Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Darlingtonia californica
Introductory
SPECIES: Darlingtonia californica
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| Photo used with permission of Sherry Ballard © California Academy of Sciences |
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION:
Crane, M. F. 1990. Darlingtonia californica. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/forb/darcal/all.html [].
Revisions: Photo added on 06 February 2017.
ABBREVIATION:
DARCAL
SYNONYMS:
Chrysamphora californica
NRCS PLANT CODE:
DACA5
COMMON NAMES:
California pitcherplant
cobra plant
California pitcher
cobra lily
TAXONOMY:
The currently accepted scientific name of California pitcherplant is
Darlingtonia californica Torr. [16].
LIFE FORM:
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
No special status
OTHER STATUS:
California pitcherplant is listed as threatened in the Family Lists of
Candidate Endangered and Threatened Plant Species in the Continental
United States (Smithsonian Institution 1975) [9]. It is also on List
Four, Plants of Limited Distribution--A Watch List, of the California
Native Plant Society [17].
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Darlingtonia californica
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION:
California pitcherplant is endemic to the northern Sierra Nevada and
Coast Ranges of southwestern Oregon and northern California, including
the Klamath, Siskiyou, Salmon, and Trinity mountains. In the Sierra
Nevada, it occurs as far south as Nevada County [14,27]. Most Oregon
populations are found south of Florence in Lane County, but natural
populations are recorded near Hidden Lake in Lincoln County and Sand
Lake in Tillamook County [35]. A transplanted population is reported
near Seattle, Washington [14].
ECOSYSTEMS:
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES27 Redwood
STATES:
CA OR
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS:
1 Northern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:
K005 Mixed conifer forest
K006 Redwood forest
K007 Red fir forest
K010 Ponderosa shrub forest
SAF COVER TYPES:
207 Red fir
231 Port Orford-cedar
232 Redwood
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES:
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES:
Published classifications listing California pitcherplant as an
indicator species or a dominant part of the vegetation in community
types (cts) are presented below:
Area Classification Authority
CA general veg. cts Thorne 1976
CA general veg. cts Holland 1986
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Darlingtonia californica
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:
NO-ENTRY
PALATABILITY:
Leaves of California pitcherplants emit a putrid odor when cut [26].
This could reduce palatability.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE:
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE:
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES:
The main threat to California pitcherplant's existence in accessible
habitats is human collectors. Its strange shape and carnivorous habit
have made it a curiosity [21]. However, its environmental needs are so
exacting that it seldom survives for long in cultivation [6,21,32].
Collecting seed, which germinates readily, is the best method for
obtaining plants [21]. Several authors provide cultivation information
[21,32,33].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
No entry
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Darlingtonia californica
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
California pitcherplant is a native perennial forb. It is a
carnivorous plant that traps insects in its unique leaves. With
plentiful light and water in its open bog habitat, the production of
nectar is relatively "cheap". Insects attracted by the nectar are used
as a nutrient source [15]. Adult California pitcherplants have slowly
spreading rhizomes which produce a single leaf (pitcher) and roots at
each node [11,26]. The diameter of the rhizome is from 0.6 to 0.8 inch
(15-20 mm), although it narrows near the apical tip [11]. Internodes
are short and the pitchers appear to arise in a terminal rosette [33].
Each leaf has a sheathing base that encloses the apical bud and the base
of the next leaf [11]. Individuals have been aged by counting old leaf
bases attached to the rhizome [18]. Pitcher size may vary from over 39
inches (1 m) to as small as 0.4 inches (1 cm), although most pitchers
are between 8 and 24 inches (2-6 dm) tall [14,27,28].
Pitcher Morphology: Germinating seeds of California pitcherplant have
3 lanceolate and nontubular cotyledons which are followed by 5 to 10
juvenile leaves from a basal rosette [11,12]. Juvenile leaves are
tubular and somewhat twisted so that the opening may either be erect or
horizontal. Above the opening, each of these leaves tapers into a
flattened beak and the outside surface has many nectar glands [12,23].
The distinctive adult leaves have an elongated tubular portion with a
keeled area the length of the tube. The tube is twisted from 90 to 180
degrees. Functionally, the twisting turns the mouth of the tube to one
side making it more accessible to insects and preventing the next leaf
from growing into the mouth and plugging it [11]. At the top of the
tube, a hood arches over the mouth. The front edge of the hood has a
curious appendage shaped like a fishtail hanging in front of the mouth.
