in the spring; since it would be a disadvantage to the plant to “eat” its pollinators, its flowers are held on tall stalks well above the pitchers.
Surveys are best conducted during flowering (March–May) since the small clusters of pitchers resting nearly flat on the ground are easily overlooked.
Coastal Plain of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Conversion of habitat to pine plantations, pastures, and developments. Ditching and draining of wetlands. Fire suppression, canopy closure, and encroachment by woody plants. Poaching. Digging by feral hogs. Off-road vehicle traffic.
| Threat 1 | Threat 2 | Threat 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Threat | Agriculture & aquaculture | Natural system modifications | Natural system modifications |
| Specific Threat | None | None | None |
Parrot Pitcherplant is ranked S2S3 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that it is possibly imperiled but that more information is needed before a definitive rank can be assigned. It was once one of the most common of Georgia’s pitcherplants, historically occurring in at least 26 counties. It was originally added to the state protection list because of the threat of poaching and commercial exploitation. However, its habitat has since been widely destroyed and many of the older populations are now gone. Only a few populations occur on conservation lands.
Avoid ditching, draining, mechanical clearing, and other soil-compacting activity. Apply prescribed fire every 2 - 3 years. Limit access to sites to prevent poaching and off-road vehicle traffic. Eradicate feral hogs.
Botanical Society of America. 2008. Sarracenia - the pitcher plants. https://botany.org/Carnivorous_Plants/Sarracenia.php
GADNR. 2020. Element occurrence records for Sarracenia psittacina. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Godfrey, R.K. and J.W. Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States, Vol. 2, dicotyledons. University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Jennings, D.E. and J.R. Rohr. 2011. A review of the conservation threats to carnivorous plants. Biological Conservation 144: 1356-1363. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320711001078
Kral, R. 1983. A report on some rare, threatened, or endangered forest-related vascular plants of the South. Technical Publication R8-TP2. United States Forest Service, Atlanta.
McDaniel, S. 1971. The genus Sarracenia. Bulletin 9, Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, Florida.
Mellichamp, T.L. and F.W. Case. 2009. Sarracenia psittacina species account. Flora of North America, Vol. 8. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Sarracenia_psittacina
NatureServe. 2020. Sarracenia psittacina species account. NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.127979/Sarracenia_psittacina
Patrick, T.S., J.R. Allison, and G.A. Krakow. 1995. Protected plants of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, Social Circle.
Schnell, D.E. 2002. Carnivorous plants of the United States and Canada, 2nd edition. Timber Press, Inc. Portland, Oregon.
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Linda G. Chafin
L.Chafin, Aug. 2008: original account
D.Weiler, Jan. 2010: added pictures
L. Chafin, May 2020: updated original account.
