Cephalotus ( or ; Greek: κεφαλή "head", and οὔς/ὠτός "ear", to describe the head of the anthers) a small carnivorous pitcher plant. The pit-fall traps of the modified leaves have inspired the common names for this plant, which also include Western Australian pitcher plant, Australian pitcher plant, or fly-catcher plant. It is an evergreen herb that is endemic to peaty swamps in the southwestern corner of Western Australia. As with the unrelated Nepenthes, it catches its victims with pitfall traps.
Description
Cephalotus follicularis is a small, low growing, herbaceous species. Evergreen leaves appear from underground rhizomes, are simple with an entire leaf blade, and lie close to the ground. The insectivorous leaves are small and have the appearance of booties or moccasins, forming the 'pitcher' of the common name. The pitchers develop a dark red colour in high light levels but stay green in shadier conditions. The foliage is a basal arrangement that is closely arranged with outward facing adapted leaf blades. These leaves give the main form of the species a height around 20 cm.
The 'pitcher' trap of the species is similar to other pitcher plants. The peristome at the entrance of the trap has a spiked arrangement that allows the prey to enter, but hinders its escape. The lid over the entrance, the operculum, prevents rainwater entering the pitcher and thus diluting the digestive enzymes inside. Insects trapped in this digestive fluid are consumed by the plant. The operculum has translucent cells which confuse its insect prey as they appear to be patches of sky.
The inflorescence consists of groupings of small, hermaphroditic, six-parted, regular flowers, which are creamy, or whitish.
In the cooler months of winter (down to about 5 degrees Celsius), they have a natural dormancy period of about 3–4 months, triggered by the temperature drop and reduced light levels.
Habit
The Australian pitcher plant is a wintergreen, long lasting, herbaceous plant, which grows autochthonous rosettes and grows up to a height of 10 centimetres.
thumbnail|Simple leaves
Leaves
The Australian pitcher plant grows two kinds of leaves with the change of seasons: simple flat leaves as well as strongly modified trap leaves. Occasionally, there are intermediate forms of leaves with only partially developed traps, lacking the front part.
Four very hairy ridges on the outside of the traps make it easier for crawling animals to reach the trap opening. The outer skin is completely covered with glands that secrete a liquid, presumably nectar.
The inwardly overhanging, thickened edge of the trap is surrounded by large, inward-pointing, claw-like teeth in between nectar glands. Immediately adjacent to this is an area of short, downward-facing papillae that make it difficult to climb back up. The rest of the inner wall of the cauldron is smooth, so that the prey slips into the trap and cannot climb out of it.
thumb|Plate 3119, [[Curtis's Botanical Magazine, details by Ferdinand Bauer]]
This represents the earliest documentary reference to this species; and although not entirely unambiguous as to the first collection, it is usually taken as evidence that the plant was discovered by Ferdinand Bauer and William Westall on 1 January 1802. Whether or not there was an earlier collection is largely immaterial, however, as all collections were incorporated into Brown's collection without attribution, so Brown is treated as the collector in botanical contexts.
Brown initially gave this species the manuscript name "'Cantharifera paludosa' KG III Sound", but this name was not published, and it would not be Brown who published the first description.
The following year, further specimens were collected by Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour, botanist to Nicolas Baudin's expedition. In 1806, Jacques Labillardière used these specimens as the basis of his publication of the species in Novae Hollandiae plantarum specimen. Labillardière did not attribute Leschenault as the collector, and it was long thought that Labillardière had collected the plant himself during his visit to the area in the 1790s; in particular, Brown wrongly acknowledged Labillardière as the discoverer of this plant.
Leschenault's specimen was a fruiting plant, but the fruit was in poor condition, and as a result Labillardière erroneously placed it in the family Rosaceae. This error was not corrected until better fruiting specimens were collected by William Baxter in the 1820s. These were examined by Brown, who concluded that the plant merited its own family, and accordingly erected Cephalotaceae. It has remained in this monogeneric family ever since.
Current placement
The Australian pitcher plant is an advanced rosid, and thus closer related to apples and oaks than to other pitcher plants like Nepenthaceae (basal core eudicots) and Sarraceniaceae (basal asterids). The placement of its monotypic family Cephalotaceae in the order Saxifragales has been abandoned. It is now placed within the order of Oxalidales where it is most closely related to Brunelliaceae, Cunoniaceae, and Elaeocarpaceae. The monotypic arrangement of the family and genus is indicative of a high degree of endemism, one of four such species of the region.
Ecology
thumbnail|Trap leaf
The plant occurs in southern coastal districts of the Southwest botanical province in Australia; it has been recorded in the Warren, southern Jarrah Forest, and Esperance Plains regions. Its habitat is on moist peaty sands found in swamps or along creeks and streams, but it is tolerant of less damp situations. Its population in the wild has been reduced by habitat destruction and overcollecting; it is therefore classified as vulnerable species (VU A2ac; C2a(i)) by the IUCN. or Western Australia's Wildlife Conservation Act 1950, which both list the species as Not Threatened.
The plants survive occasional bush fires in the undergrowth by sprouting again from the rhizome. However, the seeds are not pyrophytes.
Distribution and Endangerment
thumbnail|Australian pitcher plant [[in situ]]
The plant is endemic to the southwest of Australia, in the coastal area northeast of Albany in a zone of around between Augusta and Cape Riche. It is mainly found in cushions of sphagnum on consistently moist but well-drained, acidic peat soils over granite, in seeping areas, along riverbanks or under so-called tussocks, grasses that grow in clumps (z. B. from Restionaceae).
Cultivation
thumb|250px|right|Cephalotus follicularis: a young plant of about 2–3 years, grown in cultivation
Cephalotus are cultivated worldwide. In the wild, they prefer warm day-time temperatures of up to 25 degrees Celsius during the growing season, coupled with cool night-time temperatures. It is commonly grown in a mixture of sphagnum peat moss, perlite, and sand, a reasonable humidity (60–80%) is also preferred. It is successfully propagated from root and leaf cuttings, usually non-carnivorous leaves although pitchers can also be used. A dormancy period is probably crucial to long-term health of the plant.
The plants become colourful and grow vigorously when kept in direct sunlight, while plants cultivated in bright shade remain green.
Living plants were delivered to Kew Gardens by Phillip Parker King in 1823. A specimen flowered in 1827 and provided one source for an illustration in Curtis's Botanical Magazine.
This plant is a recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
thumb|Inflorescence of Cephalotus follicularis in cultivation.
thumb|upright|Cephalotus follicularis 'Eden Black', a cultivar selected for its unusually dark-coloured pitchers.
There are several dozen Cephalotus clones that exist in cultivation; nine have been officially registered as cultivars. One of the most well-known is 'Eden Black', a cultivar with unusually dark-coloured pitchers.
Genomics
The genome of the pitcher plant Cephalotus follicularis has been sequenced.
Botanical History
The Australian pitcher plant was possibly already discovered in 1791 on the expedition by the botanist Archibald Menzies. The plant was first described in 1806 by Jacques Julien Houtton de La Billardière. In 1800 Robert Brown had already observed the species while catching insects. Since 1823 specimens of the plant have been cultivated in the botanic garden Kew Gardens. In 1829 Dumortier categorised the species in its own monotypic family, which is still valid today.
Due to the form of the anther La Billardière uses the Greek term kefalotus ("to have a head") for the genus. Follicularis derives from follicus, meaning "small sack", and refers to the form of the jars. The Australian pitcher plant is also called Albany Pitcher Plant or Western Australian Pitcher Plant.