Sarracenia (genus, trumpet pitchers)

Japanese name: サラセニア
Scientific name: Sarracenia

[Overview]
A perennial that grows in acidic, nutrient-poor wetlands in its native habitat.
It is a carnivorous plant.
It has a short rhizome.
The leaves form a rosette and are of two types: trap leaves that appear in the cool seasons of spring and autumn, and sword-shaped leaves that appear in the hot season of summer.
The trap leaves are tubular with a lid at the top, and are constructed so that insects lured by the nectar glands slide down and cannot get out.
Many have a netted pattern on the trap leaves.
The sword-shaped leaves are flat and do not form tubes.
The flowers are borne singly at the tip of a long flower stalk and open facing downward, with 5 petals and 5 sepals.
The fruit is a capsule.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by division.
For seed, sow immediately after collecting, or store the seed moist in a refrigerator or similar and sow in spring.
It prefers a sunny, well-ventilated place.
Plant it in sphagnum moss alone, or in akadama soil mixed with peat moss.
It dislikes alkaline conditions, so keep lime out of the soil and water.
Because it lives in wetlands, keep it standing in a tray of water or watered from the bottom so that it always stays moist.
Fertilizer is not particularly necessary.
Pests and diseases include viral diseases, aphids, scale insects, spider mites and thrips.

[Notes]
The Japanese name Heishi-so (瓶子草) compares the tubular leaves to a heishi, a kind of jar.

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