A fly buzzes around a small, white flower in the Pacific Northwest. It lands on the stem and tries to crawl toward the bloom on top. That’s when it discovers its legs are stuck. It can’t move another millimeter!
This sticky-stemmed plant is called a western false asphodel. Scientists first described it in 1879. But they only recently discovered that it’s actually a carnivorous, or meat-eating, plant. Its stem acts like flypaper. It traps unsuspecting insects in place. Then the plant absorbs nutrients from the bugs’ bodies.