The Year of the Snake is coming. Let’s grow a plant with a “snake” in it! These plants can be selected →

The auspicious dragon shakes its tail to bid farewell to the old year, and the spirit snake raises its head to welcome the coming of spring. The Spring Festival is coming, and the Year of the Snake is getting closer and closer to us! In nature, there are also some plants with external shapes that are very similar to snakes, and some plants have the word "snake" in their names, such as snakeberry, snake skin fruit, snake whip chrysanthemum, snake eye chrysanthemum...

Next, let us get to know the unique charm of “snake” plants. Perhaps there are some “snake” plants that you can use for your Spring Festival decoration!

Cobra pitcher plant: a snake sends blessings

Everyone is familiar with the pitcher plant among insect-catching plants, but there is a kind of cobra pitcher plant (Darlingtonia californica) distributed in California and Oregon in the United States. It looks unique, like a small snake spitting out its tongue.

© 2025 California Carnivores

This type of pitcher plant has evolved into a relatively closed insect-catching pitcher . The top of the pitcher has been specialized into a spherical head structure. The mouth of the pitcher secretes nectar to attract insects to come for food. There are downward-facing spines on the side of the bottle cap to guide insects to explore inside the pitcher.

© 2025 California Carnivores

In addition, their pitcher plants have many white or transparent markings on their bodies, which can fool stray insects into thinking that these white or bright spots are the exits, causing them to lose their way inside the pitcher plants, repeatedly crashing into the plants and unable to escape until they become exhausted, eventually becoming a source of nutrition for the pitcher plants.

Unfortunately, it is not realistic to place this plant that looks like a small snake or some kind of succulent at home to add to the atmosphere. After all, it is only distributed in the United States. It is better to grow its substitute - bean sprouts!

Salak: Delicious food under the exquisite skin

Although you can’t have snake grass at home, you can try this niche fruit - Salacca zalacca - during this Spring Festival.

Salak is mainly distributed in Indochina and western Yunnan. It is a plant of the genus Salak of the palm family. The Salak produced in China is the Western Yunnan Salak, which has a thin skin and is densely covered with diamond-shaped lanceolate shiny scales. It feels silky and smooth along the scales, just like snake skin.

After peeling off the skin, you will see the fleshy seed coat that looks somewhat similar to mangosteen. It tastes sweet and sour and is one of the rare plants in my country.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Snakeberry: an outlier in the strawberry family

Duchesnea indica, belonging to the genus Duchesnea in the Rosaceae family, is a perennial evergreen herb. Legend has it that the season when Duchesnea bears fruit is when snakes come out of their holes , so there are often snakes around Duchesnea, but the legend is just a legend.

The plant of snakeberry is short, like a green carpet on the ground. The flower of snakeberry grows alone in the leaf axil, and the petals are yellow with obvious concave outer edges. The small yellow flowers are dotted among the leaves like shining little suns. After the flowers fade, the receptacle swells like strawberries during the fruiting period, but it is not as delicious as strawberries.

The natural population of snakeberry is commonly found in open places such as hillsides, grasslands, and roadsides. It is widely distributed throughout my country and has strong adaptability. It is not only a beautiful embellishment of nature, but also a treasure of folk medicine, with the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, dispersing blood stasis and reducing swelling.

Cnidium monnieri: The "snake" among herbs

Cnidium monnieri, also known as wild fennel, snake millet, etc., is an annual herbaceous plant of the genus Cnidium in the family Apiaceae. It can be found by the edge of fields, roadsides, and grasslands. "Compendium of Materia Medica" once recorded: "Snakes like to lie down and eat their young, so it is called snake bed and snake millet."

Photo by Shou Haiyang, senior engineer of Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden

Its stem stands upright like a tall guard. The leaves are oval in shape, with irregular and intricate serrations on the edges, like lace carefully cut by nature.

