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Darlingtonia californica
Also called California Pitcher plant, Cobra Lily, Cobra Plant, Calf's Head
California pitcherplant is a carnivorous perennial and the sole species in its genus, native to bogs and cold seeps in northern California and southwest Oregon. It needs cool, wet roots, cold water and bright conditions to grow well.
Darlingtonia californica is a species of carnivorous plant in the new world pitcher plant family, Sarraceniaceae. The cobra lily is the sole species within its monotypic genus, Darlingtonia.
The cobra lily is native to Northern California and southwest Oregon, up to Tillamook Co. on the coast of Oregon in the western United States. The climate in its habitats ranges from seacoast to near alpine, but is still Mediterranean (Koppen-Geiger Csb) with cool to cold temperatures and ample rain or snow in winter, and mild temperatures with little to no rain in summer. The cobra lily is restricted to perennial water flow of bogs, fens, and seeps. It has even been observed growing in perennial water flow (~seeps) of drainage ditches on the sides of roads. Like other carnivorous plants, cobra lily occurs on nutrient-poor substrates.
Darlingtonia californica can be a difficult carnivorous plant to keep in cultivation, as they require specific 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 the plants in styrofoam ice coolers with sphagnum moss is a reliable method used by many commercial growers of Darlingtonia to prevent root loss caused by high soil temperatures during the warmer parts of the year.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Darlingtonia californica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
