Dragon Maw Pitcher

Found in dry and warm locations dragon maw pitchers are one of the few plant species to be both carnivorous and bear edible fruit once mature.

## **Description**

Dragon maw pitchers are leathery skinned plants that have been closely associated with looking like a dragon’s snout. The shape of the pitcher is closer to a teardrop, with the thinnest part of the plant having a slit like opening, similar to a mouth, and the base is roughly flat with a long network of thin roots.

Lining the outside skin of the pitcher are hard, waxy, concave spines which face upwards towards its opening. The colour of the pitcher’s skin depends on its level of maturity, with a pale red being the least, and a dark red being the most. Within the pitcher there is a separate internal lining of black waxy skin, and a clear acidic liquid, however when mature, the pitcher is full of white edible flesh with small seeds encased and scattered within.

## **Lifecycle**

The seeds from the dragon maw pitcher fruit, or dragon fruit, prefer to grow in sandy locations or otherwise loose soil as the roots which sprout from the seed are thin but grow rapidly to find deep water sources, which takes typically around 8 days.

After becoming properly rooted the seed will shed its hard casing and begin to gradually pull itself into the soil, deep enough to grow undisturbed until it is ready for its ‘feeding’ phase.

Once the pitcher has matured to a suitable size and produced enough acid within itself, the plant will push its mouth through the surface before opening. During the early part of this phase the pitcher will produce a white powder which smells of rotting meat to attract insects, any insects attempting to eat the powder will often slip on the waxy internal walls of the pitcher and fall into the acid, where the plant will then digest them.

Eventually when the pitcher reaches a certain size it will enter its ‘mature’ phase and close off it’s opening to begin producing its main fruit. Once the fruit is mature it will reopen a small amount to then give off the smell of cooked meat to attract animals to eat the fruit.

If it is not eaten within a month, it will reseal its opening, digest its own fruit then revert back to its feeding phase, starting the cycle again until it’s successful.

## **Uses**

* To be edible the fruit requires preparation in the form of draining or drying as some excess acid may be present in the flesh, which would otherwise cause violent stomach cramps.
* The seeds within the matured fruit can be taken out of the flesh and boiled to produce a potent poison, which can also be used as an insecticide.
* The acid within the pitcher can be diluted and used to soften leather.

## **Trivia**

* The taste of dragon fruit is compared to the taste of chicken, however the prey digested during the feeding phase can alter its taste.
* Despite the abundance of dragon maw pitchers in the Sun Kingdom, they are most frequently eaten in the Moon Kingdom.
* Some mice and small snakes have been found being digested within larger dragon maw pitchers.
* As the seeds are most commonly spread through animal droppings, dragon maw pitchers can be either seen in isolation, or in small clusters.