The cobra lily is native to Northern California and Oregon, in the western United States, where the climate—while typically thought of as cool and humid—may be quite arid for many months of the year, more so than many carnivorous or pitcher plant genera could feasibly survive (such as Heliamphora, Nepenthes or Sarracenia).

However, the cobra lily has evolved into life along the West Coast and in the lower Pacific Northwest through its carnivorous adaptions, where it may be found near bogs, vernal pools, on forested rocky slopes (near snowmelt, especially), creeks, or near seeps with cold running water, usually on serpentine soils.

The plant was discovered during the Wilkes Expedition of 1841 by botanist William D. Brackenridge at Mount Shasta, Northern California.

Cultivation in the UK has gained the plant the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Because many carnivorous species live in hostile environments, their root systems are commonly as highly modified as their leaves.

The cobra lily has a very large and rambling root system when compared to those of other carnivorous plants in the family Sarraceniaceae.

The physiological mechanisms and evolutionary benefits of this discrepancy are not fully understood, however, in habitat the plants are normally found growing out of cold seeps, and this behavior would cause the plant to only expend energy growing roots in the direction of cold subsurface water sources.

[5][6] Modern cultivation efforts in breeding and selecting plants that can withstand higher temperatures without the roots dying back have met with significant success.

It was once believed that this species of pitcher plant did not produce any digestive enzymes and relied on symbiotic bacteria and protozoa to break down the captured insects into easily absorbed nutrients.

In addition to the lubricating secretions and downward-pointing hairs common to all North American pitcher plants to force their prey into the trap, this species uses its curled operculum (hood) to hide the tiny exit hole from trapped insects and offers multiple translucent false exits.

It is generally expected that the pollinator is either a fly or bee attracted to the flower's unpleasant smell or some nocturnal insect.

[13] Two infraspecific taxa are recognized:[14] Darlingtonia californica can be a difficult carnivorous plant to keep in cultivation, as they require specific environmental conditions.

Lay these upon cool, moist, shredded long-fibered sphagnum moss and place in a humid location with bright light.

Like many other carnivorous plants of temperate regions, cobra lilies require a cold winter dormancy in order to live long-term.