Much of the literature on Cephalotus follicularis, particularly that focused on cultivation, is short on detail of the plant's true growth cycle. This is probably a result of observations in the field being limited to a single visit or observations being made of cultivated plants. Having made numerous visits to many C. follicularis swamps over the past 10 years, I began to notice some interesting trends starting to appear. In fact the C. follicularis true growth cycle may be much longer than first thought, and the state of the plants in full growth with carnivorous pitchers, may be not the norm in most habitats.