In Truckee we are at the center of the widely dispersed carnivorous plant bogs and fens of the Sierras. North of us at the Sagehen Creek Field Station is the Mason fen which is home to two species of Drosera (sundews). In Plumas County, the Butterfly Valley Botanical Area protects a large and diverse population of carnivorous plants such as Darlingtonia as well as many orchids, ferns and lilies. South of Truckee, the Squaw Valley meadow had a large sundew population until it was drained to provide parking for the 1960 Olympics which caused all of the plants to perish. A small population of sundews still exists at General Creek on Lake Tahoe's west shore and at Osgood Bog in South Lake Tahoe. Grass Lake in the Luther Pass area has a population of sundews and bladderworts.

Carnivorous means "meat eating". Plants have developed unique methods of trapping and dissolving animal prey especially in locations where nitrogen is not available due to low ph or soil nutrients. In all carnivorous plants, the insect and fish trapping mechanisms involve modified stems and leaves. In some species enzymes dissolve the prey and in others such as Darlingtonia, bacteria in the pitcher fluid do most of the work. Our Sierra carnivores occur in mossy wet places often with running water or in swampy lakes.

Over the years, I have visited all of these carnivorous plant locations numerous times. The most spectacular and fascinating assemblage of plants occurs in the Butterfly Valley Botanical Area just north of Quincy. The Mt. Hough Ranger Station on Hwy 70 has a very nice descriptive handout which guides you carefully along the road where various plant observations can be made without walking in the really wet areas.

The star of the show at the Butterfly Valley is the large population of the rare Darlingtonia californica, a pitcher plant. Rebecca Austin first made collections in the area in 1873-78. She conducted experiments on the Darlingtonia's digestion mechanism by placing insects and meat down in the pitcher and concluded that decomposition rather than digestion was taking place. Bacterial action was thought to be the cause of decomposition until recently when an enzyme was found in the pitcher fluid.

Darlingtonias have single flowers which hang down from 18-24 inch stems. They begin to flower in early May and continue into July. The new pitchers, made of modified leaves, begin to grow later in May and are spectacular in June. In some locations, the pitchers are so dense, they appear to be growing on top of each other. When an insect lands on the fang hanging down from the pitcher, it is enticed into the opening by nectar. Once the insect is inside the pitcher, hairs direct it into the fluid where it is trapped.

In the Butterfly Valley, two species of Drosera (sundews) are found in between the moss below the Darlingtonia. They are very small and difficult to see with so much lush vegetation surrounding them. The tiny sundews have leaves covered with stalked glands or tentacles. These secrete a very sticky substance. Insects land on the leaves and stick to them. This causes the tentacles to fold over the insect where it drowns in the fluid. It is then digested by the enzymes and mostly absorbed. After the completion of this process, the tentacles unfold and repeat the process.

In the Butterfly Valley pond and in Grass Lake are found two species of Bladderwort (Utricularia). These plants have leaves and stems that float in shallow water. Bladder like pods are located along the stems and catch tiny fish and insects with a complicated mousetrap type action. The beautiful yellow flowers are seen floating on the surface of the water later in the summer.

Carnivorous plants should not be collected from the wild. Californiacarnivors.com offers plants for sale as well as interesting books on carnivorous plants on their website.