INTIMIDATING IMITATOR

Intimidating Imitator, acrylic on canvas, 2023. 18" X 18"

The painting depicts an Indian cobra suspiciously looking at Darlingtonia californica, also known as the California pitcher plant, cobra lily, or cobra plant. The name "cobra lily" or "cobra plant" stems from the resemblance of its tubular leaves to a rearing cobra, complete with a forked leaf – ranging from yellow to purplish-green – that resemble a snake's tongue.

Darlingtonia is a type of pitcher plant which traps insects for nutrition in a unique way. In addition to lubricating secretions and downward-pointing hairs to force its prey into its trap, this plant uses its curled hood to hide the tiny exit hole from trapped insects and offers multiple translucent false windows to exhaust the insects inside. This plant usually thrives on serpentine soil which contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup (including lizardite and chrysotile or white asbestos). The word serpentine also means resembling a snake, which describes the appearance of the plant.

Not many animals eat such plants like Darlingtonia due to its appearance, which mimics the warning signals of a harmful species such as, in this case, the cobra, as a means of protection. This can be regarded as mimicry, but in fact the snake and the plant had never encountered each other in real life. The plant would look like a double for the snake (in its intimidation pose with hood open), which might have caused it to stare at it in confusion.