Sarracenia alata, also known as the Pale pitcher plant or Pale trumpet, is a carnivorous plant

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...

 and grows in permanently wet and open wetlands typically classified as longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) savannas. The Pale pitcher plant's habitat is split into two geographically separate areas: an eastern range from eastern Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 across southern 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 into western 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...

 and a western range from eastern Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 into western Louisiana. In Mississippi, stands of Sarracenia alata rival in size those of any other Sarracenia species.

Among members of Sarracenia the floral coloring of Sarracenia alata is remarkably varied. Flowers may be cream to white, greenish, yellow or reddish. As the floral color variations exist within populations hundreds of miles from any other Sarracenia species, these variations cannot be attributed to hybridization.

Other than the range of floral colors, Sarracenia alata differs little from Sarracenia 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...

. The veining of Sarracenia rubra pitchers tends to be more reticulated whereas that of Sarracenia alata often exhibits more of a pinstripe pattern and grows taller pitchers.