Sarracenia purpurea subsp. purpurea f. heterophylla is a rare antho-free version of the hardiest Sarracenia. It can survive winters to -50C and is therefore best grown as an outdoor plant.

Sarracenia purpurea is distributed on the Eastern seaboard, the Great Lakes region,  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. 

It is endangered or vulnerable over much of the southern part of its range.

It is an introduced and naturalized species in Europe and the northwestern US, so far it doesn't show signs of invasiveness.

The traps of S. purpurea last much longer than traps of most other sarracenias. In their first year they digest prey solely by the digestive enzymes they produce. In their second year, digestion of prey material is aided by the community of bacteria that develop within the pitchers. Actually a whole community develops there. There's protists, rotifers, even a moth and a midge that squat in the pitchers as commensals. In its native habitat S. purpurea also traps juvenile spotted salamanders. However, it is not known if the plant is able to digest them.

The species is divided into two subspecies, S. purpurea subsp. purpurea North of New Jersey and S. purpurea subsp. venosa South of New Jersey. Disjunct populations of venosa found along the Gulf Coast and formerly described as Sarracenia purpurea subsp. venosa var. burkii were described as a species of its own in 1999 - Sarracenia rosea.