Pitcher Plants of the Americas

Pitcher plants are the largest and most beautiful of the world’s carnivorous plants and are viewed with fascination as objects of natural history and natural beauty. Pitcher Plants of the Americas is intended for a broad audience, and accordingly has been written in substantive yet accessible language, that is enhanced through the use of spectacular, high-quality colour images and diagrams. The result is a visually beautiful yet informative study that provides the first complete, detailed overview of the systematics, biology, ecology, biogeography, conservation, and horticulture of the five genera of American pitcher plants (s.l.), including three genera of true pitcher plants (Darlingtonia, Heliamphora, and Sarracenia) and two genera of carnivorous tank bromeliads (Brocchinia and Catopsis).

The introductory chapters of Pitcher Plants of the Americas outline the taxonomic content and groupings (by trapping methods) of carnivorous plants and briefly review the taxonomy, biology, evolutionary history, and biogeography of the American pitcher plants. The following five chapters are devoted to individual genera of the American pitcher plants and examine in detail the anatomy, habitat, ecology, trapping process, and distribution of each genus and each member species as well as many naturally occurring hybrids and selected cultivars.

The concluding chapters of Pitcher Plants of the Americas summarise the current conservational status of each family of American pitcher plants in terms of the nature and extent of habitat loss and the resulting threat of extinction, and the study closes by considering the various successful conservation approaches and initiatives which are helping to secure a bright future for these rare plants.