I.D. Pitcher Plant from Garden Centre

[leeloo]

I purchased this plant a few years ago, I have since lost the tag but am interested in what it is. Sorry the photos aren't better. I think it's suffered because of the heat and drought we've had this summer, the pitcher shriveled up but the leaves are still there.

Should I transplant this into a pot and store it in my garden shed for the winter or leave it where it is in the garden?






The black tube in the background is an overflow from the rain barrel.

[dwgrant]

Looks like Jack in the Pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum, to me. It is hardy to zone 3 so should be good in the ground. It is a native plant from mainly moist woodlands. Mine have long gone dormant with the heat and dryness this summer. 
Darrell

[deanm]

There are some wonderful Arisaema species - especially some of the asiatic ones. There is one that has a pink flower and apparently smells like raspberries.

[leeloo]

Thank you for the IDs! It's never flowered, probably because of the hot, dry summers? :/ Next year I'll give it extra waterings. So the "pitcher" (for lack of a better word) is the flower?

[WillyCKH]

Nice looking plant! too bad it's not a Sarracenia

[lloyd]

Probably the Japanese species which is bigger and more common in nurseries. The seeds are super easy to grow.

[deanm]

I have some in my garden - they took a couple of years before they flowered. It seems that no matter their size they need to establish themselves first. Other may have had other experiences.

I also love a related plant called Arisarum proboscideum - the mouse tail plant. It is hardy in Ontario. The flowers look like little mouse butts and tails hanging out of the base of the plant. They are wonderful shade plants. They will slowly spread over time.

[deanm]

In my case, I have triphyllum - well at least that is what the nursery tag said (I bought it in the native plants section). that may explain the delay in blooming of a couple of years since the plants really were just seedlings.

[dwgrant]

Jul 31, 2016 15:51:08 GMT -5 leeloo said:

Thank you for the IDs! It's never flowered, probably because of the hot, dry summers? :/ Next year I'll give it extra waterings. So the "pitcher" (for lack of a better word) is the flower?

The "pitcher"/tube is the spathe.  The following comes from wikepedia:


The spathe, known in this plant as "the pulpit" wraps around and covers over and contain a spadix ("Jack"), covered with tiny flowers of both sexes. The flowers are unisexual, in small plants most if not all the flowers are male, as plants age and grow larger the spadix produces more female flowers. This species flowers from April to June. It is pollinated by flies, which it attracts by smell. The fruit are smooth, shiny green, 1 cm wide berries clustered on the thickened spadix. The fruits ripen in late summer and fall, turning a bright red color before the plants go dormant. Each berry produces 1 to 5 seeds typically, the seeds are white to light tan in color, rounded, often with flattened edges and a short sharp point at the top and a rounded bottom surface. If the seeds are freed from the berry they will germinate the next spring, producing a plant with a single rounded leaf. Seedlings need three or more years of growth before they become large enough to flower.



In addition the plant is not self-pollinating since the male flowers on a specific plant have already matured and died before the female flowers of that same plant are mature. So the female flowers need to be pollinated by the male flowers of a different plant. This inhibits inbreeding and contributes to the health of the species.



It is hardy to USDA plant hardiness zone 3.

[leeloo]

Jul 31, 2016 19:18:36 GMT -5 dwgrant said:

Jul 31, 2016 15:51:08 GMT -5 leeloo said:

Thank you for the IDs! It's never flowered, probably because of the hot, dry summers? :/ Next year I'll give it extra waterings. So the "pitcher" (for lack of a better word) is the flower?

The "pitcher"/tube is the spathe.  The following comes from wikepedia:

Thank you so much for that! Perhaps next spring I'll look for another so the original plant can be pollinated. 

[lloyd]

I bought one plant ~ 4 years ago and there have been lots of seedlings.

[leeloo]

Jul 31, 2016 18:41:21 GMT -5 deanm said:

I have some in my garden - they took a couple of years before they flowered. It seems that no matter their size they need to establish themselves first. Other may have had other experiences.

I also love a related plant called Arisarum proboscideum - the mouse tail plant. It is hardy in Ontario. The flowers look like little mouse butts and tails hanging out of the base of the plant. They are wonderful shade plants. They will slowly spread over time.

Cute little plant, if I see it in the spring, I'll definitely pick one up!