##£#%†=~~¨                                          ¨~~=†%#£##
#£%†=~¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨~=†%£#
£%%††=~¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨~=††%%£
##£#%†=~~¨                                          ¨~~=†%#£##
£££#%†=~~¨                                          ¨~~=†%#£££
#%%†=~¨¨¨¨                ~~~~~~~~~~~               ¨¨¨¨~=†%%#
£%=~¨¨¨¨¨¨             ††           ††              ¨¨¨¨¨¨~=%£
##£#%†=~~¨            =   Blue Fire   =             ¨~~=†%#£##
##£#%†=~~¨             ††           ††              ¨~~=†%#£##
£%%=~¨¨¨¨¨                ~~~~~~~~~~~               ¨¨¨¨¨~=%%£
####%†=~~¨                                          ¨~~=†%####
#£##%†=~~¨  The ¨Blue fire¨ Is A Carnivorous Plant  ¨~~=†%##£#
#%†~~¨¨¨¨¨ Living Mostly At The Western Alvar (But  ¨¨¨¨¨~~†%#
#££#%†=~~¨   It Has Spread To A Few Other Places,   ¨~~=†%#££#
#£##%†=~~¨           Mostly Rocky Coasts).          ¨~~=†%##£#
##£#%†=~~¨                                          ¨~~=†%#£##
##£#%†=~~¨     The Plant Is A Dense Network Of      ¨~~=†%#£##
##£#%†=~~¨  Green-Brown Tentacle-Like Roots, Which  ¨~~=†%#£##
##£#%†=~~¨   Is Often Called "Rat'S Tail" Before    ¨~~=†%#£##
££%†==~¨¨¨    Blooming. In Late June, It Quickly    ¨¨¨~==†%££
##£#%†=~~¨      Sprouts Feelers, Ten To Thirty      ¨~~=†%#£##
##£#%†=~~¨   Centimeters High, Filled With Purple   ¨~~=†%#£##
#%===~¨¨¨¨    Hairs - This Is The Blue Fire. This   ¨¨¨¨~===%#
£##%%†=~~¨     Stage Lasts For One Or Two Weeks,    ¨~~=†%%##£
##£#%†=~~¨     Depending On Food Access, Water,     ¨~~=†%#£##
##†~~¨¨¨¨¨                 Climate.                 ¨¨¨¨¨~~†##
###£%†=~~¨                                          ¨~~=†%£###
##£#%†=~~¨  Often It'S Not Clear How Far The Plant  ¨~~=†%#£##
#££#%†=~~¨    Has Spread Unless Its In The Fire     ¨~~=†%#££#
##£#%†=~~¨ Stage. Suddenly, As If Overnight, Whole  ¨~~=†%#£##
##£#%†=~~¨  Fields Can Be Turned Ablaze (With The   ¨~~=†%#£##
#£%††~~~¨¨ Same Individual Plant, As Well)! In The  ¨¨~~~††%£#
##£#%†=~~¨ Blooming Peak, It'S Not Unusual For The  ¨~~=†%#£##
##£#%†=~~¨ Whole Alvar To Be Connected North-South. ¨~~=†%#£##
£%†~¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨~†%£
#†~~~¨¨¨¨¨               =††~~~~~††=                ¨¨¨¨¨~~~†#
£##†==~¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨~==†##£
#†==~¨¨¨¨¨   Fifty Weeks Of The Year, While In Rat  ¨¨¨¨¨~==†#
##£#%†=~~¨  Stage, The Blue Fire Feeds On The Stone ¨~~=†%#£##
#£%†††=~~¨  Itself Via A Slow Chemical Attrition.   ¨~~=†††%£#
##£#%†=~~¨ This Is Enough To Keep The Roots Alive,  ¨~~=†%#£##
##£#%†=~~¨    But All Growth And Procreation Must   ¨~~=†%#£##
£#††~¨¨¨¨¨   Happen During The Two Weeks In June.   ¨¨¨¨¨~††#£
##%††=~¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨~=††%##
###%†~¨¨¨¨     Now The Plant Feeds On Birds; The    ¨¨¨¨~†%###
£%%%%†=~~¨  Semistiff Upright Feelers Looks Like An ¨~~=†%%%%£
££%†~~¨¨¨¨    Extension Of The Sea, And Birds Are   ¨¨¨¨~~†%££
##£#%†=~~¨ Tricked Into Landing Or Diving Into It.  ¨~~=†%#£##
£#††=~¨¨¨¨    They Are Quickly Paralyzed By The     ¨¨¨¨~=††#£
#£%====~~¨      Poison On The Purple Hairs, And     ¨~~====%£#
££%††=~~¨¨     Devoured Over A Period Of Hours.     ¨¨~~=††%££
£#††=~~¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨~~=††#£
##£#%†=~~¨    Procreation Can Happen Sexually Via   ¨~~=†%#£##
#%†††~¨¨¨¨  Spores (Cryptogamia) Or Asexually When  ¨¨¨¨~†††%#
##£#%†=~~¨      The Roots Are Cut, Dividing An      ¨~~=†%#£##
#††~¨¨¨¨¨¨           Individual Into Two.           ¨¨¨¨¨¨~††#
£##%††=~~¨                                          ¨~~=††%##£
##£#%†=~~¨                                          ¨~~=†%#£##
££%†=~¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨~=†%££
£#†=~¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨~=†#£
##£#%†=~~¨                                          ¨~~=†%#£##