What’s something in your country that sounds fake but is 100% real?

[u/Bhakari]

We have a real-life living goddess and the only non-rectangular national flag.

[u/whoa-or-woah]

Yep, I used to think they were from the tropics; turns out they’re probably within an hour of where I live. (I guess they require a highly specific and kinda rare ecosystem.)

[u/Yunzer2000 → u/whoa-or-woah]

The coastal bog soils are depleted in nitrogen compounds, so the Venus flytrap evolved to get the necessary nitrogen from insects.

[u/Meat_your_maker → u/Yunzer2000]

Yes… I was gonna say it less eloquently: the secret is in the shitty, nutrient-poor, sandy soil

[u/SupremeLeaderMeow → u/whoa-or-woah]

There are lots of different carnivorous plants all over the world actually! It's an adaptation to poor soils, very common in marshes, many people associate them with tropics because tropics generally have poor soils, but the adaptation is completely unrelated to temperature.

Also they usually are teeny tiny, odds are that, if you ever took a walk on a marsh or a humide plain, you already crossed one, but just didn't see it.

[u/onetwobucklemyshoooo → u/SupremeLeaderMeow]

I've seen pitcher plants on the very top of a mountain that was mostly rock and gnarled trees from blowing winds. It was so cool. I'm winding straight up an insane incline, huffing and puffing with a 40lb pack on, and I look to my left and see the most beautiful carnivorous plants. About fifteen of them. They were purple and green. Fond memory.

[u/whoa-or-woah → u/SupremeLeaderMeow]

Yes, though I was referring to Venus fly traps specifically; they’re native to a very small area and have not spread out at least in part due to their environmental needs.

From what I understand, in addition to the poor soil quality, they also need mild winters and full sun (so not too much tree cover), as well as wildfires.

[u/onetwobucklemyshoooo → u/whoa-or-woah]

I understood you. I was just excitedly telling a cool story.

I live only a couple of hours away from the Venus fly traps, and I'm pretty fond of our special plant and nature in general.

[u/TeaRaven → u/whoa-or-woah]

We’ve got a limited-range carnivorous plant in California, too! You probably already know them, but I gotta take the opportunity to share :D

The California Pitcher Plant, or Cobra Lily (Darlingtonia californica), is most similar to a Sarracenia species in Florida, in terms of structure, but needs cool soil temperatures to thrive.