Unusual Flower ID Help Please I've attached the picture - anyone know what it is and where it grows ?
Hi, It looks like the flowers of a species of Sarracenia, or pitcher plant, possibly Sarracenia flava, native to the southeastern US.
This is a note that I received from someone in the know..... --------------------------------- Yes, it’s a carnivore, and it’s sometimes called pitcher plant. But, this one is Darlingtonia Californica. The genus Darlingtonia contains only one species, Darlingtonia californica, which is commonly known as the Cobra lily. You can see why. It grows in the mountains of California and Oregon, where chill water runs over serpentine outcrops. Unlike many swamp plants, this one only grows in constantly running chill water. This carnivorous plant lures it’s insect prey with a sweet nectar which is inside the leaf opening under it's hood. I often see this when backpacking in the Siskiyous. I’ve always thought the spore must have come from off world somewhere. http://xs33.xs.to/pics/05240/darlingtonia.jpg
Also grows on the coast, as at the Darlingtonia Wayside. It being a flowering plant, there are no spores involved.
Definitely Darlingtonia californica - native to the Pacific northwest (n. California and Oregon). The UBC botanical garden used to have a small stand of it for display...I still have photos of it whilst I was a student there decades ago.
I visited the Darlingtonia Wayside on my recent vacation - but a couple months too early to see the plants in flower. The garden no longer has this plant in its collection, but it might be something we could reconsider if / when plans to expand the native garden to encompass BC to northern Calif ever develop.
Wow! I didn't know we had any carnivores that "showy" up as far north as this one apparently goes. It looks like it's trying to resemble either decayed flesh or perhaps another insect with that mottling. Surely it's "intentional", whatever the case may be. Anybody know what the theory is on that? Btw.While looking around for an answer, I found the link supplied below. When you read the comments on it (and another pic in the series) I see mention of a "Cobra plant colony", but this photo shows nothing that resembles the plant being referred to as a "Cobra Lily" above. I wonder if there isn't some confusion between the author of the website and/or the photographer over what's being described in the photo? With both a "Cobra Lily" and Drosera both apparently being carnivores, I'd think it all being mere coincidence to be a little much to expect. Or does someone see both in the picture? http://www.honda-e.com/IPW_6_PhotoGallery/03_Drosera/Ph3_035.htm
