Carnivorous Plants

ARTICLE CONTENTS:  |  Suggested Reading  |  Links to Other Sites
Carnivorous Plants are flowering PLANTS of worldwide distribution with leaves adapted for trapping small ANIMALS, especially INSECTS. Pitcher plants (genera Nepenthes,Sarracenia,Darlingtonia,Cephalotus) have open, water-filled traps that act as pitfalls for insects attracted by nectar around the rim of the pitchers.

In butterworts (Pinguicula) sticky leaf surfaces act as flypaper to trap prey; in sundews (Drosera) sticky, long-stalked glands serve the same function, then bend inwards to enfold the victim. Aquatic bladderworts (Utricularia) have numerous tiny submerged bladders, each with a trap door that springs open when trigger hairs around it are touched by a potential victim. The minute animal is then carried inside by the rush of water. Once trapped, the animal is digested by enzyme secretions or decomposed by micro-organisms. Its remains release soluble organic molecules (eg, amino acids) that supplement nutrients in short supply in the plant's habitat.

Distribution

Worldwide, about 500 species have been described and classified; 18 species occur in Canada, among them a single species of PITCHER PLANT (Sarracenia purpurea), common in bogs across Canada, 2 butterworts and several species of sundew. One of the best-known carnivorous plants, the Venus flytrap, occurs naturally only in coastal habitats of North and South Carolina in the US.
Pitcher Plant
Pitcher Plant
Newfoundland's floral emblem is one of Canada's few carnivorous plants (photo by Clara Parsons/Valan Photos).

Author ERICH HABER


Suggested Reading
D.E. Schnell, Carnivorous Plants of the US and Canada (1976).


Links to Other Sites
The Plant List
Search this online database for information about one million plant species from around the world. Also, click on "major plant groups" at the bottom of the page to browse descriptions of species of interest. Fungi and algae are excluded. From the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the UK and the Missouri Botanical Garden in the US.

Flora of North America
The FNA website features information on the names, taxonomic relationships, continent-wide distributions, and morphological characteristics of all plants native and naturalized found in North America north of Mexico.

Carl Linnaeus
A brief profile of Carl Linnaeus and the binomial naming system he devised for living organisms. From the website for the Linnean Society of London in the UK.

Tree of Life
Explore the diversity of Earth's life forms at the Tree of Life website. Also includes beautiful photographs, an extensive glossary of biological terms, and "Treehouses" for younger readers.

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