From the seeds of a common weed to one of the most complex trapping mechanisms in the
natural world, here are 9 carnivorous plants you’ll want to stay away from:
Number 9 Capsella bursa-pastoris Capsella bursa-pastoris, better known as shepherd’s
purse, is the second most common weed on the planet.
Even though it’s native to Asia Minor and Eastern Europe, it has been naturalized in
many other parts of the world, particularly in regions with colder climates.
It’s suspected that Capsella bursa-pastoris is a protocarnivorous plant.
What this means is that even though it traps and kills insects or other animals, it lacks
the necessary adaptations to absorb nutrients from them like carnivorous plants.
The suspicion arose from observing the plant’s seeds, which contain a substance called mucilage.
When wet, mucilage becomes sticky and some have proposed that this is an adaptation for
trapping insects.
Mosquito larvae were extremely attracted to the seeds and died soon after becoming trapped,
seemingly providing the seeds with nutrients.
Number 8 Genlisea Genlisea are carnivorous corkscrew plants
which can be found in wet terrestrial and semi-aquatic environments throughout South
America, Central America and Africa.
The underground leaves of the Genlisea are very different from their photosynthetic leaves,
which are located above ground.
Aside from performing the duties of roots, like anchoring the plant or absorbing water,
these highly modified leaves are also used to attract, trap and digest small organisms.
They form hollow tubes which are easy to enter but almost impossible to escape.
The tubes bifurcate into spirals, resembling corkscrews, which are lined with inward-pointing
hairs.
Once protozoans reach a certain part of the tube, they’ll be digested and absorbed.
Number 7 Darlingtonia Californica Darlingtonia californica, or the cobra lily,
is the only member of the Darlingtonia genus.
It’s found in bogs and seeps with cold running water in Oregon and Northern California.
The plant somewhat resembles a rearing cobra, because of its tubular leaves and its forked
leaf.
Unlike other American pitcher plants, Darlingtonia californica does not trap water inside the
pitcher.
Instead, it regulates the water levels inside by absorbing or releasing the water that’s
been pumped up from the roots.
Once an insect enters the balloon-like tubular leaves, slippery walls and hairs prevent it
from escaping.
Darlingtonia californica hides the tiny exit hole by curling it underneath.
The light speckles that shine through the leaves effectively act as false exits.
As the insect tires out, it will fall down into the trap and subsequently be broken down
by digestive enzymes and absorbed as nutrients.
Number 6 Byblis In bright sunshine, Byblis leaves gain an
attractive, multicolored appearance, which is why they’re also known as rainbow plants.
For a long time, their status as carnivorous plants was doubted.
Glandular hairs cover the surface of their leaves, which secrete a thick, gluey substance
from their tip.
When insects touch the sticky secretions, they become trapped.
Byblis has been observed hosting live bugs which feed on the insects that the plant traps.
It was believed that the plants didn’t digest on the food directly and relied on the bugs
to do that.
The assumption being they then absorbed the nutrients through their leaves, from the bug’s
excrements.
However, in 2005 it was discovered that the plants also possessed sessile glands, which
produced the enzymes required for direct digestion.
This discovery confirmed Byblis as true carnivorous plants.
Number 5 Aldrovanda vesiculosa Over the last hundred years, there are only
about 50 populations of Aldrovanda vesiculosa that have remained in the world.
It is the world’s most widely distributed carnivorous plants species, spread across
Africa, Australia, Europe and Asia.
Also known as the waterwheel plant, it tends to prefer clean, shallow, warm standing water
with a slightly acidic pH level.
Aldrovanda vesiculosa obtains the nutrients it needs by trapping small aquatic invertebrates.
The free-floating stems, which give the plant its common name, consist of whorls with lobes
acting like snap traps.
As prey comes into contact with the fine coating of sensory hairs inside the trap, the lobes
will snap shut, trapping the invertebrate inside.
It only takes 10 to 20 milliseconds for the trap to close, which makes it the fastest
example of plant movement in the natural world.
Long bristles, which surround the traps, ensure that they aren’t triggered by debris in
the water.
In optimal conditions, the fast-growing Aldrovanda vesiculosa will produce a new whorl every
day.
As one end of the stem continues to grow the other will die off ensuring that countless
new plants can be produced in a short time frame.
Number 4 Sarracenia This genus of carnivorous plants is indigenous
to southeastern Canada, Texas and the Great Lakes area.
