The Almost Daily

It was a tough decision for today, but we decided not to go with National Roast Leg of Lamb Day.  Instead, we’re going with World Carnivorous Plant Day. 

What do you do if you’re a plant living in a nutrient poor environment?  Simple.  You eat your neighbors.  There are more than 750 species of carnivorous plants worldwide, even in Oregon (the cobra lily, a type of pitcher plant, found near Florence). 

Carnivorous plants generally fall into three main categories.  There’s the iconic Venus flytrap that waits with its “jaws” open for an unsuspecting insect to come inside.  There are butterworts, plants that have sticky leaves that curl around anything unfortunate enough to step on them.  And there are pitcher plants, which feature a growth that looks like… well… a pitcher.  The critters go in for a dinner of nectar and get stuck inside, where chemicals in the bottom of the pitcher slowly digest their meal.  Pitcher plants can be quite large, and they won’t eat just bugs.  They’ll eat small birds, bats, lizards, small animals, that guy that used to live next-door… if it crawls inside, it’s lunch.  “Feed me, Seymore!”

There’s even an International Carnivorous Plant Society.  They have a webpage, they put out a newsletter, they have regular Zoom seminars.  They may even have regular potluck dinners.  So here’s my question:  If vegetarians eat carnivorous plants, are they still vegetarians?

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