Sarracenia purpurea, commonly known as the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae
Its range includes the Eastern seaboard, the Great Lakes region, all of Canada (except Nunavut and Yukon), Washington state, and Alaska. That makes it the most common and broadly distributed pitcher plant, as well as the only member of the genus that inhabits cold temperate climates. The species is the floral emblem of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most species along the Gulf Coast of the United States that were once identified as Sarracenia purpurea have since been reclassified as Sarracenia rosea.
It is an introduced and naturalized species in Europe and northern California. It is found in habitats of the native carnivorous species Darlingtonia californica, in the Klamath Mountains and northern Sierra Nevada. The plant has been recorded in western Europe and Sweden. In Britain and Ireland purple pitcher plant have invaded heather-rich peatbogs in Britain and Ireland and with the mild climate can grow in large numbers at the expense of local flora. Peatbogs are also under threat as the Sphagnum mosses do not grow near the pitcher plant.
Sarracenia purpurea was used as a medicinal plant by Native American and First Nation tribes in its northeastern and Great Lakes distribution ranges, including the Algonquin, Cree, Iroquois, Mi'kmaq (Micmac) peoples, primarily for use in treating smallpox by means of a root infusion. A 2012 study suggests Sarracenia purpurea is effective as a treatment for viruses in the Orthopoxvirus family, including the smallpox virus, through inhibition of early virus transcription.
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