The outer surface of the fishtail appendage has many nectaries, with
nectar concentrated along the rim of the fishtail and opening of the
pitcher [32,33]. At maturity, groups of hood cells lose chlorophyll and
become translucent windows or fenestrations. The inner walls of the
hood have short, stiff, downward or backward pointing hairs. Below the
nectar roll at the mouth's edge, the inner walls are smooth and waxy
with long, thin hairs pointing downward near the base [32,33]. Pitchers
contain water secreted by the leaf, while rainwater is excluded by the
hood [23,18,28,33]. This fluid increases in volume as insects or other
nitrogen containing materials are added to it [23,18,33].
Pitcher Ecology: Insects are attracted to pitchers by the color and
nectar glands which cover the outside of the hood but which are more
numerous on the fishtail and wing [26]. There is a heavy exudation of
nectar on the nectar roll inside the mouth of the pitcher. Light from
the hood fenestrations assists in attracting insects inside the hood
[25]. The fenestrations also may appear to be exits and confuse some
insects [26]. Insects rarely escape once they have fallen into the
fluid at the pitcher base [26]. However, many if not most insect
visitors ingest nectar and leave without becoming trapped [15]. This
system may be mutually beneficial to both the California pitcherplants,
which gain a nutrient source, and the insect visitors, which gain a
nectar source [15]. The bodies of insects which drown in the pitchers
decompose by bacterial action, as California pitcherplant secretes no
enzymes for that purpose [23,33]. Twenty or more arthropod species may
be found living in pitchers of California pitcherplants, many of which
are obligate inhabitants [8,29]. Larvae of several species feed on dead
insects trapped by the pitchers, thus increasing the rate of
decomposition [28]. Spiders construct webs in the domes [8]. Some
insects feed on pitcher tissue or lay eggs in the pitchers so that their
larvae can feed on them [8].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM:
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES:
Vegetative reproduction of California pitcherplant by rhizomes is more
common than sexual reproduction [32]. Each leaf axil contains a single
bud which can develop into a lateral rhizome branch [11]. Although most
remain dormant, the buds that grow can cover a suitable location with
California pitcherplants [11,32].
Each pendant flower is borne on a stalk up to 39 inches (1 m) tall
[14,27]. The yellowish sepals are longer than the closed, reddish
corolla, which has openings to admit insect pollinators at indentations
near the ends of the petals [32,33]. The corolla shape, bell-shaped
ovary, and positions of both stigma and stamens greatly increase the
probability of cross-pollination [32]. Each five-chambered capsule
bears a hundred or more seeds which are 0.08 to 0.1 inch (2-3 mm) long,
hairy, and light reddish-brown [14,26,27]. The more rounded end of each
seed has many short projections which may aid in animal dispersal and
help the seed float [32,43]. Seeds mature within 10 weeks of
fertilization [33].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
Along the Oregon and northern California coast, California pitcherplant
is found in sphagnum bogs, seeps, and along trickling streams [14,30].
In the Siskiyou Mountains it is found only on sites with running water
[1]. In California's Klamath Ranges and the northern Sierra Nevada,
California pitcherplant grows where there are slowly draining bogs
formed by springs or seepage slopes and open marshy meadows [34]. It is
very rarely found in bogs with standing water. Normally it is
restricted to sites where its rhizomes and roots can be kept cool by
cold, moving water [26,32,33].
In northwestern California, bogs with California pitcherplant as the
dominant vascular species intermingle with bog forests where
Port-Orford-cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), western white pine (Pinus
monticola), and shore pine (Pinus contorta) dominate [17]. Other plants
found with California pitcherplant include sundew (Drosera
rotundifolia), northern grass-of-parnassus (Parnassia palustris), common
butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris), California coneflower (Rudbeckia
californica), smallhead burnet (Sanguisorba microcephala), lance-leaved
violet (Viola lanceolata occidentalis), white rushlily (Hastingsia
alba), California bog-asphodel (Narthecium californicum), western
tofieldia (Tofieldia glutinosa occidentalis), California ladyslipper
(Cypripedium californicum), canyon bogorchid (Habenaria sparsiflora),
hairy bulrush (Scirpus criniger), lilies (Lilium spp), rushes (Juncus
spp.), and beaked-rushes (Rhynchospora spp.) [34]. In lower elevation
bogs near the ocean, some associated species include Yosemite aster
(Aster occidentalis var. yosemitanus), scarlet paintbrush (Castilleja
miniata ssp. elata), Mendocino gentian (Gentiana setigera), California
coneflower, Pacific reedgrass (Calamagrostis nutkaensis), smallhead
burnet, largehorned butterwort (Pinguicula macroceras), and tufted
hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa ssp. beringensis) [17].
