I have a little bit of an obsession with carnivorous plants. This guy is a hybrid cobra lily. When I got it, I understand as much about hybrids or know that there's an Oregon native, or I would have gotten the wild type, which also look awesome. But I like the red frills on this guy.
Carnivory has evolved many times in plants, all in plants that grow in very nutrient-poor soil, usually highly acidic bogs. They get their energy from photosynthesis but their nitrogen etc. from bugs, or frogs, or whatever they can catch.
Cobra lilies, unlike many carnivorous plants, don't have their own enzymes to dissolve critters, and instead rely on mutualisms with microbes to break down their food.
This guy has grown a TON already this year.
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