E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Sarracenia purpurea L.
Northern Pitcher Plant (common pitcher-plant; purple pitcherplant; Sanicle)
Sarraceniaceae (Pitcher-plant family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Sarracenia purpurea
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Sarracenia purpurea ssp. gibbosa
Sarracenia purpurea ssp. purpurea

Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Insectivorous perennial herb from a fibrous root; stems erect, 20-40 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves clustered, hollow, often marked with purple or dark red, open at the top or with a kidney-shaped flap, with bentback hairs inside the flap and tube.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a solitary flower; petals usually egg-shaped, deep purple on both sides, 2-6 cm long; sepals egg- to diamond-shaped, dark purple outside, pale green inside, 2-6 cm long.

Fruits:
Capsules.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Bogs and fens in the montane zone; rare in NE BC, known only from the Fort Nelson area; N to NT, E to NF and S to NY, VA, OH, IN, IL, MN and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Sarracenia purpurea

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	550	550	550
Slope Gradient (%)	0	0	0
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]		0
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	7	7	7
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	B
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	2
Modal BEC Zone Class	BWBS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	BWBS(2)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S2?	Red	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Sarraceniaceae
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2025-02-16 8:39:20 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.