Whitetop Pitcherplant
Sarracenia leucophylla
Found in wet pine savannas, seepage bogs. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 1–3 feet
- Spread
- 1–3 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- March to April
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 13 Florida counties.
Habitats
Pine savannas; Coastal Plain seepage bogs.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 175 animals.
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- Black-bellied Whistling-DuckDendrocygna autumnalis
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
Who uses this plant?
6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Sarracenia
- Endothenia hebesanaVerbena Bud Moth
- Exyra ridingsiiRiding's Pitcherplant Looper Moth
- Exyra semicroceaPale Shoulder Pitcherplant Looper Moth
- Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
- Papaipema appassionataPitcher-Plant Borer Moth
- Basicladus tracyi
4BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Sarracenia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Sarraceniaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Red
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Early March to late April” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G3 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























