North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Sarracenia leucophylla

Sarracenia leucophylla Raf.

whitetop pitcherplant, crimson pitcherplant

Synonym(s): Sarracenia drummondii
Cultivar(s): Savannah Jewel, Tarnock

Sarracenia leucophylla (Whitetop Pitcherplant)

Image ID: 17103
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: SALE4
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sarracenia leucophylla
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-09-18

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
1071	Savannah Jewel	View
224	Tarnock	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: SARRA
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Sarracenia
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Pitcherplant
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 11 species, perennial insectivorous herbs, of e. North America. The sections that have sometimes been recognized do not accord with recent findings about clades and relationships within Sarracenia, so are not recognized here.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION: Identification notes: Hybrids between the various species of pitcher-plants are relatively frequent; see Bell (1952), Bell & Case (1956), Mellichamp (2008), and Mellichamp in FNA (2009) for further discussion. They are usually rather easy to determine, since they show intermediacy in characters, and usually are found in close proximity to both parents.
GENUS REFERENCES: Mellichamp & Case in FNA (2009); McDaniel (1971)=U; Wood (1960)=Z; Schnell & Determann (1997)=Y; Schnell (2002b)=X; Bell (1949)=Q; Case & Case (1976)=V; McPherson (2007); Neyland & Merchant (2006); Schnell (1979, 1981, 1993, 1998, 2002a); Bell (1952); Bell & Case (1956); Reveal (1993); Cheek (1994, 2001); Godt & Hamrick (1999); Naczi et al. (1999); Romanowski (2002); Catalani (2004); Mellichamp (2008).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: SARRAC
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Sarraceniaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Dumortier 1829
FAMILY COMMON: Pitcherplant Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of 3 genera and about 22 species, perennial insectivorous herbs, of e. North America (Sarracenia), w. North America (Darlingtonia), and ne. South America (Heliamphora).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Mellichamp in FNA (2009); Neyland & Merchant (2006); Kubitzki in Kubitzki (2004).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 2-3 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb, Subshrub

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: March-April

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Burgundy double flowers

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
	x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: GA, FL, AL & MS

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: These insect-eating plants are native to the southeastern United States. The burgundy flowers of the cultivar "Tarnok" are unique in the fact that the petals, anthers, and style have been replaced with undifferentiated sepals. The ruffled and doubled look of the flower sets it apart. Sarracenia leucophylla produces two crops of pitchers. The first comes in spring but the late summer pitchers are taller and more robust. Pitcher-plants are most easily grown in containers in a mix of peat moss and sand. They need at least six hours of sun each day.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 5
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
1137	1985-0887			View
1144	1985-0895			View
1152	1985-0904			View
1176	1985-0937			View
1177	1985-0938			View
1179	1985-0941			View
1182	1985-0944			View
3635	1991-0320			View
9607	2023-0059	2023-03-30		View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
2043	1137	144	NCBG staff	1985-08-08	View
2048	1144	144	NCBG staff	1985-09-26	View
2070	1177	144	NCBG staff	1985-08-12	View
2071	1179	144	NCBG staff	1985-08-12	View
2073	1182	144	NCBG staff	1985-09-27	View
13527	9607	128	Liloia	2023-03-14	View
14217	0	126	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: SALE4
USDA Common Name: Crimson Pitcherplant
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Subshrub, Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	OBL				OBL					OBL

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sarracenia leucophylla
COMMON NAME: Whitetop Pitcherplant, Crimson Pitcherplant
SYNONYMY: [= FNA, GW, K1, K3, U, WH3, X, Z; = S. drummondii Croom - Q, S]
PHENOLOGY:
HABITAT: Wet pine savannas.
COMMENTS: Sw. GA, w. FL, s. AL, and se. MS, a Gulf Coastal Plain endemic; introduced in eastern NC (and likely to be found elsewhere outside its natural range). Sometimes planted in natural areas by carnivorous plant enthusiasts outside of its natural range, such as in the Coastal Plain of NC, where it has been seen in at least 3 localities. The NC population on Croatan National Forest, Carteret Co. was apparently introduced in the 1980s; it is not known whether this species will spread in NC, but it is still persisting (as of 2015) and has been independently discovered several times.
RANGE MAP: Sarracenia leucophylla.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Sarraceniaceae Dumortier 1829 (Pitcherplant Family)
SUMMARY: A family of 3 genera and about 22 species, perennial insectivorous herbs, of e. North America (Sarracenia), w. North America (Darlingtonia), and ne. South America (Heliamphora).
REFERENCE: Mellichamp in FNA (2009); Neyland & Merchant (2006); Kubitzki in Kubitzki (2004).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Sarracenia L. (Pitcherplant)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 11 species, perennial insectivorous herbs, of e. North America. The sections that have sometimes been recognized do not accord with recent findings about clades and relationships within Sarracenia, so are not recognized here.
REFERENCE: Mellichamp & Case in FNA (2009); McDaniel (1971)=U; Wood (1960)=Z; Schnell & Determann (1997)=Y; Schnell (2002b)=X; Bell (1949)=Q; Case & Case (1976)=V; McPherson (2007); Neyland & Merchant (2006); Schnell (1979, 1981, 1993, 1998, 2002a); Bell (1952); Bell & Case (1956); Reveal (1993); Cheek (1994, 2001); Godt & Hamrick (1999); Naczi et al. (1999); Romanowski (2002); Catalani (2004); Mellichamp (2008).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Sarracenia leucophylla in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Sarracenia leucophylla in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Sarracenia leucophylla in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Sarracenia leucophylla in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Sarracenia leucophylla in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Sarracenia leucophylla

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 17103 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 17103 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 7581 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 22414 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)