Chukwu Eric

10 CARNIVOROUS PLANTS IN THE WORLD The idea of meat-eating plants might sound bogus and like a movie to many but the fact so remains that they are real. In this article, you will get to know ten of them and how they do what they do. Imagine getting eaten by a plant. 1. COBRA LILY This plant is found in fens, streams, and ponds in northern California and southwestern Oregon where they are native. The cobra lily falls under the pitcher plants category and is tube-like in shape with a balloon-like covering. The plant leaves resemble striking cobra's, probably where it got its name from; it also bears prior-red appendages that look similar to a snake's fangs. they are hollow and about 15 to 30 inches tall. Once the ignorant prey gets in, there is no going back for the inside wall is slippery. Its prey gets confused by the translucent windows in the plant's leaves. they think they are escaping but they are flying deeper inside until they get tired. It traps mostly insects such as ants and bugs. 2. MONKEY CUP This is another plant among the pitcher plants group. It is characterized by a slight root system and a scaling or supine stem. From the stems grow sword-shaped leaves with complete leaf borders. A pitcher is borne at the end of a tendril which grows as an extension to the midrib of the leaf. The insect which ventures over the pitcher's mouth may lose their footing and fall into the fluid within, there they are drowned and digested. It may occasionally trap small vertebrates such as rats and lizards. some of its plant relatives are known to catch small animals, birds, and reptiles. 3. BUTTERWORT: This is a carnivorous plant with flat yellow-green leaves that are sticky and shiny on the surface and shaped like a star. It bears small people flowers However, it has an effective trap for small flying insects and its surface responds to prey by relative growth such as rolling out the leaf blade to prevent rain from washing off the prey. Its bright colors attract the prey, and once gets in contact with the leaf it gets stuck by the sticky fluid. Once stuck, the leaves slowly curl around the prey then digestive fluids are released which breaks down the prey for digestion by the plant. 4. SUNDEW: The plant has small five-petaled white pinkish flowers that are borne on one side of curving stern advice the basal leaves. It has tiny tentacles which frequently grow fast enough in response to prey. The sundew can be found on all the continents except the Antarctic mainland. They have variable sizes and can kill prey in 15 minutes though takes a few weeks to digest. The leaves are densely covered with small tentacles like hairs with drops of dews at their tips. The dewdrops glisten attracting small insects which get stuck, once stuck nearby tentacles cool around the insect and smother it then it is broken down and digested. 5. VENUS FLYTRAP: This is the most well-known among the carnivorous plants. It is a terrestrial plant and catches a variety of arthropods including spiders. The plant possesses a flower on top of a long stem and takes about 10 days to carry out the digestion process. It makes use of the snap trap mechanism in trapping its prey. The trap mechanism involves leaves with two lobes hinged along the midrib. Hairs inside the trap once touched trigger the lobes to snap shut holding the prey. The more the prey struggles to leave the more the lobes close tighter more forming a stomach where the prey is digested by digestive fluids. 6. BLADDERWORTS: The bladderworts are mostly aquatic and make use of the bladder trap. They possess small hollow bladders that trap and digest tiny animals such as insect larvae, aquatic worms, and water fleas. Bladderworts lack roots but have floating stems that resemble roots. They use osmosis to generate a partial vacuum inside the bladder which has a small opening sealed by a hinged door with long trigger hairs. Aquatic invertebrates touch these hairs and deactivate the door releasing the vacuum. The invertebrate is sucked into the bladder which traps it where it is then digested. Digestion occurs with 15 to 30 minutes then the trap door is set again. 7. CORKSCREW PLANTS: The plant consists of tubelike leaves and has forked submerged traps with opening twisting along the branches. They make use of the lobster pots trapping mechanism and specialize in aquatic protozoa and other smaller invertebrates. The T-shaped leaf allows the prey to enter but not exit. Onward pointing hairs force the prey to move in a particular direction. The prey entering the spiral entrance that coils around the upper two arms of the T shape is forced to move towards the stomach in the lower arm of the T where they are digested. 8. RAINBOW PLANTS: These plants are native to Australia and New Guinea. It is a beautiful plant with delicate flowers and bright leaves that radiate in the sunlight. They grow to branch narrow stems, around which linear leaves protrude. Mosquitos and gnats are common prey. The leaves have two distinct types of glands - one that secretes a shimmering glue to lure and ensnare insects. Two - that secretes the digestive enzymes which dissolved the insect's info soft tissues for digestion when they are dead. 9. DEWY PINE: This plant smells like sweet honey though it is an aggressive hunter. It is a sticky carnivorous plant just like the sundew, butterwort, and rainbow plants. The leaves of the dewy pine are thin and lined with hair-like red-tinted glands. Dewdrops cover the gland and also reflect the sunlight on the red coloring of the gland. When an insect comes it gets stuck to the dewdrop which detaches from the plant. As the insect struggles to free itself more of the dewdrops get stuck on it, eventually it dies on a leaf where it is digested. 10. WATERWHEEL PLANTS: It is an underwater aquatic plant and only grows in a freshwater wetland. The waterwheel grows snapping traps. And takes only a millisecond for the snapping leaves to close upon a prey. It is as close relative of the Venus flytrap. The waterwheel preys upon aquatic invertebrates such as mosquito larvae, tiny insects even small fishes, and tadpoles. Once the trap is triggered the leaves snap-close upon the prey who has no way of escape. It gets digested through the leaf.