Photo by Shou Haiyang, senior engineer of Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden

The most recognizable feature is its compound umbel inflorescence. The small white flowers are like stars, outlining a bunch of delicate lace umbrellas. The slender flower stems sway with a faint floral fragrance, like a fresh flower feast.

Photo by Shou Haiyang, senior engineer of Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden

Snake gourd: The "snake-shaped" wonder of fruit and vegetable

Snake gourd (Trichosanthes anguina) is an annual climbing vine belonging to the genus Trichosanthes of the Cucurbitaceae family. Its stem is slender with longitudinal ridges, and its leaves are round or kidney-shaped with wavy shallow cracks on the edges, like green ripples blown by the wind.

Snake gourd flowers are white, dioecious, male flowers are racemose, female flowers are solitary, and when in full bloom, they hang between the emerald green vines. The fruit is long cylindrical, usually twisted, and looks like a crawling snake , hence the name. The fruit of snake gourd comes in a variety of colors: white-green, dark green, etc., and turns orange-yellow when ripe, like a ribbon hanging on the branches.

Snake gourd is native to India and is now widely grown in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. It is not only a unique ornamental plant, but also a delicious dish on the table. Its tender fruit is edible , with tender flesh and a smooth taste. It can be served cold, stir-fried, or cooked in soup. There are many cooking methods, adding a unique flavor to people's tables.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Celastrus orbiculatus: the warm-colored "New Year flower" in winter

Celastrus orbiculatus is a deciduous vine of the Celastrus genus of the Celastraceae family. Its stems and branches are smooth and cylindrical; its leaves are broadly obovate, nearly circular or oblong, with serrated edges, like small shields.

The cymes are axillary or terminal at the branches. The fruit is spherical, orange-yellow when ripe, and cracks to reveal the bright yellow capsule inner membrane and bright red aril, like rubies held in a yellow treasure box, bright and eye-catching.

The vines of Celastrus orbiculatus are tough and can be used to weave handicrafts. They are commonly used materials by folk craftsmen and are also excellent vertical greening plants in gardens, adding natural wildness to the garden landscape. In recent years, it has also become a new favorite in the cut flower world, bringing good wishes to people in the New Year.

It should be good as a New Year's Eve flower? | Image from @米迷啊

There are many plants named after "snakes" in nature, and they have performed their own life legends in the long river of time. I hope that in this year of the snake, we can draw strength and beauty from these plants and start a wonderful chapter in the new year!

Do you know any other plants with snakes in their names? Leave us a message!

References

[1] Jiangsu New Medical College. Dictionary of Chinese Medicine[S]. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press, 1997: 2116.

[2] Luo Zhenwei, Jin Weimin. Preliminary report on the introduction experiment of three bulbous cut flowers including Herba Echeveriae. Journal of Shanghai Agricultural College. 1999.17(03):208-211.

[3] YE L, YANG J S. New Ellagic gycosides and known titerpenoids from Duchesnea indica Focke[J]. Acta Pharm Sin, 1996, 31(11): 844-848.

[4] Luo Yingchun, Sun Qingwen. Commonly used natural medicines of ethnic minorities in Guizhou [M]. Volume 2. Guiyang: Guizhou Science and Technology Press, 2013:

[5] Yuan Shinong, Liu Mengtong, Duan Xuhong, et al. Research progress on the historical evolution, chemical composition and pharmacological effects of Cnidium monnieri[J]. Chinese Wild Plant Resources, 2023, 42(3): 74-81.

[6] Lin Yuan, Deng Ying, Wang Yanxuan, et al. Greenhouse cultivation technology of ornamental vegetable snake gourd in the Pearl River Delta region[J]. Southern Agriculture, 2019, 13(12): 1-2.

[7] Flora of China

Planning and production

Source: Shanghai Natural History Museum (ID: snhm01)

Author: Zhu Jin, Senior Engineer of Greening and Forestry, Shanghai Greening Management and Guidance Station

Audit丨Shou Haiyang, Senior Engineer, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden

Editor: Zhong Yanping

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin