Purple pitcherplant

The Purple pitherplant is a species of pitcherplant known by the scientific name Sarracenia purpurea. The purple pitcher also has many common names such as Pitcher Plant, Purple Pitcher Plant, Flytrap, Huntsman's cup, Frog's Britches and the Sidesaddle plant. This all falls under order Nepenthales (pitcher plants). U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Anatomy
The Purple pitcher plant's flower head is held up by a thin stem. It's flower has a more of a spherical head when compared to other flowers. Also unlike other flowers, it droops its flower facing downward because of its umbrella shape. At the bottom of the stem are the pitchers leaves. The leaves are rolled up to create a pocket. This in turn will become the trap for the prey. The root portion of the plant is weak, poorly developed and, used mostly for stability.

Reproduction
Pitcher plants in general are dioecious plants, which means having male and female flowers on different plants. They reproduce mainly from seed, but also sometimes reproduce by rhizomes. For purple pitcher plants, their flower hangs more downward to catch the pollen it drop. The style, or five pointed umbrella shaped leaf inside the flower is what catches the pollen. This creates not only a prevention of wasting pollen, but also a prevention from cross pollination and helps protect the ovules from damage. When the style hangs and the petals hang over it, it creates a cubby for only the pollinators. Bees are usually the cross pollinators, but when a pollinator climbs in it, it has to go up over the style and into its pollen collections before it reaches the nectar. 

Ecology
The purple pitcher's habitat range is from eastern United States, to most of southern Canada. The pitcher plant is limited in many ecosystems because it lives mainly in poor nutrition environments. It takes most of the nutrition from what it catches and not from the soil. This is how it is able to live in harsh soil conditions. 

Within the Canadian and U.S. regions; bogs, flat woods, and savannas, are most likely places to find pitcher plants. Bogs are a major habitat for pitchers. Bogs attract insects because of the ecosystem it supports. This allows the pitcher plant to catch more insects then trying by itself to attract all of food it needs to survive. Insects are a major part of its diet but insects aren't the only thing it eats. Pitcher plants are even known for ingesting small animals like frogs. Some creature don't come for the nectar, but they instead prey on other animals that come for the nectar. Since a carnivorous plant has poor root development, it can handle the acidic bog water around its habitat. Out of all the pitcher plants, the purple pitcher is the hardest to maintain.

The Pitcher
Most carnivorous plants have a way of producing digestive juices to break down their food that they catch before they absorb them. Sarracenia purpurea do not produce digestive juices, they use decay it self to break down the dead bodies of insects. Purple pitchers have reddish veined pitcher leaves that attract the sight of the insect. What attracts the smell of the insect is the nectar that is placed near the traps opening. When the insect is deceived, it will land near the rim and climb its way toward the nectar. This is when the it slips and falls into the pile of other dying and unlucky insects to be ingested.