Sarracenia is a pitcher plant, which employs a pitfall trap.
It doesn’t use any mobbing parts to trap its prey.
Its leaves have evolved into a funnel, with a hood-like structure, called operculum, over
the opening.
The operculum prevents insects from escaping and protects the plant’s digestive enzymes
from mixing with rainwater.
Insects are attracted by smell, color and a nectar-like secretion on the lip of the
pitcher.
The waxy deposits on the lip makes insects lose their footing and tumble inside the pitcher.
In some Sarracenia species, the operculum features chlorophyll-free patches that act
like translucent windows, which confuse insects.
Some will try to fly through the operculum, which caused them to fall in the pitcher.
Once an insect reaches past a certain point, escape becomes impossible.
On the inside, the leaf is coated with ultra-fine, downward pointing hairs and the footing is
non-existent.
The pitcher is also studded with digestive glands that break down the insects caught
inside.
Number 3 Drosera With at least 194 confirmed species, Drosera
is one of the largest carnivorous plant families on the planet.
Also known as the sundews, these plants come in different species, which greatly vary in
size and form.
Sundews can be found on every continent, except Antarctica.
Some display beautiful, vivid colors and intricate rosette shapes.
However, for the small insects that come into contact with them, these plants are quite
deadly.
All Drosera species have glandular tentacles, covered with sticky secretions, which they
can move whenever contact with edible prey is achieved.
The trapping and digestion mechanism typically involves two types of glands.
The stalked glands secrete sweet mucilage to attract and ensnare insects.
They also hold the necessary enzymes for the digestion process.
Drosera will bend their tentacles around the insect to bring it in contact with as many
stalked glands as possible.
Once trapped in the sticky mucilage, the insect usually dies from exhaustion or asphyxiation,
within 15 minutes.
As the nutrients are broken down from the prey, they are absorbed through sessile glands.
The tentacle movement is quite remarkable and it only takes the slightest contact for
it to start bending towards the insect.
Drosera capensis can curl its leaf completely around prey in about half an hour.
Even though it doesn’t exhibit the same range of motion, Drosera gianduligera will
bend its tentacle in tenths of a second.
Number 2 Utricularia The Utricularia genus contains approximately
233 species of carnivorous plants, collectively known as bladderworts.
Except for Antarctica, bladderworts can be found in fresh water and wet soil all over
the world.
They occur as terrestrial or aquatic species and their flowers, which are often compared
to those of orchids and snapdragons, make Utricularia a sought-after addition for collectors
of carnivorous plants.
These plants use bladder-like traps to capture small organisms.
While terrestrial species tend to have small traps and mainly feed on protozoa and rotifers,
the aquatic Utricularia own larger traps which they use to catch prey like water fleas, fish
fry or young tadpoles.
Utricularia own one of the most sophisticated trapping structures in the plant kingdom and
the whole process of catching prey takes about 10 to 15 milliseconds.
In aquatic species, once the bladder is set, it will be triggered as prey brushes up against
it's hairs connected to the trap door.
The entrance consists of an oval flap, connected by flexible cells, which basically form a
hinge.
The bladder is under negative pressure in relation to the environment.
Once the trapdoor is activated, the prey, along with the water surrounding it, is sucked
inside.
Number 1 Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula, also known as the Venus
flytrap is the world’s most famous carnivorous plant.
It’s native to subtropical wetlands, in North Carolina and South Carolina, in the
US.
It owns an advanced and fascinating natural adaptation for trapping and killing its prey,
which mainly consists of arachnids and insects.
Dionaea muscipula is a small plant, with four to seven leaves, growing out of a subterranean
stem.
The terminal lobes on each of the plant’s leaves form a trapping structure that snaps
shut when triggered.
Minuscule sensory hairs on the inside surface act as the trigger mechanism.
Once an insect makes contact with one of the hairs, the trap prepares to close.
However, it will only snap shut if the contact is repeated within approximately 20 seconds.
This way, the plant ensures that it will trap living creatures, with nutritional value.
Dionaea muscipula will snap on its prey in about a tenth of a second.
The lobes are fringed by rigid, thorn-like protrusions which mesh together once the plant
closes.
As the edges of the lobes fuse together, it creates an inescapable trap for anything unlucky
enough to be caught inside.
After the trap is hermetically sealed, a type of ‘stomach’ is created in which digestion
and absorption takes place.
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