Darlingtonia californica (icon), also called the California Pitcher plant

Pitcher plant

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...

, Cobra Lily, or Cobra Plant, is a carnivorous plant

Carnivorous plant

Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...

, the sole member of the genus Darlingtonia in the family Sarraceniaceae

Sarraceniaceae

Sarraceniaceae is a family of pitcher plants , belonging to order Ericales .The family comprises three extant genera: Sarracenia , Darlingtonia , and Heliamphora . The extinct Archaeamphora longicervia may also belong to this family...

. It is native to Northern California

Northern California

Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...

 and Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, growing in bogs and seeps with cold running water. This plant is designated as uncommon due to its rarity in the field.

The name Cobra Lily stems from the resemblance of its tubular leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 to a rearing cobra

Cobra

Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...

, complete with a forked leaf—ranging from yellow to purplish-green—that resemble fangs or a serpent's tongue.

The plant was discovered in 1841 by the botanist William D.