Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa

Rhizomes usually horizontal, sometimes vertical. Pitchers 4–5 per crown, length to 3.5 times diam., external surfaces usually distinctly pubescent, setae on adaxial surface of hood 1.1–1.8 (–3) mm.

Phenology: Flowering Mar–Apr.
Habitat: Pine flatwoods, savannas, seeps, streamhead tree-shrub pocosins and ecotones, seepage bogs, bays, ditches
Elevation: 0-200 m

Ga., N.C., S.C.

Discussion

Subspecies venosa is variable; the combination of distinct external indument and relatively longer setae and larger hoods distinguish it from subsp. purpurea. Subspecies venosa usually produces relatively tighter clumps of shorter, fatter pitchers and is colored green with red venation rather than the more solid colors of subsp. purpurea. It is shade tolerant and often is found with the pitchers hidden underneath matted vegetation, with only the scapes visible. The pitchers are persistent and tolerate freezing temperatures but may not survive the prolonged freezes that the northern subspecies endures.

A yellow-flowered variant from South Carolina has not been formally named.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa