As rare as it is , the cobra lily ( Darlingtonia californica ) has an unusual appearance that makes it easily identifiable . swing from the curving , purple - streak yellowish - green plant that has a form resembling a cobra is a specialized , purplish - cerise leafage that looks like a cobra ’s forked tongue .
As rare as it is , the cobra lily ( Darlingtonia californica ) has an unusual appearance that makes it easily identifiable . Dangling from the curving , purple - mottled yellow - green plant that has a form resemble a cobra is a specialised , purplish - red leaf that looks like a cobra ’s forked tongue . This ambrosia - fill appendage attracts insect through an initiative on its aerofoil . The unsuspecting glitch eventually strike into a sleeping room of bacterial - filled solution that dissolve them into plant - feeding broth . Because its growing conditions are so hard to duplicate , cobra lily is a carnivorous plant best enjoyed in the state of nature .
Natural Habitat
Cobra lily , also acknowledge as the California pitcher plant , grows wild in a few sequestered area of the northerly California quite a little and southern Oregon coast . Because it has protect status in both United States Department of State , collect the plant in the wild is illegal . One major habitat of cobra lily is Darlingtonia Bog in the Butterfly Valley Botanical Area , which is in Plumas National Forest and about a three - hour drive northeast of Sacramento , California . Another one of its habitat is Oregon ’s Darlingtonia State Natural Site near Florence . Like other carnivorous flora , cobra lily flourishes in snakelike soils and sphagnum peat bog inhospitable to other vegetation . In most slip in the wild , the plant populate spill terrain with dusty spring water fall over or just beneath the soil .
Growing Conditions
Cobra lily grows as a perennial in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 7 through 10 . A cobra lily aboriginal to mountains does best in a site exposed to partial sun to full sun while a cobra lily native to the coast does better in a partial- to full - shade localization , peculiarly where summer is hot . Because the bulk of its sustenance come from insects and the residual from photosynthesis , cobra lily does n’t need fertiliser . Its survival depends on constant access to water . The plant life distribute by its thick roots , or rhizomes , that grow just beneath the soil ’s surface . Without a nearby source of cold , ooze water bathing and carry oxygen to its rhizomes , a cobra lily may collapse and give-up the ghost .
Container Culture
Cobra lilies arise from seeds take two to four year to become large enough for individual pots . If you require to reduce the delay , choose an already - begin mountain cobra lily elevate outdoors instead of in a glasshouse . The wad plant life tolerates wide temperature swings and low humidity much better than a plant from the Oregon coast . In club to mimic your young plant ’s natural growing conditions , plant it in a loose , wet - retaining medium that is 1 part peat moss , 1 part orchid bark and 1 to 2 component part pumice or perlite , accord to a Sarracenia Northwest online article . Its sess should be a shallow , wide container that is the size of a cat litter pan and that has several bottom drainage holes .
Potted Specimen Care
From spring to fall , a potted cobra lily require inhuman distill water daily ; in very hot atmospheric condition , it need tearing each morning and evening . During its winter dormancy , move the potted plant to a fix where the temperature stay below 50 degree Fahrenheit , and jell it on a shallow tray of distilled water to keep its growing medium moist . Cobra lily tolerates inadequate periods at temperature as low as 20 F without harm . In windy , subfreezing stipulation , protect it from frost burn with a tarp , but shore the tarp so it does n’t touch the plant .
References
Related
