Day 239: Two out of three ain't bad! Audrey's third bud has not increased from pea-size as her two others have prospered, now as fully open as they will ever appear. Their peculiar structure is visible in this photo: an umbrella-shaped style with stigmata concealed in the interior of the dome. Insects enter Sarracenia's "inner sanctum" at the bases of the innermost petals, and only the cleverest pollinators escape her trap. Audrey's primary line of defense is not her blossom, however. Enzymes within the bases of her "pitcher" foliage dispatch and digest any insect which happens to enter the tube-like leaves. When I trimmed back her winter-killed tips this spring, I found each pitcher filled to a depth of several inches with the indigestible husks of beetles, flies and even spiders. No fertilizer for this gal! She can take care of herself.
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