Insectivorous Plants Facts

Where are Insectivorous Plants found?

Insectivorous plants grow in places like swamps and rocky areas where the soil does not have all the nutrients they need. So, they have evolved to get the nutrients they need from animals. These plants devour insects, protozoa, lizards and rats.

There are more than 600 species of insectivorous plants, mostly found in North America. In India, insectivorous plants are found in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and the Garhwal Himalayas.

How do Insectivorous Plants catch their prey?

Pitcher Plant

The main trapping device of the pitcher plant looks like a beautiful pitcher full of nectar. The pitcher has a brightly colored rim and an inviting half-closed lid. When an insect comes closer to take a sip, it suddenly slips down the pitcher containing a pool of digestive enzymes at the bottom and gets killed.

Venus Fly Trap

In Venus Fly Trap, when something touches the ultra sensitive hair on the edges of the leaves, the cells embedded on the inside wall of the trap, push water towards the outside walls. This makes the leaf close.

Sundew Plants

Sundew plants have long flypaper traps and once the prey sticks on the sticky tentacles, the tentacles swiftly embrace the prey by growing faster on the outside than on the inside. It is capable of bending 180º in a minute!

Most of the aquatic insectivorous plants make use of bladder traps to suck in small aquatic creatures.

How is the prey digested by the Insectivorous Plants?

Most insectivorous plants make their own digestive enzymes. Others depend on the friendly bacteria living inside them to produce these enzymes.

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