Remember that scene from the original Jumanji when the kid was almost swallowed whole by a giant,
man-eating plant? Thankfully, no human has ever been recorded to be devoured by a plant
in real life. But some unsuspecting animals have fallen victim to certain flesh-eating flora!
I dare you to stop and smell the roses as we round up 11 Plants That Eat Animals!
What's up, fact-natics! This is Discovery Amuse, serving up your daily dose of the most
outrageous, outlandish, and out-of-this-world fun facts!
Watch till the end because our number 1 pick has a huge
appetite for rodents! And I’m not mad about it at all!
Let’s get to it, green-thumbs!
#11: Venus Flytrap
Perhaps the most recognizable carnivorous plant in the world,
Venus flytraps have made a cameo in countless Hollywood movies throughout the years.
But just how well do you know this alien-looking plant? A Venus flytrap starts off its mealtime by
trapping insects and arachnids in its leaves. When a bug crawls in its leaves and comes in
contact with its tiny hairs, the trap prepares to close. If the prey touches another hair within
20 seconds, the trap will immediately close so its prey cannot escape. Digestive enzymes will
then be released, and it will take roughly 10 days to consume and reduce its catch to a husk.
But have you ever wondered how it actually feels like if you
stick your finger into one of these bad boys? This dude just did exactly that.
Man: get my finger in there..Okay I can actually feel pressure on it.
And just to up the ante, he even taped the Venus flytrap to his finger!
Man: Don’t eat me, please don’t eat me.
A few hours later… the
man’s finger was completely torn off! JK! Man: There’s definitely a little bit of
weird reaction going on right there. So you can see that it’s kind of white right there.
Keep watching because our top pick is definitely something you don’t see every day!
#10: Waterwheel Plant
Known as the aquatic version of the Venus flytrap, the waterwheel plant, a.k.a. aldrovanda, has no
roots and just floats on lake surfaces to lure small insects. It is native to parts of Europe,
Asia, Africa, and Australia, and mainly spreads around by sticking themselves into birds' feet.
Waterwheel plants consist of floating stems that can grow from 2 to 16 inches in length.
Their trap leaves grow in whorls of between 5 to 9 inches along these stems. The actual traps are
located underwater and are made up of two lobes lined with fine trigger hairs. Upon contact,
these lobes snap shut in just a matter of 10-20 milliseconds – one of the fastest fatality moves
in the plant kingdom! #9: Cobra Lily
Unlike their reptile namesake, Cobra lilies don’t shoot venom or strike their prey. Heck,
they don’t even move at all! But that doesn’t mean they’re lousy predators.
Cobra Lilies draw insects into their mouth through their sweet-smelling nectar. Once
the insects are inside, just like this fly, they are met with translucent patches that
look like false exits, which confuse and exhaust the victims as they try to escape.
Even if the prey finds the concealed true exit by some miracle,
it has slippery walls and downward-pointing hairs that make escaping a futile attempt.
Eventually, the prey falls into the pitcher, where the cobra lily releases an enzyme that digests it.
And just in case you’re wondering how the belly of a cobra lily looks like…
man: So it looks like this guy has had a mean diet. Probably of flies?
Man: Look at how the flies have basically turned to powder in here.
That’s one ravenous plant, for sure!
#8: Sun Pitchers
The sun pitcher, otherwise known as heliamphora, is a collective name for
about 23 species of carnivorous plants endemic to South America. And just like cobra lilies,
these plants attract their prey with their sweet nectar and lure them into pitfall traps with
slippery surfaces and sharp downward-facing hairs that prevent insects from escaping.
However, the sun pitcher does not produce its own enzymes to help digestion.
It relies on bacteria that inhabit the pitcher's water to break down their dead prey's body
into nutrients that the plant can absorb.
So basically, there’s a whole ecosystem in their tummies!
#7: Cape Sundew
Don’t be fooled by the whimsical looks of this plant that looks
like a cross between a caterpillar and a lychee!
Typically found in South Africa, cape sundews use the sweet, shimmering droplets on their
tentacles to attract tiny bugs. Once the insect takes the bait, the tentacles secrete a sticky
substance that traps these insects. And then it’s time for the main event.
Watch as the cape sundew envelops its prey completely in a killer move called thigmotropism.
This triggers the beginning of the digestion process,
as more tentacles come in contact with the prey, like a deadly version of a bear hug.
Because they usually live in bogs that don’t have enough source of nutrients, cape sundews resort to
feeding this way in order to survive. #6: Butterworts
The pinguicula, more commonly known as butterworts, have become quite popular
among plant parents because unlike a lot of carnivorous plants, these flesh-eating succulents
actually grow some nice, attractive flowers! They do look pretty fly for a fly-eater!
