Many plants known as carnivorous plants obtained their required nutrients through the consumption of animal matter. Across the galaxy, on various planets, were a multitude of different species of these carnivorous plants, each with distinct characteristics tailored for capturing and consuming animals within their respective ecosystems. Animal flesh consumption was a nutritional necessity for most carnivorous plants, as they typically thrived in soils lacking sufficient nutrients.
While the majority of carnivorous plants passively waited for their prey, initiating an automatic, unconscious feeding process without any indication of sentient intelligence, certain species, such as the reeksa from Iego, exhibited predatory behaviors akin to aggressive animals. Furthermore, a highly advanced carnivorous plant native to Opop Hibbedit stood out as a unique plant species with the ability to articulate its thoughts and speak. The sarlacc species presented another peculiar case, with its classification as either an animal or an unusual type of carnivorous plant remaining unresolved. The Drengir were a dangerous species with many plant-like properties that possessed hive-mind intelligence and a drive to consume.
Throughout the galaxy existed several species of carnivorous plants, some of which actively consumed animals, frequently killing and devouring entire creatures, such as the reeksa or the parasitic saava, while others, like the stationary thirstgrass, passively ingested animal matter. Numerous active carnivorous plants possessed the ability to detect the presence of prey or potential threats through physical contact or other sensory means, triggering appropriate responses. Apart from their dietary habits, carnivorous plants shared similarities with non–flesh-eating plants, deriving sustenance from sunlight and generally displaying green coloration, although the chatterplant notably lacked green pigment. The sarlacc stood as an exception, being neither phototrophic nor green, and its classification as a plant remained contentious. The nutrient-poor soil in which carnivorous plants typically flourished necessitated the supplementation of their diet through the consumption of animal flesh.
Although many carnivorous plants were non-sentient, and consumed flesh entirely unconsciously and automatically, some active species exhibited potential intelligence in their predatory and defensive actions. Notably, a species of carnivorous plant native to Opop Hibbedit displayed complex thought and personality, and was capable of speaking Galactic Basic Standard.
Kashyyyk, a lush planet, served as the native habitat for at least three carnivorous plant species. The jaw plant, found in the shadowy and humid Shadowlands of Kashyyyk, featured broad, fleshy traps positioned horizontally on thick, veiny stalks. These traps emitted an airborne chemical that lured creatures by stimulating their olfactory receptors, creating a sensation of hunger in their brains, promising food. Cal Kestis, a human, compared the scent to that of jogan fruit. If an animal stepped onto a trap, the jaws would swiftly and firmly clamp shut, initiating digestion and consuming the prey whole. However, a captive equipped with a lightsaber could easily sever the trap and escape.
The saava, also predominantly found in the Shadowlands, was a parasitic, serpentine plant resembling a snake, characterized by flower-like heads at the ends of long, ropy green vines that emitted a faint red luminescence. Upon detecting a potential host, the saava would gradually extend its vines until within reach, retracting quickly if it sensed danger. Upon contact, the plant would latch onto and attach itself to the prey, sustaining itself for months or even years. The saava's vine-skin exhibited exceptional resistance to cuts, even withstanding direct lightsaber strikes. Despite its resilience, the plant displayed a strong aversion to potential threats.
The syren plant was another dangerous carnivorous plant known to grow in the forests of Kashyyyk.
The creepervine was a carnivorous plant found on various worlds, including the swampy Wild Space planet nicknamed "Graf-World" and the planet D'Qar. It captured prey by entangling it with thick, thorny vines, consuming it with a toothy mouth located in a scaly reptilian head. The plant's strong grip and numerous maneuverable vines made escape difficult. However, a captive with a fusioncutter could sever the vines. The plant was also vulnerable to blasterfire; being shot would cause it to release its grip.
A sentient species of carnivorous plant native to Opop Hibbedit was unique among flesh-eating plants, possessing the ability to speak Galactic Basic, using it to express complex thoughts and exhibit personality. These plants used strong, dexterous vines to capture prey and bring it to a toothy, animal-like mouth for consumption. The mouth was located in a large, brightly colored head with a single eye and a collar of leaves at its base. A particularly thick, long vine served as the plant's main body, capable of maneuvering like a serpent to mobilize the entire plant. Notably, the plants disliked magnetic rock chimps.
