In fact, carnivorous plants are able to capture insects and digest them This gives them important nutrients to survive and grow.
These beautiful plants are spread all over the world and come in an incredible number of species, sizes and trapping methods. In our blog, we will take a closer look at the different species, especially the better-known and certainly interesting carnivorous plant species.
The Venus flycatcher (Dionaea Muscipula)
Perhaps the most famous carnivorous plant on our earth is the Venus flytrap. This plant is native to the subtropical marshes of the United States. They are mainly found in North and South Carolina. You can recognise the Venus flytrap by their unique and iconic traps. Namely, these are two leaf halves (lobes) with a shape of teeth at the edge of these lobes. The lobes close when an insect unconsciously or consciously touches the inner and sensitive hairs twice within 20 seconds. When the trap closes and the insect is trapped, it is digested through enzymes.
The pitcher plant (Nepenthes)
Cup plants, are assigned to the Nepenthes genus. You will find these plants in tropical regions such as, for example: Southeast Asia, Australia and Madagascar. These plants are known for their large cup-like traps into which insects can fall and be digested. It even seems that the pitcher plant is capable of and this is of course not common but also of catching and digesting amphibians and very small mammals. The inside of the pitchers is covered with an incredibly slippery substance that prevents insects from escaping. You will also always find a leaf above the cups on a pitcher plant. This serves to keep rainwater out of the cups. Actually quite ingenious if you think about it. After all, water could dilute the digestive juices and make the process more difficult for the plant.
Sundew (Drosera)
Sundew species can be found all over the world. It might also be nice to know that a number of Drosera species can be found in the Netherlands. It is therefore very important to know that these are protected species. You can very easily recognise a Drosera by its sticky, dewy and tentacle-like leaves. These droplets glisten in the sunlight and give off a certain sweet smell, this is where they lure insects. As soon as an insect lands on one of the tentacles and gets stuck in the sticky droplets, the tentacle and nearby tentacles close around the prey and start the digestion process.
Bladderwort (Utricularia)
Bladderwort is a carnivorous plant species that you will actually always find underwater. This carnivorous plant species can be found in freshwater all over the world. Bladderwort is unique thanks to its traps. The plant has small bladders that act as vacuum traps in the water. When a small organism activates the bladder's mechanism, the bladder opens incredibly quickly and sucks in water and prey. It then closes and the prey is digested.
The cobra lily (Darlingtonia Californica)
The cobra lilly, also known as Darlingtonia California from the Sarracenia family, is another species of plant known as the trumpet cup plant. This plant is native to northern California and Oregon. The cobra lily has an incredibly unique shape and if you look closely resembles a cobra, this is where this plant gets its name from. This plant lures and digests its prey in the same way as other cup plants such as Nepenthes and Sarracenia do.
Conclusion
We at Carnivory.eu are fascinated by the incredibly diverse species of carnivorous plants. We relish the fact that they have developed an extremely unique method of living in an environment where other plants would find it very difficult or totally unable to cope. Their variety of traps and ability to attract insects makes this plant a collector's item for the adventurous gardener/plant lover. In addition, a carnivorous plant is a huge garden enrichment and a real pleasure to watch.