Soils: California pitcherplant commonly grows on sphagnum or poor peat
soils and gravel where the parent material is serpentine. It is often
considered an indicator of serpentine [14,26,32,38,39]. It is also
found on olivine grabbro in the central Siskiyou Mountains [39].
California pitcherplant occurs from sea level to 8,500 feet (2,592 m)
in elevation [27,33].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS:
Bogs containing California pitcherplant can develop directly from wet
sand on deflation plains along the Oregon coast [41]. Carnivorous
plants are characteristic of an early stage of succession in bog
habitats. Their growth helps build soil which can then be occupied by
other perennials, shrubs, and eventually trees [39]. Pitcher plants in
the southeastern United States do not compete well with other plants in
the absence of fire or other disturbance [15]. California pitcherplant
is primarily found in the bright sunshine of open bogs [10,21].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Flowers are initiated during late summer, overwinter as buds and bloom
in early spring before new leaves appear [43]. Bloom can be from April
to August depending on altitude [28,32]. The first pitchers produced
after bloom are the tallest of the year [28]. Annual growth of the
rhizome may include one or two full-sized pitchers, one that is half
size or smaller, and three to five very small pitchers [29]. The
smallest pitchers tend to be prostrate, with the fishtail appendage
touching the ground and forming a ramp for insects [23].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Darlingtonia californica
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:
California pitcherplant grows on sites with running water which seem
unlikely to burn most years. However, it does grows in bright sunlight
and may well be a seral species like other pitcherplants. The shallow
rhizome is covered by imbricate, sheathing leaf bases [11] which may
give it some protection from fire. California pitcherplant sprouts
from the rhizome, and seeds may be transported from nearby unburned
sites by animals [11,32].
FIRE REGIMES:
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY:
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Darlingtonia californica
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:
Aboveground portions of California pitcherplant are probably killed by
fire. Survival of the rhizome depends on fire severity.
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE:
In the Southeast, frequent, moderate fire is necessary for some pitcher
plants (Sarracenia spp.) to maintain dense populations. Such fires, as
often as every second year, reduce encroachment of competing plants and
increase bare, wet ground for seedling establishment [9,15,19]. In
Mississippi, pitcherplants in a burned bog were more abundant and had
larger leaves and rhizomes than those in an unburned bog [5]. Although
historical reports indicate dense populations of California pitcher
plant [15], its specific response to fire has not been documented. All
the older (from 146 to 350-400 years) Port-Orford-cedar in a bog forest
intermingled with California pitcherplant bogs exhibit fire scars [17].
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
NO-ENTRY
References for species: Darlingtonia californica
1. Atzet, Thomas; Wheeler, David L. 1984. Preliminary plant associations of the Siskiyou Mountain Province. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 278 p. [9351]
2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]
3. Daubenmire, Rexford. 1978. Plant geography--with special reference to North America. Physiological Ecology. New York: Academic Press. 338 p. [8949]
4. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]
5. Eleuterius, L. N.; Jones, S. B., Jr. 1969. A floristic and ecological study of pitcher plant bogs in south Mississippi. Rhodora. 71: 29-34. [12333]
6. Everett, Percy C. 1957. A summary of the culture of California plants at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden 1927-1950. Claremont, CA: The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. 223 p. [7191]
7. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
8. Fashing, N. J. 1981. Arthropod associates of the cobra lily (Darlingtonia californica). Virginia Journal of Science. 23(3): 92. Abstract. [12304]
9. Folkerts, George W. 1977. Endangered and threatened carnivorous plants of North America. In: Prance, G. T.; Elias, T. S. ed, eds. Extinction is forever. Threatened and endangered species of plants in the Americas and their significance today and in t; 1976 May 11-13; New York. [Place of publication unknown]. [Publisher unknown]. 301-313. [12388]
10. Fowlie, J. A. 1982. Notes on the habitat and ecological relationships of Cypripedium californicum A. Gray and Darlingtonia californica. Orchid Digest. 46(5): 165-170. [12300]
11. Franck, Daniel H. 1975. Early histogenesis of the adult leaves of Darlingtonia californica (Sarraceniaceae) and its bearing on the nature of epiascidiate foliar a. American Journal of Botany. 62(2): 116-132. [12485]
