The genus Heliamphora (/hɛliˈæmfərə/ or /hiːliˈæmfərə/; Greek: helos "marsh" and amphoreus "amphora") contains 24 species of pitcher plants endemic to South America.

[2] Species in the genus Heliamphora are carnivorous plants that consist of a modified leaf form that is fused into a tubular shape.

Heliamphora species form stemless rosettes and leaf height ranges from a few centimeters (H. minor, H. pulchella) up to more than 50 cm (20 in) (H. ionasi, H.

The morphological diversification of Heliamphora pitchers is both convergent and divergent, likely as a result of adaptive radiation in the geographically complex Guiana highland.

The carnivorous habit among these species is lost in low light conditions, which suggests that certain nutrient concentrations (specifically nitrogen and phosphorus) are only limiting during periods of fast growth under normal light conditions, thus rendering most of the carnivorous adaptations inefficient and not energy cost effective.

The first species of the genus to be described was H. nutans, which George Bentham named in 1840 based on a specimen collected by Robert Hermann Schomburgk.

Various exploratory expeditions as well as review of existing herbarium specimens has yielded many new species in recent years, mainly through the work of a group of German horticulturalists and botanists (Thomas Carow, Peter Harbarth, Joachim Nerz and Andreas Wistuba).

[10] An amateur botanist in New York City has shown that cultivation of the genus can be achieved with an inexpensive setup consisting of a large plastic crate, a fan, egg cartons, and water bottles filled with ice.

Shredded, long-fibered, or live sphagnum moss is preferred as a soil substrate, often with added horticultural lava rock, perlite, and pumice.

Germination of Heliamphora seed is achieved by scattering it on milled sphagnum moss and keeping in bright light and humid conditions.

The genus Heliamphora contains the most species in the Sarraceniaceae family and is joined by the cobra lily (Darlingtonia californica) and the North American pitcher plants (Sarracenia spp.)

Major Heliamphora clades probably emerged through both geographical separation and dispersal in the Guiana Highlands during Miocene with more recent diversification driven by vertical displacement during the Pleistocene glacial-interglacial thermal oscillations.