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Darlingtonia californica also called the California pitcher plant, cobra lily, or cobra plant, is a species of carnivorous plant. As a pitcher plant it is the sole member of the genus Darlingtonia in the family Sarraceniaceae. It is native to Northern California and Oregon growing in bogs and seeps with cold running water. This plant is designated as uncommon due to its rarity in the field.

The name "cobra lily" stems from the resemblance of its tubular leaves to a rearing cobra, complete with a forked leaf - ranging from yellow to purplish-green - that resemble fangs or a serpent's tongue.

The plant was discovered in 1841 by the botanist William D. Brackenridge at Mount Shasta. In 1853 it was described by John Torrey, who named the genus Darlingtonia after the Philadelphian botanist William Darlington (1782-1863).

In cultivation in the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

The cobra plant is not just restricted to nutrient-poor acidic bogs and seepage slopes, but many colonies actually thrive in ultramafic soils, which are in fact basic soils, within its range. In common with most carnivorous plants, the cobra lily is adapted to supplementing its nitrogen requirements through carnivory, which helps to compensate for the lack of available nitrogen in such habitats.

Root system

Because many carnivorous species live in hostile environments, their root systems are commonly as highly modified as their leaves. Darlingtonia californica is no exception. The cobra lily is able to survive fire by regenerating from its roots, but despite this important role the roots are very delicate organs. While the temperatures in much of the species's range can exceed 25 °C, their roots die back after exposure to temperatures not much higher than 10 °C. Temperature plays a large part in the functioning of all plants, but it is very rare for individual organs to have such different temperature tolerances. The physiological mechanisms and evolutionary benefits of this discrepancy are not fully understood.

Pitcher mechanisms

The cobra lily is unique among the three genera of American pitcher plants. It does not trap rainwater in its pitcher. Instead, it regulates the level of water inside physiologically by releasing or absorbing water into the trap that has been pumped up from the roots. It was once believed that this variety of pitcher plant did not produce any digestive enzymes and relied on symbiotic bacteria and protozoa to break down the captured insects into easily absorbed nutrients. Recent studies have indicated that Darlingtonia secretes at least one proteolytic enzyme that digests captured prey. The cells that absorb nutrients from the inside of the pitcher are the same as those on the roots that absorb soil nutrients. The efficiency of the plant's trapping ability is attested to by its leaves and pitchers, which are, more often than not, full of insects and their remains.

In addition to the use of lubricating secretions and downward-pointing hairs common to all North American pitcher plants to force their prey into the trap, this species carefully hides the tiny exit hole from trapped insects by curling it underneath and offering multiple translucent false exits. Upon trying many times to leave via the false exits, the insect will tire and fall down into the trap. The slippery walls and hairs prevent the trapped prey from escaping. The only other species that utilizes this technique is the parrot pitcher plant, Sarracenia psittacina. The hooded pitcher plant, Sarracenia minor, utilizes a similar trapping technique, with the only difference being the exit hole of the pitcher is not curled underneath as the cobra's is, but rather a leaf is folded over close to the top of entrance. A misconception about Darlingtonia is that its forked tongue is assumed to be an adaption to trap insects, However a study done by American Journal of Botany found out that when you remove the tongue the prey biomass remains unchanged.

Pollination

A remaining mystery surrounding the cobra lily is its means of pollination. Its flower is unusually shaped and complex, typically a sign of a close pollinator-plant specialization. The flower is yellowish purple in color and grows on a stalk with a similar length to the stalk. It has five sepals, green in color, which are longer than the red-veined petals. It is generally expected that the pollinator is either a fly or bee attracted to the flower's unpleasant smell or some nocturnal insect.

A new study suggests that it may be melittophilous after observing a miner bee miner bee species (Andrena nigrihirta). Pollinating by hand yielded poor results, therefore, melittophilous seems likely considering the complexity of the fruit. According to the study, "Observations of A. nigrihirta on flowers revealed that the shape and orientation of D. californica's ovary and petals promote stigma contact both when pollinators enter and exit a flower, contrary to previous thought. Our findings provide evidence that D. californica is melittophilous". Furthermore, Darlingtonia was pollen limited in all five plants observed. However, in the case of male absence, Darlingtonia was still able to reproduce suggesting that self pollination may play a role as well. It seems likely that both occur and only bolsters the reputation of heartiness in the wild.

Infraspecific taxa

Two infraspecific taxa are recognized:

Cultivation

Darlingtonia californica can be one of the most difficult carnivorous plants to keep in cultivation, as they require exacting environmental conditions. They prefer cool to warm day-time temperatures and cold or cool night-time temperatures. Cobra lilies typically grow in bogs or streambanks that are fed by cold mountain water, and grow best when the roots are kept cooler than the rest of the plant. It is best to mimic these conditions in cultivation, and water the plants with cold, purified water. On hot days, it helps to place ice cubes of purified water on the soil surface. They prefer sunny conditions if in a humid, warm location, and prefer part-shade if humidity is low or fluctuates often. Plants can adapt to low humidity conditions, but optimum growth occurs under reasonable humidity.

Growing cobra lilies from seed is extremely slow and cobra seedlings are difficult to maintain, so these plants are best propagated from the long stolons they grow in late winter and spring. When a minute cobra plant is visible at the end of the stolon (usually in mid to late spring), the whole stolon may be cut into sections a few inches long, each with a few roots attached. Lay these upon cool, moist, shredded long-fibered sphagnum moss and place in a humid location with bright light. In many weeks, cobra plants will protrude from each section of stolon.

Like many other carnivorous plants of temperate regions, cobra lilies require a cold winter dormancy in order to live long-term. Plants die down to their rhizomes in frigid winters and will maintain their leaves in cool winters during their dormancy period. This period lasts from 3 to 5 months during the year, and all growth stops. As spring approaches, mature plants may send up a single, nodding flower, and a few weeks later the plant will send up a few large pitchers. The plant will continue to produce pitchers throughout the summer, however much smaller than the early spring pitchers.

Many carnivorous plant enthusiasts have succeeded in cultivating these plants, and have developed or discovered three color morphs: all green, all red, and red-green bicolor.

Wild-type plants are all green in moderate light and bicolor in intense sunlight.

In Spanish: Darlingtonia californica para niños

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Picture a world where hunters don't stalk or soar but stay rooted in place. This isn't sci-fi-it's happening right now in the wetlands of the Carolinas. Meet the Venus flytrap, a plant that defies expectations by capturing prey in a way that leaves us baffled and fascinated.

Curious about these incredible plants? Here are 16 surprising facts about Venus flytraps that will change the way you think about nature's hunters.

1. Eats bugs like flies, spiders & beetles

Venus flytraps get their nutrients by chomping down on crawling insects that wander into their territory. Any bug is fair game, whether it's a fly, mosquito, spider, beetle, or other small insect. They especially love munching on bugs like houseflies.

The only bug they don't eat is the bee, since bees help pollinate them.

2. Have trigger hairs that cause the lobes to close

The plants don't just clamp shut spontaneously. They actually have tiny sensitive hairs on their lobes that trigger the trap to close. The trap will only snap shut when these hairs are touched multiple times within about 20 seconds.

This stimulates the electrical and chemical processes that cause the lobes to slam shut. This mechanism helps ensure the trap only closes on actual prey and conserves energy.

3. Produce elegant white flowers

In springtime, Venus flytraps send up shoots that bloom beautiful white flowers with light green veining. So when they are not catching and eating bugs, these carnivorous plants are producing delicate flowers. The flowers attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.

4. Can live for 20 years or more

Venus flytraps are perennial plants that live for many years. In fact, they can thrive for 20 years or longer in the wild. Each season, a Venus flytrap will sprout new leaf traps from its underground stems and roots.

Older traps naturally die off and fall away as new ones take their place.

5. Only consume live, moving prey

They are smart enough to only waste energy digesting living, moving prey. If their traps happen to snap shut on a non-living object like a falling leaf or twig, the plant will reopen after about 10 days after failing to detect movement from the object inside.

This helps ensure the trap only digests active, nourishing prey.

6. Attract prey with bright colors & sweet nectar

How do they lure in unsuspecting victims? Their deep red interiors serve as eye-catching bait, attracting insects looking for nectar.

The plant also secretes a sweet nectar along the inner edges of the trap which tempts prey further inside. Once inside, escape is difficult for an insect.

7. Digestion takes 10-14 days as enzymes dissolve the prey

Once the plant has closed around its prey, the digestion process is slow but effective. Glands in the trap secrete enzymes that slowly dissolve and digest the soft tissues of the insect into usable nutrients over the course of approximately 10-14 days.

8. Can survive on photosynthesis alone

Here's a surprise: Venus flytraps can actually get all the nutrients they need to survive through photosynthesis alone. However, catching and digesting bugs provides additional beneficial nutrients that help Venus flytraps thrive better than photosynthesis alone would in nutrient-poor soil.

9. The plants pose no risk to humans or pets

Should you be scared of putting your finger near a Venus flytrap's mouth? Absolutely not! Their traps are designed to snap lightly on teeny tiny insects, so human skin barely activates the trigger hairs.

If you did trigger the trap, you would only feel a soft, light squeeze with no harm done.

10. Named after the Roman goddess of love & beauty

The exotic name "Venus flytrap" has origins in ancient Roman mythology. Venus was the goddess of love and beauty who attracted lovers before entrapping them.

Like their namesake, the plants lure in insects with beauty and sweetness before snapping their traps shut tight.

11. Native only to North & South Carolina

Wild Venus flytraps are endemic only to North and South Carolina in the United States. You won't find Venus flytraps naturally occurring anywhere else in the world!

Unfortunately, loss of habitat and poaching have caused Venus flytrap populations to dwindle, making them an endangered species.

