Fascinating facts about carnivorous plants
Most people can remember the time in their childhood when they discovered the existence of the Venus flytrap. With their razor sharp “teeth” it really looked like they could eat people! (They cannot, by the way). Carnivorous plants have long been an object fascination but how much of the popular imaginations are true? We find out.
What is a carnivorous plant?
Carnivorous plants are called so when a plant gets some or most of its nutrients from attracting, capturing and digesting small animals, usually insects and bugs but sometimes small rodents and frogs. There are more than 600 species and subspecies of carnivorous plants.
How did they evolve?
Common to all carnivorous plants is a lack of nutrients in the environment they live. Through time, the plants evolved to trap prey and extract nutrients so they could survive.
How do they catch pray?
There are several different mechanisms plants use to trap their food.
1. The pitfall trap
The simplest of traps, the pitfall uses a bucket-like receptacle containing a pool of digestive enzymes or bacteria that prey fall or slip into.
2. The sticky “flypaper” trap
The most common of traps, these plants have sticky substances on their leaf blades and other parts that trap prey. The plants are often brightly coloured with glistening droplets to lure prey in.
3. The bladder traps
These plants have small bladder-like organs that “suck” in prey.
4. The corkscrew trap
These plants are found in wet environments and have a slit-like entrance to a hollow tunnel with inward-pointing hairs. This allows the prey to proceed in one direction only – towards the digestive organ.
5. The snap traps
The most dramatic example of the trapping mechanism, these plants’ leaves have evolved to resemble a snap trap, with a fold in the middle, trapping teeth on the edge and trigger hairs and digestive glands on the leaf blade.