About
The cane-brake pitcher plant, *Sarracenia alabamensis*, is notable for its robust, large clumps and distinctive pitcher structure. It traps insects using a rolled leaf that features a flared lid and a peristome studded with nectar-secreting glands, guiding prey into a digestive fluid trap.
Field notes
Morphology
The plant forms large clumps and features rolled leaves that are finely pubescent and can reach between 20 cm and 65 cm in height. The pitcher opening (peristome) is studded with nectar-secreting glands, and the upper regions of the pitcher are covered in short, stiff, downwards-pointing hairs. Spring pitchers are described as weak and floppy with a large wing, while summer and autumn pitchers are larger and more robust. In the subspecies *S. alabamensis* subsp. *alabamensis*, pitchers are yellow-green with reddish veins, and in *S. alabamensis* subsp. *wherryi*, they are shorter and often an olive green color.
Distribution & habitat
Native to the United States, with *S. alabamensis* subsp. *alabamensis* found only in central Alabama, and *S. alabamensis* subsp. *wherryi* found in southwestern Alabama, eastern Mississippi, and Florida.
Ecology
The plant traps insects using a rolled leaf structure. The peristome guides prey into the pitcher tube, where smooth, waxy secretions make footing uncertain. Insects that fall into the tube are trapped by a combination of digestive fluid, wetting agents, and inward-pointing hairs.
History & etymology
First collected in Elmore County, Alabama, in June 1971, and published by Frederick and Roberta Case in 1975. The species was finally validly published by Frederick and Roberta Case in 2005.
Conservation
The subspecies *S. alabamensis* subsp. *alabamensis* is listed on the US Endangered Species Act and Appendix I of CITES due to habitat loss, drainage, and poaching. The subspecies *S. alabamensis* subsp. *wherryi* is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
Habitat
- Altitude
- —
- Altitude Class
- —
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- intermediate
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