12. Evolved for Nutrient-Poor Environments

In the boggy, nutrient-deficient soils of their native habitats, they have turned to carnivory to survive. They've evolved this remarkable insect-eating habit to supplement the lack of vital nutrients like nitrogen, which most plants absorb from the soil.

13. Intelligent Energy Conservation

The plant exhibits an extraordinary level of selectivity when it comes to its meals. It discerns between potential food and false alarms through a complex signaling system, ensuring that energy is only expended on digesting worthy, nutrient-rich prey.

14. Dual Modes of Reproduction

These remarkable plants don't just capture prey; they also capture the opportunity to spread their genetic legacy. They reproduce by flowering and setting seed or by vegetative cloning, where new plants grow from the parent's rhizomes, creating exact genetic replicas.

15. Thriving with Fire

Fire plays a surprising role in the life of a Venus flytrap. Periodic fires clear out competing plants and release nutrients, helping to refresh their habitat-a testament to their resilience and deep connection to the fire-dependent ecology of their environment.

16. Endangered Yet Protected

These plants are an endangered species as of 2016, with poaching and habitat loss posing significant threats. Conservation efforts are in full swing, from enforcing anti-poaching laws to initiating habitat restoration projects, all aiming to safeguard the future of these captivating plants.

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16 Things About Venus Flytraps Most People Don't Know

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Picture a world where hunters don't stalk or soar but stay rooted in place. This isn't sci-fi-it's happening right now in the wetlands of the Carolinas. Meet

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Rafflesia is a genus of flowering plants. They are found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand and the Philippines. They are the biggest single flowers in the world. In one species the flowers can be over a meter (three feet) across.

The flowers smell like a dead animal, which attracts flies. The flies, which normally lay their eggs on rotten flesh, pollinate the Rafflesia when they get inside.

Rafflesia is a parasite, and does not use chlorophyll. The plant has no stem, leaves or true roots. It lives inside vines of the genus Tetrastigma ( Vitaceae). It spreads its absorptive organ, the haustorium, inside the tissue of the vine. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the flower.

Species of Rafflesia are all thought to be holoparasites of lianas of the genus Tetrastigma, vines which belong to the Vitaceae, the family of the grape vines. They are thus, in a way, hyperparasites, because Tetrastigma are themselves, in a way, structural parasites of the trees they use to climb up to the light. Rafflesia appear to be species-specific, with each Rafflesia species naturally only growing on one to three species of Tetrastigma. Of the 57 known species of Tetrastigma, only ten are known to be host plants. Of the 30 odd species of Rafflesia, the host plants are only known from about half of the species. A certain species of Tetrastigma is very popular among Rafflesia: T. tuberculatum is a host plant for at least 15 species, and only two Philippine species are not known to infect it. T. papillosum and T. diepenhorstii both host at least two species. The flowers may bud from different locations; R. cantleyi flowers from the vine some two meters from the ground, whereas R. zollingeriana always buds out of the roots and appears out of the ground.

The gender ratio may be skewed. In R. lobata there are approximately nine male flowers for every female flower. Rarely are there flowers of both sexes at one location to ensure pollination and thus sexual reproduction. This may not matter: female flowers usually form fruit anyway and may thus be agamospermous. Flowering is relatively constant, and sites may continue to flower for decades.

In Rafflesia arnoldii the flowers are visited by the flies Drosophila colorata, Chrysomya megacephala and Sarcophaga haemorrhoidalis. Black ants of the genus Euprenolepis may feed on the developing flower buds, perhaps killing them. Mammals which are known to eat the flowers are the Javan treeshrew Tupaia javanica and the porcupine Hystrix javanica. Mammals which have been recorded destroying the buds or flowers, often simply by stepping on and crushing them, are: pigs (), wild cats (Felis bengalensis), rusa (Cervus timorensis), muntjak ( Muntiacus muntjak) and banteng (Bos javanicus).

In Thailand the buds and flowers of R. kerrii are considered a delicacy. They are also harvested for herbalism, a concoction is believed to help for fever or backache. In the Philippines the plants are also used in folk herbalism, but the flowers are also fed to swine as fodder. On Java the buds of R. zollingeriana are harvested and dried for use in jamu, the ancient traditional herbalism of the island.

These plants also have some economic use in attracting ecotourists.

Research in Malaysia and Indonesia has made it possible to propagate the species for use in horticulture, with the famous Bogor Botanical Garden growing the first plants in the 1850s using grafts of infected vines. The Malaysian biologist Jamili Nais was the first to propagate the plants using the seeds around the year 2000.

Images for kids

Replica Rafflesia displayed in Philippine National Museum

Rafflesia keithii bloom, approximately 80 cm in diameter near Taman Nasional Rafflesia Bengkulu, Indonesia

Rafflesia kerrii flower near Langkat, Indonesia

Three Rafflesia pricei growing in close proximity near Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

In Spanish: Rafflesia para niños

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New York State Parks and Historic Sites Blog

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What's black and white and spooky all over? The ghost plant! More commonly known as Indian pipe ( Monotropa uniflora) since it is said to resemble a Native American peace pipe, it is also known as corpse plant, death plant, and ghost flower. This unusual looking plant is often mistaken as a fungus because it is mostly white and doesn't have any chlorophyll... but it is really a flowering plant and is actually part of the same Family (Ericaceae) that includes blueberries, cranberries, azaleas, and Rhododendrons. Weird, right?

You'll often find Indian pipes in dark and spooooky environments. Since it doesn't have any chlorophyll it doesn't need light to photosynthesize its own food. Instead, the food source for this plant is a lot more sinister, for it is actually a parasite! Specifically, Indian pipes are parasitic on mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. Mycorrhizal fungi have a symbiotic relationship with trees (epiparasitism), meaning both the fungi and trees both benefit from each other. The tree gathers sunlight and use it to turn water and carbon dioxide into sugars and other carbohydrates. The fungi harvest minerals in the soil. The tree and fungi then exchange these resources in a process that resembles a harmonious story of cooperation and mutual benefit. It is then exploited by the Indian pipe.

What happens is the tree obtains its energy (sugars and other carbohydrates) from photosynthesis and the fungus obtain some of those sugars directly from the tree roots. So how does the Indian pipe get its energy from the fungus? Some menacing tom-foolery, that's how! The Indian pipe actually tricks the fungus into thinking it is forming a mycorrhizal relationship, but in fact the Indian pipe is parasitizing the fungus! The Indian pipe essentially gets a free ride and doesn't have to produce its own energy or absorb its own minerals. Typically, when a parasite exploit a host the host fights back, but for some reason the fungus and tree goes along with the Indian pipe's menacing ploy.

After months, and sometimes years, of gathering its nutrients from the fungus into its root system, the Indian pipe, almost rather suddenly, develops above ground. White stalks and then flowers are produced, which are then pollinated by insects. Once pollinated the Indian pipe releases tens of thousands of extremely tiny seeds, which hardly have the food storage capacity to start a new plant. Those seeds are dispersed long distances by wind and settles to the ground. Once there, the seeds actually don't start growing right away. In fact, the seeds chemically mimic a tree's root systems and wait for certain types of mycorrhizal fungus to come along. The fungus then attaches to the seed as it would to a tree, but then is forced into providing nutrients the tiny seeds needs to grow! So essentially, from seedling to growth to pollination to seed dispersal, the Indian pipe does almost absolutely nothing itself!

Due to its fascinating nature, the Indian pipe has been immortalized by many poets and storytellers in their works, including Emily Dickinson, whose favorite flower was the Indian pipe. She drafted the poem "'Tis whiter than an Indian Pipe-" in 1879:

Tis whiter than an Indian Pipe -
'Tis dimmer than a Lace -
No stature has it, like a Fog
When you approach the place -
Not any voice imply it here -
Or intimate it there -
A spirit - how doth it accost -
What function hath the Air?
This limitless Hyperbole
Each one of us shall be -
'Tis Drama - if Hypothesis
It be not Tragedy -

Post by Matt Brincka, State Parks

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The Ghost Plant: A Closer Look At The Spookiest Plant In The Forest

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What's black and white and spooky all over? The ghost plant! More commonly known as Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora) since it is said to resemble a Native American peace pipe, it is also known as corpse plant, death plant, and ghost flower. This unusual looking plant is often mistaken as a fungus because it is...

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The leafless plant rafflesia ( Rafflesia arnoldii) of Malaysia is also known as the monster flower. Its fleshy flower is the largest known flower in the world, often growing to about 3 feet (1 meter) across and weighing as much as 24 pounds (11 kilograms). The flower is the only structure of the plant that appears above ground. It exudes an odor similar to that of decaying flesh that attracts carrion flies, the flower's pollinizing agents. The plant is parasitic on grapevine roots.

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The leafless plant rafflesia (Rafflesia arnoldii) of Malaysia is also known as the monster flower. Its fleshy flower is the largest known flower in the world, often growing...

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The titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum, or corpse flower is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world.

The titan arum's inflorescence is not as large as that of the talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, but the inflorescence of the talipot palm is branched rather than unbranched.

Due to its odor, which is like the smell of a decomposing animal, the titan arum is called a ' carrion flower', or 'corpse flower', or 'corpse plant'. For the same reason, the name 'corpse flower' is also used for the genus which, like the titan arum, grows in the rainforests of Sumatra. The function of the smell is to attract insect pollinators.

Both male and female flowers grow in the same inflorescence. The female flowers open first, and only lasts (or is "receptive") about 12 to 24 hours. Then a day or two following, the male flowers open. This usually prevents the flower from self-pollinating.

The popular name "titan arum" was invented by the broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough for his BBC series The Private Life of Plants, in which the flowering and pollination of the plant were filmed for the first time. Attenborough felt that calling the plant Amorphophallus on a popular TV documentary would be inappropriate.

