Have you ever seen flowers cracking jokes at the expense of flies? Welcome to the little shop of hahaharrors.
These are some of my new fave plants - my other variety of carnivores : trumpet pitcher plants. They look pretty alien don't they? Even though these aren't technically flowers, they are so damn pretty that I had to include them here!
I'll admit that I haven't seen them in action yet, but they seem to be far more stealthy than my venus fly traps. They have these long tubes that are filled to about a third with some nice sticky, oozy liquid that they use to catch and digest their prey. If you look closely on the lids, you can also see fine hairs that all point towards the pitcher. That's to help convince the unlucky bug which way to go. Want to see the inside?
I know they aren't the best photos out there, but these plants are quite delicate so I had to ask her really nicely if I could lift up her little skirt to take a photo. She was a bit shy at first but then she loosened up.
How cool is that lacy pattern on her? There was a larger one than this which had more distinct lace patterning but it was twice the price and I simply couldn't afford it, so I got the second largest in the hope that her white and green lace colouring will develop further as she grows.
And yes, that is my foot behind her, but don't trust the size ratio, it's way out of proportion, she's about 30cm tall and each trumpet pitcher is about 3cm diameter at the top. Since I got her, she's taken a little while to adjust. I have been collecting rain water for her to drink and my, oh my, she's a thirsty girl! Every time I top up her water, it seems she has put out a new pitcher so I must be doing something right. Her name is Lavina, but for any of those who want to know, her scientific name is Sarracenia leucophylla x (she's a sexy hybrid).
Let me know in the comments what you think of her or if you have any carnivores of your own. Look at them singing opera together!
