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Sarracenia flava

Common name:	Yellow Trumpet	Family:	Sarraceniaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-eastern N. America - Virginia and North Carolina to Florida and Louisiana.
Habitat:	Wet pinelands and bogs[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Pitchrplant [E], Yellow Pitcherplant [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	flava = yellow;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Nepenthales. Pitcher-plant family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.5m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower from April to May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires wet soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Hepatic; Kidney.

The root and leaves are hepatic. They are used in the treatment of dyspepsia, constipation, liver and kidney complaints[61].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Grow in sun or partial shade in peat or moss[188]. An insectivorous plant[61], it is best grown in a boggy position[1] and prefers a soil low in nitrogen. Plants require continuously moist conditions in a loose compost of sphagnum peat, live sphagnum and coarse acid sand[260]. They can be grown successfully in a plastic basin or in a pot that is standing in a deep saucer of water[260].
Plants are not hardy in Britain, requiring a minimum temperature of 5°c[188]. This conflicts with the hardiness rating of 7 (temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c) given in [200]. Plants can tolerate temperatures down to about -10°c[260].
A polymorphic species[200], it is becoming very rare in the wild and is on the CITES II list of endangered species.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but would suggest sowing the seed in light shade in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if possible otherwise in early spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving the plants some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors.
Division might be possible.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Sarracenia+flava
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Sarracenia+flava

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.