California pitcher plant
California pitcher plant
Darlingtonia californica
Plantae
UNCOMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Perennial
Size
Medium
Diet
Insectivore
Biome
Freshwater wetland
Range
North America
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Uncommon

About

This carnivorous plant grows in cold, running mountain bogs of the Pacific coast. It lures insects into a hollow leaf chamber where they become trapped by downward hairs.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Ericales
Family
Sarraceniaceae
Genus
Darlingtonia
Species
Darlingtonia californica