The record size is 3.1 m (10 ft 2.25 in) tall.

Images for kids

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Ranunculaceae (crowfoots, buttercups)

A single-stemmed herbaceous perennial. Flowers many, tiny, in a tight, oblong or rounded inflorescence on a long stem. The sepals and petals fall off as the flowers open, leaving a mass of white stamens and pistils. Blooms May-June. Leaves are 3-times compound, on very long stems, with both lateral and terminal leaflets oblong, coarsely toothed, and on petioles. Fruits in open clusters, white berries with a purplish-black "eye" (the "doll's eyes"), each on a dark red stalk.

About Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Nonwoody Plants in Missouri

A very simple way of thinking about the green world is to divide the vascular plants into two groups: woody and nonwoody (or herbaceous). But this is an artificial division; many plant families include some species that are woody and some that are not. The diversity of nonwoody vascular plants is staggering! Think of all the ferns, grasses, sedges, lilies, peas, sunflowers, nightshades, milkweeds, mustards, mints, and mallows - weeds and wildflowers - and many more!

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A single-stemmed herbaceous perennial. Flowers many, tiny, in a tight, oblong or rounded inflorescence on a long stem. The sepals and petals fall off as the flowers open, leaving a mass of white stamens and pistils. Blooms May-June. Leaves are 3-times compound, on very long stems, with both lateral and terminal leaflets oblong, coarsely toothed, and on petioles.

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The ghost orchid is aptly named for a few reasons. Its white flowers have a vaguely spectral appearance, and they seem to hover in the forest due to an illusion created by the leafless plant. This effect also makes the rare orchid even harder to find, especially outside the brief, unpredictable window when it blooms in summer.

Unfortunately, the ghost orchid is also at risk of living up to its name in another way. It's an endangered species, limited to scattered populations in Cuba, the Bahamas and Florida, where it exists in just three southwestern counties. It inhabits remote swamp forests and small wooded islands, yet still faces an array of threats from humans, namely poaching, climate change, loss of pollinators and loss of habitat.

The species has long enchanted anyone lucky enough to see it, and we're still learning its secrets - including new research that challenges what we thought we knew about its pollinators. In honor of the ghost orchid's haunting mystique, and of scientists' quest to save it, here's a closer look at this unique floral phantom:

1. It only blooms once a year for a few weeks - or not at all.

The ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii) blooms between June and August, typically just once per year for a period of about one or two weeks. Or it might just take the year off. As few as 10% of ghost orchids may bloom in a given year, and of those, as few as 10% may be pollinated.

2. It has scales instead of leaves.

The ghost orchid is what's known as a "leafless" orchid, since its leaves have been reduced to scales and mature plants seem to lack foliage. It also has a reduced stem, which is often hard to see even if you somehow find a ghost orchid in the wild.

3. It's mostly made of roots.

In lieu of leaves and a stem, the ghost orchid plant consists mostly of roots, which grow on a tree's bark without need for the soil below. That's because the ghost orchid is an epiphyte, a term for plants that grow not in soil, but on trees and other hosts sort of like a parasite. Unlike parasites, epiphytes don't take nutrients from their hosts and don't necessarily cause any trouble for them. It tends to grow on the main trunk or large boughs of a living tree, often several feet off the ground, although it can be located much higher up in the canopy.

4. Its roots act like leaves.

The ghost orchid may not have leaves to speak of, but that doesn't mean it has given up on photosynthesis. Although its roots already have their hands full - they anchor the orchid onto its tree, while also taking in water and nutrients - they fill this role, too. The roots contain the chlorophyll needed for photosynthesis, rendering leaves unnecessary. The roots also feature small white marks known as pneumatodes, which perform the gas exchange needed for respiration and photosynthesis.

When the orchid isn't in bloom, the mass of roots look like "unremarkable bits of green linguine," as National Geographic's Douglas Main recently described them.

5. Its flowers look like they're floating in the forest.

The greenish roots blend in with the bark of trees where ghost orchids grow, making them well-camouflaged when they aren't blooming, especially in the dimly lit understory. During the brief window when they do bloom, the flower grows on a thin spike extending outward from the roots. The roots act like a puppeteer dressed to match the background, dangling the flower as if it's floating freely in the forest.

Although ghost orchid is undoubtedly its coolest name, the plant is also known as "palm polly" or the "white frog orchid," a reference to the pair of long, lateral tendrils from its lower petal that vaguely resemble the hind legs of a frog.

6. It smells kind of like apples, especially in the morning.

At an undisclosed location in South Florida, about 13 ghost orchids abruptly bloomed in the summer of 2009, giving scientists a unique opportunity to study the species in the wild. That included a team of researchers who investigated the orchid's "floral headspace," using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify volatile compounds in the flower's scent.

They identified several organic chemicals known as terpenoids, the most abundant of which was (E,E)-α-farnesene, a compound found in the natural coating of apples, pears and other fruits. It accounted for 71% of the ghost orchid's blend of fragrant compounds, followed by (E)-β-ocimene (9%), methyl salicylate (8%), linalool (5%), sabinene (4%), (E)-α-bergamotene (2%), α-pinene (1%) and 3-carene (1%).

From about 5 centimeters (2 inches) away, "the floral scent of D. lindenii was readily detectable to the authors," they reported in the European Journal of Environmental Sciences, "and seemed to intensify at sunset." The fragrance was most potent in the early morning, they added, between 1 and 6 a.m. local time. "The scent can best be described as sweet-smelling and somewhat fruity," they wrote.

7. It was long thought to rely on just one moth for pollination.

The ghost orchid's pollen is hidden deep within its flowers, and so it can only be pollinated by an insect with a proboscis long enough to reach all the way inside. This is similar to the famous Darwin's orchid of Madagascar, named after naturalist Charles Darwin's 1862 declaration that its long flower must be pollinated by an unknown moth with an unusually long tongue. Years after Darwin's death, the Morgan's sphinx moth was revealed to be the orchid's specialist pollinator.

For ghost orchids, the long-tongued pollinator was long ago identified as the giant sphinx moth, which is native to South and Central America but relatively rare in North America, with only occasional sightings in Florida and a few other southern U.S. states. It's widely described as the sole pollinator of ghost orchids, thanks to its long proboscis and a lack of evidence for any other pollinators. Its larvae feed on the pond apple tree, which is also an important host for ghost orchids.

8. Its pollination might not be as simple as we thought.

Despite conventional wisdom about the ghost orchid's reliance on giant sphinx moths, newly released photos taken in Florida suggest the reality is more complicated. Wildlife photographer Carlton Ward Jr. recently set up a camera trap in Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, located just northwest of Big Cypress National Preserve, and caught images of five different moth species visiting ghost orchids. As National Geographic reports, two of these moths - the fig sphinx and pawpaw sphinx - had ghost orchid pollen on their heads.

This was later backed up by another photographer, Mac Stone, who captured images of a fig sphinx moth visiting a ghost orchid with the plant's pollen on its head. Both photographers also got photos of giant sphinx moths visiting ghost orchids, but none were carrying ghost-orchid pollen, raising the possibility that giant sphinx tongues are long enough to "steal" nectar from ghost orchids without actually pollinating them.

These findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports in September. If the ghost orchid really does have multiple pollinators - with or without the giant sphinx - it would be welcome news, since it would mean the orchid's reproduction doesn't depend entirely on one rare insect. "It's good to have redundancy in ecosystems," Mike Owen, a biologist at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, tells the magazine. And that may be especially valuable now, given the threat of pesticides and other factors fueling the widespread decline of insects around the world, including many important pollinators.

9. Its habitats are becoming more hazardous.

In Florida, ghost orchids tend to grow on just three tree species - pop ash, pond apple and bald cypress - but in Cuba they've been found growing on at least 18 different host trees. "Although populations of D. lindenii in southern Florida and Cuba are separated by only 600 km, this species appears to occupy two different habitats and colonizes a different set of host trees," researchers noted in a 2018 study published in Botanical Journal. Ghost orchids in Florida also grow slightly higher off the ground than in Cuba, the authors noted, possibly because stagnant water prevents seedlings from growing on submerged tree surfaces during South Florida's rainy season.

In both countries, however, the ghost orchid's habitats "are undergoing rapid, irreversible change imposed by climate change and other factors," the researchers added. "Both regions, for example, are vulnerable to sea-level rise this century given their low elevation, and the severity and frequency of tropical cyclone activity is another concern." Ghost orchids have already experienced a steady decline in the wild, and based on simulations of habitat changes, "hurricanes and similar disturbances could result in near certain extinction in short time horizons," researchers reported in 2015, possibly within a period of 25 years.

The orchid faces another obstacle from encroaching human development, which is prompting changes in the water table and the fire cycle, according to a study published in the journal Wetland Science & Practice.

Yet another threat comes from the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that kills ash trees. It hasn't reached Florida yet, but if it infects mature stands of pop ash trees in places like Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge - where 69% of all ghost orchids grow on pop ash - it could have a devastating effect on the species.

10. It has a problem with poachers, too.

Along with its general rarity and remote, inhospitable habitat, the ghost orchid's camouflage makes it incredibly hard to find in the wild. That doesn't stop some people from trying, though, and not always for good reasons.

An estimated 2,000 ghost orchids live in the wild across South Florida, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), although a recent survey suggests there might be more. And while researchers want to know where those orchids are, the locations are often kept secret due to the threat of poachers, who may be willing to risk their lives in search of wild ghost orchids.

Although the rare plants may command a high price on the black market, this is stupid even beyond the obvious legal, ethical and ecological reasons. Ghost orchids rarely survive removal from the wild. "People who manage to remove an orchid from its environment are usually disappointed because ghost orchid plants almost always die in captivity," points out Gardening Know How.

