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Welcome to my Carnivorous Plants Page!
This page is in a fairly constant state of construction. As such, if you are interested in the subject, it would be a good idea to check back with some regularity. My growlist will be updated on this page as it changes in real life. The same is true of my trade/want list.
Photos are beginning to trickle in, take a look!
There is something extremely fascinating about these natural oddities. What could be more interesting than living things that actually work backward up the food chain?
I grow a number of genera of plants, including:
I also have a cultivation guide which contains many of the basics for growing carnivorous plants.
Also, if you are a collector as well, I'm willing to trade just about anything I have, as long as my personal stock is not exhausted. Here is a list of plants I am looking for.
From time to time, I have plants available for sale. Check my eBay page, or my zShop listings at Amazon.com.
Here is a list of people with whom I have had positive trading experiences, and who I would recommend to others interested in trading over the net.
One final, important note: All of my plants are propagated in captivity. I once placed an order with a mail order operation which provided me with plants that turned out to be wild collected. I no longer do business with this nursery. Many species of CP are under severe stress, and it is ethically and morally wrong to contribute to this by illegally or irresponsibly collecting these plants from their wild habitat. Besides, propagating in captivity is one of the most fun and rewarding parts of keeping these plants!
Byblis, or the Rainbow Plant, is a lovely, branched stem plant that looks similar to some Drosera species, in that the leaves are covered in tentacles which secrete a substance which attracts, captures, and digests prey. The leaves are more lightly colored than the Sundews', however, and the droplets of mucilege tend to be a bit smaller. The overall effect is that when the plant is seen in direct sunlight, it often produces a prismatic, "rainbow"-like effect.
Byblis differs from Drosera in being what is called a "passive flypaper" trap. Drosera tentacles will actually fold around and envelop prey, while Byblis tentacles remain still.
Byblis, in my experience, also tends to trap a slightly different type of insect than Drosera, which seems to feed mainly on gnats, very small flies, and the occasional mosquito hawk. Byblis, on the other hand, actually seems to capture mosquitoes themselves, which is fine with me!
I grow the following species of Byblis:
Byblis gigantea
Byblis lininflora
Cephalotus
follicularis is without a doubt the most bizarre-looking plant in
my collection. All carnivorous plants look to me like they are not
quite at home on this planet, but cephalotus really looks like
it's from outer space.
Cephalotus is a pitcher plant with a ground-hugging, rosette arrangement. The pitchers radiate from a central point, along with a number of flat, non-carnivorous leaves. Each plant will have three to five pitchers, arranged radially. The trap type is again similar to Sarracenia or Nepenthes, utilizing an attractant around the rim of the pitcher. The inside walls of the pitcher are smooth and slick, providing no purchase for an insect. The prey falls to the bottom of the pitcher, where it encounters a fluid bath containing wetting agents and digestive chemicals.
While much has been written about how Cephalotus must be kept in terrariums, I have found that mine is quite happy sitting a few inches back from a window sill. This one takes a little less water than some other plants, but otherwise will live quite nicely in the same environment as other plants.
There is only one species, Cephalotus
follicularis, and I grow it.
Growing
Cephalotus
Darlingtonia
californica is a relative of Sarracenia that occurs in the
Northwestern US, as far south as northern California.
Darlingtonia, like Sarracenia, is an upright pitcher plant. The pitchers radiate from a central rosette, and can grow to a height of 36 inches (just under 1 meter).
The trapping mechanism is slightly different than that of other pitcher plants. The top of the pitcher is bent forward, forming a dramatic structure which resembles a cobra with its hood spread. This is the source of the genus' common name. The resulting chamber at the top of the pitcher is covered with transparent fenestrations. The opening is at the bottom of the hood, from which issues a tongue-like structure, often referred to as "fangs". Insects enter the chamber through the opening, and once inside, the fenestrations provide much more light than the entrance to the trap. When the insect tries to leave, it flies toward the light, which is not the exit. Eventually, the insect falls down the throat of the pitcher, where is is trapped and digested.
Darlingtonia is a monotypic genus,
meaning that Darlingtonia californica is the only species, and
I grow it.