Butterworts produce leaves covered with tiny, sticky hairs that trap their prey. These leaves
also produce secretions that form like droplets of water on its surface – fooling insects into
thinking they’re nothing but harmless morning dew. The more the insect struggles to escape, the more
enzymes are secreted, which soon encases the prey. This starts the plant's digestion process.
The plant breaks down its prey's body and begins to absorb nutrients into the leaves through
cuticular holes. After butterwort has had its fill, the bug’s exoskeleton is left on the leaf
surface because they’re classy like that. You can just look at their gorgeous blooms instead!
Jaida: Look over there! Jeff: Where?
#5: Moccasin Flower
These plants are also called lady’s slipper because, well, they do look like a nice pretty
footwear. But unlike a lot of meat-eating plants that are distant cousins of the pitcher plant,
these dainty floras are more genetically related to oak and apple trees. But the
M.O. of the moccasin flower is quite similar to other carnivorous plants on this list.
Ants and bugs crawl into the slipper-shaped pitcher
in search of nectar, and once they’re there, it’s basically game over.
The pitcher's slippery surface makes it harder for the insect to free itself.
As the insect struggles, the plant's digestive enzymes start breaking down the prey’s body
until the plant has fully consumed the nutrients it needs from its victim.
Dracula has entered the chat.
#4: Triphyophyllum
Considered the largest of all identified carnivorous plants in the world,
the triphyophyllum peltatum grows in few West African tropical forests. It has a
three-stage lifecycle indicated by the growth of different shaped leaves. The second stage
is when the plant produces the characteristic long, slender leaves, which capture its prey.
Its sticky leaves with seeming droplets of water on its surface
attract insects of all shapes and sizes. Once an insect comes into contact with the leaf,
there is no way to pull a Michael Scofield, as its fatal end is sealed.
#3: Brocchinia Reducta
Meet the pineapple’s evil cousin twice removed… the Brocchinia reducta.
This bromeliad flaunts a tall, tubular whorl of leaves that it uses to lure its food.
It forms a water-storing cup with its overlapping leaves which are coated
with waxy scales. These scales also reflect ultraviolet light
that makes insects go gaga like ravers at a nightclub dancing to throwback 80’s music!
To make matters worse, the water stored in the cup emits a sweet smell
irresistible to insects. Once the bugs are lured into their leaves,
they face their untimely demise as they plunge into the pool of death.
#2: Roridula
Endemic to the Western Cape province of South Africa,
the roridula is an insect-trapping shrub that grows in mountains with nutrient-poor
soils. It has thin, woody, upright stems with lance-shaped leaves crowded at the tips. These
leaves have a bunch of sticky hairs that help the roridula catch and trap insects.
But that’s not the most interesting facet of these carnivorous plants.
Did you know that the roridula keeps its own pets?
They actually keep a bug called the pameridea, otherwise known as the assassin bug. Yes, they’re
badass like that. While the assassin bug feeds on the captured prey, their droppings act like
fertilizers enriching the roridula's leaves. And you know what’s more amazing about the pameridea?
Take it away, overly enthusiastic plant expert! Man: Pameridea runs all over the plant,
so how does it not get stuck?
And that’s what’s quite astounding. The fine little microhairs on its body, and it acts
like a non-stick surface. Like you would when you bake a cake and you spray the cake pan.
Science calls this an asymbiotic relationship. I call it a murderous conspiracy.
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#1: Nepenthes Attenboroughii
When a group of taxonomists and botanists discovered this new species of the pitcher plant
deep in the jungles of Puerto Princesa in the Philippines,
the newly discovered pitcher plant was heralded as one of the top 10 new species described in 2009.
Named after broadcaster and known pitcher plant enthusiast Sir David Attenborough,
the Nepenthes Atenboroughii possesses one of the largest bell-shaped pitchers among
its carnivorous cousins. In fact, the largest recorded pitcher of this species measured more
than 1.5 liters in volume! Because of that, they are able to trap bigger animals such as
rats! Want proof? Here’s the remains of a shrew found inside a pitcher!
Alistair: All that is left is bones and some of the fur, which goes to show how
quickly digestion is taking place within the pitchers of this marvelous species.
So, if given the chance, which of these plants would you like to keep in your
garden? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Craving for more natural wonders? Then don’t miss our ranking of the 10
Scientifically Impossible Places That Actually Exist!
'Til then, stay take care of the plants, fact-natics! And see you in the next video!