11. It brought together Meryl Streep and Nicolas Cage.

In December 1993, horticulturalist John Laroche and three other men were arrested for trying to steal 136 plants from Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Among their haul were dozens of wild orchids, including several specimens of ghost orchid, which Laroche reportedly hoped to clone and sell for a profit. This case was covered for The New Yorker in 1995 by journalist Susan Orlean, who later adapted her coverage into the 1998 nonfiction book "The Orchid Thief."

Orlean's book was then adapted by screenwriter Charlie Kaufman for the 2002 film "Adaptation," directed by Spike Jonze. Among other notable quirks of the movie, which partly fictionalizes the story, it features the odd pairing of Meryl Streep, who played Orlean, with Nicolas Cage, who played Kaufman as well as his fictional twin brother. (Chris Cooper, who played Laroche, won an Academy Award for his role.)

12. It's very hard to cultivate, but one fungus seems to help.

The ghost orchid not only tends to die when removed from its natural habitat, but it's also famously ill-suited to captivity in general. Botanists long struggled to cultivate the orchid, hoping to create a population of captive-bred plants that could be periodically transplanted to help buffer their wild counterparts.

Although the ghost orchid has seemed impossible to cultivate, researchers have made some breakthroughs in recent years. Michael Kane, a professor of environmental horticulture at the University of Florida, has been working with a team of researchers to bring ghost orchid seeds from the wild to a propagation lab, where they try to germinate the seeds under sterile conditions on a gelled medium and then transfer the plants into a greenhouse.

The key is not only recreating precise conditions that ghost orchids need to thrive, but also providing them with the right fungus. Ghost orchid seeds won't germinate unless they're infected with a specific mycorrhizal fungus, which provides energy for the germination and then grows on the plant's roots as part of a symbiotic relationship. In the wild, ghost orchids seem to colonize trees with moist, corrugated bark that harbors fungi in the genus Ceratobasidium, and researchers have identified certain fungal strains that lead to higher germination rates.

Kane and his team have been so successful in cultivating ghost orchids that they've also begun reintroducing them to the wild. The researchers planted 80 orchids in the wild in 2015, achieving an 80% survival rate a year later, then followed up with 160 more orchids in 2016. This alone may not save the species, especially if its habitats remain in danger, but it's still a big step toward preserving these incredible ghosts.

"For orchid conservation, this is big," Kane said in 2016. "We are very excited."

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12 Enchanting Quirks of the Rare Ghost Orchid

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The ghost orchid is aptly named for a few reasons. Its white flowers have a vaguely spectral appearance, and they seem to hover in the forest due to an illusion created by the leafless plant. This effect also makes the rare orchid even harder to find, especially outside the brief, unpredictable window when it blooms in summer.

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Venus Flytrap

Dionaea muscipula

Status: Not Listed

Description

The Venus flytrap is a flowering plant best known for its carnivorous eating habits. The "trap" is made of two hinged lobes at the end of each leaf. On the inner surfaces of the lobes are hair-like projections called trichomes that cause the lobes to snap shut when prey comes in contact with them. This type of movement is called thigmonasty-a nondirectional plant response to being touched. To prevent the plant from wasting energy if prey isn't actually there, the trap will only shut when the trichomes are touched multiple times. The hinged traps are edged with small bristles that interlock when the trap shuts to ensure the prey can't squirm out. There are other carnivorous plants in the wild, but the Venus flytrap is one of the very few that exhibits motion to actively trap its prey.

Range

The Venus flytrap is endemic to North and South Carolina, but it has been introduced to a few other states, including Florida and New Jersey. It is popular as a potted plant in many parts of the world, but unfortunately most of the Venus flytraps sold have been cultivated or collected from declining wild populations.

The plant grows in moist, acidic soil that may be poor in nutrients. Venus flytraps need an open understory (the part of the forest below the canopy) to live. Part of what keeps the understory open is natural fires that sweep through and burn away parts of trees and shrubs. These fires can become dangerous to humans, so often we stop them before they have a chance to provide benefits to the forest. This results in less suitable habitat for the sun-loving Venus flytrap.

Diet

The Venus flytrap gets some of its nutrients from the soil, but to supplement its diet, the plant eats insects and arachnids. Ants, beetles, grasshoppers, flying insects, and spiders are all victims of the flytrap. It can take a Venus flytrap three to five days to digest an organism, and it may go months between meals.

Life History

Venus flytraps are perennial plants, which means they bloom year after year. The flowers are white with green veins running from the base of the petal toward the edges. Pollinated flowers eventually give rise to seeds.

Each trap on the plant can only open and close several times before it dies and falls off. Then the plant produces a new trap from its underground stems. The lifespan of the Venus flytrap isn't known for certain, but it's been estimated to live up to 20 years and possibly longer.

Fun Fact

Like all plants, the Venus flytrap gets its energy from the sun in a process called photosynthesis. It digests insects and arachnids to get nutrients that are not available in the surrounding environment.

Sources

National Geographic Education

NatureServe Explorer

Smithsonian Magazine

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Venus Flytrap | National Wildlife Federation

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Dionaea muscipula Status: Not Listed Description The Venus flytrap is a flowering plant best known for its carnivorous eating habits. The "trap" is made of two hinged lobes at the end of each leaf. On the inner surfaces of the lobes are hair-like projections called trichomes that cause the lobes to snap shut when prey comes in contact with them.

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Arisaema tortuosum - tuberous perennials with a clumping habit, they can grow to 1.5m but tend not to grow this tall. They are grown for their unusually shaped 'flower head'. The flowers are tiny and born on a long tail-like purple and green spad

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The pitcher plant is a type of plant that eats insects, also called a carnivorous plant. They are rare and unique. Typical plants consume nutrients from the soil, but carnivorous plants are found in nutrient-poor soil. They get their nutrition from insects they "catch," after converting them into a form they can digest or absorb.

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

The pitcher plant is a carnivorous type of plant that includes several species. It attracts insects to it using the scents of nectar and already-captured dead insects, and once inside, insects cannot escape and drown in a pool of water at the bottom. Instead of getting nutrients from the soil, the pitcher plant uses enzymes to digest the insects for its nutrition. It is located along the east coast of North America, in bogs and other wet locations with acidic soil.

Carnivorous plants have a variety of methods to get prey: pitfall traps (like the pitcher plant), snap traps (like venus flytraps) and flypaper traps (like sundews) are just a few. In North America there are 10 known species in the genus Sarracenia, the pitcher plants. Sarracenia purpurea is probably the most common.

According to the International Carnivorous Plant Society, pitcher plants of the genus Sarracenia are located in the eastern United States, from the southeast and along the coastline up through British Columbia.

Pitcher plants are mostly found in bogs, often in the wettest sections. Although they don't require acidic soil, they are well-adapted to nutrient-poor and acidic dirt. They live in areas that are prone to fires, and can survive fire under some circumstances.

Pitcher plants resemble their name: they look like pitchers. Inside the elongated structure is a pool of water. Decaying insects that have been trapped inside, along with nectar from the "lid," attract flies, beetles, butterflies and other insects to the plant. The plant's flowers are the color of raw meat, which further serves to attract flies.

Once inside, many insects find it difficult to exit the structure, so they eventually drown in the liquid. The interior walls are waxy and slippery, and there are hairs toward the top that aid in keeping prey trapped. The plant's enzymes digest the meal and the plant is then able to absorb the nutrients.

While pitcher plants are popular houseplants, it is not a good idea to harvest them from the wild because some species have become extinct this way. Instead, obtain them through a nursery. They are best-suited to bog gardens and indoor terrariums, and they require sunlight and mildly acidic soil.

Some insects and animals live harmoniously with pitcher plants. Some predators, like spiders, use the lid to hide under, and some insect larvae, like mosquitoes, live inside the pitcher plant itself. Ants that die inside the plant are used for their decaying scent to attract other prey. Sometimes small frogs will hide in pitcher plants, eating flies that are attracted to the plant.

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The pitcher plant is a type of plant that eats insects, also called a carnivorous plant. They are rare and unique. Typical plants consume nutrients from the soil, but carnivorous plants are found in nutrient-poor soil. They get their nutrition from insects they "catch," after converting them into a form they can digest or absorb.

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Introduction

Hydnora africana is one of the most bizarre-looking plants on the African continent and is certainly not the most common of plants to be encountered in the veld on a casual hike.

Description

Description

Hydnora africana is a parasitic plant on species of the genus Euphorbia. It has such an unusual physical appearance that one would never say it is a plant. It looks astonishingly similar to fungi, and is only distinguishable from fungi when the flower has opened.

The plant body is completely leafless, is devoid of chlorophyll, and is brown-grey in colour. As it ages, the plant turns dark grey to black. A network of thick rhizophores or subterranean stems and roots traverse the soil around the host plant. These fleshy, angular, warty stems bear a series of vermiform (shaped like a worm) outgrowths commonly referred to as roots, ± 10 mm long, which connect to the roots of the host. The plant body is only visible when the developing flowers push through the ground.

The buds of these bisexual flowers develop underground, and eventually emerge to reach a height of about 100 to 150 mm. The flower is spherical, brown on the outside and bright salmon to orange on the inner surface. It has 3 or 4 thick, fleshy, perianth lobes, fused in the beginning but later rupturing vertically as the flower matures, at which point the bait bodies are exposed. The exposed inner surface of the perianth lobes is covered by many stout bristles. The stamens are situated halfway down the perianth tube which is 10-20 mm wide. Flowers may not appear for a number of years until sufficient rain has fallen. The fruit is a subglobose (half-round), underground berry with a thick, leathery wall epidermis/skin. The seeds are numerous and small, and are embedded in a gelatinous, edible fleshy pulp which is rich in starch.

