What Makes the Purple Pitcher Plant Turn Purple?
Preferences vary greatly as to plant choices. It might be its lovely fragrance or striking flower or foliage that catches your eye. Maybe it has an odd characteristic that makes it appealing. Unique because of its many different attributes, the purple pitcher plant could qualify under each of these criteria. A lovely flower, a leaf that's a pitcher, and a need to get its nutrients from what it catches all make the pitcher plant a standout. Does this Spark an idea?
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The Very Different Pitcher Plant
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The eye-catching element of this plant is the pitcher that is formed by its tubelike leaves. Further, it differs from many other plants as it grows well in poor soil that lacks nutrients, is boggy (continually damp) and acidic. Reaching heights of 8 to 24 inches, flowers appear atop bare stalks. The tubular leaves are the main attraction, drawing attention from humans and insects alike.
The Unimportant Flower
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Pitcher plant flowers above the pitchers. The pitcher plant flower presents itself as a deep burgundy color atop a tall naked stem. Unlike ordinary flowers, the petals drop quickly to reveal, rather than conceal, the sepals that protect the bud. The flower does not have much of a role in attracting insects to the plant from which it gets the needed nutrients to grow. Depending on the variety, the fragrance is pleasant, smelly or odorless.
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The Important Pitcher
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The leaves form the pitcher part of purple pitcher plants. Close examination will reveal tubular leaves that resemble partially filled pitchers. While they resemble flowers, the pitcher is really a false flower used to attract insects to the pitcher and their eventual death. Starting out light green, by the end of the growing season, the leaves/pitchers can turn a deep red-purple.
Green to Red-Purple
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Like many red, purple or blue fruits, vegetables and flowers, the anthocyanin pigments within the plant structure react to the amount of sunlight the plant receives. Starting out as a purple veined leaf, the coloring slowly spreads to the whole leaf/pitcher as the hours of sunlight increase. After continual 8 to 10 hours of sunlight daily, the plant will reach season's end a deep red-purple
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