frances
lai
5 SINISTER CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
October 29, 2016
BY FRANCES LAI
Published by Into the Wild at https://frontier.ac.uk/blog/2016/10/29/5-sinister-carnivorous-plants
Carnivorous plants are a force to be reckoned with for insects! Growing in areas deprived of nutrient-rich soil, they are equipped with cunning ways to trap and digest their prey. Among 630 species, five different kinds of trapping mechanisms have been identified, and it may only be a matter of time before these plants develop a taste for blood…
​
Snap traps
Perhaps the most notorious trapping mechanism among carnivorous plants is the snap trap, which employs thigmonasty, a response triggered by touch or vibration that allows leaves to shut quickly. The waterwheel plant, aquatic sister of the Venus flytrap, uses rapid leaf movement to ensnare small aquatic invertebrates. Clam-shaped traps cap each leaf that sprouts from a central stem, like spokes on a wheel (hence the name). The trapping mechanism engages when any two of the detector hairs that line the trap’s interior are disturbed in close succession.
.jpg)
Pitfall traps
Pitcher plants seem innocent enough: no rapidly moving leaves to snatch up unwitting vermin, just beautiful elongated ones that are shaped to house small bodies of liquid. But don’t be fooled; these deceptively benign leaf formations are really a straight shot to a slow and excruciating death. The little pools at the bottom of each leafy basin are the plant’s collected digestive secretions, or sometimes a soup of aiding bacteria, that drown and slowly disintegrate unfortunate victims. The rim and walls of the pitcher are extremely slippery (more so when moistened) and sometimes feature hairs pointed downward to diminish any hope of escape. The cobra lily, aptly named for its resemblance to an upright serpent, ensures inescapability by creating an illusion of exits with translucent patches that riddle the walls of the pitcher.
Glue traps
Some plants are able to produce mucilage, a thick, sticky substance often used as bait to lure arthropods with a sweet aroma. Once contact is made with the mucilage, insects are unable to pry themselves free of this simple but effective death trap, much like the flypaper that people use to catch pesky bugs. The Portuguese dewy pine employs this kind of trap in its simplest form (its sister, the sundew, combines a glue trap with rapid leaf movements to prey). Attracted to the dewy pine by its scent, insects find themselves stuck in the mucilage almost immediately upon landing on the leaves. Sadistically, the more the insects struggle, the smaller their chance of escape becomes. The plant then secretes enzymes to digest its meal and absorb nutrients.
Lobster traps
Lobster traps are ones in which it is easy to enter but impossible to exit, a name taken from the mechanisms that fishermen use to catch crustaceans. This kind of trap is primarily found in water plants that prey on aquatic single-celled organisms. Corkscrew plants have Y-shaped leaves with inward pointing hairs that allow movement in only one direction: toward certain doom. Once caught in this trap with no exit, organisms are forced to make their way to a part of the plant where it is slowly digested. Because many of these traps are utilised by aquatic carnivorous plants, it is believed that the movement of water also induces movement of the organism to its death.
Vacuum traps
Probably one of the more complex trapping mechanisms, the vacuum trap is found only among bladderworts. Primarily waterborne, the bladderwort empties its bladder-like trap, creating a space of negative pressure. Once the hairs that line the trapdoor of the vacuum are triggered, the vacuum is released, and the organism and surrounding water is immediately sucked into the bladder, where it will remain until fully digested. Large bladderworts have been known to consume mosquito larvae and even tadpoles!
flickr | Bob Peterson
Frontier offers countless volunteering opportunities in regions where you can witness many of these merciless plants in action!
​
Frontier runs conservation, development, teaching and adventure travel projects in over 50 countries worldwide - so join us and explore the world!