Conservation Status

Status

Hydnora africana is not endangered and, although not often encountered, it is thought to be fairly common in semi-arid vegetation which is associated with species of Euphorbia.

Distribution and habitat

Distribution description

Hydnora africana is specifically associated with species of Euphorbia, commonly E. mauritanica and E. tirucalli, found in the dry and semi-arid parts of the Succulent Karoo, Little Karoo, Eastern Cape Karoo, and the dry coastal thickets between the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. It grows very close to its host plant but may not be seen in the drier parts of the year. It occurs in both winter and summer rainfall areas with the most common vegetation being the Succulent Karoo, and Eastern Cape Karoo.

Hydnora africana is found from the western coastal areas of Namibia, southwards to the Cape and then northwards throughout Swaziland, Botswana, KwaZulu-Natal and as far as Ethiopia. A sister species, H. johannis, is found in the arid parts of the Richtersveld.

There are two genera that belong to the Hydnoraceae family; Prosopanche, which is restricted to the eastern half of South America, and Hydnora, which is a strictly African genus. Collectively Prosopanche and Hydnora contain between 10 and 15 species.

The genus name Hydnora is taken from the Greek word hydnon, which means fungus-like and refers to the resemblance that this species has to the fungus genus Hydnum. The specific name africana means from Africa.

For hundreds of years, jackal food was well known by the indigenous inhabitants of southern Africa. It was only from 1774 that the plant was introduced to science in the western world by the father of South African botany, Carl Thunberg. This very active and well-travelled Swedish botanist discovered and collected the first known records of H. africana near Calvinia in the Hantam district of South Africa. When he first saw the plant he thought it was a fungus and named it Hydnus after the fungus group. Subsequently the genus name changed to Hydnora.

No leaves or chlorophyll are visible on Hydnora africana plants. The plants only become visible when the flowers protrude through the soil after good rains have fallen. Under favourable conditions it takes at least one year for a bud to develop into a mature flower.

The flowers bears no resemblance to normal flowers except for its bright salmon to orange-red colour on the inside, which fulfils the same purpose as normal flowers, namely to advertise the plant. White bait bodies are found on the inner base of the flowers. The bait bodies play a very important role in the life cycle of the plant. They omit a putrid odour to attract various carrion beetles and other insects which become trapped in the flowers. Numerous stiff bristles are found on the inner surface of the perianth lobes which prevent the trapped insect from escaping. After feeding on the bait bodies, the trapped insect drops down the flower tube onto the anthers, collecting pollen all over its body. It then drops even further down onto the soft cushion-shaped stigma and thus pollinates the flower.

Fully grown, ripe fruits of Hydnora africana may measure up to 80 mm across and contain up to 20 000 seeds per fruit. The brown pinhead-sized seeds are embedded in an edible gelatinous pulp with a slightly sweet and starchy taste. These fruits are favoured by mammals such as porcupines, moles, baboons, jackal and also birds. The seeds are not digested and thus are in an ideal state for germination when excreted by animals.

Not much is known about the germination of the seeds except that they are more likely to germinate in close proximity to the host plant. The germinated seed develops a primary root (primary haustorium) which establishes the first attachment point to the host. After the plant has grown and spread, it may develop several secondary haustoria, attaching itself to the same or different host nearby.

The plants have modified their roots in such a way as to ensure invasion of the potential host's tissue. It is thought that the plant excretes powerful enzymes that dissolve away the hard tissue of the host in order to attach itself. The point of attachment is called the haustorium (haustorial roots) and is similar to a graft where two separate members of the union develop together in harmony. Once established, the plant is able to live off the nourishment from the host and quickly develops a matrix of underground stems from which the flower buds develop and eventually emerge above the ground.

Unlike Hydnora africana, the sister species H. johannis parasitises the more superficial roots of Acacia karroo (sweet-thorn). The host-specific preferences of these two related species are very interesting, and say a lot about the evolution and adaptability of the genus.

The fruit of Hydnora africana is said to be a traditional Khoi food, but there are no recorded details to confirm this. The fruit is delicious when baked on a fire, and has a sweetish taste. Jackal food is used in a series of Cape dishes as recorded in the recipe book of Betsie Rood, Kos uit die Veldkombuis (Rood 1994). One of the recipes describes how the fruit pulp can be mixed with cream to make a delicious dessert. The fruit is extremely astringent and has been used for tanning and preserving fishing nets. Diarrhoea, dysentery, kidney and bladder complaints are all treated with infusions and decoctions of Hydnora africana. Infusions used as a face wash also treat acne.

Hydnora africana is not grown as a cultivated plant due to its dependence on its Euphorbiaceae hosts. In the wild, it grows primarily by means of seeds which are dispersed by birds and small mammals that feast on its fruits.

References

Fox, F.W. & Norwood Young, M. 1982. Food from the veld. Delta Books, Johannesburg.

Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds). 2003. Plants of southern Africa : an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.

Jackson, W.P.U. 1990. Origins and meanings of South African plant genera. University of Cape Town Ecolab.

Leistner, O.A. 2005. Seed plants of southern tropical Africa : families and genera. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 26. SABONET, Pretoria.

Rood, B. 1994. Kos uit die veldkombuis. Tafelberg, Cape Town.

Smith, C.A. 1966. Common names of South African plants. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of south Africa No. 35.

Van Wyk, B-E. & Gericke, N. 2000. People's plants. A guide to useful plants of southern Africa. Briza Publications, Pretoria.

Visser, J. 1981. South African parasitic flowering plants. Juta, Cape Town.

Williamson, G. 2000. Richtersveld. Umdaus Press, Hatfield, Pretoria.

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Hydnora africana is one of the most bizarre-looking plants on the African continent and is certainly not the most common of plants to be encountered in the veld on a casual hike. Hydnora africana is a parasitic plant on species of the genus Euphorbia.

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Hydnora africana is an achlorophyllous plant in the subfamily Hydnoroideae, native to southern Africa that is parasitic on the roots of members of the family Euphorbiaceae.[1] It is also called jakkalskos or jackal food.[2] The specific epithet africana means to be from Africa.[3] Molecular data has suggested that Hydnoroideae is a " basal angiosperm" solidifying its place among the more primitive flowering plants.[1] Hydnoraceae are the only angiosperms known to have no leaves or scales and are considered obligate parasites, completely dependent on their hosts to survive.[4] The plant grows underground, except for a fleshy flower that emerges above ground and emits an odour of faeces to attract its natural pollinators, dung beetles and carrion beetles.[5] The vegetative body of the plants has been reduced to consisting only of roots and flowers.[4] The flowers act as temporary traps, retaining the beetles that enter long enough for them to pick up pollen.[6]

Emerging flower in the Namibian desert with Euphorbia mauritanica, near Fish River Canyon.

The vegetative parts of this plant are more similar in appearance to a fungus than a plant. These plants do not have chlorophyll and do not perform photosynthesis. They obtain their nutrients entirely from a host plant, such as a species of . The plant is composed of thick succulent roots with no stems and the flower develops on surfaces of the host's roots. The flower is used as a temporary trap in order to facilitate pollination. Hydnora africana has an enzyme which allows it to dissolve some of the roots of its host plants in order to attach to them. Hydnora africana attaches to the roots of the host and takes some of the nutrients that it makes from photosynthesis. The flower has a succulent and thick texture, the portion that appears above ground is tubular with three openings. There are three structures botanically named perianth segments which can be compared to sepals that unite at the top of the flower. It has a fleshy peachy-orange flower that emerges from the ground after a heavy rainfall. The flower is where the perianth segments join and a short tube is present. The anterior portion of the tube there are yellowish-orange structures extend into the tube, these are the anther groups. These groups of anthers are held in bunches and are used as the flowers stamens. The anther groups are arranged into a triangle so that a gap forms between their pits and the beetles will proceed to fall down onto the stigma of the parasitic plant. The basal portion of the flower there is a cavity that houses the white ovules that will mature into seeds. Insects that pollinate the flowers do so by burying themselves in the sepals of the flowers through the very strong fibres that hold the sepals together. After the insects have been in the flowers for a couple of days, the flower emerges and opens releasing the insects to spread the pollen to other flowers in the area.

Hydnora africana produces a fruit that grows underground, taking up to two years to ripen fully. The fruit is similar in taste and texture to a potato. Among other uses, it is used for tanning and preserving fishnets, because it is an astringent. Each fruit produces about twenty thousand seeds. The fruit may be up to about eight centimetres (3 inches) in diameter. Animals using the fruit as a source of food include, but are not limited to birds, baboons, smaller animals, jackals, porcupines, and moles.

Hydnora africana has a very strong and unpleasant smell. This smell is generated from the osmophores, which is a white spongy area on the inner surface of the tepals that eventually change colour to grey. Osmophores were first called "bait bodies" by Harmes. Burger et al. concluded that the odour is made up of dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide. These odours are also found in dead-horse arum, Helicodiceros muscivorus.

Seeds from Hydnora africana were brought back to the United States from Africa and planted in pots of Euphorbia. A flower of Hydnora africana first appeared five and a half years after the initial sowing. The rotting odour serves to attract dung beetles and other insects that then become trapped within the flower walls due to the stiff bristles. The trapped insects drop down the flower tube onto the anthers where pollen adheres to its body. It then falls farther down onto the stigma.

Hydnora africana can be harvested and used as food, medicine, and a good source of tannin.

Rhizome extracts are used as an anti-dysenteric treatment in South Africa.

