Trumpet Pitcher Colouring

Meet the trumpet pitcher plant, a remarkable bog plant whose scientific name is Sarracenia flava. It is native to the southeastern United States, including parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. This perennial grows in sunny, constantly damp bogs and wet savannas where the soil is acidic and very poor in nutrients. Its tall trumpets are not flowers or hollow stems. Each one is a leaf specially shaped into a tube, and a mature pitcher may rise much higher than the small grasses around it. The pitcher works as a passive pitfall trap. Sweet nectar and bright markings invite a beetle, fly or ant to explore the flared rim. Just below that rim, the surface becomes waxy and slippery. Downward-pointing hairs make climbing back up especially difficult, so an unlucky visitor can slide towards liquid near the bottom. Digestive enzymes and tiny organisms help break down the prey, and the leaf absorbs useful nitrogen and phosphorus. The plant does not receive all its food from insects: like other green plants, it still uses sunlight to make sugars by photosynthesis. Captured insects simply provide extra minerals that are scarce in bog soil. The plant cannot chase people, and its pitchers are harmless to fingers. Wild pitcher-plant habitats are special places, so admire them without picking or digging up plants. Choose nursery-grown plants if you ever grow one, and remember that ordinary potting soil and fertiliser can harm bog species. In this picture, the cutaway pitcher lets you see the beetle's slippery journey while several complete trumpets show the plant's true shape. Colour the pitchers lime green, sunny yellow or fresh leaf green. Add red, burgundy or pink veins near the rims, leaving a few pale highlights. The inner cutaway can be a lighter green, with a blue-green pool at the bottom. Try a shiny brown, copper, blue or emerald beetle. Colour the bog grasses olive and gold, and use tan or soft brown for the ground. Long pencil strokes will follow the upright tubes, while short strokes can give the grass texture.

◫ A4 size✎ Bold outlines♡ Ages 3–8

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