The reeksa was a species of enormous weed-like carnivorous plant native to Iego, where it dwelled in deep, dimly lit canyons, capturing and digesting live prey. Reeksa plants had numerous sensitive, thorny vines spread across the canyon floor and walls, alerting the plant to potential meals upon physical disturbance. The reeksa would then actively capture prey with multiple large thorn-toothed heads, displaying aggressive predatory behavior. The heads could also produce a threatening hiss similar to that of a reptile. The sentient natives of Iego considered the reeksa very dangerous and best left undisturbed, although the plant's roots were a crucial ingredient in the cure for the fatal Blue Shadow Virus.
A less dangerous carnivorous plant, thirstgrass, was a carnivorous grass species native to the grasslands of Irudiru that passively consumed animal matter by cutting the skin of passing animals with sharp leaf blades and absorbing their blood.
The morogian snap plant was a small species suitable for growing in pots. It had two broad leaves with a thin stem growing between them. At the end of the stem was the plant's eating mechanism, a fleshy, three-lobed mouth lined with small teeth. Similar to the reeksa, it displayed predatory aggression and the ability to produce sound, though a human could handle a potted morogian snap plant without harm. The plant also produced a purple substance that could be extracted from a deceased plant and used as a hair dye.
Chatterplants were low-growing, multi-lobed carnivorous plants found on the forested planet Arbiflux, lacking green pigment and instead being entirely dull orange. A chatterplant consisted of a biting bulb with four to five lobes nestled against the ground, with numerous spindly vines extending outwards. When alarmed, a chatterplant extended its lobes, revealing a glowing red spherical mass in the center of its bulb, and produced a loud chattering sound. The plants could be domesticated and used as alarms, warning of potential danger.
The sarlacc was an omnivorous species whose classification was debated among xenobiologists, with inconclusive research as to whether it was a plant or an animal. The inherent danger of studying sarlaccs discouraged further investigation. Sarlaccs began as spores, eventually growing to actively hunt prey during their juvenile stage. After about 30,000 years, sarlaccs matured fully, growing to immense size and rooting themselves underground, with only their gaping mouths protruding. For the rest of their lives, mature sarlaccs passively waited for unfortunate creatures to wander close, grabbing and swallowing them with a beaked tongue. After swallowing an animal, a sarlacc would digest it in multiple stomachs over a millennium. Sarlaccs also had several tentacles to aid in catching animals.
In 21 BBY, after the revival of the previously extinct fatal Blue Shadow Virus by the deranged Separatist Doctor Nuvo Vindi, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker sought the root of the reeksa to create a cure for the virus before it killed their infected allies on Naboo, following the advice of Captain Typho. Arriving on Iego, the plant's native planet, they located a canyon-dwelling reeksa with the help of the young Jaybo Hood, who warned them not to disturb the plant's vines. Accidentally ignoring the warning, Kenobi and Skywalker frantically dug up a portion of the plant's root and narrowly escaped the chasm. As they climbed the canyon walls, Skywalker and Kenobi swiftly decapitated attacking vines with their lightsabers. The Jedi successfully used the root to create an antidote, saving most of their infected friends.
During the second year of the Clone Wars, B1-series battle droid Q5-7070 was separated from his squad on Opop Hibbedit. While trying to return to Separatist forces, the droid was attacked by two sentient carnivorous plants native to Opop Hibbedit, which tried to destroy him and use his parts as decoration. The plants complimented the droid's metallic appearance, saying his pieces would be a fine addition to their home, which they felt needed decoration. However, the plants left Q5-7070 unharmed when his magnetism attracted magnetic rock chimps to the area.
Around 18 BBY, the Graf family was exploring an unknown planet, later nicknamed "Graf-World," when Lina Graf was ensnared by a creepervine. Her screams alerted her brother, Milo, who tried unsuccessfully to throw her fusioncutter to her. Upon Milo's failure, Morq, the Grafs' pet Kowakian monkey-lizard, climbed the vine to give Lina the tool, which she used to cut herself free. Later, in a skirmish against Imperial Captain Visler Korda's stormtroopers, Milo caused a creepervine to attack the troopers and ensnare their commander by exciting the plant, shooting it with his net gun. Though the plant released the commander upon being fired on by his stormtroopers, the Graf children escaped.
