By GLENN GARNETT
We were wandering up a hilly trail by the banks of the Smith River in northern California, hunting for a trained killer. We soon found it, lurking in the ferns, looking every bit as attractive as it was deadly…to insects.
We’d come to take pictures of a Darlingtonia californica, better known as the Cobra lily and found in the highlands of the Golden State and Oregon in cooler air. While not an endangered plant, Darlingtonia isn’t common and is threatened by logging, development and amateur gardeners who dig up the neat-looking plants for their backyards.
Because it’s a tricky plant to cultivate and thrives in chilly environments, the Darlingtonia is a poor candidate for transplantation. Even expert growers can be stumped by it and though it’s a well-known plant, nobody is quite sure how it gets pollinated. Some speculate it could be spider-pollinated, which would be poetic: Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly…
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The Darlingtonia, like the pitcher plant in Canada, is a carnivorous plant - it captures prey and digests its carcass. Its estimated there are over 600 species of carnivorous plants (CPs) in the world, found on every continent except Antarctica, with new species being discovered all the time. They’re usually found in bogs and peaty areas, though some thrive in arid regions like the Australian outback. Because they grow in soil with poor nutrients, they depend on bugs for dinner and over a few million years have developed into sophisticated hunters.
CPs are generally broken down as active or passive traps. The best-known active trap is the venus flytrap, which reacts with lightning speed when a bug lands inside of it. Its trigger hairs sense the guest then - bam! - welcome to the Hotel California. And while bugs are their prime source of food, some of the bigger CPs will occasionally digest frogs and rats!
Meanwhile, the Darlingtonia and pitcher plants are considered passive - a "pitfall" trap. An insect is lured inside by its nectar and deceived by the light shining through its translucent dome. Once caught, it’s likely to fall down a slippery tunnel to an area where downward-facing hairs prevent escape and enzymes begin its gruesome end. No moving parts, but the result is the same.
There are also plants that trap tiny bugs on their sticky leaves, allowing bigger bugs to swoop in and gobble them up. These plants benefit from the bugs’ excretions and don’t actually consume the bugs themselves.
The pitcher plant in Canada (Sarracenia purpurea) is familiar as the provincial flower of Newfoundland, selected in 1860 as a symbol to appear on their pennies. The plant goes by many names, including Turkish Red, but pitcher is most appropriate. The folded leaves give it the appearance of a pitcher and, half-filled with water, creates a pool for lured bugs to drown in once inside.
During normal conditions, the hollow tube of the pitcher plant will contain a liquid which Collectors of CPs particularly prize the Darlingtonia and it’s easy top see why. Huge pitchers can grow as big as 60 cms which looks spectacular in a garden. It gets its alias, Cobra Lily, from its rounded head and the two projections coming from the mouth that resemble fangs.
Successful cultivation of CPs is a tall order. Most species are very fussy about soil conditions - peat and sand are a must and fertilizer a definite no-no. In its element it’s intolerant of high temperatures and requires cool running water permeating the ground.
Better to come visit them in their natural habitat and ponder their evolution as nature’s quietest hunter.
