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California Pitcher Plant (Darlingtonia californica) is a member of the Pitcher Plant family (Sarraceniaceae). It is also known as Cobra Lily. It grows in bogs set in serpentine soil in northern California and Southern Oregon. It blooms in spring. The California Pitcher Plant, receives essential nutrients from insects and other small organisms that become trapped inside the hood of the plant. A nectar is secreted that attracts insects into an opening in the underside of the hood. Light enters the cavity through the semi-transparent top of the hood and the insect flies toward the light. The interior of the hood is slippery and contains a multitude of hairs pointing downward. As it tires the insect falls into water contained in the hollow stem of the plant below the hood and drowns. Minute organisms in the water consume the insect and in the process release essential nutrients which are absorbed by the plant. Pollination of the plant is not well understood, but one theory suggests that the insect that is "eaten" by the plant is also the one that pollinates it.
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