Plantapurpurea cordata

The pitcher is not shaped like a pitcher at all, but instead looks something like a giant purple baseball mitt. It was named by an ex-Marine with little knowledge of botanical nomenclature. This plant has a unique and rare lifestyle on Pandora in that it grows almost entirely underground where it is a parasite on the roots of other plants. These unseen parts tap into the water and nutrient reserves and absorb carbohydrates from the host plant. (Read more)

The pitcher is a flowering plant, however, and needs a means of pollinating the flowers in order to produce seeds and insure its own survival. The large mitt-shaped purple leaf emerges from the soil once the hidden plant is mature, and it serves as a sentinel that “tests” the environment for suitability. If it survives to fully expanded size, the plant produces a flowering stalk next, which is a rare sight. The giant purplish-black flowers smell like rotting flesh and are pollinated by flies and carrion eating beetles.

The large leaves are useful as a leather substitute and human colonists on Pandora have developed a crude baseball mitt from them. However, the Na’vi are careful not to overharvest the leaves, which would prevent flowering and drive the species to local extinction.

Quick Facts

Common NamePitcher
Na’vi NameA'o
TaxonomyPlantapurpurea cordata. Root name means “purple heart shaped plant.”
Botanical DescriptionSingle large purple leaf resembling a baseball mitt grows from the soil. Remainder of the plant grows entirely underground and is parasitic on the roots of other plants.
EcologyThe leaf of the pitcher is a sentinel leaf whose survival signals the plant that the environment is suitable for flowering, which occurs soon after the leaf expands.
EthnobotanyHuman colonists collect leaves to use as baseball mitts but have learned from Na’vi to harvest them only when they occur in groups so that the species is not driven to extinction.

Plantapurpurea cordata

subject index

Quick Facts