Sarracenia is a genus of carnivorous plants indigenous to the eastern seaboard of the United States, Texas, the Great Lakes area and southeastern Canada, with most species occurring only in the south-east United States (only S. purpurea occurs in cold-temperate regions).

Slippery footing at the pitcher's rim causes insects to fall inside, where they die and are digested by the plant with proteases and other enzymes.

Once inside, the insect finds the footing very slippery with a waxy surface covering the walls of the pitcher.

It consists of five sepals superintended by three bracts, numerous anthers, and an umbrella-like five-pointed style, over which five long yellow or red petals dangle.

Bees searching for nectar must force their way past one of the stigmas to enter the chamber formed by the style.

At the end of autumn, the pitchers begin to wither and the plants produce non-carnivorous leaves called phyllodia, which play a role in the economics of carnivory in these species.

Frequently, the soil will be poor in nutrients, particularly nitrates, and often continuously leached by moving water or made unavailable to the plant roots by the low pH.

Sarracenia habitats in the southeastern Coastal Plain consist primarily of fire-maintained pine savannas, wet prairies, or seepage bogs.

Without frequent fire (1–3 years), these habitats undergo ecological succession and are quickly invaded by woody shrubs and trees, which eliminate Sarracenia by increasing shade and reducing soil moisture.

[7] Besides Switzerland, such naturalized populations can be found in Ireland, England (Lake District), Germany (Bavaria, Lusatia) and in Mendocino County along the California coast.

[9] The latter two threaten survival of Sarracenia not only through depletion of healthy population, but also because of the damaging effects (soil compaction and altered moisture levels) of repeated foot and vehicular traffic that comes with harvesting.

The Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that approximately 1.6 million pitchers were cut for the domestic market in 1991.

These taxa are also on CITES Appendix I, giving them international protection by making export of wild-collected plants illegal.

In 2003 the International Carnivorous Plant Society ran a trial distribution program in which young S. rubra subsp.

[11] In 1995, the non-profit organization Meadowview Biological Research Station was created to preserve and restore pitcher plant bogs and associated ecosystems in Maryland and Virginia.

The NASC is a grassroots Nebraska nonprofit organization working to build a genetic Sarracenia bank by overseeing the maintenance of genetic strains from all remaining wild populations in cultivation, with the eventual aim of being able to supply these strains for re-introduction in suitable habitats.

A similar but centralized collection exists in the UK, with 2000+ clones representing all species (many with location data) and numerous hybrids currently being housed by Sarracenia expert Mike King.

One of the biggest challenges of reintroducing plants back into the wild is the unintended introduction of unwanted species, such as pests, diseases, and invasive weeds.

Aside from determining what genetic material is appropriate for reintroduction (which is up for debate), plants must be semi-aseptic to keep the habitat pristine and sustainable in the long term.

[14][15] Stewart McPherson and Donald Schnell carried out a comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus in their 2011 monograph, Sarraceniaceae of North America.

[17] Sarracenia species hybridize and produce fertile offspring freely, making proper classification difficult.

[18] The first description and plate of a Sarracenia to show up in botanical literature was published by Carolus Clusius, who received a partial dried specimen of what was later determined to be S. purpurea subsp.

[18] The fragile flowerless specimen that made its way to Clusius 60 years later was enough to excite his interest, but not enough for him to place it among related plants; his closest guess was the wholly unrelated Sea Lavender genus.

The name Sarracenia was first employed by Michel Sarrazin, the Father of Canadian Botany who in the late 17th century sent live specimens of S. purpurea to the Parisian botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, who thereupon described the species.

In 1793 William Bartram noted in his book about his travels in the southeast U.S. that numerous insects were caught in the pitchers of these plants, but doubted that any benefit could be derived from them.

[19][21] Sarracenia are considered easy to grow and are widely propagated and cultivated by gardeners and carnivorous plant enthusiasts.

Several hybrids between the very hardy S. purpurea and showy species like S. leucophylla are becoming common in garden centers in North America and Europe.

Sarracenia prefer sunny conditions during their growing season but require a dormancy period, with decreased light and temperatures, of a few months in the winter.

Sarracenia pollen remains potent for several weeks when refrigerated, and so is stored by cultivators and used to pollinate later-flowering species.

It is advisable to leach regularly with pure water to prevent the buildup of solutes (fertilizer salts) in the soil.