''Triantha occidentalis'', the western false asphodel, is a species of

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Tofieldiaceae Tofieldiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the monocot order Alismatales.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Books: Ontario, Canada. (2007). . The fami ...

. It is found in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

Botanical history

''Triantha occidentalis'' was described by Sereno Watson in 1879 as ''Tofieldia occidentalis'', and reassigned to '' Triantha'' by R. R. Gates in 1918. The carnivorous behavior of the plant was discovered in 2021 by a group of scientists from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

Range

The native range of ''Triantha occidentalis'' is from Southeast Alaska to Central California. The range includes the US states of Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.

Carnivory

''Triantha occidentalis'' is a

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...

; the flower stems are covered in a sticky substance, and have tiny hairs that produce a digestive enzyme, a

phosphatase In biochemistry, a phosphatase is an enzyme that uses water to cleave a phosphoric acid Ester, monoester into a phosphate ion and an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol. Because a phosphatase enzyme catalysis, catalyzes the hydrolysis of its Substrate ...

. The sticky substance is able to trap small insects, which are digested by the enzyme from the hairs, allowing the plant to absorb their nutrients. Other carnivorous plants have insect traps well away from flowers, in positions where pollinating insect such as bees and butterflies are nor affected; ''T. occidentaliss sticky flower stems are only able to trap smaller insects such as fruit flies. It was not suspected that ''T. occidentalis'', which grows near urban centers, was carnivorous until it was found to have a

genetic deletion In genetics, a deletion (also called gene deletion, deficiency, or deletion mutation) (sign: Δ) is a mutation (a genetic aberration) in which a part of a chromosome or a sequence of DNA is left out during DNA replication. Any number of nucleoti ...

sometimes seen in carnivorous plants, prompting investigation. The plant is, , the only one known to trap insects this unsuspected way, but it has been suggested that there may be more.

Subspecies

The following subspecies are accepted: *''Triantha occidentalis'' subsp. ''brevistyla'' (C.L.Hitchc.) Packer *''Triantha occidentalis'' subsp. ''montana'' (C.L.Hitchc.) Packer *''Triantha occidentalis'' subsp. ''occidentalis''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15604478 Tofieldiaceae Carnivorous plants Flora of Alaska Flora of British Columbia Flora of Alberta Flora of Washington (state) Flora of Idaho Flora of Montana Flora of Oregon Flora of Wyoming Plants described in 1918 Flora without expected TNC conservation status