Carnivorous Plant Information
Byblis has tiny hairs all-over it that have droplets of a very sticky substance
on them. When a bug lands on this substance, the bug either dies from suffocation,
starving to death, or being digested alive. After that, the plant excretes
digestive enzymes through the hairs. The insect is then digested except for the
skeleton.
Cephalotus has only one species, follicularis. This is a type of pitcher plant
that its pitchers grow only about 2 1/2" long. This plant must have plenty of room
for its roots, or it will die. Some say this genus is hard to grow.
See also: Sarracenia
Darlingtonia, common name Cobra lily because it looks like a cobra snake head.
This genus has only one species, californica. This genus is said to be very hard to
grow.
Dionaea, common name Venus flytrap or VFT for short, is the best known of all
the carnivorous plants by people around the world. This genus has only one species,
muscipula. These cp have leaves with trigger hairs in the trap. When a bug lands
in the trap, the trap closes when 1 trigger hair is hit twice, or 2 trigger hairs
are touched at the same time. The trap then closes in less than a second, and then
the plant secretes digestive enzymes in the trap. The trap then reopens in a few
days to a couple weeks depending on how long it takes it to digest the insect.
Drosera, common name sundew, has the same type of the sticky substance as the byblis.
The hairs all over the plant have droplets of a sticky substance on them. The bug lands on
this substance and gets stuck. The hairs fold over onto the bug and saturate it with digestive
enzymes. Then the hairs move away, and then the digestive enzymes on the bug digest it.
Information soon
Information soon
Nepenthes is a large type of pitcher plant. The pitchers grow on vines. The pitchers
have digestive enzymes mixed with rain water in them. A bug drinks the sweet nectar on the
hood of the pitcher, then it starts crawling down the pitcher. Some types of pitchers have
hairs that point down, and others just have a slick, waxy surface, so the bug can only go
further and further down into the pitcher. It then drowns in the "liquor" of the pitcher and
then is digested by the digestive enzymes in it.
Pinguicula, common name butterwort, are plants with a sticky substance on the leaves.
The bug gets stuck on the leaf and cannot get away. The leaves fold up over the bug, and
then the plant secrets digestive enzymes which digest the bug.
Sarracenia is a type of pitcher plant. Some pitchers catch rain water, and some have hoods
that keep rainwater out. The pitchers have digestive enzymes. A bug drinks the sweet nectar on the
top of the pitcher, then it starts crawling down the pitcher. The pitcher has hairs that point down,
so the bug can only go further and further down into the pitcher. It then drowns in the "liquor" of
the pitcher and then is digested.
Utricularia, common name bladderwort, has species that live on land and species that live in
water. Both trap bugs the same way. They have tiny bladders all over them. The insect goes into
the bladder, and the bladder closes shut and the bug cannot get out. The plant secrets digestive
enzymes into the bladder which digests the bug. The bladder then opens up and the skeleton goes out.
Revised on 6/12/97 by: Jeff Dallas
Updated on 7/01/97 by: Lee Gentry
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