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pocket-like de- pression of epidermis, opening downwards. The pitcher is a development at the end of the tendril. It is generally tubular in form, but in some species two forms are produced on the same plant, See also:

LOWER

lower or terrestrial See also:

goblet-shaped pitchers and upper suspended pitchers retaining the more See also:

PRIMITIVE

primitive more or less tubular form; in a few species a third form—See also:

FUNNEL (through an O. Fr. founil, found in Breton, from Lat. infundibulum, that through which anything is poured, from fundere, to pour)

funnel- or cornucopia-shaped pitchers—occurs in the upper See also:

PART

part. In the terrestrial type a pair of well-See also:

DEVELOPED

developed wings See also:

TRAVERSE

traverse the length of the pitcher; in the tubular or funnel-shaped form the wings are narrow or See also:

ridge-like. The mouth of the pitcher has a corrugated rim (peristome) formed by in curving of the margin, the See also:

CONVEX

convex surface of which is See also:

FIRM

firm and shining. It is traversed by more or less prominent parallel ridges, which are usually prolonged as See also:

TEETH (O.E. Eel); plural of tooth, O.E. top)

teeth beyond the in-folded margin. Above the mouth is the lid (operculum), which varies in See also:

SIZE

size from a small narrow See also:

PROCESS

process to a large See also:

heart-shaped expansion.

A study of the development of the pitcher, especially in the See also:

young pitchers of seedling plants, shows that the inflated portion is a development of the midrib of the leaf, while the wings, which are especially well represented in the terrestrial type of pitcher, represent the upper portion of the leaf-blade which has become separated from the lower portion by the tendril; the lid is regarded as representing two leaflets which have become fused. The See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short straight or curved process from the back of the pitcher behind the lid represents the organic See also:

APEX

apex of the leaf (A in fig. r). The size of the pitcher varies widely in the different species, from an See also:

INCH (O. Eng. ynce from Lat. uncia, a twelfthpart; cf. " ounce," and see As)

inch to a See also:

FOOT

foot or more in See also:

DEPTH

depth. The See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour also varies considerably, even in different pitchers of the same individual, A, Attractive surface of lid; B, conducting; C, glandular; and D, detentive surface; magnified. A and D are taken from S. flow. according to See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age, See also:

LIGHT

light exposure or See also:

SOIL

soil conditions. It is uniformly See also:

green or more or less spotted, blotched or suffused with red or See also:

CRIMSON

crimson, or sometimes, as in N. sanguinea or N. Edwardsiana, largely or wholly of a rich See also:

SCARLET

scarlet or crimson colour. In-sects are attracted to the mouth of the pitcher by a See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of glands, yielding a sweet See also:

EXCRETION (Lat. ex, out of, cernere, cretum, to separate)

excretion, which occurs on the See also:

STEM (O. Eng. staefn, stemn, cf. Du. stain, Ger. Stamm, &c., probably related to " staff ")

stem and also on the leaf from the See also:

BASE

base of the leaf-stalk to the lid and peristome. Embedded in the incurved margin of the rim which affords a very insecure foothold to See also:

INSECTS

insects, are a number of large glands excreting a sweet juice. The cavity of the pitcher is in some species lined throughout with a smooth glistening surface over which glands are uniformly distributed; these glands secrete a liquid which is found in the pitcher even in the young See also:

state while it is still hermetically closed by the lid. In other species the glands are confined to the lower portion of the cavity surface, while the upper part bear a smooth waxy secretion on which it is impossible, or at any See also:

RATE

rate extremely difficult, for insects to secure a foothold.

This See also:

AREA

area is termed the " conducting " area, as distinguished from the lower or " detentive " gland-bearing area. It has been proved that the secretion contains a digestive ferment capable of rendering proteid See also:

MATTER

matter soluble. Insects, especially See also:

RUNNING

running insects, which have followed the track of honey glands upwards from the stem along the leaf, reach the mouth of the pitcher, and in their efforts to sip the attractive marginal glands fall over into the liquid. The smooth walls above the liquid afford no foot-hold, and they are drowned; their bodies are digested and the products of digestion are ultimately absorbed by the glands in the pitcher-See also:

wall. Thus Nepenthes secures a See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply of nitrogenous See also:

food from the See also:

animal See also:

WORLD

world in a manner somewhat similar to that adopted by the See also:

