A tiny white flower found throughout the Pacific Northwest has been keeping a secret from scientists for more than a century. It turns out that the plant, called the western false asphodel (Triantha occidentalis), is carnivorous.
Scientists recently discovered that the flower’s stem is covered in sticky hairs that trap small insects. The hairs ooze an enzyme—a substance produced by an organism that causes a chemical reaction—that digests the caught critters. Carnivorous plants rely on the animals they catch to provide nutrients that are scarce in the soils where they grow. So bugs beware!