Growing Darlingtonia
Dionaea
muscipula, better known as the Venus Flytrap, is probably the
most widely known and recognized carnivorous plant in the world. It
seems everyone you talk to had one at some point in their life. The
Flytrap has a very unusual trap, which is a leaf with two lobes,
edged with interlocking "teeth". On each of the lobes is a
small number of trigger hairs. When these are disturbed, the lobes of
the leaf snap together, sealing the hapless insect inside. After
trapping, digestive chemicals enter the insect's body, and the fluids
are absorbed into the leaf's surface. The chitinous material of the
insect's body is not absorbed, and when the trap opens several days
later, this material is carried away by winds, or plucked out by a
careful grower.
Venus Flytraps have received an unfair reputation as difficult to grow. In reality, this plant is extremely easy to care for. Most of the rather high mortality rate can be blamed on bad advice given on care sheets often included with plants. Like Drosera and Sarracenia, Dionaea needs lots of water and lots of light. Feeding the plants hamburger or beef juice, which I have seen recommended on care sheets, will almost certainly kill the plants.
A healthy Venus Flytrap will acquire a red hue in the sun, and produce a number of robust leaf stalks. Like Sundews, I love a dense colony of Flytraps.
I grow the following Dionaea muscipula forms:
Standard
"Akai Ryu"
Red form
Dentate form
Sundews
are beautiful plants, with leaves covered with tiny tentacles. At the
tip of each tentacle the plant secretes a drop of a transparent,
sticky mucilage.
The mucilage is one of the most visually appealing parts of the sundew, and is the inspiration for the genus' common name. When illuminated by the sun, the droplets act like tiny prisms, giving the plant an overall glowing effect.
Insects are attracted to the liquid, which looks and smells to them like food. Once an insect touches the substance, however, they are trapped. The thick liquid holds the insect in place, while enzymes in the mucilege begin to break down the soft tissue of the insect's body. The resulting fluids are then absorbed into the plant, providing the nutrients the plant cannot get from its impoverished habitat.
Most droseras, especially the tropical varieties, are good plants for first-time growers, as they are very easy to grow in a window sill, and have very simple requirements. Many experienced growers actually find some drosera species to be "weeds", popping up all over the place, almost to the point of being pests! Personally, I find a thick field of Sundews to be singularly beautiful.
I grow several species of sundew, including:
Drosera aliciae (Alice Sundew)
Drosera binata (New Zealand) (New Zealand Fork-Leaf Sundew)
Drosera binata dichotoma (giant) (Fork-Leaf Sundew)
Drosera burmanii (Burmese Sundew)
Drosera capensis (Cape Sundew)
Drosera capensis (red) (Red Form)
Drosera capensis alba (All-Green form)
Drosera intermedia
Drosera filiformis var. tracyi (Thread-Leaf Sundew)
Drosera regia (King Sundew)
Drosera spathulata (Spoon-Leaf Sundew)
Drosera X "Marston Dragon"
Nepenthes
are a favorite among CP(carnivorous plants) enthusiasts. They offer
beauty, challenge, and an enormous number of species, varieties and
hybrids. Nepenthes form pitchers on the ends of tendrils that
grow from the tips of wide leaves. The trap mechanism is similar to
that of the Trumpet Pitchers, in that insects are tempted to alight
on the rim of the pitcher, where they encounter a very slick surface,
causing them to fall into a bath of water mixed with a wetting agent
that renders their wings useless. The insects are then dissolved in
the liquid, and the nutrients are absorbed into the walls of the
pitcher.
Native to tropical areas of Asia, many species of Nepenthes grow long vines, and in the wild can grow to a height of several meters, the vines climbing up cliffs or trees. In greenhouses, the vines can get quite long, providing a beautiful foliage.
Nepenthes often represent a number of challenges: They are more demanding than many other genera of carnivorous plants, being somewhat more particular about growing conditions, and while beginners may want to cut their teeth on a few other types of plants before getting into Nepenthes, they are not necessarily more difficult, once you've got a clear idea of what they want. Another challenge posed by Nepenthes is that they tend to be more expensive to acquire than other carnivorous plants. The added challenge also serves to increase the popularity of this genus.
The species of Nepenthes that I grow are:
Highland species:
Nepenthes burkei
Nepenthes gracillis
Nepenthes khasiana
Nepenthes maxima
Nepenthes sanguinea
Nepenthes ventricosa
Nepenthes alata
Lowland species:
Nepenthes ampullaria
Nepenthes rafflesiana
Nepenthes thorelii
Hybrids:
Nepenthes X ventrata (N. ventricosa X alata)
Nepenthes X coccinea (N. (rafflesiana X ampullaria) X mirabilis)
Nepenthes X "muttii" (something I found at a Home Depot store)
Nepenthes X "Savanna Rose" (Anyone who knows the parentage, I'd love to hear!)
