The single, funnel-shaped purple flower at the top of a long stalk may seem demure and innocent, but the Common Butterwort has a taste for blood. Bug blood, that is. The flower is a visual siren to lure tiny insects to horrible deaths. The weapon used can be found near the ground: the leathery, yellow-green leaves around the base of the stem attract, trap, and digest insects. All that remains are black specks. These hard bits of exoskeleton are forensic evidence of bug murder.

Butterworts have evolved this food-gathering strategy because their homes are notoriously poor in traditional plant food. The bogs and wet, rocky banks where butterworts are found tend to be nutrient poor. What’s a plant to do?

Look for butterworts along Beaver Flats or Many Springs interpretive trails.

Photo by Sara Bjork – http://www.flickr.com/photos/aegishjalmur/778667568/