Climate change can gravely affect sexual reproduction. Conservation efforts are not being made to rescue the Hydnora africana. "...if pollinators disappear and might limit seed dispersal...In addition, they are being removed at a rapid rate for agricultural land expansion and overexploitation for medicinal use...". With their[who? ] extensive research, they have found that hydnora africana thrive in deeply moist environments surrounded by their pollinators. Since land is being destroyed and this organism is being exploited through its sale, their numbers will exponentially decline over time. "Our results show that the precipitation of the wettest month..was the most important variable contributing to the distribution of the two Hydnora species. This finding indicates that apart from the necessity of water for survival, ground moisture is an essential factor for most subterranean plants...adequate ground moisture levels are required for the relatively soft-tissued Hydnora flowers to break through the ground... which completes its entire life cycle below ground)." As the climate gets warmer and warmer every year, Hydnora africana loses its germination and goes extinct. Conservation efforts need to be made immediately in order to prevent its extinction.

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Hydnora africana is an achlorophyllous plant in the subfamily Hydnoroideae, native to southern Africa that is parasitic on the roots of members of the family Euphorbiaceae.[1] It is also called jakkalskos or jackal food.[2] The specific epithet africana means to be from Africa.[3] Molecular data has suggested that Hydnoroideae is

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Introduction

Encephalartos woodii is famous for being extinct in nature, and for the fact that there is no known female specimen on Earth.

Description

Description

Encephalartos woodii is a very handsome plant. The leaves are a dark glossy green, 2 to 3 m long, with a gracefully arching shape, giving this cycad a dense umbrella-shaped crown, even in young specimens. The Kirstenbosch specimen is unbranched, but mature specimens are often branched at the crown. Encephalartos woodii reaches majestic proportions, up to 6 m in height with a trunk diameter of up to 900 mm at the base, 600 mm nearer the crown. The 100+ year-old specimens at Durban Botanic Gardens trunk circumference exceeds 2 m and has an estimated mass of 2.5 tons. A characteristic that is unique to Encephalartos woodii is that in mature specimens the trunk broadens towards the base, forming a kind of buttress in order to support the weight of the trunk. Furthermore, towards the base of the trunk the leaf bases are so compressed by the weight it supports that the trunk is unusually smooth. At Kirstenbosch the base of the trunk is obscured by a cage that surrounds plant, put there in the 1980s to prevent suckers from being stolen again.

Encephalartos woodii produces six to eight bright orange-yellow cones. These are large, cylindrical in shape, 400-900 mm long, occasionally reaching a length of 1.2 m, with a diameter of 150-200 mm. Cones are formed on the Kirstenbosch specimen every 2-3 years, and the pollen has been used to create hybrids with a number of species in our collection.

Encephalartos woodii is very well represented in botanic gardens and cycad collections throughout the world. Possibly as many as 500 specimens exist, all of them derived from basal suckers or offsets from the original plants discovered by John Medley Wood. The Kirstenbosch specimen was acquired in 1916, also a sucker from one of the Durban Botanic Garden plants, sent to us by James Wylie.

Encephalartos woodii is considered to be most closely related to Encephalartos natalensis. Some authorities regard it as a relic from a species now extinct, others as a mutation within Encephalartos natalensis or a robust form of this species. Still others regard it as a natural hybrid between Encephalartos natalensis and Encephalartos ferox.

Conservation Status

Status

Extinct in the Wild (EW)
Legislation affecting Encephalartos woodii
Encephalartos woodii is protected by both national and international legislation:

On a NATIONAL level, this legislation differs from province to province and is policed by the Nature Conservation authority. In the Western Cape (and probably the Eastern and Northern Cape who were all part of the same province in 1974 when the ordinance was passed) Encephalartos woodii and all other species and hybrids, are listed on Schedule 3 (Endangered Flora) and one requires a permit from Nature Conservation to move, sell, buy, donate, receive, cultivate and sell Endangered Flora and to own adult cycads. When buying endangered flora, make sure that the seller is registered with Nature Conservation and that they issue an Invoice. For more information, please see www.capenature.co.za, or contact your provincial nature conservation authority.

On an INTERNATIONAL level all species and hybrids of Encephalartos are on Appendix I of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. This means that wild collected material may not be traded and for each and every artificially cultivated Encephalartos plant or piece of a plant or a cone or pollen or seed, being carried over an international border requires a CITES Export Permit issued by the authority of the exporting country, and a CITES Import Permit issued by the authority of the importing country. Buyers are advised to make sure that the seller is a reputable, registered dealer and that an invoice is issued with the sale. For more info on CITES, please visit their website: www.cites.org - they give a great deal of info. including a list of national authorities of all member countries, or speak to your local authority.

Finally, please note that the above legislation has nothing whatsoever to do with plant health and cleanliness legislation, which is applicable to the import/export of all plant material and which is usually under the jurisdiction of the Dept./Ministry of Agriculture.

Distribution and habitat

Distribution description

Only one clump of male plants has ever been found. John Medley Wood found this clump of four plants in 1895 on a steep south-facing slope on the fringes of the Ngoye Forest about 30 km from Mtunzini in KwaZulu-Natal.

The name Encephalartos is derived from the Greek en meaning 'within', kephali meaning 'head', and artos meaning 'bread'. This species is named after John Medley Wood (1827-1915) who found the last remaining clump of four plants in 1895 in the Ngoye Forest in KwaZulu-Natal. These are the only Encephalartos woodii plants ever found and all of them are male plants originating from one plant. Medley Wood was a merchant sailor, farmer, trader, sportsman and botanist. He founded the Natal Herbarium and was Curator of the Durban Botanic Gardens. In 1903, Wood sent his deputy James Wylie to fetch some of the smaller offsets and three of them were grown in the Durban Botanic Gardens. In a 1907 expedition, Wylie collected two of the larger trunks, both of which are still to be seen on the Old Conservatory terrace in Durban Botanic Gardens. In 1907 Wylie noted that the largest of the four trunks was badly mutilated did not expect it to survive. He was right, by 1912 there was only one 3m tall trunk left in the wild, and in 1916, the Forestry Department, concerned about the survival of the remaining stem, arranged to have it removed and sent to the Government Botanist in Pretoria. It is thought that this trunk subsequently died in 1964.

Despite numerous excursions in the Ngoye-Mtunzini area, no other specimens of Encephalartos woodii have ever been found. However, this area has not been completely and systematically surveyed so there is still hope that there is another specimen lurking in the depths of the forest.

The young leaves of all species of Encephalartos are grazed by sheep, buck, dassies and baboons. Encephalartos seeds, however, are extremely toxic, not the fleshy pulp that is eaten by birds, baboons, monkeys, rodents and bats, but the hardcoated kernel.

Thunberg and other early travellers recorded that the local people used cycad trunks as a source of food. They removed the starchy pith, tied it in an animal skin, fermented it and then ground it into a meal.

Encephalartos woodii is possibly the most sought-after cycad in the world. It is fortunate that it is the fastest growing species of Encephalartos and one of the most vigorous in cultivation. It produces numerous suckers, and new leaves are formed every year. For optimum growth, Encephalartos woodii requires fertile well-drained soil and ample water. It can withstand relatively long dry spells, but plants that receive regular water are healthier and have larger leaves. During summer give sufficient water to soak the root area once a week. Watering can be suspended during winter. Remember that good drainage is crucial. In hot dry regions inland, the sun tends to burn the leaves and they are better planted in light shade. A mulch of well-rotted compost applied at least once a year around the base of the plant, plus application of a balanced fertiliser twice a year during summer (1 kg to each mature plant), will keep the plant in good condition and maintain growth.

Encephalartos woodii makes a good container plant when small, but will have to be planted out when it becomes too large. All our cycads make ideal outdoor container plants, but remember to position them where the sharp leaf spines will not do damage to passing human traffic. Use a well-drained soil mix, e.g. 6 parts coarse sand : 8 parts milled bark : 6 parts friable loam. Add dolomitic lime, iron sulphate and a slow release inorganic fertiliser. Encephalartos woodii, being fast-growing, will quickly fill the container up with its roots and, if not repotted, may burst the pot with its expanding roots. Cycads in containers require watering every other day during summer, particularly during hot and windy weather, and must never be allowed to dry out completely. It is important that the growing medium be kept moist, but the excess water must be allowed to drain away to prevent rotting.

Propagation is by offsets and suckers. Encephalartos woodii does not go completely dormant, but growth does slow down during winter. Suckers are best removed in early spring, with a clean sharp spade or a knife. They should be larger than 100 mm in diameter; the larger the sucker the better its chance of survival away from its parent. Treat all cut surfaces, on the parent and the sucker, with flowers of sulphur to prevent fungal infection. Store the sucker in a cool dry place for about three weeks to allow the wound to seal. Before planting, dust the wound with a rooting hormone to stimulate the development of roots. Keep moist and in light shade until it produces new leaves, whereafter a weekly feed with a balanced liquid fertiliser during summer is recommended.

There being no female plant, seed is out of the question, but there are a few projects underway to remedy the situation. There is still the hope that a female plant is in the Ngoye forest somewhere and expeditions in that area always keep a look out for one. The most promising project is the crossing of Encephalartos woodii with its closest relative Encephalartos natalensis, and crossing the offspring with Encephalartos woodii again with the result that each successive generation is more and more Encephalartos woodii. There is also the remote possibility that a spontaneous sex change will occur in one of the male plants. Sex reversal has been observed in a few cases involving other species and once the process is more fully understood, it could be induced in an Encephalartos woodii plant.

References

Giddy, Cynthia.,1984, Cycads of South Africa, Second Revised Edition, C.Struik Publishers, Cape Town

Osborne, Roy et al., 1993, The Cycad Collection, Durban Botanic Gardens, Parks Dept., City of Durban

Osborne, Roy, 1986, Encephalartos woodii, Encephalartos (5): 4-10

Donaldson, John & Winter, John, 1998, Grow Cycads, Kirstenbosch Gardening Series, NBI, Cape Town.