Pinguicula uses an active flypaper-type trapping mechanism. The surface of Pinguicula's broad, flat leaves is covered with a multitude of two types of glands. The first, larger type, sits atop a small, hair-like structure and produces a sticky substance that holds the victim in place. This gives the leaf a greasy look, inspiring the genus' common name. The movement of the prey causes the second, smaller type of gland to produce a slightly acidic substance which digests the soft portions of the insect's body. In many species, the edges of the leaves curl upward, perhaps preventing nutrient-rich fluids from running off.
Pinguicula are found primarily in the Northern hemisphere. They range from arctic, northern species to tropical evergreen forms. Many of the more popular and easy to grow species come from Mexico, where the conditions allow for some seasonal variation in growth habit, but do not require an actual dormancy period.
Pinguicula species fall into three groups: those forming winter resting buds, those that produce the same type of leaf year-round (homophyllous growth type), and those that produce a large summer leaf, and a smaller winter leaf (heterophyllous growth type).
Pinguicula produce some of the most attractive flowers among carnivorous plants. Many species flower freely, and the flowers can remain for months.
I currently grow the following Pinguicula species:
Pinguicula caudata moranensis
Pinguicula esseriana
Pinguicula ehlersae
Coming soon:
P. lusitanica
Trumpets
are widely varied, and many people are surprised to learn that all
species are native to North America, mostly in the Southeastern US.
The trap is generally long and tubular, although it can be rather
squat, as in the Purple Pitcher Plant (also known as the Hunstsman's
Cup). The trap is rimmed with a sweet-smelling nectar, which is
attractive to sugar-feeding insects such as flies. When the insect
alights on the pitcher to feed, it is first intoxicated by a
narcotic-like substance present in the nectar. As it moves about the
surface of the pitcher, it encounters an extremely slick, waxy
surface just below the rim, and falls in. The narrow pitcher
restricts the insect's wings, and downward-pointing hairs allow the
prey to go deeper into the pitcher, but do not allow it to escape. At
the bottom of the pitcher is a substance, which could be either
primarily water, or a mixture of enzymes (depending upon the species
of plant), that break down the insect's body, and the resulting
fluids are absorbed into the plant.
Sarracenia are generally quite lovely. Thier flowers are quite attractive, and I actually find the pitchers to be quite decorative on their own. I am particularly fond of the white and red-on-green venition of Sarracenia leucophylla.
Sarracenia are not particularly difficult to grow, as long as they are given plenty of water and light. However, since they require a dormancy period of between three and six months, depending on the species, I would recommend beginners add Sarracenia to a collection of Drosera or other evergreen plants, so you have something to look at and appreciate during the winter months.
The species of Sarracenia I grow are:
Sarracenia flava (Yellow Trumpet Pitcher)
Sarracenia flava (Big Lid)
Sarracenia flava (Burgundy)
Sarracenia flava (Purple Throat)
Sarracenia leucophylla (White Top Trumpet Pitcher)
Sarracenia oreophilla (Green Trumpet Pitcher)
Sarracenia rubra (Sweet Pitcher Plant)
Sarracenia rubra alabamensis (Alabama Pitcher Plant)
Sarracenia rubra gulfensis (Sweet Pitcher Plant, Gulf Coast Form)
Sarracenia rubra wherryi
Sarracenia minor (Hooded Pitcher Plant)
Sarracenia purpurea venosa (Purple Pitcher Plant, Huntsman's Cup)
Sarracenia purpurea venosa (Mtn. bog form)
Sarracenia purpurea purpurea
Sarracenia purpurea purpurea f. heterophylla (Northern Pitcher Plant - All green form)
Here are a number of resources that I have found to be extremely useful in learning about and managing sucessfully to grow a collection of carnivorous plants.
If you would like to correspond about any of the subjects discussed here, or would like to trade some plants, then by all means email me, and we can talk! I'm definitely interested in helping out whenever I can, and would love to hear others' experiences!
This site is a member of the International Carnivorous Plants Society Web Ring. Use the table below to explore these sites.
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