The pitcher plant is a sneaky meat-eating plant that is shaped like a tall, colorful jug or “pitcher!” Some pitcher plants are tiny enough to fit in your hand, while others can grow big enough to catch frogs and even small mice. The rim at the top of the pitcher is super slippery, almost like a water slide, and the inside is filled with a sweet-smelling liquid that attracts curious bugs. The bright colors of the pitcher, which can be red, green, yellow, or even purple, also help lure insects closer. Pitcher plants grow in boggy, swampy places where the soil does not have enough nutrients for most plants.
When a bug lands on that slippery rim, it loses its grip and tumbles right down into the liquid at the bottom! The walls inside the pitcher are so smooth and waxy that the bug cannot climb back out, no matter how hard it tries. The plant then slowly digests the bug to get important nutrients that it cannot get from the poor soil. Some pitcher plants even have a little lid on top that helps keep the rain from filling up the pitcher and diluting the liquid inside. Scientists have found more than 100 different kinds of pitcher plants all around the world!