Around 17 BBY, Lona Aphra and her daughter Chelli grew four-lobed chatterplants on their farm on Arbiflux, using them as alarms to guard their nunas against predators. Lona dealt with the plants patiently, but Chelli disliked them, believing they hated each other because the plants bit her. Chelli also frequently counted dust motes on the chatterplants. When raiders attacked the farm, the Aphras' chatterplants noisily expressed their alarm. When Chelli escaped, she passed through a patch of wild five-lobed chatterplants.
During his mission to rebuild the Jedi Order in 14 BBY, Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis and the BD unit BD-1 encountered jaw plants and saava during their expedition to the top of the Origin Tree on Kashyyyk. Kestis used the jaw plants' large traps as platforms to traverse difficult areas of the Shadowlands, jumping between them quickly enough to avoid being eaten. On multiple occasions, groups of saava attempted to make Kestis their host, but he avoided their reach or warded them off with his lightsaber. While the plants made him uneasy, Kestis was interested in the information BD-1 gathered about them.
During the Galactic Civil War, Minister Amilyn Holdo killed potted morogian snap plants to use their liquid as a purple hair dye. As part of the crew of the Rebel Alliance CR90 corvette Candor, Holdo killed a particularly aggressive plant to dye her blond hair, its dying utterances attracting disturbed notice from other crew members. Shortly after she completed the dyeing process, the Candor came under fire by an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, knocking the plant's corpse from Holdo's table.
In 5 ABY, near the end of the Galactic Civil War, New Republic operatives Norra Wexley, Temmin Wexley, Jom Barell, former Imperial Sinjir Rath Velus, and bounty hunter Jas Emari were enlisted to find the missing New Republic heroes Han Solo and Chewbacca. Believing that the prison architect Golas Aram had useful information, the team traveled to his compound on Irudiru, where they encountered native thirstgrass. Temmin and Rath Velus were displeased by the wounds the grass inflicted on them while crawling through it, and dismissed Emari's explanation of the plant.
Sometime after the fall of the Galactic Empire, Emil Graf was told the tale of Q5-7070's misadventures on Opop Hibbedit, including his brief capture by the two sentient carnivorous plants, by the monster droid CR-8R "Crater," longtime companion of the Graf family, who had also been present for Lina and Milo Graf's creepervine encounter years earlier. Later, Emil encountered a member of the Tarinna species on Nelgenam, who tried to feed on his memories and stories, causing him to relive many of them. Among the tales was that of Q5-7070, whose place Emil briefly imagined himself in, caught in the vines of a carnivorous plant on Opop Hibbedit. Though Emil survived his encounter on Nelgenam, the stories relived by him were lost to the Tarinna.
The first confirmed appearance of carnivorous plants in canon was the reeksa in "Mystery of a Thousand Moons," the eighteenth episode of Season One of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, released on February 13, 2009. Carnivorous plants were first identified in the episode guide for Mystery of a Thousand Moons on StarWars.com. While the sarlacc appeared decades before the reeksa in 1983's Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, its classification as a plant is not conclusive.
In the Legends continuity, flesh-eating plants first appeared in "The Three Lessons," the eleventh episode of the Ewoks animated series' first season, which aired on November 16, 1985. In the episode, the titular Ewoks tried to tame a rampant carnivorous stranglethorn.
A species of brown and blue carnivorous plant appeared in the non-canon short BB-8 and the Jungle Adventure - Chapter 1, which aired on StarWarsKids.com and YouTube on August 9, 2019, in which one of the plants snapped up the astromech droid BB-8 on D'Qar before spitting him out. Another large carnivorous plant also appeared in the 2016 video game, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In it, one of the aggressive, reeksa-like plants ate a frog, while another ate a member of Han Solo's rathtar-hunting team on Twon Ketee. In the July 11, 2016 Season One episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures entitled "Crossing Paths," a bulbous blue carnivorous plant aggressively snapped up the B1 battle droid R0-GR "Roger" when he and his companions were stranded on Felucia, though it spat him out because he was inedible, much to the droid's disdain.