Northern Pitcher Plant

A carnivorous plant with one large, purplish-red flower on the top of a leafless stalk rising above a rosette of tubular leaves. Flowers are 5cm in size and have 5 petals.

This beautiful plant has pitcher-like leaves that collect water. Insects that are attracted to the plant have a hard time crawling upward because the pitchers have smooth surfaces, in addition to recurved hairs near the top. So, they will eventually fall into the water and drown. The plant secretes enzymes, which help digest the insects. However, most of the breakdown is passive and results from bacterial activity.