Carnivorous herbs or subshrubs. Passive pitcher-like traps.
Distribution
Limited to North and northern South America. Acidic, humidous habitats.
Floral characters
Bisexual, radial often associated with conspicious bracts. Sepals usually 5, distinct, petaloid; Petals usually 5, distinct and imbricate. Stamens numerous, anthers sometimes inverting in development, Pollen tricolporate to multicolporate. Carpels 3 or 5, connate; ovary superior, containing 3 to 5 placentas with numerous ovules.Single flowers or rarely racemous inflorescences. Zoochoric.
Leaf characters
Alternate and highly modified. Often coloured and odoured. Filled with liquid.
Stipules
absent
Fruit characters
Loculicidal capsule with often winged seeds. Anemochoric.
Glands
present. Nectare glands ontop pitchers.
Hairs
present as retrorse and glandular hairs in the pitchers.
Latex
absent
Odor
present. Odorous leaves and flowers.
Uses
Sarracenia and Darlingtonia cultivated as novelties.
Chemical characters
Producing exoencymes
Distribution maps
(online von http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ . Dort zitiert wie unter jedem Diagramm vermerkt):
