Sarracenia psittacina Michaux

Sarracenia psittacina Michaux

Parrot pitcherplant

by Edgar T. Wherry

The distribution indicated on the accompanying map shows that the parrot pitcher plant originated at some point in the ancient peneplain near whit is now the northwestern corner of Georgia. From this region it disappeared as a result of the geologic and climatic changes, but its seeds found their way down both the Alabama and Chattahoochee Valleys. The colonies thereby formed on the Coastal Plain expanded laterally, reaching the vicinity of New Orleans on the west and the coast of Georgia on the east. Search for it near Augusta, Georgia, where it was stated by Michaux to occur, has proved unsuccessful, the northeastern most colony thus far found lying 10 miles southwest of Millen, in Jenkins county.

Like most of the others, this species apparently lost the ability to expand its range farther before the end of the Tertiary. It thrives best in low meadows subject to frequent inundation by acid waters from nearby swamps, but in spite of the abundance of such habitats which developed in peninsular Florida after it emerged from the sea, the plant has never succeeded in entering that region.

Click here for the watercolor by Mary Vaux Walcott.

Click here for USDA's current information and distribution map of this species.

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