Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Washington; native to the Great Lakes region and eastern North America.
Habitat: Swamps, bogs and seeps.
Flowers: May-July
Origin: Introduced from central and eastern North America
Growth Duration: Perennial
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Scapose, herbaceous perennials from rhizomes, forming dense clumps, the scapes 22-80 cm. tall.
Pitchers appearing in spring with the first flowers, continuous all summer, consisting of a decumbent or ascending, curved tube 5-25 cm. long, with a hood attached to the back edge, green with reddish or purplish veins, or suffused reddish or purplish; orifice round to oval, 1.5-3.6 cm. in diameter, the rim green to purplish-red, thick and flaring; hood same color as pitcher, erect or covering orifice, reniform.
Flowers solitary and terminal on the scapes, subtended by 3 bracts; sepals 5, purplish-red, 2.2-4.2 cm. long; petals 5, red to maroon, elliptic to obovate, 3.3-5.3 cm. long; stamens 50-100; top of style expanded into a disk.
Capsules 1-2 cm. in diameter.
Publication: Sp. Pl. 1: 510. 1753.
- ssp. purpurea – northern pitcher-plant, purple pitcher-plant Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Washington; native to the Great Lakes region and eastern North America.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Sarracenia purpurea in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database.
WA Flora Checklist: Sarracenia purpurea checklist entry.
OregonFlora: Sarracenia purpurea information.
E-Flora BC: Sarracenia purpurea atlas page.
CalPhotos: Sarracenia purpurea photos.
USDA Plants: Sarracenia purpurea information.
