13 Strange and Beautiful Pitcher Plants

S. flava, the yellow trumpet pitcher plant, can grow to three feet tall, with pitchers big enough to trap flies, wasps and yellow jackets. The Latin word "flava" means yellow, and the plants are yellow-green with red blotches. Their large flowers have dangling petals and an unpleasant odor.

Sarracenia leucophylla is a beautiful carnivorous plant with red flowers and white-topped "pitchers," or modified leaves that act as a trap for insects. The white trumpet plant bears pitchers in spring and again in fall.

Most pitcher plants are relatively easy to grow. S. purpurea ssp venosa, or the purple pitcher plant, has an erect hood with ear-like "wings" on each side. Stiff hairs on the hood direct prey into the pitcher.

Commonly called the hooded pitcher plant, S. minor var. okefenokeensis has a distinctive, hood-like lid with white spots. The flowers may be yellow, green, or slightly red. These plants are found in the Carolinas, Florida, and Georgia, especially in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp.