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Sarracenia rosea Naczi, F.W. Case, & R.B. Case
Rose Pitcherplant
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: Endangered
Global Rank: G3
State Rank: SH
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No
2025 SGCN Priority Tier:
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 2
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Gulf Coast seapage bogs
Perennial herb forming clumps of leaves modified into inflated pitchers that are held semi-erect or rest on the ground; pitchers appear with or after the flowers and persist through the winter. The pitchers are 2.4 - 11 inches (6 - 28 cm) long and widest at the middle, 0.8 - 2.8 inches (2 - 7 cm) diameter at the widest point; pale green suffused with pink or purplish-red and marked with dark red veins; densely hairy on the outside and lined with downward pointing hairs on the inside; the hood is erect and wavy-edged; a wing up to 2.4 inches (0.6 - 6 cm) wide runs the length of the pitcher. The flower stalk is 6.3 - 38 inches (16 - 35 cm) tall, leafless, bearing one flower. The flower has 5 drooping, rose, pink, or white petals, 1.6 - 2.6 inches (4 - 6.5 cm) long; 5 greenish-white, pink, or reddish-purple sepals; and a pale green or white, 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, 0.6 - 0.8 inch (1.5 - 2 cm) in diameter.
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
Similar pitcherplants occurring in the mountains of northeast Georgia are Mountain Purple Pitcherplant (Sarracenia purpurea var. montana); the lobes of their pitcher hoods strongly incurve and touch or nearly touch. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.a2hosted.com/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=34032
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, open seepage bogs, savannas, wet pine flatwoods, wet ditches through these habitats.
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 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.
Rose Pitcherplant blooms March–April; its pitchers are distinctive throughout the growing season and even persist through the winter.
Coastal Plain of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi
Ditching, draining, and filling of wetland 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.
Sarracenia rosea is ranked SH by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that it has not been seen in Georgia in many decades. Only two populations were known, both on private lands.
Prevent ditching, draining, filling, and conversion of wetlands. Apply prescribed fire every 2 - 3 years preferably in the growing season. Avoid herbicide use in rights-of-way with pitcherplant populations. Limit access to prevent poaching and off-road vehicle access. Eradicate feral hogs. Prosecute plant poachers. Monitor sites for exotic pest plant invasion.
Botanical Society of America. 2008. Sarracenia - the pitcher plants. https://botany.org/Carnivorous_Plants/Sarracenia.php
GADNR. 2020. Element occurrence records for Sarracenia purpurea var. venosa. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
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
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
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
McDaniel, S. 1971. The genus Sarracenia. Bulletin 9, Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, Florida.
Mellichamp, T.L. and F.W. Case. 2009. Sarracenia rosea. Flora of North America, vol. 8. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Sarracenia_roseahttp://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220012003
Naczi, R.F.C., E.M. Soper, F.W. Case, Jr., and R.A. Case. 1999. Sarracenia rosea (Sarraceniaceae), a new species of pitcherplant from the southeastern United States. Sida 18(4): 1183-1206.
Rice, B. 2008. Carnivorous plant FAQ. http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5542.html
Schnell, D.E. 2002. Carnivorous plants of the United States and Canada, 2nd edition. Timber Press, Inc. Portland, Oregon.
Stevens, T. 2002. An interview with Dr. Rob Naczi about Sarracenia rosea. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 31: 87-90.
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
Linda G. Chafin, May 2020: original account
