arnivorous Pitcher Plants
Darlingtonia Californica, more commonly known as the "cobra lily" or
"California pitcher plant" are insectivorous plants. They grow wild in bogs.
"No ogre in his castle has has ever gone to work more deliberately or fiendishly to entrap
his victims while offering them hospitality, than does this plant-ogre. Attracted to the
bizarre yellowish hoods or the tall nodding flowers, the foolish insect alights upon the
tube and commences his exploration of the fascinating region. He soon comes upon the
wing, which often being smeared with a trail of sweets, acts as a guide to lure him on to
the dangerous entrance to the hoodlike dome. Once within this hall of pleasure, he roams
about, enjoying the hospitality spread for him. But at last, when he has partaken to satiety
and would fain depart, he turns to retrace his steps. In the dazzlement of the translucent
windows of the dome above, he loses sight of the darkened door in the floor by which he
entered and flies forcibly upward, bumping his head in his eagerness to escape. He is
stunned by the blow and plunges downward into the tube below. Here he struggles to rise,
but countless downward-pointing, bristly hairs urge him to his fate. He sinks lower and
lower in this "well of death" until he reaches the fatal waters in the bottom, where at length
he is engulfed, adding one more to the already numerous victims of this diabolical plant."
(Previous paragraph is from: The Wild Flowers of California by Mary Elizabeth Parsons,
original © 1897 by William Doxey; © January 5th 1925 by Mary Elizabeth Parsons;
Reprinted 1930 Revised and Corrected. For complete exerpt see first link below.)
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(photo © 1991 Barbara Logan)
California pitcher plants, ranging in heighth from 18 to 34 inches tall, at milepost
185.2 on Highway 101, 1 October 1991. This 18 acre area near Florence, Oregon
is named the "Darlingtonia Botanical Wayside."
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(photo © 1991 Barbara Logan)
A close-up view of Darlingtonia.
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(photo © 1991 Barbara Logan)
Information sign at the "Darlingtonia Botanical Wayside."
Wild Flowers of California - Darlingtonia
Carnivorous plants database - Darlingtonia
Green and Mean Carnivores - Darlingtonia
Florence, Oregon - Darlingtonia Botanical Wayside
(NEW! My pic of Darlingtonia on their page!)
Oregon Online Highways - Darlingtonia Botanical Wayside
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