The purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa, is a carnivorous plant forming low, fat pitchers (traps) often with red veining and flushing on ruffled lids which trap insects for its food. The pitchers remain erect allowing in rain water that mixes with its digestive enzymes. In spring, two inch wide purple-red flowers, resembling flying saucers, rise up atop leafless stalks with new pitchers following. Plants need an acidic, humusy medium that is constantly damp but not watery. Soils must never dry out, but plant crowns should not sit in water. Use a mixture of 50% peat and 50% perlite, vermiculite, or coarse sand. Plants need cold temperatures for winter dormancy. Plant in bogs, wet places or in pots that are set in water. May be hardier than zone 6 though this form hails from Georgia and the Carolinas. Photo credit Wikimedia