In 1853 it was described by John Torrey, who named the genus Darlingtonia after the Philadelphian botanist William Darlington (1782–1863).
Darlingtonia State Natural Site (18 acres) is a state park and botanical preserve located five miles (8 km) north of Florence, Oregon, United States on U.S. Route 101, just west of Mercer Lake and south of Sutton Lake that is dedicated to the preservation of a rare plant.
They preserve various threatened plants of Bourgogne, and also contain a range of tropical and sub-tropical genera such as Psilotum and Lycopodium, tropical aquatics such as Eichhornia and Salvinia, carnivorous plants including Sarracenia and Darlingtonia, and epiphytes including Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae.