This plant grows two or three feet high, and, at the end of each one of its broad dark green leaves, there is a strong tendril that holds up a cup of the same substance as the leaves. During the night the dew on the plant fills the cup with pure, clear, sweet water, which slowly evaporates during the day. You can easily imagine how glad the thirsty traveler is to find these cups of fresh water, all filled ready for his drinking.
The name of this plant is Nepenthes, but we generally call it the Pitcher Plant.
In other parts of the earth there are great marshy forests, where the pools of water are stagnant and impure; and, if people drink from them, they are made sick. A man might wander through these woods for days, and not find a drop of pure, wholesome water, were it not for the Sarracenia, or Amphora-plant.
In this the leaves are the cups. They have narrow necks, and flaring tips, from which it is easy to drink the clear water contained in the wonderful leaves. The full grown leaves of the larger species hold a pint of water.
THE SARRACENIA.
We have this same plant, on a much smaller scale, in our own marshes. It grows in damp, shaded places, and I advise you to look for it in your summer rambles, for it is a very singular plant. The leaves of our Sarracenia are so small they will scarcely hold a gill of water. But we have plenty of cool springs, and limpid brooks in our country, and do not need the large cups of water the Amphora-plant offers to its visitors in South America.
THE WEEPING TREE.
The common name of our Sarracenia is Pitcher-plant; but, as you can see by comparing the two, it is very unlike the Pitcher-plant of the Eastern deserts.