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Encephalartos woodii is famous for being extinct in nature, and for the fact that there is no known female specimen on Earth. Encephalartos woodii is a very handsome plant. The leaves are a dark glossy green, 2 to 3 m long, with a gracefully arching shape, giving this cycad a dense umbrella-shaped crown, even in young specimens.

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The cobra lily (Darlingtonia californica) is a patient and devious predatory plant native to Northern California and Southern Oregon. Also called the California pitcher plant, it has evolved an astonishing set of adaptations that allow it to trap, kill and digest its animal prey using highly modified pitcher-shaped leaves. But what would make a plant select a diet of insect meat?

"It seems strange to us that a plant can be carnivorous," said Barry Rice, a botanist at the University of California, Davis Center for Plant Diversity. "We've gotten used to what we think of as a natural order of things, where people and animals eat plants, not the other way around."

But Butterfly Valley Botanical Area is a place where the tables are turned. Located in Plumas National Forest, about 150 miles northeast of Sacramento, Butterfly Valley is home to the Darlingtonia bog. More accurately described as a fen, this wetland is home to some amazing carnivorous plants. The combination of cold, slow moving water, nutrient-poor soils and bright sun provide the perfect conditions for cobra lilies to thrive.

Drudging through the soggy fen recently, Rice said: "In habitats like this, where there are very few nutrients, carnivorous plants act as the top predator of the ecosystem. And they'll eat just about anything they can lure into them."

The plants entice insects into their pitcher-shaped traps with an offering of sugary nectar on their long leafy fangs. Insects that land on the plants gorge on the nectar, which leads them to the cobra lillies' downward facing openings.

Once inside a cobra lily, insects become confused by the light shining down through the transparent windows - called fenestrations - at the top of the chamber. Insects are drawn to light, but the false exits only serve to confuse and tire the plant's prey. The entrance to the pitcher curls into the chamber obscuring the only way out.

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Predatory Plant: Lure of the Cobra Lily | KQED

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What lurks inside a hungry pitcher plant? The cobra lily, a carnivorous plant native to California, uses deception, patience and bacteria to catch and digest its prey. Watch it in action.

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Actaea pachypoda, the white baneberry or doll's-eyes, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Actaea, of the family Ranunculaceae.

The plant is native to eastern North America, in eastern Canada, and the Midwestern and Eastern United States. It prefers clay to coarse loamy upland soils, and is found in hardwood and mixed forest stands.

Description

This herbaceous perennial plant grows to 46-76 cm (18-30 in) or more tall. It has toothed, bipinnate compound leaves up to 40 cm (16 in) long and 30 cm (12 in) broad.

The white flowers are produced in spring in a dense raceme about 10 cm (3.9 in) long. The plant's most striking feature is its fruit, a 1 cm ( in) diameter white berry, whose size, shape, and black stigma scar give the species its other common name, "doll's eyes". The pedicels thicken and become bright red as the berries develop.

The berries ripen over the summer, turning into fruits that persists on the plant until frost.

There are pink- and red-berried plants that have been called A. pachypoda forma rubrocarpa, but some of them produce infertile seed, and may actually be hybrids with Actaea rubra.

The specific name pachypoda means "thick foot", from Ancient Greek pakhús "thick" and poús "foot", which could refer to the large rhizome of the plant or to the stalks supporting the berries, which are thicker than the closely related Actaea rubra.

Both the berries and the entire plant are considered poisonous to humans. The berries contain cardiogenic toxins which can have an immediate sedative effect on human cardiac muscle tissue, and are the most poisonous part of the plant. Ingestion of the berries can lead to cardiac arrest and death.

A variety of birds, which are not affected by the toxins, eat the berries and help disperse the seeds. Long-tongued bees collect pollen from the flowers.

Cultivation

Actaea pachypoda is cultivated as an ornamental plant, in traditional and wildlife gardens.

It requires part or full shade, rich loamy soil, and regular water with good drainage to reproduce its native habitat.

In Spanish: Actaea pachypoda para niños

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Epipogium aphyllum, the ghost orchid (not to be confused with the American ghost orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii) is a hardy myco-heterotrophic orchid lacking chlorophyll.

It is famous for its unpredictable appearance; in many localities it has been seen just once. It is found in beech, oak, pine and spruce forests on base-rich soils. It is a rare and critically endangered plant in habitat, and is believed to be extinct throughout much of its former range, although it has been recently confirmed in the United Kingdom (2009), an area where the plants were believed to have gone extinct.

The plants are protected in many locales, and removing the plants from habitat or disturbing the plants, even for scientific study, can be a very serious matter in many jurisdictions. These plants are exceptionally rare and should never be removed from habitat or disturbed.

In 1926 the Welsh botanist Eleanor Vachell was asked by the British Museum to investigate a report of the ghost orchid in England. For many years the Welsh National Herbarium at Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum of Wales) had only a small rhizome that had been gathered by Vachell on 29 May 1926.

Once thought to be saprophytic, these hardy plants are actually obligate mycoheterotrophs (or epiparasites) that obtain nutrients from mycorrhizal networks involving basidomycete fungi that are in turn associated with the roots of various species of coniferous trees. They grow from an underground, burrowing stem which lacks chlorophyll and possesses ephemeral leaves that are small scales. The plants only emerge above ground to flower, especially during very wet summers in Western Europe.

The plants have an extremely wide range of distribution. The species is widespread across much of Europe and northern Asia from Spain to Kamchatka and south the Himalayas. It is, however, exceptionally rare in habitat. The plants are all found in areas which typically experience cold winters. The plant's rhizomes are densely colonized by fungi bearing clamp-connections and dolipores, all basidiomycetes, gill or pore-forming mushroom species that are normally found growing in mycorrhizal association with the roots of coniferous trees.

These plants harness an array of fungal symbionts across several families, often simultaneously. Analysis of these plants have identified Inocybe species as exclusive symbionts for 75% of the plants in habitat, as well as others ( Hebeloma, Xerocomus, Lactarius and Thelephora). The plants also host ascomycete endophytes, which appear to assist the plant in parasitizing some of the plant's basidiomycete symbionts.

The plants defy cultivation outside of laboratory conditions, as they require not only specific fungal symbionts, but also specific host trees with which these mushroom species form mycorrhizal relationships. Large plants of this species can produce a rather stunning woodland display with up to a dozen flower stalks at once bearing 3-4 flowers each growing out of coniferous leaf litter.

Chromosome number is often stated as 2n = 68, though one research article questions whether this value could be for a different Epipogium species.

In Spanish: Epipogium aphyllum para niños

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Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species in the genus Ficus, including those that are commonly known as banyans.

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Dracula orchids are found natively in tropical North and South America, often hanging from trees in the cool and rainy sides of mountains. They vary greatly in their flowers, but their leaves all share a delicate, grass-like structure with a pointed tip. They've evolved to be pollinated by insects which normally interact with arboreal mushrooms, so they tend to settle in the darker and moister nooks of trees and let their flowers descend, much like mushroom caps, but there are several that also happen to produce flowers that look like little monkey faces, with hair, eyes, and a nose, and thus sometimes are called the monkey orchid.

Unlike more popular orchids, Dracula plants are adapted to very high humidity and frequent mist and rain, and thus don't store away water in succulent leaves or bulbs, but are found happily growing in patches of pillowy green moss. They are still epiphytes, however, and by nature of growing on trees are unable to handle their roots staying potted in soil or in a boggy environment; and due to their habitats staying humid, have trouble flowering in dry air, so it's best to grow them in a terrarium or some type of greenhouse where the flowers can open.

Keep Dracula orchids are room temperature (60 - 85 F)

Require high humidity for the flowers to develop and open well (at least 70% relative humidity during the day, ideally higher at night), but can handle growing in 50 % relative humidity; ideally in places where moss and ferns grow well.

Don't keep it boggy and wet, but don't let it stay dry like other orchids like to; it should grow like a sponge that dries out regularly but is still springy.

Don't give it too much sun; it grows under the canopy and in shady sun (~ 1000 - 1500 foot-candles)

Black leaf tips : too much water Brown leaf tips : water that is too high in dissolved solids/salts

Repot every two or three years to remove old potting mix before it decomposes
Temperature
Most Dracula orchids are found between 800 and 2700 m (2400-8900 ft) elevation above sea level, and thus are in cooler locations than what you expect in the tropics; since they are found close to the equator, though, this means they don't experience seasonal temperature changes, and thus it's generally best to keep them at room temperature, between 60 and 80 F. Although, they can handle down to 50 F with little trouble for a few days; but above 85 F, many Dracula can start to suffer from heat stress if exposed to high temperatures for prolonged periods, especially if they are kept above 70 F at night. In these cases, we've learned that naturally heat waves are accompanied by droughts, so only lightly water if you are having heat trouble, and lessening sun/light exposure during hot days helps reduce heat stress too.
Humidity
These orchids are usually found in very misty regions, where the clouds or fog roll through mountains. They are thus accustomed to blooming when it's very humid and under the same conditions certain variety of mushrooms sprout, which might be under warm or cool conditions. Since the flowers themselves are papery thin and often fuzzy, they are best presented in humid conditions.

High humidity can cause some problems with growing, however; it can be the perfect environment for mold or bacteria, so if there's any standing water left after misting or watering, it's often best to have a little fan moving air around to evaporate water droplets, or to leave the doors open for a few hours after watering. If problems, like fungal spotting or infection, start to become noticeable, it's best to treat quickly with Hydrogen Peroxide or a disinfectant alcohol (like rubbing, grain, or wood alcohol) and let the environment dry out a little more. But prevention is usually easier, so by keeping the base of the plant unobstructed and having air flow, along with letting the plant get dry but humid (like a sponge you've wrung all the water out of), most issues are avoided. It's also useful to note that often forests dry out for a few hours during the day, so letting the humidity drop for a little while as you let fresh air in greatly improves the air quality and removes fungal spores or bacteria that can accumulate. I've come to think of orchid terrariums and greenhouses like aquariums, where the air can get dirty, and just like cleaning and replacing water in a fish tank, it's important to remember that rainforest air is very clean and that breezes clean the air in a natural environment, but not in a box.