12. Franck, Daniel H. 1976. Comparative morphology and early leaf histogenesis of adult and juvenile leaves of Darlingtonia californica and their bearing on the concept of. Botanical Gazette. 137(1): 20-34. [12486]
13. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
14. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1964. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 2: Salicaceae to Saxifragaceae. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 597 p. [1166]
15. Joel, Daniel M. 1988. Mimicry and mutalism in carnivorous pitcher plants (Sarraceniaceae, Nepenthaceae, Cephalotaceae, Bromdiaceae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 35(2): 185-197. [12303]
16. Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p. [6954]
17. Keeler-Wolf, Todd. 1986. An ecological survey of the proposed Stone Corral - Josephine Peridotite Research Natural Area (L. E. Horton - Darlingtonia Bog Research Nat. Area) on the Six Rivers National Forest, Del Norte County, California. Purchase order # 40-9AD6-5-907. Unpublished report on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. 69 p. [12307]
18. Knight, Walter; Knight, Irja; Howell, John Thomas. 1970. A vegetation survey of the Butterfly Botanical Area, California. Wasmann Journal of Biology. 28: 1-246. [12306]
19. Komarek, E. V. 1981. History of prescribed fire and controlled burning in wildlife management in the South. In: Wood, Gene W., ed. Prescribed fire and wildlife in southern forests: Proceedings of a symposium; 1981 April 6-8; Myrtle Beach, SC. Georgetown, SC: Clemson University, Belle W. Baruch Forest Science Institute: 1-14. [14802]
20. Jones, F. M. 1921. Pitcher plants and their moths. Natural History. 21: 296-316. [12301]
21. Kruckeberg, A. R. 1982. Gardening with native plants of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 252 p. [9980]
22. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. United States [Potential natural vegetation of the conterminous United States]. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 1:3,168,000; colored. [3455]
23. Lloyd, F. E. 1942. The carnivorous plants. Waltham, MA: Chronica Botanica Company. 352 p. [12247]
24. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 10 p. [20090]
25. Mellichamp, T. L. 1979. The occurrence of ladyslipper orchids and insectivorous plants Part 1. Darlingtonia californica as it occurs with Cypripedium californicum. Orchid Digest. 43(3): 108-113. [12299]
26. Mellichamp, T. L. 1983. Cobras of the Pacific Northwest. Natural History. 92(4): 46-51. [12298]
27. Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1905 p. [6155]
28. Naeem, Shahid. 1988. Resource heterogeneity fosters coexistence of a mite and a midge in pitcher plants. Ecological Monographs. 58(3): 215-227. [12309]
29. Nielsen, David W. 1990. Arthropod communities associated with Darlingtonia californica. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 83(2): 189-200. [12308]
30. Peck, Morton E. 1941. A manual of the higher plants of Oregon. Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort. 800 p. [12444]
31. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
32. Schnell, Donald E. 1976. Carnivorous plants of the United States and Canada. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair. 125 p. [12292]
33. Slack, Adrian. 1979. Carnivorous plants. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. 240 p. [12293]
34. Thorne, Robert F. 1976. The vascular plant communities of California. In: Latting, June, ed. Symposium proceedings: plant communities of southern California; 1974 May 4; Fullerton, CA. Special Publication No. 2. Berkeley, CA: California Native Plant Society: 1-31. [3289]
35. Trappe, J. M; Gerdemann, J. W. 1974. A northern extension of the range of Darlingtonia. Madrono. 22(5): 279. [12212]
36. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
37. Vankat, John L. 1979. The natural vegetation of North America: an introduction. New York: John Wiley and Sons. 261 p. [25214]
38. Whittaker, R. H. 1954. The ecology of serpentine soils: IV. The vegetational response to serpentine soils. Ecology. 35(2): 275-288. [10397]
39. Whittaker, R. H. 1960. Vegetation of the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon and California. Ecological Monographs. 30(3): 279-338. [6836]
40. Zembal, Richard. 1990. Riparian habitat and breeding birds along the Santa Margarita and Santa Ana Rivers of southern California. In: Schoenherr, Allan A., ed. Endangered plant communities of southern California: Proceedings, 15th annual symposium; 1989 October 28; Fullerton, CA. Special Publication No. 3. Claremont, CA: Southern California Botanists: 98-114. [21322]
41. Franklin, Jerry F.; Dyrness, C. T. 1973. Natural vegetation of Oregon and Washington. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-8. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 417 p. [961]
42. Holland, Robert F. 1986. Preliminary descriptions of the terrestrial natural communities of California. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Fish and Game. 156 p. [12756]
43. DeBuhr, Larry Eugene. 1973. Distribution and reproductive biology of Darlingtonia californica. Santa Ana Bot. Gardensr, CA: Claremont Graduate School. 43 p. Thesis. [12433]
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