The Alabama canebrake pitcher plant is a carnivorous plant that is unique to Alabama, growing in only Autauga and Chilton counties in the central area of the state. It also was found in Elmore County in the past but no longer grows there. At one time this plant was found at 28 sites, but now plants are believed to survive at only 11 of them. Along with the green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila), the canebrake pitcher plant is one of two Alabama pitcher plant species listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Pitcher plants are non-woody plants that grow from a horizontal underground stem called a rhizome. Their leaves are tube-shaped and somewhat reminiscent of an old-fashioned milk pitcher, hence their common name. The "pitchers" of the Alabama canebrake pitcher plant are yellow-green in color with reddish veins and often are copper colored on the upper part. The plant makes different sets of pitchers in spring and summer and produces flattened leaves called phyllodia as well during the growing season. The horizontal rhizome often forms offshoots that over time produce large clumps of pitchers that extend several feet out from the rhizome and enable these plants to reproduce asexually; this is an important adaptation because few seedlings reach maturity in the field.

As with most plants, pitcher plants have chlorophyll in their leaves and harvest energy from sunlight using photosynthesis. But they grow in wet, highly acidic soils that are very low in important nutrients, such as nitrogen, that other plants typically absorb from soil. So they evolved the ability to catch and consume live prey to provide them with these nutrients. The funnel-shaped pitchers are topped with an extension, called a hood, that arches over the opening and helps keep rain out. The plants produce nectar near the opening of the tube that attracts insects and may even contain a chemical that drugs them so that they are more likely to fall into the pitcher. The interior wall of the pitcher is very smooth and waxy, with downward-pointing projections that make it difficult for prey to crawl up the wall once inside; it also contains wetting agents in the fluid to soak insect wings and keep them from working well. Insects trapped in the pitcher soon die and are digested by enzymes secreted into the pitcher fluid by the plant.
Alabama canebrake pitcher plants grow in wet sandy clay soils of seepage bogs. These bogs form over a shallow impervious layer of rock that forces water percolating down hillsides to the surface and holds it there. Most of the sites that host these plants are relatively small in area, from about 40 square feet up to an acre. Pitcher plants grow in association with many other plant species, including giant cane, a widespread native bamboo species that before European settlement formed dense stands in wetlands called canebrakes. This association is the source of the common name of S. alabamensis subsp. alabamensis. Other plants in the communities include sphagnum moss, yellow-eyed grass, bog hatpins, beak sedges, and many other non-woody plants. In general, pitcher plant bogs have a relatively high diversity of plant species.

The Alabama canebrake pitcher plant was listed as federally endangered in 1989 because of the small number of sites, the small areas of each site, the small numbers of plants at most sites, and the many threats faced by the species. Fewer than a dozen sites currently host the plant and only five sites have populations of significant size (more than 30 clumps of plants). Two sites are preserved on The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Alabama's 400-acre Roberta Case Preserve in Autauga County, and the Boy Scouts of America also own a site with a large population in that county as well. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and TNC are working with some landowners to help manage populations by reintroducing regular burning, and the Atlanta Botanical Garden is propagating some plants for conservation projects. In 2009, the Alabama Conservation Alliance and TNC established two small new populations on the site owned by the Boy Scouts of America. With continued conservation efforts, this unique Alabama carnivorous plant will continue to contribute to Alabama's outstanding biodiversity.
Additional Resources
Case, Frederick W., Jr., and Roberta B. Case. "Sarracenia alabamensis, a Newly Recognized Species from Central Alabama." Rhodora 76 (December 1974): 650-65.
Additional Resources
Case, Frederick W., Jr., and Roberta B. Case. "Sarracenia alabamensis, a Newly Recognized Species from Central Alabama." Rhodora 76 (December 1974): 650-65.
Chesser, Jason D., and J. Stephen Brewer. "Factors Influencing Seedling Recruitment in a Critically Endangered Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia rubra ssp. alabamensis." Endangered Species Research 113 (March 2011): 245-52.
Murphy, Patrick B., and Robert S. Boyd. "Population Status and Habitat Characterization of the Endangered Plant, Sarracenia rubra subspecies alabamensis." Castanea 64 (June 1999): 101-13.
Neal, Wendell A. Alabama Canebrake Pitcher Plant Recovery Plan. Jackson, Miss.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1992.
Mississippi Ecological Services Field Office. Alabama Canebrake Pitcher-Plant (Sarracenia rubra ssp. alabamensis). 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation. Jackson, Miss.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2012