Humidity can be added by spraying the surfaces with water or using a fogging system, as well as simply watering the plants in an environment; if the enclosure is sufficiently air-tight, the humidity will linger as the water evaporates and prevent leaves and roots from overworking to keep their moisture balanced.
Water
When it rains in the forest, the whole plant will usually get wet and it lasts for a few hours; since Draculas don't grow in the soil, that rainwater is all they'll get, so they are used to frequent cycles of drenching followed by breezes drying out their roots. Thus, we find planting a Dracula in a basket is often the best way to grow them, especially with something that holds moisture, like sphagnum moss or some fine fiber/orchid mix. The baskets expose the potting mix to more air than normal in order to dry out faster than in a closed pot, and the holes also allow the flower stems to descend out the base and orient themselves downward (with a couple exceptions to species like D. lotax).

The basic rule of thumb is that a Dracula should be watered the day before it fully dries out; when planted in moss, this ideal point is when the moss is slightly lighter, somewhat dry and still springy. In other potting materials, it can be a little harder to tell, but one way to know is to track the weight of the plant after being thoroughly soaked and see when the weight becomes constant, and then counting how many days it took and subtract one; or you can use a toothpick or popsicle stick to check to see how much water is still in the potting mix like an oil dipstick in a car by how much the wood darkens. Generally (this is subject to many variables), this means that in a greenhouse it takes weekly waterings, and in a house it's every 3 days or so. Having said this, nature is never perfect, so orchids have adapted to droughts and rainy seasons, and if you're a little late every so often, it's better than staying a little too wet.

As an epiphyte, a Dracula orchid can also be mounted onto a piece of tree bark; we would recommend using wood that won't decompose quickly or one where the bark detaches from the wood (oaks tend to do so), so most people use cork bark, redwood, cedar (make sure there's no fire retardant), or cypress, but there are many different other woods or even clay objects that can be used as a mounting plaque. In these cases, the frequency of watering will depend on how much moss is around the roots. In a natural environment, there's only a little bit of moss, about ¼ - ½ inch ( up to 1 cm), so it would need water every three days or so; with more it will take longer to dry, and if the roots are bare, then the plant would need to be watered about six times per day.

The water quality is another aspect that can be important, mostly if there's a problem. Since Draculas are used to only rainwater, they as sensitive to fertilizer and water with high amounts of dissolved solids. You would see this if the leaf tips start to turn black as the solids build up where there's less vein pressure and slowly stain the leaves. If you have a water softener, you need to make sure you're not using water with added salt (you'll know if you have one), and with fertilizer make sure you're only using about ¼ teaspoon per gallon, as well as rinsing through to leave behind less sediment. If you have trouble with fertilizer causing root or leaf damage, you can also wait ½ hour and water the plant again with clean water; the roots will have absorbed all they could in that time and the clean water will rinse off the excess that can cause problems. We generally fertilize once a month or so.
Light
These grow among mosses and under the cover of shade, much like Bram Stoker's character, so dappled or indirect light is best, approximately 1200 foot-candles, or about what many begonias or Paphiopedilums do best in.

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Carnivorous plants cleverly adapt to living in poor soil and we take a look at five of the most fascinating.

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Many, many animals eat plants-but carnivorous plants bite back. Read on to find out why these plants eat meat, why a Venus flytrap knows how to count, and why one plant rents itself out as a bat hotel ... in exchange for poop.

Don't panic. Unlike Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors, real meat-eating plants only eat tiny creatures. Most of them snack on insects and other small organisms, and the largest ones can manage, at the most, a rat. They're found all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica, and as far north as Alaska and Greenland. Some carnivorous plants even live near large urban centers if they can find the right piece of habitat. This means that you may be able to see some in the wild near you: Just contact a local nature center and ask if they have any programs on carnivorous plants.

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Most plants make their own food largely by basking in the sun, which is a pretty sweet deal. So why would they also catch animal prey? Plants can't survive on sunlight alone: They also slurp up nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, with their roots. But carnivorous species live in places where the soil is nutrient-poor. Their meaty diet helps them grow faster and gives them better reproductive success. In fact, it's such a clever strategy that ...

Through the course of evolution, plants have stumbled across the carnivorous lifestyle at least nine different times. They've even evolved a whole diversity of trapping methods: Snap traps, pitfall traps, sticky goo, and more. These traps are made of leaves-highly modified, specialized leaves.

Meat-eating plants don't just woo animals for food. They also need to attract insects that'll spread their pollen. That's why many of them have colorful flowers. To make sure that the pollinators don't actually become dinner, the plants often hold their blooms high above the leaves and well away from the traps.

Byblis filifolia aka the Rainbow Plant. Image credit: Petr Dlouhý via Wikimedia // CC BY-SA 3.0

Several plants catch insects with sticky tentacles. Some of them keep their tentacles motionless; these include Australia's rainbow plants, which are named for the way that sunlight glints off their sticky goo. Others actively wrap their tentacles around their prey. These include the sundews, which are also named for the way sunlight glints off their sticky goo. One sundew, Drosera glanduligera, goes the extra mile. Its tentacles snap when touched, catapulting prey into the sticky center of the leaf. See it in action here.

Common butterwort. Image credit: Björn S. via Wikimedia // CC BY-SA 2.0

Butterworts

have flat, sticky leaves that function like a cross between flypaper and a stomach. When insects land on a butterwort's leaves, they get stuck in goo that's excreted by sticky glands. The plant releases digestive enzymes and absorbs those tasty bug nutrients.

Nepenthes burbidgeae. Image credit: JeremiahsCPs via Wikimedia // CC BY-SA 3.0

Many plants catch their food by setting out pit-shaped traps and eating whatever falls in. It's a popular technique that has appeared at least six separate times over the course of plant evolution. Why doesn't the prey just crawl out of the trap? The pot-shaped leaves generally have particular adaptations, such as downward-pointing hairs, that make escape difficult at best. A lot of these plants, like the pitcher plants in the genus , contain pools of water that drown and digest their prey.

A whole community of aquatic critters thrives inside the pitcher plant pools. For example, frogs-some incredibly tiny-lay their eggs on the pitchers, and their tadpoles grow up swimming in pitcher plant water. And a rich bacterial community helps the pitcher plant digest its food. But the weirdest plant-animal relationship might be ...

When the common woolly bat is looking for a rest, it snuggles up inside a pitcher plant's pitcher-shaped trap. The bat gets a place to sleep, and its poop gives the pitcher plant much-needed nutrients. This is such a good deal that the plant grows two kinds of pitchers: One for snagging bugs, and one for poop. The first kind, which sprouts closer to the ground, is perfumed, slippery, and full of digestive fluid, which makes it perfect for catching and eating bugs. The other type grows higher up and is more like a cozy hotel room.

And here's the most amazing part: Those hotel room pitchers have a special reflector dish shape. When the bat uses its sonar system to explore the forest, the plants stand out like a neon VACANCY sign.

The most famous type of carnivorous plant is probably the Venus flytrap. Its trapping method looks pretty simple: A bug walks in and the leaf snaps shut like a set of green jaws. But how does the plant know to clamp down on insects and not just, say, dead leaves that fall from above?

It turns out that the Venus flytrap can count. Its gaping maw is full of little trigger hairs. When an insect touches a hair, a timer is set. A crawling insect will probably touch another hair, at which point the trap is sprung. Once five hairs are triggered, the Venus flytrap starts spewing out digestive liquid.

There's another, less famous plant that uses a similar method to catch its prey. The waterwheel plant is basically an aquatic, rootless Venus flytrap. It eats tiny swimming critters and closes its traps incredibly quickly, considering that it always has a mouth full of water.

True to their name, the aquatic bladderworts are covered in little bladder-like traps. The outsides of the bladders have trigger hairs. When a swimming critter touches a hair, the trap springs open and sucks them in. These bladders work so quickly that scientists need cutting edge high-speed cameras to capture the action. Above the water and far from the carnage, the plants make beautiful, delicate flowers.

Lobster traps

work because they have a funnel-shaped entrance that opens into a larger chamber. It's easy for a lobster to crawl in, but hard for it to find the exit. Some carnivorous plants catch meals in the same way. Genlisea species seem to use this method; they have root-like leaves with a complicated spiral structure that usher tiny creatures to their doom.

Many carnivorous plant species are at risk. Threats include habitat loss, pollution, and poaching. Yes, you read that right. Just like rhinos and elephants, plants are at risk from poachers who sell them to collectors.

Venus flytraps, for example, live in just a relatively small region around Wilmington, North Carolina. Poachers dig them up and sell the plants for a small amount of cash. The problem has gotten so out of hand that stealing flytraps is now a felony punishable by over a year in jail.

Drosera allantostigma. Image credit: DevOhm via Wikimedia // CC BY-SA 3.0

To find a great model of carnivorous plant love, we need look no further than Charles Darwin. The famous scientist studied them, published a book on them, and even defended them in letters. In a note to the botanist Asa Gray, Darwin raved about Drosera, a.k.a. the sundews: "Depend on it, you are unjust on the merits of my beloved Drosera: it is a wonderful plant, or rather a most sagacious animal. I will stick up for Drosera to the day of my death." And in a letter to the geologist Charles Lyell, he declared, "at this present moment I care more about Drosera than the origin of all the species in the world."

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14 Captivating Facts About Carnivorous Plants