How we make this

Sources we use

We cite primary sources, in roughly this order of preference:

1. Growing guides from the International Carnivorous Plant Society (ICPS) and articles in its journal, the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter. They are written by experienced growers and botanists and are the most detailed public source on cultivation.
2. Taxonomic and conservation databases: the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) and Plants of the World Online from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; the International Plant Names Index; the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; NatureServe and US Fish and Wildlife Service records.
3. Floras and the scientific literature: Flora of North America, regional herbaria and floras, and peer-reviewed papers.
4. Institutions: botanic gardens, university extension services and government agencies, including the official texts of laws.

We do not cite Wikipedia, nursery care sheets, forums or other websites that summarise these sources. We sometimes read them for leads, then go to the original.

Citations

Every non-obvious statement carries a numbered citation that links to the page's Sources list, which gives each source's title, publisher, address and the date we read it. The site's build fails if a page cites a source it does not list, or lists a source it never cites. When reputable sources disagree, for example on whether a Venus flytrap kept under lights indoors needs a winter dormancy, the page presents both positions and says who holds each.

Names, ranges and Red List links

Scientific names, authorities, synonyms and native ranges are not typed by hand. A script in the site's code reads them from WCVP through the GBIF checklist API, and finds the address of each IUCN Red List assessment in the copy of the Red List published on GBIF. The current data was retrieved on October 12, 2026 from the WCVP release published June 4, 2026 and the Red List dataset publishedJuly 28, 2026. Native ranges use the botanical regions of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, which is why they read as "North Carolina" or "Western Australia" rather than as habitats. IUCN's terms restrict commercial use of Red List data, so the site links to each assessment instead of reproducing its category. When IUCN assesses subspecies or varieties rather than the species, the profile links to each of those assessments.

Species pages and the tables

A species gets its own page only when the published information about it is substantial enough to stand on its own. Other species that growers meet are listed in the sortable tables on the genus pages, with a short cited note. Care notes on each profile say whether they come from guidance for that species, for its cultivation group (for example "subtropical sundews"), or for the genus as a whole.

Tools

Each tool applies figures from a named source: the water checker uses the dissolved-solids limits stated on ICPS pages and NDSU Extension's conversion factors for conductivity readings; the grow-light calculator scales the ICPS lighting figures; the soil-mix calculator uses mixes from the ICPS guides; the dormancy planner and the troubleshooter paraphrase ICPS advice. Every rule in a tool's code names its source, and the tool page lists them. The calculation logic is covered by automated tests.

Illustrations

The line drawings are original to this site. They are generated by code from a small set of plant forms, are schematic rather than to scale, and are not traced from photographs. The site uses no stock or third-party images.

AI-assisted drafting and review

Pages are drafted with AI assistance working from the cited sources and the rules on this page. Drafts are then checked by automated validation (citations, links, required sections) and by the editor against the sources. Each page shows whether the editor has reviewed it yet. The site never claims personal growing trials, tests or experiences that did not happen.

Publishing and dates

Pages are published in batches. A page shows the date it was actually published, and an updated date when its substance changes. We do not backdate pages.

Corrections

Errors can be reported to contact@bogtraps.garden. A correction that changes advice or a figure is made against a source and shown with an updated date.

What we do not do

• We do not recommend or describe collecting plants or seed from the wild.
• We do not sell plants, take payment for coverage or use affiliate links.
• We do not invent figures. Where no source publishes a value, the page says so.
• We do not give medical or legal advice.