Sarracenia alabamensis
Encyclopedia
Sarracenia alabamensis, also known as the Cane-brake pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant
in the genus
Sarracenia
. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to the New World
. S. alabamensis subsp.
alabamensis is found only in central Alabama
, while subsp. wherryi is found in southwestern Alabama
, eastern Mississippi
and Florida
. It is sometimes treated as two subspecies of S. rubra
.
), which prevents excess rain from entering the pitcher and diluting the digestive secretions
within. The upper regions of the pitcher are covered in short, stiff, downwards-pointing hairs, which serve to guide insect
s alighting on the upper portions of the leaf towards the opening of the pitcher tube. The opening of the pitcher tube is retroflexed into a 'nectar roll' or peristome
, whose surface is studded with nectar-secreting glands. Prey entering the tube find that their footing is made extremely uncertain by the smooth, wax
y secretions found on the surfaces of the upper portion of the tube. Insects losing their footing on this surface plummet to the bottom of the tube, where a combination of digestive fluid, wetting agents and inward-pointing hairs prevent their escape. Some large insects (such as wasp
s) have been reported to escape from the pitchers on occasion, by chewing their way out through the wall of the tube.
in very cold weather.
are recognized:
Variants of the latter include a regularly pigmented plant with yellow flower, and giant plants from Chatom, Alabama
, known unofficially as "Chatom giant".
Sarracenia alabamensis was first collected in Elmore County, Alabama
by Frederick W. Case & Roberta Burckhardt Case in June 1971. They published the new species in 1975, but neglected to indicate a holotype
and included specimens in the type collection
that were gathered on different days. This makes the publication of the species invalid (nom. inval.) according to the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature. Frederick and Roberta Case then published the new subspecies S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi in 1976, but this too was invalid since S. alabamensis remained invalidly published. In 1977 Donald E. Schnell disagreed with species rank given to S. alabamensis and reduced it to a subspecies of S. rubra, moving subsp. wherryi to subspecific status under S. rubra in 1978. These publications were also invalid because the basionym
s the new combinations were based on were still invalidly published. To complicate matters further, Schnell published S. rubra subsp. wherryi in 1978 as a new subspecies (subsp. nov.) instead of a new combination involving the previous publication of S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi published two years earlier, though reference was made to it. Frederick and Roberta Case finally cleaned up the mess by validly publishing S. alabamensis and S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi in 2005. Sarracenia alabamensis subsp. alabamensis remains a valid autonym
since the 2005 publication.
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
in the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Sarracenia
Sarracenia
Sarracenia is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera Darlingtonia and Heliamphora....
. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
. S. alabamensis subsp.
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
alabamensis is found only in central Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, while subsp. wherryi is found in southwestern Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, eastern Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. It is sometimes treated as two subspecies of S. rubra
Sarracenia rubra
Sarracenia rubra, also known as the Sweet pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Sarracenia. Like all the Sarracenia, it is native to the New World...
.
Morphology and carnivory
Like other members of the genus Sarracenia, S. alabamensis traps insects using a rolled leaf, which in this species is finely pubescent and between 20 cm and 65 cm tall. It also forms large clumps within a few years. The uppermost part of the leaf is flared into a lid (the operculumOperculum (botany)
An operculum, in botany, is a term generally used to describe a structure within a plant, moss, or fungus acting as a cap, flap, or lid. In plants, it may also be called a bud cap.Examples of structures identified as opercula include:...
), which prevents excess rain from entering the pitcher and diluting the digestive secretions
Digestion
Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream, for instance. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones....
within. The upper regions of the pitcher are covered in short, stiff, downwards-pointing hairs, which serve to guide insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s alighting on the upper portions of the leaf towards the opening of the pitcher tube. The opening of the pitcher tube is retroflexed into a 'nectar roll' or peristome
Peristome
The word peristome is derived from the Greek peri, meaning 'around' or 'about', and stoma, 'mouth'. It is a term used to describe various anatomical features that surround an opening to an organ or structure. The term is used in plants and invertebrate animals, such as in describing the shells of...
, whose surface is studded with nectar-secreting glands. Prey entering the tube find that their footing is made extremely uncertain by the smooth, wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
y secretions found on the surfaces of the upper portion of the tube. Insects losing their footing on this surface plummet to the bottom of the tube, where a combination of digestive fluid, wetting agents and inward-pointing hairs prevent their escape. Some large insects (such as wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
s) have been reported to escape from the pitchers on occasion, by chewing their way out through the wall of the tube.
Growth cycle
Sarracenia alabamensis begins spring by sending up crimson flowers, often several to a growth point. After petal-drop, the first pitchers of the season open. In S. alabamensis, the spring pitchers are weak and floppy, with a large wing. In summer and autumn, larger and more robust pitchers are formed. In subsp. alabamensis, pitchers are yellow-green with reddish veins, whereas in subsp. wherryi, they are shorter and often an olive green color. The plants go dormant in winter, sometimes dying right back to the rhizomeRhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
in very cold weather.
Conservation status
Less than 15 sites of S. alabamensis subsp. alabamensis remain due to habitat loss, drainage and poaching. It is listed on the US Endangered Species Act as well as Appendix I of the CITES appendix. Because of these there are major restrictions on selling plants across state lines in the USA, and trading internationally. S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi is less threatened due to its wider distribution but is still listed on Appendix II of the CITES appendix.Taxonomy and botanical history
Two subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
are recognized:
- S. alabamensis subsp. alabamanensis Case & R.B.Case (Cane-brake pitcher plant)
- S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi (D.E.Schnell) Case & R.B.Case (Wherry's pitcher plant)
Variants of the latter include a regularly pigmented plant with yellow flower, and giant plants from Chatom, Alabama
Chatom, Alabama
Chatom is a town in Washington County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,193. The city is the county seat of Washington County.-Geography:Chatom is located at .According to the U.S...
, known unofficially as "Chatom giant".
Sarracenia alabamensis was first collected in Elmore County, Alabama
Elmore County, Alabama
Elmore County is a county of the State of Alabama. Its name is in honor of General John A. Elmore. As of 2010 its population was 79,303. Its county seat is Wetumpka.This county is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
by Frederick W. Case & Roberta Burckhardt Case in June 1971. They published the new species in 1975, but neglected to indicate a holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
and included specimens in the type collection
Biological type
In biology, a type is one particular specimen of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached...
that were gathered on different days. This makes the publication of the species invalid (nom. inval.) according to the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature. Frederick and Roberta Case then published the new subspecies S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi in 1976, but this too was invalid since S. alabamensis remained invalidly published. In 1977 Donald E. Schnell disagreed with species rank given to S. alabamensis and reduced it to a subspecies of S. rubra, moving subsp. wherryi to subspecific status under S. rubra in 1978. These publications were also invalid because the basionym
Basionym
Basionym is a term used in botany, regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
s the new combinations were based on were still invalidly published. To complicate matters further, Schnell published S. rubra subsp. wherryi in 1978 as a new subspecies (subsp. nov.) instead of a new combination involving the previous publication of S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi published two years earlier, though reference was made to it. Frederick and Roberta Case finally cleaned up the mess by validly publishing S. alabamensis and S. alabamensis subsp. wherryi in 2005. Sarracenia alabamensis subsp. alabamensis remains a valid autonym
Autonym (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, autonyms are automatically created names, as regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature . Autonyms are cited without an author. Relevant provisions are in articles 6.8, 22.1-3 and 26.1-3....
since the 2005 publication.