On a recent visit to the area, we stopped in at this tiny state park to see the curious, bug eating plants. They grow in a boggy area just east of the coastline. A short boardwalk in the wayside lets you stroll right through the bog to get a closer look.
We hit the spot at a good time of year because we saw old plants, new plants, and the flowers. It looked as though we were at the end of the bloom, but we did manage to capture a few good pictures. The flowers are fairly odd as well, resembling the kind of plastic table ornament you might see in a seedy diner. The hapless insects that crawl inside the opening on the underside of the top are fooled into making their way down the tube. They quickly become trapped by down-facing hairs and then drown in liquid at the bottom of the tube. Buurrrp!
The pitcher plant family (Sarraceniaceae) is not large and they all digest insects to supplement their nutritional intake. Because these plants live in poor quality, boggy soil, the insects are necessary to gain all the nutrients they need, including nitrogen. Botanists are perplexed about how the plants reproduce as they have not discovered a pollination means. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking something alien, as in the movie!
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| Note Flower in Center of Photos |
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| A younger plant surfaces in the grass. |
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| Note the "wings" on the left plant. These may help trick the insects into entering. |
It's a fascinating adaptation and worth taking a look at if you are in the Florence area. There is another colony of Darlingtonia west of Grants Pass on Eight Dollar Mountain at the Deer Creek Center. I have not visited this location yet, so if you happen to go there, let me know what you saw!
And just in case you were wondering, the Darlingtonia is not related to the well known Venus Fly Trap!
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