They're saying this meat-eating plant is hidden in plain sight and it's near several major urban centers in the Pacific Northwest, as far inland as Montana.  This sounds like a Treasure Valley treasure hunt waiting to happen.

Science class taught us that plants get their nutrition from sunlight and that's how they survive, but maybe the academics who came up with that idea never let them belly up to a bug buffet.  Apparently, a plant-based diet is not all it's cracked up to be and sometimes plants themselves want some meat.

The name "Triantha occidentalis" might not sound all that fierce, but this unassuming little plant is a meat-eater and it could be spreading across the Pacific Northwest. This carnivorous plant may not chase you down and eat you, but the flowering stalks with sticky hairs can trap insects and digest them.

It's found mostly in wet areas from Alaska to California, and "inland to Montana," so that would include Idaho.  Aren't we lucky.  Have you seen it?  This deceptively pretty little plant is something new to watch for while you're floating the river, for sure.

It's the first new meat-eating plant to be discovered in about twenty years, according to scientists, and this one is sneaky because it's the leaves that trap and digest the prey.  Usually, it's the stalks that get 'em.

Scientists are excited because they've discovered something new with this plant, but what if they are cute little reminders that the world has gone sideways and nothing is what it appears?  Harmless little plant?  No, serial killer.

If your boyfriend picks you a bunch of these things and puts them in a beautiful vase on the kitchen counter, well, maybe he's not a keeper.  But at least the flies will be gone.


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