BRITISH

British See also:

SUNDEW

sundew, See also:

BUTTERWORT

butterwort, and other insectivorous plants. The See also:

side-See also:

SADDLE (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Sattel, Dut. zadel, also in Russ. siedlo and Lat. sella, for sedla; it is not derived directly from Lat. sedile, which means a chair, but all the words are to be referred to the root sad-, which gives

saddle plant, See also:

SARRACENIA

Sarracenia, native of the eastern See also:

UNITED

United States, is also known as a pitcher-plant. There are about seven species, herbs with clusters of See also:

RADICAL (Lat. radix, a root)

radical leaves some or all of which are more or less See also:

trumpet- or pitcher-shaped. The leaf has a broadly sheathing base succeeded by a short stalk bearing the pitcher, which represents a much enlarged midrib with a wing-like lamina. Above the rim of the pitcher is a broad flattened lid, which is also a laminar development. The surface of the leaf, especially the laminar wing, bears glands which in See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring exude large glistening drops of See also:

NECTAR

nectar. The lid and mouth of the pitcher are brighter coloured than the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the leaf, which Ir\ the right See also:

hand one cut open to show See also:

INTERNAL

internal structure. varies from yellow-green to deep crimson in different species and in individuals according to exposure to sunlight and other conditions. This forms the attractive area, and the inner surface of the lid also bears numerous glands, as well as downward-pointing hairs, each with a delicately striated surface (fig.

2, A). Below it is the conducting surface (B) of glassy epidermal cells, with short downward-directed points, which facilitate the descent, but impede the ascent of an See also:

INSECT

insect. Then come the glandular surface (C), which is formed of smooth polished epidermis with numerous glands that secrete the fluid contents of the pitcher, and finally the detentive surface (D), of which the cells are produced into See also:

long and strong bristles which point A A, See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

Ordinary leaf of Cephalotus. B, Monstrous leaf with See also:

SPOON (O. Eng. span, a chip or splinter of wood, cf. Du. spoon, Ger. Spahn, in same sense, probably related to Gr. r4 v, wedge)

spoon-shaped depression. C and D, Other abnormal forms more deeply pouched, showing formation of pitcher. E, Ordinary pitcher of Cephalotus. a, Apex of leaf. downwards and meet in the centre of the diminishing cavity so as to render See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape impossible. The secretion wets an insect very rapidly, but, so far as is known, seems to be completely destitute of digestive See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power—indeed, rather to accelerate decomposition. The pitchers accumulate vast quantities of insects in the course of a See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season, and must thus abundantly manure the surrounding soil when they See also:

die. Moreover, the- feast is largely shared by unbidden guests. Not to speak of I chemical See also:

composition this See also:

rock resembles the trachytes rather than the rhyolites.

In Eigg and See also:

SKYE

Skye there arc many dikes of See also:

PITCHSTONE (German Pechstein, from its resemblance to pitch)

pitchstone, mostly of intermediate rather than of See also:

ACID (from the Lat. root ac-, sharp; acere, to be sour)

acid See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character, all connected with the See also:

GREAT

great eruptive activity which characterized that region in See also:

early See also:

TERTIARY

Tertiary times. The following analyses give the chemical composition of a few well-known pitchstones: insects which feed upon the pitcher itself, some drop their eggs into the putrescent See also:

mass, where their larvae find abundant nourishment, while birds often slit open the pitchers with their beaks and devour the maggots in their turn. Cephalotus follicularis, a native of See also:

south-See also:

west Australia, , a small herbaceous plant, bears ordinary leaves See also:

close to the ground as well as pitchers. The latter somewhat resemble in See also:

general form those of Nepenthes. The lid is especially attractive to insects from its See also:

bright colour and honey secretion; three wings See also:

lead up to the mouth of the pitcher, on the inside of which a See also:

ROW, JOHN (c. 1525—1580)

row of See also:

sharp spines points downwards, and below this a circular ridge (r, fig. 3) armed with papillae serves as a conducting area. A number of glands on the interior of the pitcher secrete a plentiful fluid which has digestive properties. Comparison with monstrous forms shows that the pitcher of Cephalotus arises by a calceolate pouching from the upper surface of the ordinary spathulate leaves, the lid here arising from the proximal side of the pitcher-orifice.

End of Article: PITCHER PLANTS

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