Pitcher Plant

Hello, this is wild suzhou. Today, we will be talking about the pitcher plants, another type of unique and clever carnivorous plant. Pitcher plants are, of course, named for their shape, which is that of a pitcher, or a jug that you might put a drink in. They are found in areas with poor soil, such as swamps or sandy areas. This is because they don’t need good soil to grow since they get enough nutrients from catching insects to eat. There are three groups of pitcher plants: Sarracenia, Nepenthes, and Cephalotus. Pitcher plants eat mainly insects, and they are able to attract them using nectar. If an insect gets close enough and lands on the area where the nectar is, they will fall into the bottom of the pitcher, because the top part of the plant is very slippery. Prey cannot get out of the pitcher since downward facing hairs make sure they can’t climb out, and prey eventually drowns. At the bottom of the pitcher are digestive enzymes and bacteria, which will digest the prey. Sarracenia is the group of pitcher plants found in the New World. The New World refers to the Western Hemisphere, mainly the Americas. They can be found in bogs, swamps, meadows, and savannas. In these areas, the water is soggy and does not contain much nutrients. Most of the plants in Sarracenia look like trumpets, and are fairly long and thin. The pitchers also shoot out of the ground, and are able to support themselves. Nepenthes are the group of tropical pitcher plants found in the Old World. This means places like Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia. Plants in this group are usually found in acidic soil but can also grow in trees. Some species like Attenborough’s pitcher plant are large enough to catch small animals, like mice and rats. These pitcher plants are shaped more like pitchers, and are fatter, like a very round and wide pot. Unlike Sarracenia, they droop from the plant that they are attached to. Cephalotus is the final group of pitcher plants, and only has one species, the Western Australia pitcher plant, which is found only in southwestern Australia. It lives in sandy and swampy soil, which is once again very low in nutrition. The pitchers are red, white, and green, and are very short and hairy. For Wild Suzhou, I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.