The sneaky hungry pitcher plants have very sweet smelling nectar that lures an insect into its tubular stem for dinner.  Because of the plant’s coloration and sweet smell the insect has no clue they have fallen into a deadly trap with no way out.

The insect lands on the slippery rim and falls in.  The walls of the tube are so slick they can not climb out.  It’s the plant that gets to eat dinner.  The pitcher is actually a swelling of the mid-vein of the leaf which is flatter than a pancake when it first sprouts up and the liquid in the bottom is a digestive fluid.  The flower comes up beside the pitcher on a long stem that has a green ball that has a bunch of little seeds.  It blooms every spring and is very pretty.

After researching this pitcher plant, I think this is a nepenthes species. These were growing by a pond and I managed to take a lot of photos and not fall in.

It’s a beautiful and unusual plant but it is a deadly trap.  God’s creations do make life interesting.