Carnivorous Plants - Stephen
trapping mechanisms
1) Pitfall Traps 2) Flypaper/Adhesive Traps 3) Snap Traps 4) Suction Traps 5) Lobster Pot/ Corkscrew Traps
sundews
adhesion/flypaper mechanisms; main method of trapping - tiny hair on the surface -> hairs are sticky and insects become caught when they land on the heads of the leaves, leaves curl down from the tops and surround the insect, trapping it, hairs then secrete digestive enzymes onto the captured insect
Insectivorous Plants
book by Charles Darwin in 1875
pitcher plants
leaf with jug/container - filled with digestive enzymes that break down insects; AL number 1 of biodiversity of these - 1 species endemic - Canebrake (only found at 11 sites within the state, grows in seepage bogs); cobra lily
adhesive/flypaper
most common method - about 300 species; consists of - form of adhesive material on the leaves - allows for the catching of insects; sundews - most common example of this mechanism; plants use coloring to attract insects; often the droplets used in the trapping are modified to shine and aid in attracting insects
pitfall traps
pitcher plants; simplest form of trapping mechanism - passive; typically the rim of these plants are slippery and has a form of attractant - sap droplets, ultraviolet light; plants can be very simple or complex
movies
portray these in a human eating light
snap traps
relatively few species; venus flytrap and waterwheel plant; leaves that close along a fold and catch prey in between leaves for digestion
venus flytrap
snap mechanism; mechanism triggered by movement detection with hairs in the area between the fold of the leaf; snapping - triggered by touching two or more of these hairs in quick succession; leaves' "teeth" interlock to form a cage that traps insects; insects are trapped in the leaves and digested through the use of enzymes secreted by glands in the leaves; leaf can reopen if an insect is not captured; limited trap closings for each leaf - uses a lot of energy, die after 7 closings
Drosera glanduligera
special species of carnivorous plant; uses a complex mechanism to catch insects - the "catapult"; combination of snap and adhesive mechanisms; outer tentacles of the plant work like a snap mechanism Insects trigger the tentacles that then launch the insect; inner tentacles are covered in sticky hairs that catch and move the insect into the center area for digestion; snap mechanism tentacles are replaced frequently
600
species of carnivorous plants
bladderworts/suction traps
suction mechanism - vacuum; aquatic, prey upon water fleas and other small organisms; several hair like projections in front of each trap - movement near these projections causes a quick reaction; trap swells up as water and organism are quickly sucked inwards; flowers - grow above water, deep nectar hole - pollen trap for bees with tendrils once getting pollen - make bees deposit pollen in pollen tube (also how pollinate)
shrew
take dumps in pitcher plants to give them nutrients - some relationship where they are attracted to sit on the plant for hours; also eat bat guano
lobster pot/corkscrew traps
underground traps - underground modified leaves contain small slits; protozoans or other small organisms crawl into these slits; sharp, downwardly pointed hairs keep organisms from leaving - organisms forced to crawl deeper into the modified leaves and eventually reach a digestive chamber with a pool of enzymes; very passive also
size
varies, smallest can reside in patches of moss
protozoans, insects, and small animals
what carnivorous plants consume
habitat
where certain nutrients are typically scarce (ie nitrogen); bogs, swamps, other muddy areas; yellow sundew - rocky hills; acidic or otherwise toxic soil
Cobra Lily
works with a pitfall mechanism; nectar glands near the hood attract insects; the inside of the plant forms a "window" tiring out insects; downward pointing hairs block insects from climbing out so they are forced deeper into the leaves; some plants have a "tongue" that attracts insects and provides a path for them to climb
