The Pitcher Plant: Pitcher A Time When . . . Plants Eat People!

Pitchers that are about to unfurl
and open.

Another carnivorous plant, the Pitcher Plant, definitely deserves some renown. This plant barely resembles a plant visually, and doesn't act much like one either. Evolution has taken some organisms to crazy places!

The pitcher plant is found in the carnivorous plant group - yes, they eat animals. This evolutionary wonder has turned its leaves into large death traps that instantly brews its own nutritious soup once an animals falls in. Mostly, insects are the victims, but inside these 'pitchers', mice, rats and small birds have often been found.

Pitcher Plants have a large genetic variance, and there are numerous different types that vary greatly from one plant to the next. They are some of the most exotic looking plants you will ever see, like something out of a science fiction movie. There are small ones that you could fit in your pocket, pitchers and all, and there are large ones with pitchers that can hold many litres of water. The bigger the stomach, the bigger the appetite!

An epiphytic Pitcher
Plant. See the tendril
suspending the pitcher.

Pitcher plants lure their victims with food in the form of nectar or the prospect of water, and if this isn't enough, they will use visual cues (hence, the red colouring) as well to entice their victims to inspect. Once on the slippery brim of the pitcher, it isn't long before one missed step lands the victim in the pool of water below at the base of the pitcher. The brim of the pitcher is often very hard and waxy, thereby, making a strong footing near impossible. This same ledge often also develops grooves and an angle that suggest falling into the pitcher rather than out, and a bright red colouring to attract potential meals. Once inside, the plant has even evolved mechanisms of retaining its prey: waxy scales, protruding aldehyde crystals, cuticular ("skin") folds, and downward pointing hairs all prevent escape, resulting in death by drowning or exhaustion.


The pools of liquid within the plant are called phytotelmata. They drown the victim and gradually dissolved it over time, providing a constant source of nutrition, mainly in the form of nitrogen and phosphorous. This liquid death trap is a mix of rainwater, bacteria and the plant's own digestive juices. Sometimes they are found to be harbouring specific insect larvae that also eat the feast and feed the plant with their excrement. Essentially, the pitcher is a large, open-topped stomach cavity with colours, scents and flavours that attract potential meals.

The largest groups of Pitcher Plants are Nepenthaceae and Sarraceniaceae groups. They are comprised of over 100 types of Pitcher Plants. There are Pitcher Plants that appear to have no leaves, and only pitchers standing stark upright, waiting for food. Then there are old-world Pitcher Plants that still have leaves and have evolved to have their pitchers on the end of a long tendril (the midrib) hanging from the end of the leaf. These old-world Pitcher Plants have also evolved to climb trees and make their homes in the canopy. Plants 'climb trees' in between generations, so: Plant makes flowers, seeds and bird eats the fruit. Bird defecates on tree branch, baby plant grows. Plants that grow on other plants are called epiphytes and have evolved to do so with specific roots and other environmental adaptations. Pitcher plants are not parasitic, as they do not harm the trees they grow on.

The Pitcher Plant in flower.

Carnivorous plants are usually found in places that have nutrient-poor substrate, and the plants supplements this by making its own food. Bogs, marshes and other wet places such as these are often highly acidic, and when the pH is extreme in either direction, nutrients often become 'locked up' and are unavailable to plants. This, paired with a low concentration of nutrients in the first place leaves Pitcher Plants ahead of it's competition and has allowed it to thrive and evolve even more into the amazing and totally unique plant that it is.